Once again, we’ll start with a listicle ‚ 23 things homebrewers are tired of hearing, from Buzzfeed. And here are the NHC first round winners. (I was lucky enough to judge some of these beers at the Austin regionals.) And speaking of beer contests, here’s a behind the scenes look at judging for the World Beer Cup.
Beer News (April 14–20)
April 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Beer News (April 7–13)
April 14, 2014 by 1 Comment
The Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) was held this week and along with it, the World Beer Cup. The winners of the World Beer Cup are posted here. One concern at this year’s conference was the perceived threat to the craft brew industry from small breweries producing low-quality beer. Paul Gatza of the Brewers Association urged brewers to improve. (See also this blog.) To me, this brought up some interesting questions. Are bad breweries — and they’re out there, no doubt — really dragging the whole industry down? Or are they irrelevant? In the ’60s — when Hendrix, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and the Kinks were at the top of their game — was music threatened by the (many) silly bands that also existed?
Beer News (March 31–April 6)
April 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Alright, let’s start with a listicle. Here’s somebody’s idea for beers to recommend to wine snobs. And, here’s a set of maps showing the geography of the most popular beers in the US.
Beer News (March 24 –March 30)
March 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Sunday’s beer news, delivered Monday morning.
Remember that recent BWJ article in which I discussed using dried, neutral ale yeast to hit your cell count when you didn’t have time to make a starter? Well, some confirmation that co-fermentation works with two of the strains I mentioned comes from a new product from White Labs — a blend of WLP001 (their neutral ale yeast) and WLP002 (their most popular English yeast).
In other news, a brewery is brewing a beer using American hops. So what, you say? Tons of breweries do this. Not exactly. What we think of as “American” hops — Cascade, Columbus, Amarillo, Simcoe, etc. — are varieties derived from European hops (Humulus lupulus lupulus). They were bred in the US, but from varieties that trace back to European stock. The Crazy Mountain Brewrey has made beer from hops of the subspecies Humulus lupulus neomexicanus, a native of North America.
Beer News (March17–March 23)
March 23, 2014 by 1 Comment
Spring has sprung and listicles are in bloom. Here’s one purporting to tell you the most refreshing beers of spring. If you’re in the mood for sour beers, here’s a list of the best new sour beers, according to the person compiling the list. And finally, if you’re in Texas, here’s a list that purports to divulge the best Texas craft breweries.
Beer News (March 10-March 16)
March 17, 2014 by 1 Comment
OK, I usually start the beer news roundup with a listicle, and — as you might expect — this week there were plenty of them. Every media outlet in the world seemingly wanted to publish a St. Patrick’s Day beer list. I decided to skip them, because you can just search for “St. Patrick’s Day” and check the endless news results. Also, I suspect that homebrewers more than anyone know what beers they’d like to drink on this holiday.
Beer News (Mar. 2–Mar. 9)
March 9, 2014 by 1 Comment
This week’s news round up starts with, you guessed it, another “listicle” — the best craft breweries in Michigan, according to Thrillist. And, here’s another list from them, about Chicago beers. Speaking of lists, remember when the Brewer’s Association blacklisted Schell’s Brewery — a family-owned, Midwestern brewery that brews a wide range of beers — for not being “traditional,” even though they’ve been around since 1860? Well, the BA has re-jerrymandered the definition to include Schell’s. I like this change since I grew up in the Midwest, but people who like consistent guidelines that don’t transparently play favorites are probably less happy. For example, here’s another article on the same topic. (See a homebrew clone of Schell’s Vienna lager, Firebrick, on our site.) And while we’re discussing the upper midwest, apparently sour beers are catching on in Wisconsin. New Glarus is in Wisconsin, so I guess that figures. Heading westward, here’s a list of three new beers being launched in California.
Beer News (Feb. 24–Mar. 1)
March 1, 2014 by 2 Comments
Every week, someone makes a list of beers they claim you gotta try. This week, it’s the website Cool Material and they give their “bucket list” of 25 beers to try before you kick the bucket. The list is an odd mix of some of the more popular and trendy beers, with some head-scratchers thrown in. In a related note, Deadspin lists 24 beers that might have you reaching for a bucket.
One cool thing about beer is, just about any beer you can find, you probably afford. Or at least that was true before beer started to be viewed as a commodity by some collectors. In an article for Draft magazine, their beer editor presents some crazy beer prices for (what he calls) black market beers.
Beer News (Feb 18–23)
February 24, 2014 by 1 Comment
Logo by John Weerts.
Last week, I kicked off the news roundup with a reminder that brewing can be hazardous. Here’s a good article that outlines the various dangers of brewing, from Chicago’s Solemn Oath brewery. This mostly applies to brewing on a commercial scale, but some of it translates to homebrewers. And, what compilation of beer news is complete without some sort of listicle? Here’s the 5 beers you must try for New York City’s Beer Week, according to Gothamist. Also, here’s a list of spring seasonal beers being released in the United States.
Beer News (Feb. 10–17)
February 17, 2014 by 1 Comment
Graphic by John Weerts. (I taught him how to homebrew. So if you ever meet him at a homebrew event, that’s my fault.)
I’ll start this week’s news wrap up with a reminder that there are dangers to brewing. In Houston, a fermenter ruptured during a tour of Franconia Brewing. (Note: there is NSFW language on embedded video.) Homebrewers should keep an eye on airlocks and blowoff tubes to ensure they don’t get blocked. Many a homebrewer has had to mop their ceiling when a fermentation bucket lid has blown off after the airlock got plugged. Worse things can result if this happens in a glass carboy. Brew safely.
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