5.26.25 beer links: Calibrating, ticking on TikTok & murk

It is Memorial Day in America, so get outdoors, drink a beer if you want. If you missed these posts last week, read them Tuesday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Me, if I have a SNPA (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) in front of me, I am really only concerned with the taste of the thing in front of me, not whether it has hit the bullseye on the shifting dart board of style.”

                    — Alan McLeod

From Your Beery News Notes For The Start Of The Last Month Of Spring. Context follows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We’re as Confused as You Are.

and

Is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale an ESB?

Alan McLeod’s quote comes from his reaction to these stories about Sierra Nevada Pale Ale winning gold medal in the ESB category at the World Beer Cup. I cited it at Bluesky, adding, “Let these be the last of many words.” So even though I have thoughts, I will honor what I wrote. Instead, consider this photo from a conference in Ecuador in 2022. Here, Gordon Strong, president emeritus of the Beer Judge Certification Program, answers the question, “Why beer styles?” Be sure to notice what guidelines are not.

Why Have Beer Styles -- a presentation by Gordon Strong

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY

Read more

Beer links 5.19.25: Radlers, stubbies, skulls & calories

I may have exceeded my monthly quota for words last week, so showing more restraint . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kolsch at Fritz Family Brewing in Niwot
Speaking of culture, it is Kölsch service season (each Wednesday) at Fritz Family Brewing in Niwot, Colorado.
CULTURE

Cask. This is a story about cask Ale’s bid for UNESCO cultural heritage status, but within there is a “hey, did you see this?” fact. “For all the headlines about American-inspired craft beer, about four times more traditional cask ale is served in the UK.”

The ink link. Jeff Alworth writes, “Credible, accurate journalism may not seem like an essential component to healthy beer culture, but I suspect it plays a bigger role than we imagine.” The importance seems obvious to me, although, granted, I am biased. I’d also suggest we should not overlook the role “brewspapers” — such as Celebrator, Ale Street News, and the Brewing News family — played in the growth of regional beer cultures.

In the woods at the edge of the city. “The bucolic setting is one thing, but what makes the Kugler Alm special is its place in the history of beer garden beverages. This beer garden is, by many accounts, where the Radler was invented. (For those who don’t yet know what a Radler is, it’s a mix of beer and lemon-lime soda—à la Sprite— that’s meant to quench your thirst without getting you too shlamboozeled. The word itself means cyclist.)”

Read more

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 . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Read more

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.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RANDOM OBSERVATION NO. 2

Read more

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 . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Read more