Day one in London and I’ve already made a discovery. Combine New World hops and hopping techniques along with old-world bitter ale and something remarkable results.
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When Abram Goldman-Armstrong founded his cidery, Cider Riot!, he thought he’d be attending to fermentations and crop reports. After an attack on patrons at his pubs by right-wing extremists, he’s had to think about bear spray and gas masks.
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In four days I’ll be boarding a plane for London, followed by a month of European travel. Here’s an overview, along with questions and requests for you.
Read MoreThere is a place you can go see monks making and serving beer in the shadow of their hilltop abbey, all while gazing at hop fields from a sun-washed tasting room. And it’s right here in Oregon.
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In 2015 I attended the Craft Brewers Conference and listened to a report on the expected growth in the industry. Guess how that turned out?
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Next year the oldest millennials turn 40 and the youngest will be in their mid-20s. It’s time to quit thinking of them as kids.
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In recent years, as it has snapped up small east coast breweries, developed a non-beer division, and streamlined properties, Craft Brew Alliance has resembled the company it courted. But today, we learned AB InBev would not complete a long-anticipated buyout.
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Two days ago, a property firm in Hong Kong, CK Asset Holdings, announced the purchase of the UK’s largest maker of traditional cask ales. It must be a statement of our times, but the news created such a small stir I didn’t even hear about it until yesterday afternoon.
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A friendly competition pitting pilsner-brewers from Oregon and Washington made for a most tasty weekend.
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The humble pale ale, the style that built American craft brewing, had been the very model of constancy for 35 years. That era has passed—but what comes next?
Read MoreOver the past three years, the beer industry has suffered its share of grim sales reports. Here’s a bit of research that suggests things may not be as bad as they seem.
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Nobody knows the answer.
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There’s an old saw that goes like this: while you can hide faults in many beer styles, pilsners are hard because they expose every flaw. In one very narrow sense this may be accurate, but it leaves much to be desired as a general thesis.
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For three years, beer industry watchers wondered if AB InBev would be making a big purchase in August 2019. The megabrewer did indeed announce a purchase today, but it’s not the one we were expecting.
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If beer is a story, then an “off-flavor” is actually just an element that doesn’t fit into our construct. But it may be a critical part of a different story.
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What causes us to like certain beers and certain breweries? What force guides our hand to one product at the store and not another? We think we are the masters of these choices, but something deeper is at play. In the second of a two-part series, I examine the role of breweries in this process.
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What causes us to like certain beers, certain styles? What force guides your hand to one product at the store and not another? We think we are the masters of these choices, but something deeper is at play.
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Beginning the second week in September, I will depart for a month-long European journey through six countries.
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More and more, customers are going to think of “craft beer” as just beer, and expect to see it priced accordingly. And guess who’s positioned best to take advantage of that?
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Another big brewery has been caught trying to buy tap handles. Everyone Is bored by the sausage-making of distribution and sales, but it’s a big deal—and more and more pertinent in the crowded marketplace.
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