The paragraph:
Bikers and hikers strolling down the SMART pathway that runs behind Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma this summer are noticing an unusual sight: Two 15,500-gallon stainless steel fermentation tanks that have crumpled like empty beer cans.
In another iteration of Monday links this would have been a lede of the week.
The paragraph:
“The philosophy is to be respectful of the history, tradition, and techniques of brewing saison, while also being aware of and responsive to advances in brewing technology, or flavor technology, or just the modern American palate, to make things that are simultaneously traditional and forward thinking,” says Mike Schallau, is/was co-founder and brewer.
The paragraph:
Real Ale having an image problem isn’t exactly headline news. Those of us working in the industry are well aware of this, and if we want reminding we need only look as far as CAMRAs promo material, which often features a stunning array of young well to do white people, holding pints of ale and grinning like lobotomised chimpanzees. An admirable if not ineffective attempt to project a younger, more modern, public image. The problem is that they are trying to reframe what a modern real ale drinker looks like in the eyes of the public, rather than asking what real ale itself could and should be to the modern drinker. When I say ‘modern drinker’ I am not necessarily talking specifically or exclusively about younger people. The modern drinker is the product of decades of changing habits in alcohol consumption, but also wider societal trends and demographic shifts. Real ale in a modern context needs to reflect these changes, and cast its net wide, providing the public with several different paths to engage with it.
h/t Boak & Bailey. w
The paragraph:
“When I started judging at the World Beer Cup and European Beer Star, the judges were brewers, plus self-taught judges, so most had an idea of balance and pleasantness,” (Agostino Arioli) says. “Nowadays the judges are all about the BJCP [Beer Judge Certification Program], and some of them don’t even know what pleasantness is. All they know is which one sticks better to the standard.”
The paragraph:
I got seduced by the rescue narrative. Everyone did, I think, or at least a lot of us did. We inherited the gospel: Prohibition broke American brewing, consolidation made it bland, Fritz Maytag saved Anchor in San Francisco in 1965, Jack McAuliffe opened New Albion in 1976, homebrewers became revolutionaries, Cascade hops became a flag, and suddenly the country remembered flavor.
I apologize, but I’m about to urge you to read all of “I’ve written about beer for years. Here’s what I got wrong,” and the link may take you to a paywall. I was able to read it (and copy out a few paragraphs) on the first visit. When I went back to my bookmark I hit the wall. We all know there are ways around these things (wink wink), and in this case I suggest you will find it worth it.
Here’s another sentence I saved: “The worst thing I got wrong was mistaking intensity for importance.”