Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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What can we do? Many people of privilege (that includes me) are trying to answer that question. Because posting on social media that you support taking down systemic racism brick by brick, is just one small step, there needs to be an AND.

I have a few ideas that I think will remove a brick or two and if we all each remove a brick or two, maybe, maybe we can affect change.

  1. Hiring – there needs to be a concerted and sustained push to get minorities into the brewhouse. Internships, learning a trade, summer work. Use any way (government program, school program, others) that will get a representative of the community workforce.
  2. Incubator – opening a brewery is costly. It is a large barrier to entry. There needs to be co-brewing spaces that allow Black, Latino, Asian, Women, LGBTQ and others to enter and create their own business.
  3. Seeing – I dare a hot brewery that can sell their hot new IPA or pastry stout to put conditions on those sales. Maybe you have to take a tour of historic landmarks of racism AND to those people and places that are making a difference. Get people out of their comfort zone and put their eyes on a world they probably do not see.

Those are bigger plays but for the average beer consumer, you can still vote with your dollar. Buy and talk about beers from minority owned businesses. Buy and talk about any Black owned brewery in your city. In Los Angeles, Crowns and Hops are in the process of their taproom and brewery. On the flip side, any brewery that espouses hatred should not be purchased.

We need to make our corner of the world better.

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Aftermath – Part 9

It is not too often that folks will openly let you know that their establishment is not safe. But everything is bigger in Texas, including hubris.

But this post is not about knowing that this bar will soon be on the news as a virus hotbed. It is about the smaller signs to look for when going to a bar or taproom.

A. Tables should either be removed or blocked from use.

B. Doors should be open to avoid contact.

C. Windows should be open to avoid recirculating air.

D. You should see hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies around and being used.

E. There should be a restricted amount of people inside.

F. Masks should be on

Here is a way simple analogy. You do not go to a car dealership and ask for a car with either seatbelts, airbags or anti-lock brakes. There is no OR, it is AND. Same with virus safety. A mask and six feet is safer than just a mask. That is why you need to look and see first before sitting down.

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#FWIBF Not Forgotten

Last Friday I just could not shake the feeling that something was off. It wasn’t anything to do with the my little cocoon or the batshit crazy and sad week this country went through.

It was the first time that I really felt the absence of the beer community.

I don’t normally gain energy from being around people. Harsh truth be told, I could live without 45% of this country who think (refuse to have thoughts) in a certain way. And yet, the crowds of people who make the trip to Paso Robles are both fun and fascinating.

The two or three days that I spend at Firestone Walker HQ is like floating on air. I take the tour most years to see how things have changed (always drastically), I find beer to bring back home from their shop, I visit a distillery or winery, enjoy BBQ the night before the fest, get some Negranti Ice Cream and Twisted and Glazed Donuts. My internal battery is charged.

The festival itself, as I have written in the past, is perversely hard to write about. It is so smoothly operated that the only lead some years is how hot it is. You basically just have to write about the beer that you personally drank because there is so much that it is hard to wrap your word arms around it.

I would write up excited posts before driving up the 5 and exhausted post some after driving back down the 101. I don’t know if 2021 will be changed or disrupted by the events of this year but next year, I will return. I need to.

That boost was really missed this year.

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The Firkin for May 2020

I have to say that the moves that the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) have made during this pandemic have been mostly smart and effective. They moved with decent speed to allow beer sales to reflect the curbside and on-line ordering marketplace. Let breweries ship beer within the state and have loosened restrictions so that sidewalks and parking lots could be used as seating for patrons to keep that distancing effort alive.

But I am at a loss about this food and alcohol rule. Otherwise known as The Stuffed Sandwich for the great deli and beer lovers spot here in Southern California that operated under the weird rule that you could not purchase beer unless you ordered food.

Now that seems to be back on a larger scale for breweries wanting to re-open their taprooms. But what if I am a vegan and it’s a BBQ truck, or it’s a seafood truck and I am allergic to shellfish or if I just want a beer? Maybe they are looking to force breweries to help out restaurants?

Whatever the reasoning, I see people buying the lowest cost item and then not eating it. It has a two-drink minimum comedy club vibe to it. And it seems to put brewpubs into better position than taprooms.

Or am I reading this rule incorrectly?

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Virtual GABF

The Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the big beer festival on the calendar is not going on as in the past. Instead of September 24-26 at the Big Blue Bear and in person in Denver, it will now be an “immersive online experience October 16-17.”

Though this sucks for the beer community and the breweries and bars in Denver that saw a big attendance boost, it was not a decision that comes as much of a surprise considering how 2020 is shaping up to be a year filled with bad news.

According to the Brewers Association, the virtual GABF is still in the planning stages but expect to see beer tastings, brewer interviews as well as food and beer pairing ideas possibly with a delivery of beer angle as well.

The good news is that the beer competition will take place in 2020. Will Pandemic beer be a style category?

I see this as a golden opportunity to try out crazy ideas and also how to incorporate more of the country into GABF since plane fare and time away is now off the table as an excuse not to go. And if all goes well with the re-openings, maybe smaller, mini GABFs can be held around the country. I vote for any wacky plan.

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Aftermath – Part 8

Grand RE-openings. There are going to be quite a few if people in Texas and Wisconsin are any indication when given any sort of quasi-approval to open the doors again. Previously, I talked about the simple ebb and flow problems that will arise when a taproom reopens but what about bigger parties?

There are breweries that were just about to open, breweries who will be ready this summer and a backlog inventory of missed anniversary parties in the second half of the year. 

How do you creatively balance the celebration aspect with the safety aspect?  On Mother’s Day not only were people viral video complaining about the wait times at Red Lobster but they were going to church, sick.  Less than a week later 200 people were sick.  From 1, one person.

How do you get beer fans to your brewery and then keep them safe and in a fun mood?  I do not have the answers.  I have been visiting breweries to pick-up only with a mask on but I understand if people are not comfortable with gatherings. 

I would say that providing branded masks would be a good start.  Having a hosted video of parties would be good as well with options for VIPs to get beer and special video.   Sending beer to EMTs or hospitals would be good. Maybe doing a drop off for the hardworking grocery store workers.  Creativity will need to come to the fore. 

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Blue Ribbon Commision

Since the Federal Government can’t be counted on to help, business is stepping into the huge gap to help. Pabst, a beer I don’t really ever drink, is “commissioning 1,000 works from creative professionals.”

Here is what the chief marketing officer has to say, “We know that 1,000 creative commissions isn’t world changing, but it definitely will make a difference,” says Luke Atkinson, “Every commission counts, and the talent we work with will get the added benefit of some exposure.”

30 works are in progress and Pabst “is inviting bartenders, designers, animators, dancers, singers, directors and other creatives to “do what they do best” and reach out to Pabst through Instagram (@pabstblueribbon).”

Kudos to Pabst for chipping in.