Category: Opinion

Last week Simon Nielsen, the head brewer of Central Waters Brewing in Wisconsin, wrote an opinion piece for The Growler Magazine that generated some buzz on craft beer social media. He argued that craft beer was dying, that the innovation and spirit that highlighted the rise of craft beer has faded into a monoculture that […]

My latest article for The Full Pint details the reasons I love session beers and think they are an important part of the growth of craft beer, with an assist from session beer master brewer Chris Lohring from Notch Brewing! Previous Full Pint Articles: 16 Massachusetts That Need To Be On Your Radar Brewery Profile: […]

I recently published an article on The Full Pint highlighting 16 Massachusetts breweries that make spectacular beer but don’t get enough hype. The response has been phenomenal, but the most common comment has been “what about Brewery X?” I mentioned in the article that I could have easily mentioned 20 more places, there are so […]

My latest article for The Full Pint profiles sixteen Massachusetts breweries that aren’t part of the online hype cycle or the darlings of beer trading circles but make stellar beers! Previous Full Pint Articles: Brewery Profile: Tree House Brewing Company Brewery Profile: Night Shift Brewing Company Brewery Profile: Jack’s Abby Brewing Company and the Springdale […]

Last month I wrote an article about breaking away from the craft beer hype culture, the subculture that worships a few select breweries and ignores the rest, even many that make amazing beer. I focused most of the article on the fetish breweries, asking people caught in the hype cycles to try branching out and […]

I’ve had a number of conversations recently about the craft beer hype cycle, where certain breweries and beer styles get an inordinate amount of attention on social media, beer rating sites and in trading circles. The hype around these breweries results in long lines and big money for these select establishments, while other breweries that […]

There is constant discussion on beer-related social media about beer names. Some names are childish, misogynistic or disgusting in other ways. Other names (and artwork) are blatant violations of intellectual property. Then you run into the issue of repeated names, where multiple breweries have beers with the exact same name. Many breweries complain that it […]

It happened again this weekend. I opened a can of NEIPA from a brewery that has produced a number of beers I enjoyed in the past. I took a quick whiff to check for that pungent burst of hops that made me fall in love with hoppy beers and I got almost nothing. A bigger […]

There is a small but very vocal group of beer drinkers and craft brewers that are strongly against beer flights, the series of taster-sized glasses many breweries offer as a way to sample a variety of styles without ordering full pints. These anti-flighters routinely bash the idea of flights on social media and often brag […]