Carnival's "Fun Ships" aren't the booze cruises you think they are

By. Jason Leppert

Admittedly, I used to write off Carnival Cruise Line as nothing more than a booze cruise. That was until I actually sailed with them for the first time and my eyes were opened to the truth. The “Fun Ship” brand is indeed just that – fun – and in a variety of wonderful, unexpected ways.

Carnival, winner of Best Ocean Cruise Line in the 2019 Readers' Choice Awards, has come a long way since its wilder days. They've swapped out older ships with a decidedly 1980's Vegas aesthetic – gaudy decor, garish colors, dated lighting and endlessly repeating fixtures – for remodeled or brand-new ships that are pleasantly subdued.

Take, for instance, the line’s latest Carnival Horizon. Like its Carnival Vista sister ship, a fresh beach resort aesthetic offers a welcoming setting for cruisers of all ages. Guy’s Burger Joint from celebrity chef Guy Fieri grills up some of the best gourmet burgers with sides of fries at sea, while kids can spiral down speedy themed water slides with the Cat in the Hat and friends. Best of all, both are entirely free.

Such brand partnerships bolster festive programming that is remarkably consistent across a fleet of over two dozen vessels. Some hardware features like the SkyRide – a suspended cycling course perched high on the outer decks – are available only on the newest ships, but most of the software is familiar from one to the next as they are continually upgraded.

Even the act of drinking has been elevated thanks to the Alchemy Bar. The popular watering hole is staffed by apothecaries who "prescribe" elixirs to suit each patron’s mood. Molecular techniques mix exotic ingredients into delicious beverages, whether alcoholic on non-alcoholic.

Also going beyond a mere bucket of beers are full-scale onboard breweries as found on the aforementioned Vista and Horizon – the RedFrog Pub & Brewery and Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse | Brewhouse respectively.

Since Carnival’s core concept has always centered around fun, the playful persona begins with its crew. From the cruise director to your wait staff, everyone is friendly and upbeat, and the aura extends to shipboard performances. The Punchliner Comedy Club is a hilarious rotating showcase of world-class stand-up comics, and Playlist Productions puts on creative stage shows with high-energy singing and dancing. Horizon has even reintroduced the backing of an ace live band.

Passengers are a diverse cross-section of Americans simply looking to have a good time. It’s where single friends, married couples and family reunions can all come together and find something for everyone, including accommodations. Staterooms run the gamut from budget interiors to palatial suites with options for connecting cabins, accessible staterooms and additional bathrooms for larger groups.

Public spaces cater to this diverse crowd, with venues like exclusive clubs for kids (Camp Ocean), tweens (Circle C) and teens (Club O2), an area for those 21 and over (Serenity Adult Only Retreat) and plenty of spots for everyone to mingle. Regular cruisers will find at-sea staples as well, such as trivia contests for the chance to win a "ship on a stick," and the sublime Cloud 9 Spa for relaxing onboard. My personal favorite activity is taking in a first-run movie at the IMAX Theatre (for a reasonable fee).Continue Reading

The Wine Room tasting place with 2,500 rare wines coming to Delray Beach

By SUSAN BRYANT


The Wine Room Kitchen and Bar in Delray Beach will feature more than 200 wines from Enomatic machines, which preserve wine for about a month by replacing oxygen with nitrogen. (Enomatic Wine Serving System / Courtesy)

This contemporary bistro, expected to open by August, will feature a vestige from the legendary 32 East that shut down on Atlantic Avenue last year: general manager John Bates.

“The clientele in Delray Beach has taken a step back from fine dining and moved toward a more upscale, casual approach,” says Bates, who was 32 East’s general manager for 19 years. “I look forward to hosting my previous clientele at this beautiful new concept. It truly is an environment unlike any other.”

The restaurant, which replaces the former Caffe Martier, will become the second location of the 13-year-old Wine Room in Winter Park. It will boast more than 200 wines dispensed from Enomatic machines, along with 80-plus cheeses and 2,500 bottles of rare wines.

“We will also have a retail store selling 60 selections of cheese and a large selection of quality wines and accessories,” says managing partner Bruce Simberg, a lawyer and Boca Raton resident. “Delray is almost twice the size of Winter Park.”

The location affords a larger kitchen and a full liquor license with two bars for craft cocktails. The historic building once housed the Arcade Tap Room in the 1930s. 

“The project turned into something much larger than first thought,” says Simberg, who says upgrading the historic building delayed the opening for months. “We had to demolish the roof, the floors, the electric, plumbing and AC. Everything is new except the speakeasy, which we restored to its original condition as much as we could.” 

Amid stone walls and a wine barrel-themed ceiling, patrons can load cards with money to insert into Enomatic machines, which will offer a choice of three pour sizes. 

“The cost of an ounce is $1 to $100, and the average price is $2.50 to $4. Each wine has a card in front of it that has a full description and the tasting notes,” Simberg says. “We have wine lovers with all levels of experience. This is not a snobby place but a place for learning and enjoying. Our staff will answer questions and educate.” 

Daily lunch and dinner, plus weekend brunch, will include classic French and American dishes such as ravioli with caramelized onion and confit duck ragu; wild mushroom flatbread with triple-cream brie, goat cheese fondue and black truffle; sea scallops with sweet-corn beurre blanc; and orange blossom cake.Continue reading original article

The 8th Annual 97X Craft Beer Experience is coming to The Mahaffey Theater this August

By. Jenna Rimensnyder

The 8th Annual 97X Craft Beer Experience will be hosted at The Mahaffey Theater on Saturday, August 10. T

ickets are officially on sale, and you can snag one to grab unlimited samples of over 150 samples of craft beers, ciders, meads, and wines. 

The event runs from 4-8 p.m., with each participating brewery pouring up an exclusive release. 

Great Bay Distributors the leading wholesaler in the beer industry is the official partner for the experience and is bringing in heavy-hitting local breweries like Green Bench Brewing Co., 3 Daughters Brewing, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. and Big Storm Brewing. 

Beer enthusiasts can buy their tickets online at themahaffey.com, by phone at 727-300-2000, or in person at The Mahaffey Theater box office for $45 each. 

Proceeds from the Craft Beer Experience benefit the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts. 

Brewers Association Declares July 3 “National Independent Beer Run Day”

Don’t forget the independent craft beer this Independence Day 

Original article by. The Brewers Association

Boulder, Colo. – Honoring the spirit of summer and beer’s biggest holiday, the Brewers Association—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers—has declared July 3 “National Independent Beer Run Day.” The celebration calls on beer lovers to seek the independent craft brewer seal and purchase craft beers produced by small and independent breweries for their Independence Day festivities.

The campaign will be amplified by social media assets including a series of videos in which people forget some Fourth of July essentials—except, of course, the independent craft beer. Audio spots and summer-themed sponsored playlists will also appear on Pandora Radio. Additionally, the Brewers Association will stream a world record attempt at the longest cheers ever, toasting all 7,300 small and independent U.S. craft breweries. CraftBeer.com—the Brewers Association website for beer lovers—will also support the effort with a collection of informative content. Beer lovers are invited to join the National Independent Beer Run Day Facebook Event for updates.

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Corona wants to save the planet with new stackable beer cans

Corona may have just made the traditional six-pack a thing of the past.

In an effort to move away from plastic six-pack rings, Corona is testing out a new type of beer can. The new cans have threading at the top and bottom that allow them to be connected and stacked on top of each other, creating a long staff of Corona beers.

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Corona Fit Packs have been specifically designed for this interlocking feature, Yahoo Lifestyle reports. Not only will this allow Corona to sell beer cans without the plastic rings, but it will also allow for a wider variety of quantities to be sold. Apparently, the new system is strong enough to hold ten cans in a single stack.

Of course, ten cans would stand about four-feet-tall, which may or may not be more convenient to carry around than a traditional six-pack.

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What goes into an $899 bottle of beer? Lots of coconut and hype

By. David Klein


Brewer Charles Rapadas measures salts to harden water in the process of making beer at Three Chiefs Brewing in El Segundo.

Want a taste of Los Angeles’ latest craft beer sensation? Grab a sleeping bag — or be prepared to empty your wallet.

If you’re not familiar with Three Chiefs Brewing Co., that’s understandable. Its online presence is virtually nonexistent with scant social media updates and a website that offers little more than the brewery’s name. Finding its actual facility is equally frustrating. It’s in a remote section of El Segundo, operating out of the R6 Distillery in a space about the size of a Manhattan studio apartment.

Despite the brewery’s limited output (or perhaps because of it), Three Chiefs has become a destination for craft beer die-hards who insist the effort to obtain bottles of its decadent, hyper-limited stouts — which involves camping out at the brewery the night before it goes on sale or paying a ransom on the secondary market — is worth it.Continue Reading

Here’s How to Turn Old Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies, and Corn Flakes Into Beer

By Andrew Daniels

With a new microbrewery popping up in the world every three minutes—don’t check our stats, we’re right—finding new ways to innovate among a crowded pack of craft producers is an increasingly tall task. But the brewers at Seven Bro7hers in Salford, England have arrived at a solution for separating their suds from the rest: using bad cereal.

Last year, the brewery teamed up with BrewDog in Manchester to whip up a milkshake IPA called “Cornshake,” which naturally used leftover Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in the mash. Truth be told, Seven Bro7hers owner and founder Keith McAvoy didn’t think the brew was long for this world, due to litigation concerns.

“A few days after we launched the beer,” McAvoy says, “Kellogg’s got in touch, and as we had used Kellogg’s branding on the label, we thought we were in trouble, and they were going to ask us to remove the reference. But it was quite the opposite: They loved what we had done.”

Not only had McAvoy gotten the go-ahead from the cereal king to continue using the Kellogg’s name, but in fact, the company wanted to collaborate on a new beer. As you might expect, a mass producer like Kellogg’s lets a lot of food go to waste during the quality assurance process: Some flakes are too big. Some are overcooked. Some colors are wrong. Instead of going in the box, that leftover cereal goes in the trash. 

Kellogg’s wanted it to go somewhere else.

So McAvoy and co. began creating Throw Away IPA—a hoppy IPA created with those rejected corn flakes—and as discussions continued, he says, “it became apparent that the wider issue of food waste could be addressed, and we decided to officially continue the partnership and make two more beers.”

Those are Cast Off Pale Ale, a double dry-hopped pale ale made from recycled Rice Krispies, and Sling It Out Stout, a cocoa stout that uses surplus Coco Pops (a.k.a. Cocoa Krispies in the U.S.), both of which launched in the U.K. this week. Seven Bro7hers is selling all three beers in a limited-edition variety pack; they aren’t available in America yet, but we can only hope.

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