The State of the Blog—and Beer Writing More Broadly
Midjourney. Prompt: “over the shoulder view of man writing in a notebook with a glass of beer on the table, watercolor painting style”
Here at the end of the year, a number of folks have been taking stock of their various writing ventures. Three I noted were Boak and Bailey, Courtney Iseman, and the duo behind the recently-launched Taster Tray (Kendall Jones and Adam Robbings), who summed up the mood of the three this way:
“In other ways, the kind of stuff we reported (over and over again) told us that maybe it was a bit irrelevant in today’s craft beer world, where more people than ever drink craft beer but fewer people harbor a deep, hobby-like passion for it. More consumers, less enthusiasts.”
These sentiments get at a reality deeper than just the fortunes of individual writers (or writing teams). It has been hard to make a living as a journalist/writer for—well, forever, but certainly in the cheap-content internet age. But something else is happening as well. As beer goes through the transition I described on Wednesday, everything it touches is transitioning, too. In the case of journalism, two trends in particular made things hard in 2023: people are less curious and engaged about beer (and that means everything from homebrewing to tasting to history and travel to business) at the same time that there is so much already available out there for the interested reader.
Take the piece I’m working on about Sacred Profane, a very interesting brewery in Maine. I will not be the first to write about the brewery, nor is there too much new terrain to cover—though aware of those earlier pieces, I will try to find something new to highlight. Google the brewery and you’ll find some excellent pieces. In this case, I expect the post to get less traction than it would have ten years ago both because there’s less interest in another brewery profile, and people are two words and an <enter> away from finding out about the brewery now.
But it’s not all gloomy. Millions of people still care about beer and I would guess millions have clicked through to read an article about beer or a brewery in the past year. Indeed, something has been happening with the traffic and comments on this site that is worth celebrating.
In 2019, this site received, on average, about a thousand readers a day. It wasn’t a steady flow, of course; people came when posts went up. Sometimes a post would go viral and help the annual numbers. As Covid slammed the beer industry in 2020, however, my traffic collapsed, declining 25%, where it stubbornly sat for the next two and a half years. This year I’ll be down about 12% from 2019’s levels—but I actually have gotten fully back to those levels in the past six months.
This is great news, equal parts gratifying and relieving, but I can’t personally take a lot of credit. The content has remained at roughly the frequency and quality I achieved in the Covid years. People—you gorgeous human beings!—have just gotten more interested in beer again. I don’t have a way to quantify the kind of engagement, but I would call it more casual and less intense than back in the teens—but people are definitely back to reading about beer.
As we head into the new year, I expect the blog to keep on keeping on in its 18th year (!!!). I have lost one sponsor, but for a very good and positive reason I hope to reveal after the new year. (Though if you’re interested in partnering with the blog, please contact me—some of the most interesting content on the blog has come out of my sponsorships.) Otherwise, the state of the blog is strong, and I hope you’ll find the posts here fun, informational, and maybe even controversial in 2024.
Also, if you are one of those thousands or millions who read about beer, consider supporting your local writer through subscriptions, donations, or purchases. When I read folks like Courtney describe her challenges, I feel a sharp pang of recognition. It’s a liminal life writers live, out of the spotlight they’re shining on other subjects, all the while hustling in the shadows for the next gig. Support may mean more to a writer than you think.
Now, as a bit of that year-endy stuff, I offer you this year’s ten most-read posts, mostly so you can see how all-over-the map they are. Brewers have no idea when they release a beer if it will sell, and bloggers have no idea which posts will trend, either. We’re groping in the dark for a light switch.
Two things of note in this list. Prior to Covid, my Portland’s Best Breweries list accounted for 10-15% of all my traffic. This year it is about 3%. Portland brewers widely report declining crowds in taprooms, and this seems to be related. Second, four of the top ten posts announced closures or sales. I’m really hoping that trend doesn’t continue.
Look for my favorite beers in a post next week. I wish you happiness in this holiday season whatever you happen to celebrate—