Each year, trend-spotters identify classic lagers as the next style to pop. But the truth is, this happened a while ago. In this article from 2015, I describe how the process was already well underway.

Now that 48 hours have passed and we know something about this deal, perhaps it’s time to ask a different question: is this a new beginning for the newly-independent San Diego brewery, or the beginning of the end?

A hot take to keep you warm on this chilly winter week: contrary to the current narrative, beer is still a lot of fun and replete with passionate support, and hard seltzer is a fad that will—eventually—run its course.

Tomorrow we feast. Indulgence is the point, not something to be tempered, and as such beers should be hearty, intense, and boozy.

My rash persists, as does my misery, but—ray of light—beer does not seem to be one of the causes. 

How East and West Coast IPAs relate, and why the bigger story isn’t their differences, but the way the American IPA tradition has changed brewing.

A subtle rewriting of American brewing history seems to be underway, and I’m hoping it doesn’t become overly fixed. Hopping beers for flavor and aroma didn’t begin in New England in the late-aughts, and the creeping suggestion they did isn’t accurate.

For fans of Portland and Oregon brewing history, it’s depressing news. I’ve long suspected that ABI will have little use for a brewery over twenty years old when it already has huge excess capacity. Selling the site in Portland wouldn’t be a shock and would further discount the total price.

One of the signature features of American brewing used to be the routine use of caramel malt. It was a major element of pale ales, ambers/reds, IPAs, Scottish ales, and porters. Those days have passed—probably for good. 

We interrupt our regular programming for a personal note from the blogger: in a rather alarming plot twist, I seem to have developed an allergy to select foods. Beer may be on that list. Here's the story.

Black October in Portland went out with a grim bang. On Halloween, the second of two closures—and the fourth in a week—arrived with news that Coalition Brewing was no more. 

The second Portland brewery in three days has closed.