Two words: Canned corn.

Ye Olde England Inne is a pretty good example of how underrated Stowe’s beer scene is.

We hear a lot about homebrewers who’ve taken their passions to “the next level” by jumping into the business and starting a brewery. Josh Hoehl is in the process of doing just that.

Name: Bock
Brewery: Narragansett
Style: German Bock
Price: $8.69 per 6-pack of 16 oz. cans
ABV: 6.5%
Final Grade: B+
Score: 40

For the second time in recent weeks, I’ve got a ’Gansett up for review. I didn’t plan it this way. It just happened.

Sunday was a brew day, and a buddy of mine and I needed something interesting yet affordable to sip while toiling away over hot burners. That’s pretty much been Narragansett’s m.o. — straddling the line between craft and crap. I’ve got to admit, however, that I enjoyed the Bock more than I expected.

It’s very well done, with big malt aroma and a clean lager taste. The alcohol is in the medium-low range for a bock, but 6.5% was plenty for me. The bitterness is soft and there’s a slight earthy hop flavor, but just barely. The flavors really work well together. Nothing is distracting.

Plus, it comes in those fun cans that you can crush. (see related picture.) If only I’d thought ahead.

This is one of the freshest pale ales I’ve ever tasted. And just because Iron Mike comes in a can, don’t assume that I’m making a case for metal packaging.

Name: Patrick Paulick
Title: New England Regional Manager
Affiliation: Brooklyn Brewery

I met Patrick during a beer dinner at The Perfect Pear Cafe in Bradford, Vt. And what a fine dinner companion. He is knowledgeable without being pretentious, classy without being snooty.

During the beer dinner that he was hosting, Patrick displayed a natural ability to talk about the beer and food pairings without becoming overbearing. Why does the East India Pale Ale go well with curried grilled vegetable flatbread with local goat cheese? Patrick can tell you.

He took a few minutes to talk about his reaction to someone who orders a Chocotini during one of the beer dinners, which brewery besides Brooklyn is doing the most innovative stuff now, and how James Earl Jones can explain why beer matters. His answers follow:

Old Chub is proof that craft beer can, indeed, survive in an aluminum casing.

So, imagine you’re one of those corner drug store chains, the place that has one of everything you might need at any given hour of the day or night. You’re a bit more expensive than Wal-Mart, which is where many of your regular customers have turned during a deeply damaged economy.

What do you do? How do you win back the business you’ve lost?

If you’re Walgreens, you take a lesson from those desperate yet resourceful frat boys you knew in college — you buy friends with cheap booze.

It fits snug in a koozie, makes that satisfying psssfchik when it opens and can be crushed on your head. Really, what’s not to like about cans?