3 Things We Learned From A Guide To Ordering Craft Beer

(afagen)

While craft beer has been enjoying increasing popularity in the last few years, not everyone is confident enough to stride into that new beer hall down the street and roll a beer order right off their tongue like a beer sommelier fresh from beer sommelier school. Even if you’re not steeped in hops lore, there are a few things you can learn about ordering something you won’t hate, and not feeling like a total n00b when you do.

The Atlantic’s CityLab has a great guide for non-beer snobs to bring them through the maze of craft beers on menus these days and come out with a tasty selection on the other side. A few of our favorite lessons learned are below, with step-by-step guidance over at CityLab.

1. Come prepared with examples you know you like: Whether it’s a brand name or a memory of a taste, knowing what tastes good to you will help bartenders make a recommendation. Love Guinness, hate Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and only drink Budweiser when you’re desperate? That information can come in useful.

2. Study up on a few flavors common in the industry: Engert has developed categories he says are used at places like Whole Foods, and are likely similar to terms used in many beer establishments — Crisp, Malt, Hop, Roast, Smoke, Fruit and Spice, and Tart and Funky. These flavors can vary, but can provide a good starting point when talking with bartenders. CityLab has a great chart with more information in its guide.

3. Not all beers are served the same (so play it cool): Maybe you’re used to seeing beer served in a tall, frosty glass, or a pint glass. But don’t be surprised if you get 10 ounces of an IPA instead a 16-ounce pint, as ABVs vary by brew and can be more costly when there’s more of it poured. In general: lighter beers are surved colder in straight-sided glasses, while heavier beers come warmer in curved glasses, like a Chimay in a goblet.

For more, check out CityLab’s guide and stop getting so worked up the next time you’re faced with a confusing list of pilsners, lagers, Hefeweizens and stouts. It’s all going to be okay.

The Non-Beer Snob’s Guide to Ordering at a Craft Beer Bar [CityLab]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Facebook Launching “Place Tips” So You Always Know Everything About Where You Are

(Adam Fagen)

When creating a post on Facebook, users can already tag their location to let the world know where they are. Now, the social media site is taking things a step farther with Place Tips, a service offering iPhone users a chance to learn more about that location, whether it be a coffee shop, restaurant, shopping mall or national landmark.

The Wall Street Journal Digits Blog reports that Facebook is in the process of testing Place Tips in New York City.

Place Tips will deliver information about the locations – derived from the locations’ Facebook pages – to the top of a users’ News Feed. The information will be displayed on a series of cards detailing things like posts and photos friends have shared about the location, Facebook says.

For now, the service is only available on the iPhone app, Facebook did not specify when it would be available to Android users.

To ensure that the locations sent to users’ apps are accurate Facebook will employ beacons that transmit Bluetooth signals in a range of about 500 feet. In the past, such beacons have been used by merchants, airlines and sports teams to send information or sales offers to nearby smartphone users.

Large, high-traffic landmarks such as Times Square and the Brooklyn Bridge the company says it will use GPS signals, cellphone towers and Wi-Fi signals to offer location-specific information to users.

Officials with Facebook say that to start, the service will be free for businesses to use, but it could turn into a revenue-generating product in the future.

Facebook users will have the option to opt-out of the new feature by turning off locations services on the Facebook app.

Because the information used in Place Tips will come from businesses’ Facebook pages, some companies may be amping up their social media content.

Brianne Sperber, a spokesperson for Strand Book Store – one of the companies testing the beacons – says that she plans to put more thought into the store’s Facebook page because of the new program.

“If Facebook is going to really do this for me and it’s going to be free of charge, I’m going to spend a lot more time considering how I place things on Facebook,” she tells the WSJ.

Facebook Tests Bluetooth ‘Beacons’ to Feed Users Local Content [The Wall Street Journal Digits Blog]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

“Nacho Cheese” Is Whatever You Want It To Be

The little-known “Stadium Nacho,” which is a refined blend of cheddar and Romano cheeses, with an insouciant hint of brand marketing for Madden NFL. (photo: Paxton Holley)

Those of us who grew up with orange-tinted fingers and salt-cured lips from spending too much time feeding at the Dorito trough know what “nacho” cheese is, or at least we know what it tastes like. But the fact is that, unlike most other well-known cheese varieties, there is no actual definition for what constitutes the cheese we call nacho.

This new piece from Bloomberg takes a hard look at this vaguely defined dairy item that is nowhere on the FDA’s list of requirements for more than 70 cheese varieties, from Asiago to Swiss.

Okay, so there is no FDA standard for nacho cheese, but surely the prepared food industry that loves slapping the nacho name on its products must have some sort of general guidelines.

Nope.

Bloomberg’s Venessa Wong tried to get a definition from Old El Paso, which recently launched nacho cheese-flavored taco shells.

A rep for General Mills says that the cheese flavor in the OEP shells is “based on what consumers are used to and what they believe nacho cheese flavor is.”

So, reading between the lines, he seems to mean whatever tastes the most like a Dorito. But not quite, as Old El Paso uses cheddar and blue cheeses while PepsiCo says that Doritos are coated with a mix of cheddar and Romano cheeses. Meanwhile, Pringles uses a cheddar, Romano, and parmesan blend.

The ineffable nature of nacho was confirmed by the manager of cheese education and training at the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, who tells Bloomberg, “There really is not a Nacho Cheese per se… There might be some jarred cheese blends on the market that say ‘nacho cheese,’ but again, these are blends that are meant to heat up and dip chips into.”

So now the next time you’re at a party and your friend says something about nacho cheese, you can be the one that goes, “Did you know there really is no such thing as nacho cheese?” right before everyone walks away from you for being that person.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Shoplifting Suspect Calls 9-1-1 On Walmart Security Guards Following Him Around

(genebob)

It must have been very unnerving for a man in Georgia when he noticed that two tough-looking men were following him around as he left Walmart. They caught up with him, claiming to be security guards from the store, and brought him back to Walmart. Police say that the suspect thought they were “thugs” and pulled a knife on the men, then called 9-1-1.

It’s possible that someone could simultaneously be a Walmart security guard and a thug, but the fact is that they were real on-duty security guards, and they told police that the man they followed had been spotted taking items from the store. The guards followed him out of the store, then brought him back.

The suspect claims that he still wasn’t clear on who these men were and where they were taking him, which is why he pulled out a weapon. He got away, but police caught up with him. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution didn’t specify whether the police who found him were the police that he had summoned by dialing 9-1-1, but it would be appropriate if they were.

The man was arrested for aggravated assault, and we don’t know whether he was charged with shoplifting as well.

Walmart shoplifting suspect called 911 on security guards [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

CT Tax Commissioner: Walmart Tax Refund Service Just A Lure To Get You To Shop At Walmart

(Ron Dauphin)

Walmart recently announced a service that allows consumers who use certain participating tax preparers to pick up their refunds at a Walmart store. The program already has one high-profile detractor in the form of Connecticut Commissioner of Revenue Services Kevin Sullivan who says he believes the program is intended to get consumers to spend their refunds at Walmart.

In a statement yesterday, Sullivan described the Direct2Cash program as “just a way to lure taxpayers into spending at Walmart the minute they get their hard-earned refunds.”

He has called on his staff to look at how the nation’s largest retailer is implementing the service in Connecticut. He may also seek the assistance of the state’s Attorney General as well as the Department of Banking and Department of Consumer Protection in investigating the service.

In addition to the fee paid to tax-preparation partners — like the 3,000 or so Jackson Hewitt preparers that will be in Walmart stores offering $50 Walmart gift cards for customers who e-file — there is a $7 fee for getting your refund through Direct2Cash.

The refunds themselves end up going to a Walmart banking partner, but Walmart will remit the refund to Direct2Cash users when they show up at the store with their redemption code.

If the code isn’t redeemed within a given period of time — as little as two weeks in some cases — the customer must return to the tax preparer and arrange another way to get their refund.

The requirement of going to a Walmart store for your refund appears to concern Sullivan the most.

“It’s welcome to Wal-Mart and good-bye refund,” he explains. “While pretending to help otherwise bankless taxpayers, Walmart is really just helping itself to turn tax refunds into immediate store sales.”

Walmart has not yet responded to our request for comment on Commissioner Sullivan’s statements.

The $7 fee for getting a refund in cash is likely less expensive than taking it to a check-cashing store. However, the requirement that customers use a participating tax preparer may be a legitimate cause for concern.

As we’ve warned readers repeatedly, only a few states have any sort of regulation or certification requirements for paid tax-prepares, meaning you may be paying for advice that you don’t need and which may be inaccurate or wholly incorrect.

Meanwhile there are services, like the IRS’s VITA program, which provides free tax-prep assistance for people earning $53,000 or less, and the agency’s Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program assists those 60 years of age or older. Or the AARP’s free Tax Aide program to low/moderate-income individuals, with a focus on those 60 years of age and older.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

People Wait In Line For Hours To Feast Upon Sliders Upon Opening Of Las Vegas’ First White Castle

(White Castle on Twitter)

You think you love White Castle sliders, but do you love them enough to wait in line for hours to get your hands on one (or 12, as the case may be)? Stalwart fans in Las Vegas celebrated the opening of the city’s first White Castle by standing outside in line for reportedly up to four hours to get inside.

According to Eater Vegas, diners started lining up more than two hours before the county commissioner cut a ceremonial ribbon to officially open the new location yesterday.

People on the scene threw out wait times of anywhere from one to three hours to get inside the place near the Las Vegas Strip, with others saying hundreds were in line, kept at by by security staff.

Things were still crowded at 4 a.m., with a photo posted on Reddit claiming to be from that time with the line still going strong. That makes total sense, however, as 4 a.m. is like peak White Castle time.

(imgur)

Insert Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle reference here.

How Long Were the Lines For Sliders at White Castle? [Eater Las Vegas]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Toyota Recalls 57,000 Avalon, Prius Vehicles For Fire Risk, Airbag Deployment Issues

(stellarviewer)

For the third time this week an automaker has recalled tens of thousands of vehicles because of a potential fire risk. In addition to recalling 52,000 sedans for wiring issues that could lead to a vehicle fire, Toyota is recalling 5,000 cars whose airbags may not deploy properly.

The Detroit News reports that Toyota will recall 52,000 model year 2011 and 2012 Avalon vehicles in the United States.

Officials with Toyota say the recall was initiated because cargo in the trunk can come into contact with the vehicle’s audio system subwoofer and move wires out of position. If one of the wires contacts the metal frame of the subwoofer, it could result in an intermittent short-circuit, leading to the subwoofer overheating and starting a fire.

Toyota dealers have been instructed to disconnect the rear subwoofer as a precaution until a remedy is available.

The Detroit News also reports that Toyota recalled 5,000 model year 2014 to 2015 Prius V hybrids because of issues with the front passenger airbag.

The company says the vehicles are equipped with an occupant classification system, which activates and deactivates the passenger seat airbag system depending on the weight of the occupant.

However, some of the recalled Prius vehicles may not have been calibrated properly, meaning that under some conditions the passenger airbag may not deploy in the event of a crash even if a person is in the seat.

Dealers will recalibrate the system to fix the issue.

Toyota says it is unaware of any injuries or fatalities related to either recall.

Toyota recalls 52,000 Avalons for fire risks [The Detroit News]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist