Probably one of the hardest things to learn - if not so much in beer writing, then certainly in fiction – is that ultimately the story itself should help determine the manner in which it’s told. One’s epic toenail-clipping adventure, despite all its charms, would probably make a better youTube video than it would a summer [...]
The Audition 44 hops remain unnamed, simply a number on a piece of paper somewhere. They are probably from Yakima. They may or may not ever see the light of day again. Bill mentioned that, two years previous, they’d tested a hop variety nicknamed “Teamaker”, which produced a unique, black-tea character. Those hops still haven’t reached the point of commercial production. [...]
This column kicks off a new collaborative effort with Lew Bryson’s The Session Beer Project™. We visit Russian River Brewing, chat with Vinnie Cilurzo about his approach to well-crafted session beers, and get reminded why low alcohol doesn’t mean low taste.
The issue of selling beer on eBay, collectible or otherwise, tends to bring out strong (often, impressively strong) opinions in the craft beer community. Brewers feel cheated, beer veterans express outrage, and yet somehow the rest of the world still manages to mostly go about its business quietly and unaffected. [...]
Following up on Steve Koenemann’s recent Beers of Spring article (and the fact that I was biking around in a t-shirt last weekend), it seems an appropriate time to once again plunge into the murky depths of the Ratebeer database and emerge with a corresponding Top 10 Beers list. Here’s to the finest spring seasonals the world has to offer. [...] V3SEUN2PUDNR
For the amount of information readily available online regarding American hop varieties, characteristics, history, flavor profiles, etc., the vast majority of these resources are intended for homebrewers, not the curious drinker. Want to know what defines American hop culture? Hint: it isn’t found in the annual hop harvest numbers. Trying to find out what an American “C Hop” is? Say goodbye to an hour of your life. [...]
Can’t decide between the 180+ (and growing) San Francisco Beer Week events? Wish you knew more about different beer lists and special taps? Does the full SFBW schedule seem like both pornography and homework? Well, you’ve come to the right place. [...]
As someone with a mild fixation on rare beers (see here and here for examples) that even eight months in Nicaragua couldn’t properly efface, it’s still rare for me to find myself making wishlists, trailing off mid-sentence into thoughts of obscure tap handles, and sleeping as unsoundly as a child on Christmas Eve. I will refrain [...]
