A reader wants to know why we don't write more about beer in The Bee's Taste section. While I try to think of a response I'll tip him off to some beer news:

- On Monday, Peter Hoey of Sacramento Brewing Company will tap a keg of a truly unusual beer, Saucerfull of Merkins, made by the Paso Robles brewery Firestone Walker. According to Rick Sellers of Pacific Brew News, only 80 kegs of the beer were made. It's a blended winter ale, mostly oatmeal stout with a portion of Belgian-inspired strong dark ale. It's been variously described as "a dark winter stout with light spicy notes, full silky body and bourbon accents" and "dessert in a glass." You can read more about it at Seller's blog. Hoey says the keg will be tapped when the Oasis branch of Sacramento Brewing Company - 7811 Madison Ave. - opens at 11:30 a.m. Monday. Plans to tap a second keg at the brewery's Town and Country Village site are uncertain. The beer will sell for $5 a pint.

- The new "lounge menu" at the restaurant Hawks in Granite Bay - housemade charcuterie with grilled bread ($12), macaroni and Gruyere ($8), onion beignets ($5) and the like - is complimented by an enticing beer menu. In addition to the predictable Bud ($4) and Stella Artois ($5), there's several brews not often seen hereabouts, like the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar ($14), the Leyerth Urthel Vlaemse Bock from Belgium ($22) and the North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stourt ($6). Hawks is at 5530 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay.