race – Beer Search Party

February 9, 2021February 1, 2021

Weighty Topics

Angel City Brewery is using their platform today start some discussions. Those are the things where people converse and sometimes disagree but still remain cordial.

The DTLA brewery “will kick off a new quarterly panel series, starting with Crafting Conversations: Black in Beer, live on February 21, 2021 at 2p PST. This hour-long conversation is designed to spark and continue a greater discourse around intersectional diversity in the beer industry, as well as showcase the amazing ways each panelist is making the L.A. scene that much stronger in their own way. The discussion will also cover the past, present and future of diversity and inclusion within the industry, as well as improving community allyship. The panelist line-up will include:

Josie Becker – Cellarwoman, Common Space Brewing
Rob Scott – Assistant Brewer, LA Ale Works
Tyler Sadler – Homebrewer + Host, Brew’d Up Podcast
Cait & Britne – Beers A’ Go Go
Samuel Chawinga – Head Brewer & Owner, Boomtown Brewery and COO, South Los Angeles Beverage Co.

That is a cool line-up of L.A. beer people so we aside some time on Sunday.

August 4, 2020August 1, 2020

Breathing: Conversations

Finback Brewing has added their voice and platform to a new initiative that I hope will spread across the country, Breathing: Conversations.

Here is the gist of their idea, “We invite all breweries to participate in this conversation and we invite all people to join the dialogue by speaking to each other, telling us your stories and linking all our voices in a collective conversation by using the hashtag #BreathingConversations. The topic of race is a challenging one, potentially uncomfortable, awkward and vulnerable, but it is a conversation we must have. We must hear each other and listen to the voices of the oppressed, of people of color and create a more equitable future.”

Below is an example from Cascade Brewing…

January 15, 2020January 8, 2020

A Book & A Beer – The Fire is Upon Us by Nicholas Buccola

I picked up The Fire is Upon Us from the library primarily because it was written by a professor at my Alma Mater, Linfield College. Not because I had an empty image of either of the two men at the center of the book.

Because the focus is narrowed to race, it is really hard to muster any sort of feeling for William Buckley. He was a prolific writer and as opposed to many politicians held convictions firm but he was also a man that time has passed by at a rapid pace whilst Baldwin becomes more and more important with each passing year.

Couple that with the fact that the debate isn’t arrived at until literally late in the last quarter of the book and you have the problem of having to leaf through backstory more than you experience the debate. Personally, I would have opted for a smaller book that really dug into everything around the debate as well as extended notes on how re-constructing a debate where only snippets of video exist, would have packed a more powerful punch. Heck, the fact that Buckley had severe time constraints due to an injury to his wife that he admirably did not want to leave alone, would have merited more attention.

Indeed the transcript of the debate makes for fascinating reading and reveals debate and oratorical skills as well as a grasp of socio and political ideas that I found fascinating.

As far as beers to taste while reading this book, I would tongue in cheek pick two breweries and give a representative sampling of their core beers of both to some friends (as well as yourself) and have them write down which beers struck their fancy and which brewery they think “won” this drinking debate. Perhaps get beers from a pair of New York breweries to make it closer to Baldwin’s home turf, since he (spoiler) won this debate.