Since it's South Florida Beer Week, I've got beer in the loop. Among my fixations are coffee beers in which I've gone so far as to combine beer and coffee, which is a desperate and terrible idea.

The origin of my longing is Mikkeller Breakfast Geek, which is so beloved it's a coveted beer for swapping. Unfortunately it's tough to come by here, though Coffee District says they'll special order it on occasion. Still, it's so rare that when it's in "it's like Christmas," said an employee.

What else for a morning brew without resorting to the Guinness stand-by?

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​When the Funky Buddha's Maple Bacon Coffee Porter was released in March, it became an instant nationwide sensation, garnering an earth-shattering #1 buzz ranking on BeerAdvocate.com (it currently sits as the 31st most popular beer one the site). And that's despite the fact that the small brewpub brewed only 10 gallons of the stuff. Even then, the only way it got out to places like Ohio and North Carolina was via SoFla locals making internet-style beer swaps with their prized pill-bottle-style growlers.

The combination of sweet maple syrup and roasted coffee flavors mingling with chocolate malt had people raving. The most common compliment? That a pint of the stuff tasted just like pancakes on Sunday morning, drizzled with syrup and served with coffee and bacon on the side. That's a pretty amazing flavor profile for Funky Buddha to cram into a single beer. But it's a magic trick the young brewhaus does on a regular basis with beers like its ginger lemongrass wheat, mango pepper ale, and its recent No Crusts, a beer that smells and tastes exactly like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Well, get ready, beer fans: The Maple Bacon Coffee Porter is back, this time in Imperial form. And that's not even the best news. The Funky Buddha is rereleasing its smash-hit beer to commemorate the grand opening of its new homebrew shop this Sunday at 5 p.m. (2 p.m. for Imperial Club members). We talked with co-owner Ryan Sentz and got the skinny on the new shop as well as everyone's favorite breakfast-themed beer.
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Remember pulling mom's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of your lunch bag in grade school? She was so sweet -- she always cut the crusts off. For some reason, those sandwiches always tasted great after being smushed in your lunch bag for a few hours.More >>

​Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

Well it's summer time and the weather is sweet. And that means backyard barbecues, pool parties, and brouhahas. Now whether or not you're going to a BYOB or furnishing drinks at your own place, a solid summer beer is a must for any of those situations. And that's when I'm going to reach for one of two brews from Samuel Adams: Latitude 48, a medium-bodied, hop forward IPA, or Noble Pils, a hop heavy pilsner with a crisp finish.

Both of these beers from Boston brewer Sam Adams are great choices for a party. Firstly, they're widely available, meaning you can find either of them at Publix or your local liquor store. They're also inexpensive, clocking in anywhere from $13 to $15 for a 12-pack -- an extremely reasonable price for a beer of this quality. Notice I said 12-pack -- while most of your craft beer-loving friends will be relegated to bringing sixers to the party, these offerings from Sam can easily be found in double that size. Also very party friendly.
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​Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

I'm getting more and more sour in my old age.

By that I mean, I'm enjoying sour beers in a way I never thought I would.

What's a sour beer? Well, they come in a few varieties, but basically the name says it all. A sour ale is a beer that tastes sour, made so by a lengthy aging process as well as exposure to certain funky strains of bacteria such as the dreaded brettanomyces (dreaded by other brewers, that is). The words "bacteria" and "funky" might sound like a turn off to the majority of beer drinkers out there. But for an ever growing faction of aficionados, sour beers represent the final frontier in craft beer making; a place where flavor profiles such as fruity, champagne-like, and "barnyardy" are the norm, and each batch has the potential to backfire on a brewery, turning hundreds of barrels into undrinkable waste.
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​American Craft Beer Week continues tonight with three outstanding events throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Which means you don't have to drive too far to get a taste of great craft beer. ...then you've got to hit up BX Beer Depot's (2964 Second Ave., Lake Worth) Tiki Bar Anniversary Party. For two years, this covered tiki bar behind the Lake Worth homebrew shop has
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​This week is American Craft Beer Week, which means there are a host of beer events each night through Sunday. Tonight, one of the coolest events of the week goes down in Delray Beach.

Ales on the Avenue is a full-fledged pub crawl hosted by a host of Delray Beach restaurants and Fresh Beer, Inc. Starting at 5:30 p.m., craft beer fans can show up and sign up for a night of sudsy excess at five restaurants on and around Atlantic Avenue.

To join the crawl, all you have to do is show up at Tryst between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. and register.

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​[Queue the Professor Farnsworth voice]
Great news, everyone! It's American Craft Beer Week!More >>

Matt Webster, owner of Tequesta Brewing Co.

​Matt Webster looks good behind the bar at Tequesta Brewing Co. Pull up a bar stool and sit down to sample any of the brewery's six beers, and he'll gladly pour you a pint and describe the taste and color -- even how each are made.More >>

​Do you take your drinking seriously? Do you drink first and ask questions later? Or perhaps you perpetually invoke axioms of drunkard wisdom like, "I only drink on days that end in 'y'," "I'm not an alcoholic; alcoholics go to meetings" and "it's five o'clock somewhere?" Well, you might have a drinking problem. Or you might just the ultimate competitor, a behemoth of the squared circle ready to take XBL gold (aka the Gentleman's Cup) for your very own.

But just what is the XBL? Well, that's simple enough. Only the most brilliantly conceived drinking event in South Florida. More >>