A couple years back, John Holl and I were drinking beers at The Commons when the topic of "romantic facts" came up. Romantic facts? You know, those (false) stories that have gotten repeated so often they've come to be accepted as truth. Ben Franklin saying "Beer is proof God loves us," or the one about how a monk smuggled yeast into Bohemia from Bavaria to brew the first pilsner--those kinds of things. In journalism there's a concept about a story that's too good to fact check, and the romantic fact is beer's version of that.
Read More
We need to talk about a new product from the Anheuser-Busch InBev corporation of São Paulo/Leuven/New York: Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda. If the string of adjectives and nouns in that title makes sense to you, and it almost certainly does, something weird has happened.
Read More
In case you missed it, glittery beer has arrived. You may have seen these strange, wondrous beers on social media and wondered how they're made and what they taste like. I spent a couple hours with two brewers who made recent examples and I have your full report on this truly beguiling new beer style.
Read More
When Yvan De Baets and Bernard Leboucq installed their brewery in Brussels in 2010, it doubled the number in the capital city. Since then, a number of new breweries have followed, but none have focused so single-mindedly on creating hometown beers.
Read More
A personal note about my plans for January.
Read More
The beer industry news has been fairly bleak as we head into the new year. But how does it feel at the brewery level? I spoke to more than a dozen breweries, and got more individual, personal—and enlightening—responses.
Read More
A report on the Beervana Community’s first two years, a very warm thanks to supporters, and a look at what’s next.
Read More
You know German and Czech and Italian and maybe Alsatian pilsners—but what about Belgian pils? I’m not talking Jupiler, but the kinds little funky ale-breweries sometimes make. Could they be the next lager style to creep onto American taplists?
Read More
As a card-carrying blogger, I am contractually obligated to offer an annual “best pics” post. Or “most interesting pics.” Or something. Anyway, here they are—including one shot of a roasted sheep’s head you won’t want to miss.
Read More
The Ballard neighborhood’s four-square-mile footprint may be home to more breweries and brewery taprooms than any similar tract in the world.The ghost in the machine of beer is culture, and while we can’t quite explain it, places like Ballard continue to prove its power.
Read More
The Siebel Institute has just released a recipe celebrating their 150th anniversary that any brewer can make—including homebrewers. It looks like a fun beer.
Read More
In the annual tradition of year-end lists, I bring you my idiosyncratic, highly individual list of the best beers I had last year. Even writing the post made my mouth water!
Read More
At a recent beer dinner, a non-alcoholic stout paired with a decadent chocolate dessert produced unexpected alchemy.
Read More
A reminder as we enter this holiday season that books make fantastic gifts—and also serve to support your local writer. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Read More
In small steps, Gigantic Brewing has evolved backward, starting as a production brewery and, this past week, opening a brewpub. It features international food, cask ale, and Japanese katanas. Stuffed fish to come.
Read More
For decades, Yorkshire’s Samuel Smith Brewery managed to do things their own, very weird way, seemingly flouting the rules of business, if not physics. But a three-year pandemic may have changed the calculus.
Read More
For obvious reasons, accomplished brewers don’t love people constantly focusing on their gender. Any brewer who manages to work their way up from keg washer to celebrated brewery owner deserves attention and respect, and yet it’s something of a watershed moment for Portland to see a woman do this.
Read More
A holiday is almost upon us, and winter is coming. How do you plan to celebrate?
Read More