5.12.25 beer links: Generations and cultures

Buckwheat Zyedco Jr. and his son playing on the Fai Do Do stage at Jazz Fest

That’s Buckwheat Zydeco Jr., son of the late Buckwheat Zydeco (Stanley Dural), above, playing accordion, with his son on the frottoir at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Below, C.J. Chenier, son of the “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier, fronts a celebration honoring his father. That’s two more generations on the frottoir. Other members of the band included Marcia Ball (on the keyboard), David Hidalgo (in the background) and Sonny Landreth (not in the frame). A tribute album to Chenier will be released June 27, two days after what would have been his 100th birthday.

CJ Chenier and bandmates (including Marcia Ball and David Hidelgo) during a tribute to his father, Clifton Chenier, at Jazz Fest

Now, let’s get to it . . .

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LEAD OF THE WEEK

March’s second day this year was a Sunday. My brother and I walked the Sussex South Downs. Almost three months since midwinter, the freshly peeled air drenched the leafless woods and hills with pale light. Yellow crocuses quietly exploded in the grass; the first larks unspooled their ribbon of song above. At lunchtime, we dipped down to the Ram in Firle. We sat at a bare table in its dark, womb-like dining room with our beloved hatchlings: two pints of Harvey’s.

I have lived in a thorny, stone-strewn Mediterranean biotope for 15 years, and visitors to my home in France sometimes ask what I miss about the UK and its latitudes. Broad-leafed woodland, birdsong and the British landscape, for sure: its endless seasonal costume changes; its soothing sweetness; the quiet nourishment of its rises, falls and folds. And with it, at the end of the path, cask-conditioned ale. Glorious and tragic.

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A few beer links and observations for 4.28.25

Okay, I lied. Here it is Monday and I have a few links for you before heading off to find some music, finishing with Piano Night here in New Orleans (lineup at the end). One reason for the unplanned post is that Ding has assembled the roundup for The Session #146. The other is these first two, because in another two weeks these so-called styles may already be resting beside Brut IPA.

Savoury IPA. In all fairness, Matt Curtis acknowledges that things did not go well for Brut IPA, and he questions the need for Cold IPA. In supporting the idea of using MSG in a beer, he writes, “Perhaps savoury isn’t the right word here. There are other, better, words I would use to describe this beer such as ‘bright’, ‘luminous’, or perhaps my favourite of all ‘resonant’. But ‘Resonant IPA’ doesn’t sound like a style that will trend well amongst the LinkedIn marketing set. Savoury though, that’s tangible and, most importantly, communicable.”

Northern IPA. Apparently Northern IPA was a subject of discussion on Bluesky and at Facebook while I was busy listening to music. Jeff Alworth found it a “real balm to the soul in these trying times. Beer, the liquid itself and the drinking of it, should be fun. Silly, even.”

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RANDOM OBSERVATION NO. 1

“I’ve drunk good and bad cask beer from both independent and multinational breweries. I’ve also worked at small and large breweries. The multinationals are undoubtedly evil but then again some of the biggest cunts most awful people I’ve ever met have been running small breweries. Let us remain true to the core beliefs of our faith and venerate all beer that is pleasing to god.”

From Ed Wray in Why should I care if a brewery is independent?

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RANDOM OBSERVATION NO. 2

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The Session #146: With relevance comes value

Beers available at most locations at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival

“Back then, to review these unheralded mom-and-pop cafés was strange. Foodies (a term that had yet to be popularized) were interested only in eating at gourmet bastions in big cities or abroad. These Continental restaurants were expensive; they served French or northern Italian food and had waiters wielding big pepper mills.”

– “Roadfood” author Jane Stern, from an interview in The Paris Review

In “The United States of Arugula,” Jane and Michael Stern merit only a footnote on page 265. Author David Camp chooses to quote James Beard biographer Robert Clark, who contends that the Sterns in their coast-to-coast guides to highway diners, barbecue joints and much more, “fawned with Warholesque camp enthusiasm over dishes that members of the food establishment considered beyond the pale, lavishing on unpretentious and unassuming juke joints the same fevered attentions that gourmets once reserved for Le Pavillon.”

We have more than a dozen Sterns books, including many editions of “Roadfood” because you never know what one will include that another does not, on our bookshelves. We are fans of the places they write about. Yes, we like Mosca’s (a favorite of the Sterns, and Calvin Trillin as well) outside of New Orleans because it is unpretentious and unassuming, but also because the food is spectacular. Yet we also like Commander’s Palace, which is, well, assuming. And more expensive. With food that is also spectacular. Just different.

That’s one thing that comes to mind when I began thinking about The Session #146: “Where do you find value?”

The Session logoThe other is the promotion designed to wed Miller High Life and dive bars. In that story, I learned that it is possible to buy a case of Miller High Life for about $18. That’s quite a bit cheaper than NA beer, or than a single bottle of some saisons in the big bottle cooler at my local beer store. I’m wondering if drinking Miller High Life in a dive bar adds value to the dive bar experience. Or if the dive bar setting adds value to Miller High Life.

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04.21.25 beer links, brats and mixed signals

Pringles Beer Brat promotion

Administrative note: No aggregation of links here the next two weeks, with more blackouts likely to follow as summer travel begins. My intentions are good when it comes to contributing to The Session #146 Friday. Not quite a promise. Speaking of travel, there is packing to do, so briefly . . .

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We’re all getting kind of fatigued by the headlines like, ‘Is Craft Beer Done?’ And I can’t say for sure, for everyone. I can say definitively, for a good number, that it’s far from that. There’s still some optimism and growth.”

                    — Neil Fisher, Weldwerks Brewing

From Finding Growth and Taking Risks in 2025 and Beyond

I pulled that quote because the story most repeated by news outlets was the release of the annual craft brewing industry production report. Production was down four percent. Five hundred and one breweries closed and 434 opened, so there were fewer breweries operating at the end of 2024 than the beginning. But there were 9,680 making beer as 2025 began. More have already opened, although more have also closed.

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MORE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Trump’s Return to Power Has Been Bad for the Beer Business. Because why should beer be any different. A quarterly beer business report card from VinePair.

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04.14.25 beer links: A beer-infused vinyl record and many drinking notes

It's always happy hour somewhere -- in this case Zion National Park

It might seem like a stretch to focus on links only to pleasure, but it beats reading the news. So other than a great lede (two in a row from Pellicle) and a quote, relax and forget everything else for a few links.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Yeast is by far the most important ingredient in bitter. It’s what makes someone a fan of JW Lees, but not so much of Holts, or a fan of Holts but not so much Harvey’s. Whilst there’s wonderful variation in malt characteristics and hop profiles, the yeast sets out in some cases the majority of the flavour profile, and certainly becomes a significant point of differentiation.”

                    — Paul Jones, Cloudwater Brewing
From The Evolution of Cask Bitter with a link to Cask Bitter, Refreshed for the 21st Century

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LEAD OF THE WEEK

I have a simple, beautiful dream for my dotage. It entails being able to walk from my home to a brown pub that sells brown beer. I sit on a stool at the bar. Behind it, a much younger person smiles, says hello and asks how I am. They know my name.

I’ll be happy to be alive, to have my existence acknowledged, and for the froth from an exceptional ale to gather on my ’tache like the incoming tide on a tranquil beach.

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