My first real apartment in the Boston area (outside of a couple months in a summer sublet in Harvard Square) was near Davis Square in Somerville. It was a fun place to live, especially in my early 20’s, sharing a place with some college buddies, and having a bit of money and minimal responsibility for […]
When a new local brewery is trying to fund-raise in an effort to get off the ground I usually try to throw in a few bucks, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it and I am always on board with more local beers. I am especially interested in supporting new breweries with […]
I had an interesting back-and-forth with a national beer writer on Twitter recently. He wrote an article about being burned out on trying NEIPAs, saying that he has tried so many poorly made versions of the style that it has killed all enthusiasm to keep sampling more. As a New England-centric beer writer I actually […]
When Springdale refreshed their brand at the beginning of the year it was clear that they were focused on establishing some core flagship beers, including popular staples like Pearly Wit and Brig Stout, along with their new Springdale IPA that I wrote about last month. The exceptions to this focus on core beers are from […]
Some small breweries practically brag that they don’t do any marketing, even though it really isn’t true. They might not have an employee in charge of marketing, and they probably don’t pay for advertising, but every brewery does some form of marketing. Social media posts, running a website, hosting tastings, having a logo, and even […]
As I’ve mentioned many times before on the blog, I am a huge geek. It extends way beyond just beer, I get geeky about many other things including science, music, video games, and fantasy novels. Another big thing I geek out about is Star Wars, ever since I watched the original trilogy when I was […]
The closing of taprooms has upended a major source of business for most small craft breweries, not only ending their on-site draft sales but also cutting into the to-go sales that on-site consumption inevitably generates. Some very small breweries can probably get by on their social distancing-approved curbside pickups, but for most it is more […]
I’ve written a lot about the need for a brewery to find the right balance between their stable of core/flagship brands and the rotating/seasonal/one-off beers that keep the brand innovative and interesting. A good example of a brewery that has found this balance is Night Shift. Their core brands are all strong, led by hoppy […]
In an increasingly competitive beer market I think it is more important than ever for a brewery to have a clear vision of what they are as a brand. A small place that sells most of their beer on-premises can dabble in a bit of everything because a big part of what they are selling […]
My ability to take trips to breweries feels like it has ground to a complete halt, aside from an occasional stop during a vacation. Life is just crazy right now between work and family commitments, even when I try to plan a brewery visit something usually comes up. Last Friday I was planning on using […]
Hoppy Boston 