At least Madison's Ancora Coffee Roasters can say they had it first. With my day job at the opposite end of State Street I don't frequent the Ancora on King Street very often these days, however, during a rare recent visit I noticed they had some sort of brewing machine called "The Clover." What is the the Clover? It's an $11,000 coffee brewing machine that brews one cup at a time much like a French press and the cup it spits out is, apparently, one of the best cups of coffee you'll ever taste. Personally, I've never tried a Clover cup, so I can't attest for the much discussed quality and I, honestly, didn't think twice about the Clover at Ancora until I opened my most recent issue of WIRED magazine. In it I came across a feature article about Starbuck's acquisition of The Coffee Equipment Company, the company that makes the Clover.

According to the WIRED article Starbucks will continue to repair and maintain Clovers at independent shops, but, not surprisingly, "it won't sell any more Clovers to independent cafés." The big question: Did the acquisition of The Coffee Equipment Company for the purpose of hoarding the Clover from independent coffee shoppes come before or after Starbucks decided to slash 12,000 jobs?

WIRED's video report on the Clover can be viewed below:

For coffee lovers, Madison is a Paradise. Local and regionally owned coffee houses dominate our landscape with Starbucks, the chain that is so prevalent and impossible to avoid in any other American city of our size, holding a negligible share of the caffeine market. Of course, not everyone is a coffee guzzler, some people actually enjoy drinking quality tea and Madison, for the most part, is not tea friendly.

Nearly every coffeehouse in Madison carries some form of loose tea to humor the tea drinkers in the community, but few actually store or prepare the tea with the respect it deserves. This isn't a dig on the coffee houses, because, after all, you're coffee houses, not tea houses. Up until 2007, if you wanted tea done right in this city you would likely need to do it at home. Why until 2007? That's the year the much needed Macha Tea House opened in the Hue Art Gallery space on Monroe Street.

You know, Madison is a town of DIYers. Everyone is always pursuing some sort of "project" and enlisting others' help and dollar bills for the sake of Doing it My Way. With the advent (invent, revent?) of the Project Lodge space on Johnson (and my recent visit to a rock show there, that was, actually, pretty awesome) I thought about how I, as an inbiber of libations, might be able to assist in this concept of DIY...and it dawned on me, simply...you know what the DIY version of a cocktail at a bar is? B-Y-O-B. I mean, for real. And since there is such a nice population of created spaces for arts, crafts and rock and roll, I thought I might share with y'all how to, in the spirit of self-assurance, never get caught sober at a non-bar event.

Do y'all know that Mickey's (you know, the bar right next to the Yahara river, on the East Side) was the first bar I ever went to, the first time I came to Madison? I remember that I had no idea that there was a "rest" of the bar. I thought it was only the first room---which, really, wasn't my fault, because the people I was visiting brought me to the bar, and they themselves had no idea that it had back rooms. When I moved to Madison, about a year or so after that, I went to Mickey's soon after, and realized there was a Ms. Pacman machine, and I was pretty much sold. Over the next almost 5 years, I've developed a rapport with Mickey's that I can only describe as akin to that of an older brother you have that you love to death, but is sort of a d-bag. Like, that one Christmas, he actually bought you that Emperor Tomato Ketchup record, and it was totally awesome, but then, most of the time, he's calling and asking you for money, or showing up at your apartment at 3 a.m. because he left his keys at the bar when he got thrown out.

Oh, yeah, I know that the new year is, like, already here. I mean, I understand that in order for me to do some sort of "Look Back" to 2007, I probably should not have waited until the 3rd week of January, but let me level with you; for the past month or two I have been a crazy person. Taking remedial classes, applying to graduate school, interviewing for a grown-up job--I mean, damn. It's been busy. And so, after being absconded with by my editor-in-chief during the fanTAStic Furthermore Brew-Ha-Ha last weekend, I've decided to get back on the horse, and start out with a brief reminiscing of how this past year proved to be a true test of my abilities; both as a socialite and drinker, and how, for yet another year, I have emerged victorious and stomach-pump free.

Here is a list of my favorite drunken moments from my favorite "watering holes" from 2007, in no particular order, because, to be honest, I can't really remember when they happened.

A couple of Wednesdays ago, my housemates and I staged a tasting of sparkling wines, each of us supplying a different wine from a different region – excluding French Champagne. I left work that evening, stopped at Steve’s Liquor and Whole Foods and walked in my front door just in time to see my roommate pull out the same bottle of wine I had purchased 20 minutes earlier! Accommodating as he is, he agreed to head back to Steve’s and swap for a different bottle. We ended up with four different sparkling wines for the evening: Paringa Sparkling Shiraz, Adriano Adami Garbel Prosecco, Chandon Blanc de Noirs, and Argyle Brut sparkling wine.

The Beaujolais Nouveau is here! Today marks the first day the 2007 Beaujolais is available – a cause for celebration in some circles. However, a few of us may roll our eyes in boredom and distaste, and a few more may shrug our shoulders and ask, "Bo-jo what, now?"

Made from the Gamay grape, the French Beaujolais Nouveau is the most famous example of a "vin de primeur" – a wine that is made to consume just a few weeks after the grape harvest. Thus the name "nouveau," or "new." Traditionally, the Beaujolais region celebrated this mid-November new-wine event to herald the end of the harvest, and it was not until after WWII that the wine was even available to those outside the Beaujolais region. As the rules relaxed, winemakers in the area realized the commercial potential of a folksy tradition and began to aggressively market Beaujolais Nouveau. Heavy-hitter Georges Duboeuf even staged a race to bring the first bottles of the season to Paris. By the 1980’s the trend reached the United States. Years of enthusiasm and advertising led to a surge in demand, and consequently a surge in mediocre, low-budg, bubble-gummy red wines.

Back to school! Back to school! I am a back to school girl! How exciting it is to be a student again, with books and pencils and statistics homework and reaction papers and exams and...um. Oh. Uhhh. School's hard. I forgot. I suck at math. Hmm. What can assist me during my Back To School Boo-Hoos? Oh, yeah! Booze! Yeah! That's the ticket! I forgot! Let's go somewhere new! I'm feeling adventurous.

So. Have y'all ever been drinking out, you know, past Olbrich Gardens? You know, close to Monona? Look, don't spread it around, but I've been out there. Among the Forgotten. I went to this bar once called the Packer Inn. Was that the name? Um. I think so. And really, I sort of thought I might get beat up. Like, I mean, actually pounded. Some woman kept givin' me the evil eye real hard for playing Hall and Oates on the Jukebox or something. It was scary. But, couple weeks ago, me and my birthday celebrators (happy b-day Lia!) decided to roll up our sleeves and drive down Atwood Street and hope for the best.

I think I owe all of you - my dane101 fans (and by all of you I mean my friend reem, her friend sarah, and my dad) - an apology that will echo through the ages. I sincerely promise you that I haven't been SOBER during my absence, but I have committed an even more tragic folly; I haven't TOLD you about how DRUNK I've been. It just isn't fair. And I apologize. It will probably happen again, but I will remain apologetic. Forever. But, on the positive side, I just re-enrolled into school for the first time in, um, 5 years? And if any of you knew me in college, which I doubt, you'll remember that I was not only a fantastically obsessive student, I was an even better drunk. So, while still in the midst of the marvelous summer haze, we'll keep those pencils sharpened to await the arrival of class schedules and student loan checks. Word!

OK-OK. So, do you guys remember when Elimidate came to Madison? Did you watch it? You KNOW you did, because I did, but I didn't tell anyone about it. Do you remember where they went? I do. The Cardinal Bar was their first stop.

Something I have learned to understand about the awesomeness of Southwestern Wisconsin is that during the summer people want to rock. The weather is fantastic, the people are hilarious, and the booze flows without end. Two fantastic examples that I attended this past weekend were the Beloit Riverfest and the Maestri Pig Roast in Spring Green, Wis. Now, while I know these events weren't exactly Madison or Dane County based, I think something great about where I live in Madison is that I can go a short distance and find myself amidst a cornucopia of festivals, carnivals, music shows and cocktails. It's part of what makes Madison rad. Accessibility, bitches.

Some of you no doubt read Doug's lamentation on this very webpage about not being able to get tickets for the Great Taste of the Midwest last weekend. My own attempt at getting into line early was hampered by having spent time at JT's Top of the Swamp the night before. Ergo I find myself in the same boat as him. But fret not! This Saturday is the Second Annual Microbrew Fest in Oregon. It takes place from 1-6PM at Liberty Park (next to Mulligan's Bar & Grill). Tickets are $25 and include a souvenir glass for "unlimited sampling". For a mere $5, your designated driver can get into the festival and drink all the soda he or she desires and eat free food.

As the spring gives way to summer, there will be a few other festivals of note around the state where you have a bout with John Barleycorn. To wit:

When Sundance 608 opens on May 11 it will bring with it Wisconsin's first Peet's Coffee and Tea. This nearly 40-year-old coffee chain will be serving up San Francisco roasted coffee in a cafe space called "Caffe 608." Well, that's silly. Why would you call a cafe Caffe 608 and not serve coffee roasted in Madison (or at least NEAR Madison)? I understand Peet's has a long respected history in California as the "Starbucks alternative" (the founders of Starbucks were friends with Peet's founder and once had a no-compete clause with Peet's that kept the viral coffee roaster from opening chains in San Francisco for 10 years) and the chain also has a devoted following (dubbed "Peetniks") but it seems disingenuous to bring in an outsider when Madison has such a strong cafe and roasting culture.

Last month marked the release of Dan Carey's first Unplugged beer of 2007 – New Glarus Belgian Quadruple. This is Dan's take on the Trappist ale. Since he does not reside in a Belgian Trappist monastery, it cannot technically be labeled as a Trappist ale but those inclined towards Chimay or Westmalle should be quite satisfied when reaching for a NG Belgian Quadruple. The quadruple means that there is four times the malt here than in a normal Trappist ale. I should also note that this beer is matured in bourbon barrels which moves it away from a traditional Trappist (or abbey) ale. This is a wonderful way to sip away the snowy and rainy nights we've been subjected to as of late.

The only time I have ever been to a piano bar in my life, was in Minneapolis, MN about 5 years ago. I think the name of the place was Nik’s (anyone know what I’m talking about?) and it was a huge, very kitschy sort of place. As far as I can recall, I didn’t enjoy the piano-playing very much, but I had a good time. So, you know, it was fine. In theory I feel like a fan of piano bars and the idea of a group of people sitting around an older gentlemen, belting out old WWII favorites, but when I am presented with the reality of a man singing Elton John to a pretty much empty bar, the fantasy sort of dies.

Only in Wisconsin would a portion of the populace be willing to mix booze and fitness. Only in Madison, WI would drinkers be willing to mix booze, fitness, and –10 degree temperatures. I’m not sure if it’s the lifestyle Madison proposes or if it is just the close proximity of bars.

The booze plus running routine has been alive and well in Madison for some time set by the Hash House Harriers and their band of merry drinkers but last Saturday night a group of Madisonians decided to revive a similar tradition set by a visitor to our fine state a few years back; the “Bootleg Run.” (See link below for the story of 32 miles and 16 bars) The Bootleg is not a “hash run” in the true sense as there is no course or hidden bottles in the snow, the Bootleg simply consists of whiskey drinking and running.