This month’s Session* topic is hosted by Derek Harrison of Its Not Just the Alcohol Talking. Derek asks, “Is Craft Beer a Bubble?” More specifically, Derek sets the stage this way: It’s a good time to be in the craft beer industry. The big brewers are watching their market share get chipped away by the…
Rolling across my beer newswire recently were two “best of” lists that featured Montana breweries. First up was Thrilllist.com’s “The Best Craft Brewery In Every State” which chose Big Sky Brewing Co. for Montana. This list was followed a few days later by Businessinsider.com’s “24 American Microbreweries Every Beer Lover Should Know.” According to the…
CraftBeer.com (published by the Brewers Association) today announced the winners of its annual Great American Beer Bars survey. None is anywhere near Montana, though I guess that depends on where in Montana you may be. And your definition of near. When you live in a state where two of its breweries are 640 miles and…
Friday evening of the 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference took us to the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain, MA, just south of Boston. We filed in to the brewery and took our seats on rows of folding chairs set up along fermenters and other brewery equipment where every Sam Adams beer you’ve ever had began…
This month’s Session* topic is hosted by James Davidson of Beer Bar Band. James asks us to develop an “elevator pitch” for beer under the following scenario: You walk into an elevator and hit the button for your destination level. Already in the elevator is someone holding a beer…and it’s a beer that annoys you…
A recent op/ed at Forbes.com touted North Carolina for becoming a hub for the craft beer industry. The title of the article said it all: Politicians Foster A Craft Beer Renaissance By Not Acting Like Politicians. Now there’s an idea. As noted in the article, North Carolina now has 70 breweries, representing a 33 percent…
I’ve been a Consumer Reports reader for decades. I remember having the magazine around as a kid and regularly picked it up for a thorough reading each month. It has long served me well with its mostly objective testing on a host of products from vacuums to detergents to electronics and vehicles. Its consumer tips…
This month’s Session* topic is hosted by Justin of Justin’s Brew Review. He raises the topic of “IPA: What’s the Big Deal?” and writes: For quite some time now, I’ve been wondering what makes the India Pale Ale (IPA) style of beer so popular. Don’t get me wrong–I thoroughly enjoy it and gladly participate in…
West Sixth Brewing Co. in Lexington, KY, recently provided the perfect example of how not to handle a trademark dispute. Very public complaints of stupidity and corporate bullying quickly shifted into additional claims of defamation and a very public retraction. Now that the dust has settled, John Cochran, President and co-founder of Terrapin Beer Company,…
This month’s Session* topic is hosted by Glen Humphries, a journalist and beer columnist who also writes at Beer Is Your Friend. He raises the topic of “Compulsion” and writes: Like most beer fans, I tend to buy way more beer than I can drink. I can have a fridge full, plus a few boxes…