Monday beer briefing: Is the beer world starting to look like the real world?

08.19.19, BEER & FERMENTATION LINKS

1) Fresh Fest so much more than a beer fest.
2) Fresh Fest 2019: The Ultimate Family Reunion.
3) Drinking Partners Podcast| Garrett Oliver | Live from Fresh Fest
4) Drinking Partners Podcast #220 – FRESH FEST.
After the festival, Garrett Oliver tweeted: “A beer festival that actually LOOKED LIKE AMERICA. Black folks, white folks, all kindsa folks, queer folks, straight folks, womenfolk, menfolk. Folk folk.” He repeated the thought and added plenty more during a podcast that was recorded live during the festival, and thus immediately became part of what looks like history in the making. When somebody gets around to writing the next big history of craft beer they should not overlook that Dames + Dregs and Beers With(out) Beards also attracted enthusiastic drinkers on Aug. 10, 2019.

5) Brewers Association Report Shows Lack of Diversity in Hires, Offers Path Forward.
It’s going to take more than one festival, or three.

6) Slaves and Indentured Servants Were Vital to Virginia’s Colonial Beer-Making.
Brewers like to make history part of their story (see #11 and #12), but that means owning up to it as well. For further beer history reading, see “The (Incomplete) Story of Thomas Jefferson’s Unsung Brewer” and “The Brewers of Monticello.” And for context consider “How slavery became America’s first big business.”

7) How Breweries Are Making Space for Adults With Disabilities.
Inclusive isn’t only about skin color or sexual orientation. Some breweries are doing some things right.

8) Hop Harvest 2019: Coleman Hop Terroir.
9) Study finds growing hops may be influenced by terroir.
I already commented on this on Twitter. I will write more in the next Hop Queries newsletter and address this reply from How’s it going Beelzebub?: “Slight chemical differences in laboratory test results is one thing. Differences in double blind taste tests would be far more impressive.”

10) The Rise of Regular Beer.
The Session is gone, but the archives live on. This was the topic for #49, so more than 8 years ago. The announcement, and the roundup (if the turnout for The Session had remained as robust the monthly gathering would still be around).

11) Achaeologists Unearth Rare Renaissance-Baroque Brew House in ‘Czech Paradise’
12) 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe Brewed at British Museum Was ‘Absolutely Delicious’
I will suggest one more bit of reading: “A pint of the past: assessing authenticity in modern version of ancient and historic ales” in Brewery History Number 154. George Schwartz writes, “Recreation beers, whether authentic or not, illuminate our understanding of beer and culture, and show us that we are actually very similar to our ancestors; beer is still a ubiquitous influence in our lives today. What unifies these projects — whether they are derived from archaeological artifacts, scientific research, or archival documents — is a strong desire to connect with the past.”

13) Pale Ales in Flux.
Pale ale no longer strictly* means Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But Sierra Nevada Pale Ale still means pale ale.
* Granted, strictly sounds a bit strict, but you understand, right?

14) Where the Wild Things Are — The Joy of Harvey’s Sussex Best.
15) An Act of Modern Imagination — Boulevard Brewing Company’s Saison Brett.
I wrote the second of these stories. It is shorter longer that 14). Editor’s note: Feel free to question the reporting here. Matthew Curtis did a quick check and his story is shorter. “Tight and bright,” as they used to say when people still read newspapers.

LISTS

16) The 10 Best Cities for Beer Lovers in the U.S.
17) 50 Thoughts After 500 Breweries.
There are plenty of best beer city lists, but I pass #16 along because it appeared in Apartment Guide.

FROM TWITTER

MORE LINKS

ReadBeer, every day.
Alan McLeod, most Thursdays.
Good Beer Hunting’s Read Look Drink, most Fridays.
Boak & Bailey, most Saturdays.

1 thought on “Monday beer briefing: Is the beer world starting to look like the real world?”

  1. Terroir. Perhaps the links of hops, the different genetics of hops, and the soil biota options will show the flavor options. 😉 Also,, where is that hop root chemistry research that I’ve wondered about for over 20 years?
    Slavery in beer an hops? Say it ain’t so with the NW hops, the tribal labor, and hops! 😉

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