Much of the best reading last week was on Friday, when The Session revival was pretty dang successful. Cheers to Alan McLeod for escorting the gathering into 2025. McLeod has gathered the links.
LEDE OF THE WEEK
The signs, both literal and metaphorical, were not great.
The former Sackville Lounge, which had a reputation as a mix of Old Man Pub and dive-y spot to meet somewhat strange and unusual people, had been closed since Covid. But rather than re-opening under that name, with its delightful neon sign (still there, at present), it gained a new identity – and much opprobrium.
The new signage now proclaims the pub to be Biddy Mulligan’s Old Ale and Stout House (‘since 1914’), in the kind of font you’d normally find in plastic letters on a strip-mall Oirish Pub in, say, Arkansas.
From Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Biddy Mulligan’s
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Beer culture in France was drinking 250ml of a yellow liquid with bubbles in it. And then there’s Jean-François and Christian, coming with a warm flat beer, brown like manure.”
— Matthieu Breton
From Lève ton Verre — What’s Left of Coreff, France’s First Real Ale
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
Getting catty. A story last week about “the 10 weirdest beer names” included The Cat Ate My Stash & Pissed On the Christmas Tree from Gigantic Brewing. I would argue that Hopslam Ale from Bell’s Brewery is the original “Cat ate etc.” beer. At the 2012 Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, John Mallett, then director of brewing at Bell’s, and other members of the newly formed Hop Quality Group emphasized the need for better communication with American hop growers. Mallett quite obviously was referring to a Bell’s own highly hopped Hopslam when he explained the importance of telling farmers the sort of flavors and aromas brewers want.
“(Imagine) if you’d gone to the hop growers association twenty years ago and said, I’m going to have a beer that we make 4,000 barrels of one time a year,” he said. “It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate you weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.”
‘Barley is easier to acquire than Lithium, and so we have homebrewers.’ That line made me laugh out loud. From Rule #2: Beer Does Not Respect Expertise.
For the love of Toronado. Doug Veliky writes about why the San Francisco bar is a magic place, but is not crying because it is for sale. “With brewery closures being more common these days, it’s easy to see this headline and consider the news another blow to the industry and sign of the times. That’s not what’s happening here at all, thankfully. Instead, a craft beer legend that has more than earned the opportunity to retire, is ready to hand the keys over to the next steward of his iconic beer bar. Here’s to a passionate new owner(s) stepping up to lead the next 38 years of discovery at Toronado SF.”
Füchschen, the “Little Fox” of Düsseldorf. “Though the building itself is a product of postwar rebuilding (Düsseldorf received its share of ordinance courtesy of Allied bombers), the tavern’s interior has the feel of 1848, the year of the Füchschen’s founding. Paintings depicting Old Düsseldorf line the walls beneath the stucco ceiling supported by wooden beams, and the field of ceramic tiles above the benches adds a certain flair. Wooden chandeliers cast a soft light that, when combined with the dark brown wood, makes the place feel older than it is.”
A case study. Jeff Alworth writes Culmination Brewing closing “isn’t the story of an insignificant brewery passing from the margins.” Additional reading.
What comes after 90, 60, 120 & 75? 30, of course. An interview with Sam Calagione about 30 Minute IPA, which is being launched as Dogfish Head prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
FROM BLUESKY
Two weeks from today, the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame will be announcing its inaugural inductees. Craft beer fans can celebrate with us at these five breweries across the country:
New Realm, Dogfish Head, Dovetail, Bierstadt, Deschutes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPR7…
#craftbeerhalloffame
— American Craft Beer Hall of Fame (@acbhof.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 6:21 AM