That Was The Beer Week That Was will be on hiatus next week. It will be Boxing Day and you should have better things to do than hang out here. This last list of 2022 links is sort of a special edition, suggested by Alan McLeod. Look for something similar Thursday from Alan. Sunday, Boak & Bailey posted their list of “20 substantial pieces of beer writing from 2022 that, looking back, we especially liked.”
As I breezed through a year of Monday links to pick out three (a number suggested by Alan) I resisted this and settled on one that reads like a fairy tale and two I keep coming back to.
Feb. 10: New Belgium’s ‘spiritual side’: After unexpected 30 years, longest-tenured employee to retire
March 10: ‘It Just Wasn’t Getting Any Better’ — How Sexism, Assault Pushed One Woman Out of the Beer Industry
Nov. 21: What is Beer? No, seriously
You could not make up the first story. It is about a good life earned. It is about how terrific it is to be part of what many call the craft brewing business.
The second story is one that should have been told long before it was. Did this happen because a halo has been hung over what many call the craft brewing business? Consider this from Pete Brown, who also wrote the third story, in “Craft: An Argument:” “(Craft) isn’t just about the things we make; it’s about the kind of people we are. And for this, we get to an unspoken assumption we may be reluctant to admit even to ourselves; we believe that makers and buyers of craft products are morally superior to other people.”
Lately, I’ve been having the “What is beer?” discussion with several brewers. No, not about the court case focused on if hard seltzer is beer, or even about beers like Amalgam Boysenberry Reduction (described here by Joe Stange). Because in the 1980s the pioneers in what many call craft brewing drew inspiration primarily from beers of European origin. That excluded a lot of beers.
Heading to dinner after the first full day of Ales Through the Ages we were still talking about Travis Rupp’s presentation. We discussed if a beer made with cassava roots and without any grains should be called “beer.” I’m on team cassava, so was happy this is finally being considered.
When we look back on 2022, or earlier, what we are really looking for is clues about what beer will be like in 2023 and going forward, right? Beer has long been shaped by what we know about its history, by our culture, and even by what we choose to call beer.
That doesn’t stop now.
You might also enjoy
– ‘Treated like a chump’: Wild Beer Co’s collapse leaves bitter taste for backers
– He’Brew-maker Shmaltz Brewing relaunches with rabbi-to-be at helm
– The Culture War Has Come to Craft Brewing. Time to Pick a Side.
– Exploring Mexican Craft Beer
– A list. (I contributed to this one.)