It’s Fourth of July Eve and we are spending the week in a dry town. Let’s get right to it.
The Problematic Culture of Overdrinking When You Work in Alcohol
“De-stigmatizing sobriety and addressing alcohol use disorder head on can be challenging, but will help our friends and colleagues before they reach their own depths. Resilience requires vulnerability, but it also gives us the chance to lift each other up.”
The Timeless Appeal of Drinking in Train Station Bars
“It might be a slightly smaller story in North America, but in the railway-prioritizing Old World, train station bars are much more common, in both upscale and dive incarnations.” A much smaller story in North America, I would say, sadly.
The 23 Best Cheap Domestic Beers, According to Brewers
In fact, it’s not just brewers, and if domestic=mainstream industrial then I made a mistake by choosing Lagerado from Odell. A lot of love here Coors Banquet (keep scrolling to get to the Rockies). I almost feel like a traitor to Colorado history, but I am sticking with Lagerado.
University of Wisconsin wouldn’t let J.J. Watt buy every graduate a beer when he was commencement speaker
“I was talking to the university and said this is what I want to do. Spotted Cow is the best beer in Wisconsin. It’s incredible. I want to put a Spotted Cow under every single seat in the stadium. I’ll pay for it all … but at the end of the commencement speech I’m gonna say ‘now to congratulate you, just reach under your seat and have a cold one on me.’”
Portland’s Best Breweries
“The difference between Portland’s 7th-best brewery and 17th-best is paper-thin. Indeed, if I wanted to establish Portland’s bona fides in terms of overall quality, I’d compare its second-ten best breweries up against any in the US. Portland is such a good beer town because the beer is so good across the city.”
The Return to the Classics: Talking Beer with Good Word and Schilling
Q: “Do you think there’s a tension between ‘the classics’ in terms of beer styles and experimentation and boundary pushing?”
A: “Yes and no. We have a deep respect and affinity for certain styles of lagerbier that we believe require no “boundary pushing.” A great Munich-style Helles or Dunkel, for example, should be beautiful symmetries of hops, malts, yeast and water. Anything else detracts from these styles, in our view.
“However, many modern German brewers aren’t opposed to playing around with dry hop schedules on a pilsner, for example. As we know, climate change in Europe (and elsewhere) is forcing a robust discussion on hop utilization. So there is progressivity and experimentation–’boundary pushing’–but we choose to do so as respectfully as possible and with a great deal of intentional, intra-team discussion. That said, you won’t see an adjunct-ed lager from Schilling. There’s a line we won’t cross.”
Homebrewing
– BRÜLOSOPHY Homebrew Survey
– Why homebrewing matters
The survey does not pretend to represent all homebrewers, but it makes you wonder how the hobby might find a wider audience. And about the crossroads Drew Beechum is referring to in the second link.
“Homebrewing is at a crossroads right now. Involvement is declining, homebrew shops and clubs see less interest. Every neighborhood has a brewery or two. Why bother spending 4-8 precious weekend hours making beer that I can buy down the street in a minute?
“I cannot implore you enough – get out there, show people the creativity and positivity brewing encourages (even if you’re grumpy like me) and for the love of all things beery – MAKE BEER, HAVE FUN, AND ENJOY THE PEOPLE!”
I know the ‘best cheap domestic beer’ was just an aggregator list, but I was gonna be grumpy if I didn’t see Utica Club or Genny Cream Ale on there. Between UC, most of what Genesee puts out, and the ubiquitous Labatt / Molson stuff, upstate NY does *incredibly* well for solid gas station beer.
I had beers with John Holl today, and he was waxing romantic about fresh Genny Cream he has on hand.