I am way too square to know much about marijuana but the little that I have smelt was not to my liking. But noted hop maven Stan Hieronymus has written about a new product, so I will be interested to see what Abstrax Tech, and their new hop division already makes with hop products named Pineapple Express and King Louie XIII.
Cannabis notes moving into hops may bring some interesting aromas and flavors but they could also overwhelm if not in balance. Will be on the lookout for Los Angeles breweries using it, more than likely in small batches.
I admit that I do not have a poker face. If I did have one, it has since evaporated. Others have mastered subtlety and can eve pretend that they like that candle you bought them for their birthday even though they have not lit a candle in decades.
That is all preamble to this post about instant reactions to beer. Read it HERE.
I want to bring a documentary to your attention about an English brewery, Gale & Co. in the town of Horndean.
From the start, I was worries about how this was going to end but, thankfully, there is a bittersweet ending that gave me hope about how brewing and people history can be honored at least a bit.
I have not seen a Brewers Guild with a podcast but The San Diego guild has just started The Capital of Craft. It is “a podcast that focuses solely on the San Diego beer industry.”
According to the podcast description it is “Curated for industry professionals, we will cover topics specific to our city and provide relevant conversations with guests from all walks.”
I have listened to episode 1 about distribution and though it may be a bit deep in the weeds but craft beer fans should be aware of what happens to get local beer to you. Learning about shipping rates alone is an interesting facet of the beer business.
I will be following to see what guests and topics come next.
Hop Culture, the allied beer writing arm of Untappd, came out with their best beer labels of 2023, which you can check out right HERE.
With a few exceptions, I was not in agreement with picks because there was a certain gothic swirly tattoo darkness to a lot of labels plus Humble Sea whose labels for sure stand out but are not for me.
But enough of my side eye, I want to point out that two of my favorites from SoCal were on the list. Brouwerij West and Everywhere Beer Co. A tip of the hat to them.
Previously on Beer Search Party, I reviewed issue # 01 of the beer ‘zine, Final Gravity. That memory made me pass on # 02 but the list of articles intrigued me for # 03 so I ordered it up and here are my thoughts.
Will I be back for # 04? The answer is yes. I found the stories in this issue landed with me better from the opener about Ola Brew and their ingredient buying, to going gluten free or Ayurvedic and especially the Spanish local beer from Cooperativa Cervesera Cadaques were all fun little peeks into locales that made me want to go there. I still don’t understand the art interludes all that much because they don’t tie into beer. A beer comic would fit in my opinion, a lot better. Strangely, the weakest piece was from one of the editors David Nilsen and the most emotional was from the other editor Melinda Guerra.
Keep on reading, as we peek into what Imbibe Magazine has selected for their “ones to watch” in 2024.
Of course my eyes were peeled for beer movers and shakers and by my count ten of the 75 were in that camp. And of those here are ones to keep on the craft beer radar to visit…
Heck Brewing – might this be the N/A beer that tastes like beer?
Keeping Together – a trip to New Mexico for an Averie Swanson creation is in order
Tin Roof Brewing – head brewer Maria Shirts is an MJJ Foundation winner, that is enough vetting for me
7 Clans Brewing – new crop of Asheville craft beer that you should read the backstory on
Shmaltz Brewing – will it return better than ever?
Borderlands Brewing – America meet Mexico and female brewers
Greater Good Imperial Brewing – bug ABV only? Interesting zag in this day
The November issue of Beer Paper featuring a German theme may prove to be the final issue of the monthly paper.
I have seen a few other newsletters call it quits as well and it seems to be not only due to financial considerations but also to time spent that could be spent elsewhere for better gain.
I think that another consideration is that the craft beer missionaries have decreased in number. Factor that in along with the steady change in how we get our news now favoring Tik Tok means that beer fans not only have to keep their enthusiasm up, they also have to keep changing technology.
It is tiring if you want to make a living at it. Or at least not bleed money.
Which gets us back to Beer Paper which has plugged along month to month covering a wide range of stories from around the Los Angeles area. They have allowed me to write about beer books which is doubly against the grain of the times.
It must be said that the news is not yet final but I would expect changes at the very least. Perhaps quarterly. Perhaps online only. Either way, it was a great run and I am glad to have been a small contributor to it.
