March 24, 2008

Mojo Is Beer Friendly


If Comcast happens to be your cable TV provider.

If you have their HD package.

If you have an HD television.

You've got Mojo. More specifically, you've got InHD Channel, which is another name for Mojo. Mojo is an all-HD cable network with some fairly interesting programming. Notable within their lineup: Three Sheets and Beer Nutz.

Three Sheets is a personal favorite of mine and has a bit of a cult following. It's a show hosted by Zane Lamprey, who travels the world and participates in its various booze cultures. Lamprey is equal parts comedian, host and guinea pig. Despite the title, there isn't too much embarrassing drunkenness. Instead, the viewer gets a snappy, well-edited local profile of his various stops and their beverage cultures.

Beer isn't so much the focus of this show. If the show stops in France, the obvious focus is on Champagne and wine. In Kentucky: bourbon. In Ireland: Guinness. You get the picture. Watch the New Year's Even NYC Pub Crawl Episode or the full Croatia episodes here for a taste of the magic of Three Sheets. The show's fans have even developed a fun drinking game that meshes well with the content of the episodes.



The lesser of the two booze-related programs is Beer Nutz. Its two hosts travel around the U.S. sampling and rating beers, breweries and brewers. Beer Nutz provides a decent look into the beer culture of the featured cities. The hosts are nice guys but seem a bit aloof to the intricacies of beer which could make the show more informative.

As for a local connection ... there isn't one. Neither show has spent any time in Charm City. However, several local establishments feature beers from Magic Hat (I've seen #9 on draft at Greene Turtle and bottles of Circus Boy at Victoria), a strange but well-regarded brewery in Vermont that was featured in an episode of Beer Nutz.

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