Here are some links from the last few days to get you started:

• Jay Brooks over at the Brookston Beer Bulletin goes into detail about the recent downgrading of MADD’s charity rating to “D.”
• There’s a great discussion going over at Appellation Beer, kicked off by asking when exactly the meaning of “artisanal” started to become more and more synonymous with “luxury.”
• Pete Brown shared a post entitled “Back Garden Bliss,” talking about BBQ and beer pairings.  Let’s just say that after reading his post I was overcome with an insatiable desire to go home and BBQ something.

Now, for the review/preview:

It’s been a fun first two weeks of the competition.  Just like Week 1, we saw a lot of action during Week 2.  Two of the beers this week (Lucky Kat and Haywire Hefeweizen) have last-minute voting efforts to thank for advancing to the second round.  We also saw two clean 3-0 sweeps this week, with the first coming on Wednesday, when Southern Tier’s Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale won “The Battle of the Long and Interesting Names.”  The second sweep came when Flying Dog’s Old Scratch took down Brooklyn’s Pennant Ale ’55 on Friday.

Division 2 action continues all through next week, and we face an onslaught of interestingly named beers.  Some of the breweries we have to look forward to include Thirsty Dog, Founder’s, Left Hand, and Harpoon.  We’ll also see both beers from Boulder (one on Monday and the other on Thursday), as well as a beer from the Hawaii-based Kona on Friday.  All polls are active over in the Current Matches, so make sure to vote for your favorite – and remember, you can vote once per day!  Here’s the upcoming schedule:

• 8/2/2010: Boulder Buffalo Gold vs. Harpoon Leviathan
• 8/3/2010: Troegs Hopback Amber vs. Left Hand Milk Stout
• 8/4/2010: Founder’s Dirty Bastard vs. Thirsty Dog Old Leghumper
• 8/5/2010: Abita Purple Haze vs. Boulder Sweaty Betty
• 8/6/2010: Smuttynose Star Island Single vs. Kona Longboard Lager

See you next week!