Amber waves set to roll

By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge

TBonz Gill and Grill will tap its brand-new summer seasonal Friday (May 9), and it now has an official name: Amber Waves Summer Ale.

Dave Epstein, owner of New South Brewing Co. which creates specialty brews for TBonz, wanted to do something different for the summer, so Blonde Bombshell - the previous summer seasonal - won't be on tap this year.

Epstein described Amber Waves Summer Ale as amber in color and slightly malty with a mild hop character.

Check out www.tbonz.com for locations.

Great Growlers, Batman

Quigley's Pint and Plate in Pawleys Island - say that real fast three times - has a killer deal on growlers.

No, a growler is not an unfriendly bartender, nor is it one of those ladies on a straight tequila night. A growler is a 64-ounce jug full of take-home beer, usually offered by brewpubs or microbreweries that don't bottle their brews.

Most days at Quigleys', a new growler costs $11 and a refill is $8 - similar to the $10.95/$7.95 prices at Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery in Myrtle Beach, not that the two are in the same neighborhood, geographically speaking.

But Wednesday is Quigley's Free Growler Day, so to speak. A new growler will set you back $8 on hump day, and you'll only have to pay $5 for a refill.

Reason enough for me to drive 45 minutes south.

By the way, another brewpub, Gordon Biersch at The Market Common will have growlers in the coming months; prices T.B.A.

Bike Week Bud

The folks at Anheuser-Busch sent me a photo of the 24-ounce "2008 Myrtle Beach Bike Week" Budweiser, a wicked looking red and black can with silver racing flames.

A similar flame design will appear on the suitcase-style, 24-pack of 12-ounce bike week cans.

For this year's bike week, Bud is sending 6,000 cases of themed 24-ounces cans and 15,000 cases of 12-ounce cans.

The only problem with these types of cans is the dilemma they present: to collect or consume?

Bud Light Lime

For the Cinco de Mayo weekend, I promised to give the new Bud Light Lime a taste without prejudice, and to try Miller Chill Chelada Style a second time.

Bud Light Lime tasted almost like the lime has just been squeezed into the bottle. No joke. I said "almost," but I was surprised. I think the only thing missing was the citrus pulp. Drinkable and accessible.

Miller Chill Chelada Style still tastes a bit thin to me, a bit watery. It's not like it's bad for a light beer, it just doesn't have as much flavor or presence as the Bud Light Lime.

So there, I gave the big domestic light beers a fair shake.

Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com.