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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…
Time to see how much you know about hops.
Head HERE to catch-up on your hop terms.
My particular favorite is Twiddling.
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.
Good Beer Hunting has added another podcast to it’s line-up. A line-up that is hit or miss not at the series level but at the individual podcast level for me. The Gist is hosted by Kate Bernot and Beth Demmon who are covering a really important area, the business of craft beer.
Plus, it is short! Readers of this fine blog know that I am a huge fan of the under thirty minute podcast running time. The banter and topics in the first two episodes have been good. Timely and topical in two words.
Check it out via your podcasting platform.
I am all for more beverage websites and I have found another one for us to bookmark, Beaumont Drinks leans into the review side of drinks which is a good thing, most beer sites have more news and event coverage (myself included), so a resource of strong reviews is certainly needed. Check the website out HERE.
(there are also non-review pieces as well)
You might not think about beer and mental health but I have. Not because of some Republican Holier than Thou ethos but because I think it is an important part of this crazy world we live in.
Which is why I am eager to start listening to Emma Inch, she of Fermentation Radio, The Pubcast and the former Chair of the British Guild of Beer Writers who has launched a new podcast called Same Again?
What is the balance of having a good time vs the obvious detriments of alcohol. I am hoping to have my views challenged for sure. Listen in.