Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Wednesday

This Wednesday has me feeling a lot of emotions.  Sad, angry confused to name check just three.  But the main takeaway from election night 2024 is that The United States of America is populated by a mean society that must live sad, angry and confused every day.

I am not despairing though.  I will not be one of the many voices on the interwebs that says we have lost our fragile democracy.  Our institutions are made up of people and the American people are majority mean.  So please do not give me your plea to save democracy, we have been barely clinging to it since this country started.  We live in a mean quasi free land. That means our government is mean and quasi free too.  It is a reflection of us. 

Some may be on this blog for some ray of beer sunshine instead of this jolt of reality.  I get it.  I would much rather post about a new beer or some funny beer gadget than type the word mean over and over.

So, as John Oliver would say on Last Week Tonight, what do we do?  In general and in craft beer.  First, come to accept that there are a lot of mean people in this country and that this incoming government will embolden them to be 110% mean instead of hiding it.  Life is going to get harder for a lot of people.

Second, we need to call out all shitty racist, sexist, all the -ist behaviors fast and hard.  We have to let the mean people know they are mean each and every time.  This blog will speak up anytime meanness enters craft beer. And we all need to say something if we see something mean.  Don’t let them normalize hate.

Understand that the other key attribute of this country is that it is reactionary.  This means that the pendulum will swing back and that we will have to do some clean-up and it will not be pretty or easy.  As Americans, we should be well used to hiding skeletons in closets.

For craft beer,  join your local and state guilds.  Link arms with distributors and shopkeepers.  Serve your specific community knowing that it will more than likely enrage the mean because your community of beer fans will look similar to those who gathered in pubs back in the 1770’s.  The cozier you are with your neighbors the better. 

Most importantly, include anyone that wants to be at your brewery.  Craft beer needs to expand the customer base.  That was true before Tuesday and is still true.  Let’s keep bringing open minded people together over a pint, or two.  I will probably need that many, at least, today.

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Wheelin’ & Dealin’

The Modern Times fallout continues as Craft ‘Ohana, the parent company of Maui Brewing Co. is partnering up with San Diego based Wings & Arrow Beer Co. to kinda-sorta supervise Modern Times operations.

This is where it gets even more complicated though.  Wings & Arrow is part of Great Frontier Holdings which is the overarching group for Ninkasi and Ecliptic Brewing amongst other seltzer holdings.  

Got me to thinking about how one cqn have a manager, who has a manager, who has a manager.  Eventually there is too much distance between the brew floor and who owns the business.  

I have a feeling this will be ongoing.

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The Firkin for October 2024

It is easy nowadays to summon a car to deliver you to a brewery or from one brewery to another. You also will find running clubs associated with a brewery. And if you really want to take your life in your hands, you can bike. I hate to run but even I would take that over bicycling.

My choice A is walking and whilst in Denver, I was able to saunter from a brewery, to another and then another. The next day, I walked around a lake from one corner to another to visit two breweries. I miss being able to do that in Los Angeles as there are relatively few neighborhoods where multiple breweries exist.

Torrance on Del Amo is one. Arts District in DTLA is a second. Both have their charms and drawbacks. And maybe if economic times improve or a new gust of brewery wind hits the sails we will be able to create more walkable beer paths.

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The Pitch

It is safe to say that I enjoy a good entrepreneur story and if you don’t like the personalities of Shark Tank there is a different show that you can listen to as a podcast or on YouTube called The Pitch and recently they had a beer episode.

The founder of Hoplark which makes hop water and hop teas is branching out into brewing efficiency.  ReCraft has engineered a way to get more utilization of hops and water that might save some money for a brewery.  

Take a listen (or watch) HERE.

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Reno My Brewery

Anheuser-Busch announced a new $16 million investment in its Los Angeles ( Van Nuys ) brewery with the main takeaways being:

·      Expansion of packaging capabilities for the company’s “beyond beer” brands like Cutwater and NUTRL, including variety packaging

·      Increased production capacity for 25-ounce cans to meet increasing consumer demand

·      Facility upgrades to enhance water conservation and reduce boiler emissions

Anheuser-Busch has been in the Valley since 1954 and is one of more than 120 facilities across the country.

I am down for the third item of water saving but am a bit confused by the first two.  Are there not enough variety packs from Bud? Or its ethanol options?  And 25 ounce cans?  I thought the 19.2 ounce stovepipes were the package du jour.

I also noticed nothing about buying better hops or local malts or making better beer.

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PDX Back in the W

Two items are now on the to-do list now that the WNBA has announced that Portland will be getting a reincarnated franchise.

First is a real kick ass name. The NWSL Thorns is great because it is a riff on the City of Roses and also matches up with the woodsy Timber name for the MLS team. Please do not try to bring back the generic Fire or Power names from the past.

Pioneers is good but a little to spot on though I would take it in a pinch. I prefer Pathfinders but maybe take a cue from the minor league baseball franchises like the Hillsboro Hops or Portland Pickles or Salem Marion Berries. Or keep the T going from Timbers, Thorns and Trailblazers and go with Thunderbirds or to riff off the Portlandia statue, Tridents.

Once someone more Gen Alpha than me figures that out, our breweries need to make a signature beer for the team. Considering that Portland is a great coffee city, I suggest a Golden Coffee Stout. Something smooth and rich but with a nice topnote of java to give it a little burst. If the team does go the T route than TIPA becomes a frontrunner.

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Catering

Anytime the craft beer industry can catch a break, that is a good time and here in California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2174 (Aguiar-Curry) into law.  This change allows breweries to sell their beer at events through the use of a new Beer Caterer’s Permit.

Kicking in on January 1st of next year, breweries can use a type 01 or 23 license to apply for a Beer Caterer’s Permit to sell their beer for consumption at events held off their licensed premises.  As long as that event has been approved by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The BC permit allows the brewery to sell up to 124 gallons of beer at each event for a maximum of 36 events per calendar year.

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Pouring for NC

The scenes of devastation from Hurricane Helene are incredibly sad but even in an election year with such a yawning divide in the country, one of the things thats has always made the U.S. strong is their response to natural disasters.  

Beer fans can help by heading to the Untappd shop as they will be donating proceeds from sales from their shop directly to the Foundation For The Carolinas who will be financially assisting those left in the wake of the storm.

I also want to commend the North Carolina Brewers Guild who have been quick to add a page of resources for breweries and in getting a Pouring for Neighbors program up and running with a free special tap handle to use. That is some serious boots on the ground work.

We Angelenos come from all over the country so we know helping out may well be helping an actual neighbor who is from NC or someone we work with or are related to.  Combine that with the fact that beer people are fast to help and we can give this rebuilding effort a real jump start.

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The Firkin for September 2024

Gonna go very trivial here. But it is a bee in my bonnet. In my internet beer wanderings, I see videos and photos where beer is spilled, intentionally.

I know that there is only so much new beer content when making beer content is very much second, third or fourth place behind making craft beer but whenever I see spilled beer, I think that the beer could be given as a taster to a new customer or an old customer.

Then another part of me just moves to who has to clean up that mess because beer is sticky as hell. What cleaners are they using? I just start thinking of anything other than the beer.

Instead of the pranks and hijinks, this beer fan would like more about the brewery and the beers.