Good Monday morning. Let’s get to it.
Cross cultural
“In a bountiful society where fears of cultural difference nevertheless persist, food remains the least controversial,” Donna Gabbacia writes in “We Are What We Eat.” “As eaters, Americans have long embraced identities that are rooted in interaction and affiliation with other Americans of widely diverse backgrounds.
“The marketplace, and its consumer culture, may be a slim thread on which to build cross-cultural understanding. But given the depth of American fears about cultural diversity, it is better to have that thread than not.”
Are Mexican Lagers, or Mexican-style lagers if you prefer, building cross-cultural understanding? Or are they an opportunity neglected?
Before answering, read these two stories. They don’t treat this as a simple question. There’s a lot more going on than a single thought quoted from each, so don’t stop there.
One style for all
“The dichotomy of expecting certain things from Latinx brewers—like mole and spiced beers—and then admonishing them for not following a set of rules deemed necessary to be considered legitimate is a reality people who occupy any marginalized identity must endure.”
Tejano-Led Breweries Are Serving Up a Tex-Mex Craft Beer Revolution
Bobby Diaz sees Odd Muse “as an opportunity not only to build community, but create a better, more inclusive one. ‘Farmers Branch doesn’t really have a history of acceptance, so we’re trying to change that,’ he says. The Dallas suburb is best known in the state for 2006 housing ordinances designed to make renting a home as difficult as possible for undocumented immigrants, though the ordinances were never implemented and were ruled unconstitutional.”
Tuskafari
Last July, Josh Bernstein indicated he plans to write something about “the future of the American beer bar.” The Blue Tusk in Syracuse isn’t likely to be part of the story, because it closed this past weekend. “Where are we gonna go now?” said one of the regulars. “There’s other bars. But none of them are The Blue Tusk. Where are we gonna day drink, or night drink?” Will it be the Taphouse on Walton, which is moving into the same space? Or one of the bars Bernstein may be writing about soon?
Hops
Two paragraphs from this story about Bell’s Brewery, fresh hops and hop harvest and then you are on your own.
– From the author, “I might have even rubbed a few cones behind my ears as a form of beer fan perfume, so I smelled like Crystal hop magic the rest of the day.”
– “Honestly, we would totally fail at growing hops,” said (vice president of operations John) Mallett. “It’s hard and we’re not very good at it. Well, we’re ok at it.”
The buzz
This story focuses on non-alcoholic beer at the outset, but that is only the start. That should be apparent by the 11th paragraph, which includes this: “When I mentioned my upcoming visit to Athletic’s taproom to a friend, a psychiatrist who is a twenty-year veteran of A.A.’s twelve-step program, which he credits with saving his life, he replied, ‘Non-alcoholic beer is for non-alcoholics.’”
There are, however, a lot of details about NA, and in The New Yorker, which makes it a big deal. So it was necessary for some commenters to point out on Twitter they are growing tired of reading predictions that NA beers are going to become the next hard seltzer a big deal. The numbers suggest otherwise.
Which brings us to this question: What makes Germany different? NA beers have a market share of 7 percent there. There are now more than 700 different brands available nationwide. “The days are long gone when non-alcoholic beers were the default option for motorists,” says Holger Eichele, general manager of the German Brewers Association.
Sniff in stereo
“Many of us are not aware that one nostril actually perceives something different from the other.” Me included.
Always for pleasure
Who doesn’t love coming across grundy tanks in the wild? Spotted Saturday at Knotted Root Brewing in Nederland, Colorado, otherwise known as home to The Frozen Dead Guy.
