Haven’t done one of these in a while. Wow, there are a TON of events popping up in the next few weeks. I’m trying to keep everything on a calendar on the right sidebar, and you can see the full calendar here.

Winter VT BeerAdvocate Meet-Up @ Drop-In Brewing – January 12th

The semi-annual meetup of the Vermont BAs. It’s being held at Drop-In Brewing and generally can’t be missed.

Wild Game Night with Dogfish Head Brewery @ The City Beer Hall- January 17th

The City Beer Hall is back at it again with another one of their awesome game dinners. DFH really isn’t my thing, but man I would like to get my hands on that West Indian Curried Iguana. Yes I said “IGUANA”.

Wing Wars @ The Franklin Terrace – January 19th

All you can eat wings from some of the best restaurants in the area. What more do I have to say? Buy your tickets at any of the participating venues.

Wood and Fire Dinner @ Druthers Brewing Co. – January 23th

I haven’t been back to Druthers since my less than positive experience there when they opened. Might be time to give them another shot when it isn’t track season.

Stone Brewing Co. Night @ The Ruck – January 25th

If you’re like me, you missed out on all of the great Vertical Epic events in NYC and Mass. back in December. Here’s your chance to play catch up.

Festival of Barrels @ Adirondack Pub & Brewery – January 26th

One of the few breweries in our area doing some serious work with barrel aged beers. They’ve been hit or miss for me, but this is a great opportunity to get a sample of everything ADK Pub has been working on. Also whets the appetite for the upcoming Night of the Barrels!

Homebrewers Shin Dig @ The Ruck – January 27th

Awards and bottle share for those who participated in this year’s Extreme Homebrew Competition.

Beer Dinner at @ Crossroads Brewing Co. – February 5th

“Pate”, “Terrine”, “Confit”, “Truffle”. Looks like they hit all of the keywords for a seriously delicious dinner!

Night of the Barrels / Extreme Beer Fest @ The Cyclorama – February 8th / February 9th

Already sold out, hope you got your tickets! BeerAdvocate’s yearly look at the extreme side of beer. Elise and I will be heading to NotB. See you there?

Mac-n-Cheese Bowl @ Albany Marriott – February 16th

I love Mac-n-Cheese (when it isn’t $13 for a bowl). My problem with events like this, and the Chowderfest is also a victim of this, is that as chefs try to stand out from the crowd, they add more and more shit to the mac-n-cheese to make their particular version unique. It stops being about the dish, and starts being about who can add the craziest shit to their mac-n-cheese.  The “people” can keep their Double Bacon Cheeseburger and Cheddar-Apple “Kugel” mac-n-cheeses to themselves. Me? I prefer my mac-n-cheese generally unfucked with.