Category: News from Other Beer Writers

Suggested websites to visit to further your beer education.

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The Skinny on Skyduster

If you frequently frequent craft beer shoppes, you have probably come across the Skyduster brand. You may have wondered, as I did, what is up with it?

Well, Matthew Kang at Eater LA did as well and filed this article HERE. And while it was meant to be a look at this cool start-up piece, it left me un-enamored of restaurants and their beer buying choices. And skeptical of Skyduster too.

For one, they seem to only look for beers that don’t interfere with the food which goes against the accepted theory that a beer should lean into the food flavors or highly contrast them. The second is how many times they say “crushable” which conjures up frat house drinking more than enjoying your food and drink. And boy do restaurants seem to love cold beer which makes me wonder about their palates.

From the brewery side the owners sort of back hand swipe at existing breweries as not hands on which tells me they did not meet or hear about Rich Marcello from Strand Brewing back in the day who would run circles around Skyduster in the meet and greet department.

Lastly, the brand owners seem A-OK with blandness and inoffensiveness. Which may be A-OK with chefs who want beer in the far background not competing with the food but if their plans for a taproom and restaurant come to fruition, they will need to add flavor in for people who are coming in for a beer with friends and want their beer to be the lead.

I have had their IPA which I would not recommend and their Super Dry Lager which was fine but I will wait to try more until they get a little more craft beer serious.

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Historical

History, not the boring parade of facts and dates, but actual fascinating history is made up of little specific things.  This brewer, this water supply, a cane with a secret compartment for yeast.

And if you want to do a deep dive into British beer history then the Brewing History Society might be for you.  They have books and they have their quarterly journal which started way back when I was three.  AKA 1973.  It “comprises original articles, photographic essays, reprints of academic theses and difficult to obtain pieces, and book reviews.“

I think we just might need an American version as well.

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Hops and Hops and Hops

With fresh hop season just about done, hops are back even more front and center than usual. And fresh hops are but one of the many variants that come from this one plant.

Which made me grateful for this post from The Crafty Pint which breaks down the different modes of lupulin transport into beer along with notes from brewers as well.  It is a helpful list that I will keep for future reference.

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RadCraft Industry Relief

I am quite picky when it comes to podcasts. Most are too long or the host rambles or the ground covered is too well trodden.

So when I was emailed about the first season of the RadCraft Industry Relief podcast from Emily Hutto, I was happy to see that they are under 30 minutes. Then as I listened to the episodes, I was glad to see that it is an interesting idea behind it.

Revisiting the strange time of the pandemic from individual beer people may be too soon for some people but the back and forth of now and then makes for thought provoking ideas.

I highly recommend giving the episodes a listen.

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Believe

Narratives, whether true or false, can be powerful.  Many American cities have been painted with a broad brush of “unsafe” or “uncool” even if the day to day is not much different.

Portland, my hometown neighbor to the north, has endured a bit of bad press you could say but during both of my visits this year, it has seemed just as filled with beer, good food and frustrating parking as any city one lives in or visits.

So I am glad to see Old Town Brewing go to bat and stand up for the City of Roses with their recently launched Believe in Portland IPA.  Which you can read more about HERE.

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NAGBW talks to the N2BA

A few beer writers got the chance for an update on the National Black Brewers Association (NB2A) thanks to our guild and it was heartening to see that for an organization that was put together just in December of 2022 has made such strides. Kevin Asato from the NB2A and Beny Ashburn from Crowns & Hops were on hand to break it down for us.

Here are some of the positives for what is still a nascent trade group:

  • there are around 86 black owned breweries in the U.S.
  • over the last two years, 70% of black breweries have been outpacing breweries overall
  • National Black Brewers Day is part of the agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus and House Bill 1297 is in the works to make it official on a federal level
  • there has been numerous brewing equipment donations that help one of the biggest hurdles in opening a brewery, the cost of equipment
  • and a real biggie, before she took up the presidential mantle, VP Kamala Harris had made contact with the group to work together with the White House!

Now, the picture is not all rosy. It is still a small organization staffing wise and the current craft beer malaise makes the overall job more of an uphill one but that climb will be easier once black owned breweries are seen as less DEI and more integral to craft beer success and vitality.

I have never understood either purposeful exclusion or almost worse, not even trying to appeal to a broad swath of customers and I wholeheartedly agree with Ashburn that it is critical for sustained success to reach out to anyone who shows interest in craft beer. Everyone in this country should have the access and encouragement to either enjoy craft beer or make it.

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With a K?

I have a sore spot when it comes to new products that use a K when it should be a C or vowels being left out.  The new Haas hop only breaks the first rule as HBC 586 is now Krush.  

The hop grower describes the flavors as “mango, guava, citrus and resin character.”  Sounds up the alley for a tropical IPA. I am now on the clock to see how ling before I see that K on a beer label.

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Back to Life

Jeff Alworth always posts interesting and thought provoking beer content at Beervana Blog and this piece HERE, is no exception.  Using the premise of what other breweries could use a Chobani like savior to bring them back to life.

His picks are more centered in Europe and are much deeper cuts so I propose three additional choices….

One – Bert Grants – this was a Spokane, Washington based pioneer in the early craft beer movement.  With the titular Scotsman as the branding lead.  They made quite a few Americanized British Ales and were decidedly on the malty side of the spectrum.

Two – Thirsty Bear Brewing – this San Francisco based brewery and restaurant was on the organic bandwagon and Spanish tapas too.  Maybe too niche to last too long but I would love to see a beer and serious food pairing space.

Three – Eagle Rock Brewery – this recently closed Los Angeles brewery led the way in L.A. but despite heroic efforts, could not find a winning combination of beers.  Bigger bucks could bring back the opening year line-up and maybe find a better location as well.

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Print

Bar.on is a new technology from a Belgian start-up that is basically a countertop brewer. Imagine the equivalent to one of the ubiquitous coffee pod machines.

Let me backtrack, first you should read THIS fair and balanced (really) piece by Evan Rail about it.

Since the tech has not made it to Los Angeles, I cannot give my opinion on the taste of the beer but the red flag that I see waving is that of oversimplification. I do not think that I will be able to tap on a touchscreen that I want a Hazy DIPA with all New Zealand hops. The following but wait for the next generation left me feeling even more strongly that way.

“But greater complexity might be forthcoming. While the current OneTap prototype has just six flavor cartridges and one container of malt mixture, Standaert says the next-generation OneTap Pro — slated for 2025 — should have at least 14 flavor cartridges and three malt-mix containers, which will allow it to reproduce a much larger variety of styles.”

Beer has four main inputs, it is true, but the combinations are endless just within malt, let alone hops, water and yeast. The device might be able to copy a specific beer but will it ever go further than just a flat two dimensional simulacrum? Could this make a Cold IPA? Or a Pastry Stout?

Let’s just say that I am cautiously pessimistic.

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United Craft

Six episodes of Beer TV is coming.  United Crafts of America is a series “that celebrates the craft beer revolution sweeping across the United States.”

Starting in the  first episode that feature NYC and Interboro Spirits of Brooklyn before heading around the U.S. to Portland, Asheville, Boston, Great Falls and San Diego.

You can watch the trailer HERE.