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The Inkpot actually delivers on the community’s need for convenience and camaraderie—a need that the conglomerates have failed to satisfy. Its interior feels more like someone’s living room than a local pub. This is a reason for its success: When people are skeptical of change, when they can’t trust corporations or politics, they can still trust themselves, and this can instill confidence. With its simple design and homely interior, The Inkpot encourages patrons not by showing them what they might want, but by reminding them of the value in what they already have.

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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.

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“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.

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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

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“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.”