Like many of you, I follow a number of beer blogs to find out what is happening in the craft beer world. It has nothing to do with my job, just a pure fascination and interest in great beer. Some blogs are like mine, a hodgepodge of beer reviews, beer news and whatever strikes my fancy from a regular joe kind of perspective. Other blogs I follow provide great industry news and insider information from those with connections and a particular beer expertise. One such blog in the latter category is was Grizzly Growler, created and authored by Tim Akimoff who started his beer journalism in the megalopolis of beer, Portland, OR, before moving over to Missoula, MT.
Tim knows beer and, better yet, made friends with the local brewing industry who invited him into their breweries and fed him news and other tidbits which he shared with the rest of us. His blog became very popular, one of the most popular hosted by the Missoulian, the local daily newspaper for whom Tim worked. Craft beer is very important to Missoulians and much of the rest of Montana and there’s no doubt that Grizzly Growler helped new beer lovers find their wings while encouraging seasoned aficionados to continue their exploration.
I thought it was odd, then, when a good month went by with no updates on the Grizzly Growler blog. Tim had introduced a new contributor to the blog on August 26, but his new contributor posted exactly twice. Once on the Blacksmith Brewing Co. and once to announce the end of Tim’s involvement with the Grizzly Growler – a post which has since been deleted from the blog. (You can view a cached version of that post here.) The post linked to Tim’s other blog, announcing the end of Grizzly Growler, thanks to a “downsizing” at the Missoulian which left Tim scrambling for answers. According to this story at the Missoula Independent, the Missoulian reportedly allowed Tim to take Grizzly Growler with him, but I imagine the sting of a sudden job loss would make that very difficult.
Grizzly Growler might be dead, but I’m guessing Tim isn’t done writing about beer. Yet, the loss of a popular blog and its craft beer voice seems a questionable move for a traditional daily trying to survive in a digital world. It needs all the “hip” it can get.
[Update: It appears the Missoulian plans to keep Grizzly Growler active. A post about the new Flathead Lake Brewing Co. location in Missoula went up today, October 1. The post was added by Sherry Devlin, Editor of the Missoulian, who also has her own editor’s blog. My guess is that Sherry has more than enough on her plate than to take over Grizzly Growler, but is keeping it alive while figuring out what to do.]
