Random Beer Thoughts: December 2016

There have been a couple more important articles released since I published my thoughts on the Craft Beer Cellar Blacklist (if you are sick of talking/reading/thinking about this topic I understand, feel free to skip ahead, but there is clearly a lot of interest).

BostInno published an in depth and very well researched article with thoughts from the owners of CBC, the owners of some of the franchises who are unhappy with these new regulations, and the brewers affected the most by the leaked memo. Author Alex Weaver has told me that the information that has been released so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

Craft Beer Cellar published an update on the topic on their blog. This addresses some of the criticisms, and acknowledges the fact that some of their franchisees are unhappy with the changes. One thing they don’t address is who is involved in making these lists. I think that is the biggest issue, the franchise owners want a say in what beers they carry. I like that the list is constantly adapting, but I can’t imagine how any person can stay on top of every shift in the fluid local and national markets. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out and how this effects their business going forward.

Julia Herz wrote a great column on Embracing Diversity in the Beer Biz, and Brain Roth did a follow-up interview for his blog. It is amazing how much sexism still exists in the industry and I think we can all play a roll in fighting it. First, don’t buy beer from breweries that have flagrantly sexist/misogynist beer names or label art. Second, if you see someone doing/saying something inappropriate then speak up. I believe these issues are due to a relatively small group of jackasses, but one sexist comment is one-too-many.

Norm “The Beer Nut” Miller handed out his year end awards, dubbed The Golden Nutties, which is always a must-read article. One point I especially agreed with was naming Mystic Brewery the most underrated local brewery. This led to an extensive discussion on twitter amongst people who love Mystic beer and don’t understand why it hasn’t developed the crazy followings that many other local breweries seem to recieve. It is unfortunate that a brewery needs to make hop-bombs in tallboy cans in order to generate local buzz.

I would love to see Mystic follow the Allagash model, start distributing a few of their flagships in 12 oz. 4-packs (the large format only brands are in for a tough ride), and then focus their efforts on special release Belgian/wild/barrel aged styles. The Mystic brewers are as good as anyone at coaxing amazing flavors out of expressive yeast strains and building delicious beers to complement these flavors, and I think demand for these types of beers is going to rise as people move past the all-hops-all-the-time mentality.

Links:

BostInno did an enlightening interview with Castle Island co-founder Adam Romanow discussing what it’s really like to run a small brewery.

The Mass Brew Bros did an extensive overview of the year in Massachusetts beer. It has been an exciting year in the state and it looks like more great things will come in 2017!

-Speaking of 2017, Brewstuds has an article looking forward to the upcoming year in Massachusetts beer.

-The crew behind Jack’s Abby has officially opened their Springdale Barrel Room, featuring a number of beers that fall outside the typical Jack’s Abby offerings (namely plenty of ales). This has immediately jumped to the top of my must-visit list.

-The Gardner Ale House will begin distributing it’s beer soon. My wife and I got married in Gardner and have great memories of this brewpub from the many trips to the area before the ceremony.

-Jeppe from Evil Twin did a series of memes poking fun at a beer reviewer on Untappd who trashed his beer for having diacetyl, but didn’t know how to spell “diacetyl”. Someone of twitter accused him of being a bully for this, but I think it is well within his right to poke fun at anyone who publically trashes his product online.

-Trillium has tentative plans to set up an estate brewery in North Stonington, CT.

-The Massachusetts senate has approved a bill that would allow farmer-brewers and distillers to sell their products at farmers markets.

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