monday links

BEER AND WINE LINKS, MUSING 07.02.18

Indeed, this week’s links were compiled in Asbury Park, the Jersey Shore town that Bruce Springsteen fans associate with the post card pictured above, and one working on a comeback.

Behind the Curtain — Dissecting American Resistance to Modern British Beer.
I cannot disagree with the notion that Americans are less than great at appreciating the breadth of other cultures. But this statement: “America has helped transform the world’s beer culture without diluting the value of its history or tradition.” That I can disagree with. Or put it in the form of a question: Why would you expect us to be good at appreciating the past and present of other beer cultures when we don’t respect our own history?

What Does It Mean to Build Craft Beer Culture in 21st-Century Bhutan?
If nothing else, take a look at the stunning photo at the top of the story. Of course I’m a sucker for breweries that embrace local, but the let’s get practical about hops side of my brain reads “they did try to grow hops here and it was a success” and think it is time to check the latitude. 27.5142° N, so forget the hops. But they apparently have something of a farmhouse brewing tradition. Perhaps that’s what they should build on.

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BEER AND WINE LINKS, MUSING 06.25.18

The Art of Repeal: Exploring America’s Post-Prohibition Beer Labels.
Save this link, and any time you need a smile this week feel free to click and scroll.

Can’t Think Straight.
Wearing my optimist hat while reading this. “Slowly but surely, the beer world is becoming safer for anyone who struggles to feel like they belong somewhere, anywhere. To be seen, heard, and valued. To be themselves, without judgment, expectation, or assumptions. It’s a change that’s made me proud to be both a woman and an LGBTQ individual in beer.”

The Rise and Decline of the “Sellout”
Takeovers: Another Football Analogy.
Up close, the Heineken/Beavertown news last week was as devastating as the Anheuser-Busch/10 Barrel news was once in Oregon. That these two are no longer unique — after all, it has been seven years since A-B take control of Goose Island (see below) — does not make them less painful for those involved. But right now, and by that I mean since the Goose Island deal, we are in the moment. Give this some time before suggesting what history will have to say.

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BEER AND WINE LINKS, MUSING 06.18.18

Over a Decade in, Have Cicerones Actually Made Beer Pairings Relevant?
“The Cicerone program has certainly been valuable. But the future of beer and food pairing is not Cicerones. It’s not competing with wine, either. It’s being wine.” True some of the time, I agree, but there are other times — say when you are in a crowded bar watching Spain versus Portugal with a bunch of people you didn’t know when the match started — you just want beer to be beer.

It Was Then That I Carried You — A Defense of Distribution.
Reality check. “Own premise” means nothing to most people. If they are drinking local beer it is because they bought it at the grocery story or a similar outlet. “The economic impact of breweries on their local communities is massive, which means ceding wholesale to the unimaginably large conglomerate breweries is limiting the benefits of local breweries.”

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BEER AND WINE LINKS, MUSING 06.04.18

Beer in the Shadow of War.
This is a lovely story you would have expected to read in print at All About Beer magazine, but AABM has discontinued its print edition for at least the rest of 2018. Daria and I first wrote for the magazine in 1993, contributing pretty regularly (including the travel column for seven years) until recently. But the news is also saddening because print and pixels feel different.

Talking ‘craft beer sellouts’ with the guy who wrote the book on them.
Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch, and How Craft Beer Became Big Business has raced to the No. 1 spot among beer books at Amazon and posts about it have filled by rss feed (I don’t think author Josh Noel can keep up with them.) John Holl writes that with the release of this book “the writing game will change. I firmly believe that folks will look differently at how beer should be covered.” You might want to advance directly to Go and read the book, but before or after Kate Bernot’s interview covers new territory.

Ten years ago next week InBev submitted its first formal offer to acquire Anheuser-Busch. Little more than a month later the deal was done. Not quite three years later ABI acquired Goose Island. There are dots to be connected, and Barrel-Aged Stout makes that easier.

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