the session

Jay Brooks added this comment yesterday to call the call for a beer blogging day. he was referring to an early round of e-mails where some of us discussed the logistics of doing this, including what it might be called.

First, from Jay.

For a name, what about:

1. Fermentation Friday
2. First Friday Fermentation
3. Firkin Friday
4. Frickin’ Firkin Friday
5. Frothy Friday
6. Monthly Malty Musings
7. Monthly Mash-In

Rick Lyke also suggested Firkin Friday. Literlalist that I can be I worried that implies you’d have to go out and find a beer on cask, or perhaps drink only English-inspired beers.

But although I’m hosting the first round, this is a group event with different hosts each month. So if you have an opinion about the name feel free to make a suggestions. I like several of Jay’s ideas.

The default name has been Beer Blogging Friday (Jon Abernathy thinks that is fine, BTW).

All the best ideas end up with beer.

Food bloggers have their own cooking day once a month. Wine bloggers have Wine Blogging Wednesday.

It seems that beer bloggers around the world should have something similar. So let’s start one, an event that will occur on the first Friday of every month. It doesn’t have to have a name (yet) or a logo (like wine), just participants who want to have a little fun and don’t mind learning a little along the way.

Appellation Beer will host the first tasting March 2 (giving us time to get out the word), and the theme will be “Not your father’s Irish stout.”

There aren’t many rules. Simply pour yourself a stout (or stouts) and post on the topic March 2, looking ahead to St. Patrick’s Day or not and writing about any stout that isn’t Guinness, Murphy’s or Beamish (the Irish old guard – good beers but we’re writing about others). Should you worry about style? About getting the opinion of friends, about writing an official tasting note, about food? About the history of the beer or how its made? All optional.

After we do this a couple of months different bloggers will likely find different approaches we are comfortable with.

If you think you might participate please leave a comment or drop me an e-mail. Then invite a friend to participate too. After you post on March 2 send me the URL and I’ll write a wrap up with links to all the posts.

Alan McLeod of A Good Beer Blog will host the April gathering, announcing the theme shortly after March 2. If you have an idea for a monthly tasting, and particularly if you want to volunteer to be a host, send me an e-mail.