Reflections on my first year as the craft beer industry’s first Diversity Ambassador.<\/a><\/strong> “I fear that if we continue speak in terms of the finish-line, we will forget that we have a marathon to run. For what it’s worth, I would rather have this conversation in terms of the process–what we need to be<\/strong> or do<\/strong> to progress toward the goal of a more diverse craft beer industry. I would rather have conversations about inclusion<\/strong>, equity,<\/strong> and justice.<\/strong> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Not long after<\/strong> I posted last week\u2019s rather spare beer links o\u2019 the week, Alan McLeod tweeted<\/a>: \u201cAs I look towards Thursday then consider when this week is over, I think folk will remember Stan’s news update as the wordy one.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, Boak and Bailey<\/a> probably had the right idea, passing on roundups the last two Saturdays, because unless you are a fan of lists beer reading has been rather spare the last couple of weeks. These include best beers, biggest beer news, and predictions about what is to come. And as McLeod pointed out<\/a>, a list of favorite beers isn\u2019t real useful if you can\u2019t drink those beers yourself. And Jeff Alworth acknowledged <\/a>the limitations of picking the \u201cbest\u201d even within a particular region. So the best of the yearenders (beer related and otherwise): – Signifiers.<\/a> – Not that much may change.<\/a> – Larry Friggin\u2019 Sidor, that\u2019s why.<\/a> – For the completist.<\/a><\/p>\n – Weird and wonderful.<\/a><\/p>\n In case you believed the rumors American stout is dead.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Hometown food.<\/a><\/strong> Is wine writing in decline?<\/a><\/strong> Hit search and replace with words I think you can figure out. Read. That explains why this weekly roundup persists.<\/p>\n This idea needs to die. pic.twitter.com\/kW4hFKqYVz<\/a><\/p>\n — Carla Jean Lauter (@beerbabe) December 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nBefore complaining that lists dominated the online beer space the past week, there is this, which is wonderful and you really should get to reading right now. You don\u2019t have to come back here. My feelings will not be hurt. Scrolling through an eighth time to pick a sentence that might draw you in, I kept thinking, this one is perfect, no, wait, this one is better, how about this whole paragraph?<\/em> I\u2019m going with this because, as it should be, you can replace the words \u201ccraft beer\u201d with \u201cour lives\u201d and it works. <\/p>\n
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\nWhen somebody writes \u201ccheck back for updates\u201d and you actually do then you know they are on to something.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI recommend listening to Joe Ely<\/a> while reading Tara Nunin\u2019s predictions: \u201cI believe next year will prove unremarkable; a continuation of trends we\u2019ve been watching for the last two to five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201c1. President Trump fulfills campaign promise of building a wall between Mexico and US. He uses executive privilege to allow the addition of THC to Mexican Lagers. He claims victory for establishing a \u2018stone wall\u2019 between the two countries.\u201d<\/em> And he\u2019s got nine more.<\/p>\nJUST THE FACTS, MA\u2019AM<\/h5>\n
PLACE<\/h5>\n
\nAnd filing this away for future use: \u201cIn 2014, scientists at the University of Haifa found a link between the part of the brain that stores memories of new tastes (the cortex) and the area that records memories of where and when an eating experience happens (the hippocampus). They concluded that where<\/em> people eat something has implications for how much they\u2019ll enjoy the food itself.\u201d<\/p>\nNAVEL GAZING<\/h5>\n
\n\u201cI want to resist Joe\u2019s assumption that wine writing is equivalent to professional wine writing. The fact is there are a lot of talented, dedicated people writing about wine despite the lack of remuneration. Some of that writing is well informed and of high quality. Wine writing is one of those activities, like acting, painting, or writing novels, that people want to do for its intrinsic value, not because of an external reward.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nFROM TWITTER<\/h5>\n
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