In the 1970s, Miller and Pabst made pale lager at an industrial scale, while Oshkosh’s People’s brewery made pale lager on a much smaller system. But the way these breweries made their beer describes the space separating tradition and a technological boom.

My fifth book, The Widmer Way, will be available next week. Here’s some background on the book and details about events accompanying its release. Hope to see you at one of them!

Craft brewing started as a rejection of highly engineered, soulless industrial beer. Tradition was the early watchword for a newborn movement. Funny then to see what has become of craft beer.  

In a world that valorizes “innovation” above all else, these beers should fit right in—but also illustrate how most of that innovation isn’t really very original.

Climate change is going to result in hotter, drier summers, and that will affect crop yields and alpha acid content. But new research out of Germany demonstrates that some aroma varieties will do better in the heat on what we might call the “juicy matrix.”

Craft Brew Alliance just released its 2018 annual report, and things don’t look so good for the brand I just wrote a book about.

Wynkoop Brewing founder John Hickenlooper went on to become a popular two-term mayor of Denver and governor of Colorado, and today he announced his candidacy for the presidency. How likely is he to become president? Well….

Americans are serial appropriators. A latte with a croissant for breakfast, pad Thai for lunch, and perhaps some chicken mole and a märzen for dinner. It doesn’t occur to us that maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to use the names of these traditional treats when we make them stateside.

The OLCC has put out final figures for Oregon beer sales, and they reveal less horrors than you might have expected. As a matter of fact, there’s quite a bit of good news here.

Who knew a book promotion could be so thrilling? 

Last week, I prepared a guide to Portland’s Best Breweries for 2019. I hope visitors to the city will find it useful. But breweries alone don't paint the whole picture. There's a reason Portlanders immodestly call their town "Beervana," and this will help you understand why.

Barrel-aged stouts have gotten so excessive I now tend to cringe when I see one. But Ecliptic was founded by the man who created Black Butte Porter, and has spent a brewing life perfecting the art of making dark ales.  

Now that drinkers want variety and novelty, having a flagship can become a liability as fashions change and sales drop. Who wants to be stuck with a fruit IPA flagship that accounts for 10% of the volume and tastes like 2015?