The Evolution of Beer Festivals
The current issue of Ale Street News has an interesting recap of the past ten years, written by Jack Curtin and Jay Brooks. The article covers a lot of ground, from canned craft beers to the rise of social media to the extreme beer movement.
They’ve noticed some interesting changes in the world of beer festivals. One of them is the arrival of the “niche” beer festival:
Most often they’re put on by a brewery, a guild or one of a handful of better beer bars and are often held indoors, allowing them to take place at any time throughout the year. They’re also more intimate, allowing for a richer experience for the über beer geeks and the people who particularly love a particular festival’s unique theme.
The other big change is the rise of entire Beer Weeks, which showcase beer in a variety of ways at diverse venues in a city or metropolitan area. By their count, there were nearly two dozen beer weeks last year, and several new cities are getting aboard in 2010.
Another San Francisco Beer Week Update
Chuck Lenatti, at the San Francisco Beer Pairing Examiner, has compiled a list of events taking place during San Francisco Beer Week, February 5 through 14. There are so many events that Chuck needed two lengthy posts–Part 1 and Part 2–to list them all. Turns out that “San Francisco” is a much bigger place than the city itself. Events are scheduled for Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and plenty of places in between.
It looks like Chuck is updating his lists, so check back often.
The Friday Mash (Winter’s Tale Edition)
It’s Friday. Grab a paddle. The Mash is over there.
Troy Burtsch at Great Canadian Pubs and Beer tipped us off to two new Toronto-based beer blogs: Andrew Bartle’s Hops, Sticks and Junk and Chris Schryer’s Toronto Beer Blog.
Hoosier Beer Geek has a lengthy interview with Stacey McGinnis of Tyranena Brewing Company, one of the out-of-state breweries invited to pour at tomorrow’s Brewers of Indiana Guild Winterfest.
Here are the winners of the Chicago Beer Society’s Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout
In Wednesday’s New York Times, Robert Simonson told New Yorkers where to get their growlers filled with fresh beer.
Surely you’ve seen that Benjamin Franklin quote, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Erik, who blogs at Top Fermented, insists that wasn’t what Franklin said.
Finally, Britain’s Boak and Bailey attended the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester. They headed straight for the German rarities.
How Many of These Have You Tried?
RateBeer.com is out with a list of the world’s best 100 beers. How many of these have you tried? If you’ve tried all 100, Ludwig would personally buy your next pint. If he were a person, that is.
Care to get into a debate? RateBeer’s list of the world’s best breweries sounds like a good starting point. Or counterpoint.
Great Brew in Your Town? Do Tell.
Jason and Todd Alstrom, the creators of Beer Advocate, have decided they need to do some more beer traveling. They’re looking for “unexplored and emerging beer scenes.”
This is where you come in. Let the Alstroms explain:
In 150 words or less, tell us why we should come to your hometown for beer. The most convincing, passionate entry will result in our actually coming out to your hometown for beer, visiting your local breweries and beer bars, and of course you helping us to host an official BA gathering–plus other exciting fun.
If you’re a registered BA user or a subscriber to Beer Advocate, feel free to can weigh in on on the BA discussion board. And even if you don’t have a nomination to offer, the thread has plenty of places and establishments to help you plan a trip of your own. There were well over 120 replies the last time we looked.
So what are you waiting for?
Two More for the Road
The dead of winter doesn’t keep intrepid beer bloggers from traveling…
The Dublin-Based Beer Nut left the Emerald Isle to do some beer hunting in Dusseldorf and Cologne. Guess what he found in the Biermuseum?
And on our side of the pond…
Mike, who blogs at Summer of Beer, motored down from his San Bernadino County home and took in San Diego’s burgeoning beer scene. He also took lots of pictures, and was kind enough to post them on his blog.
Lew Bryson: On the Road in Pennsylvania
It’s hard to believe, but Lew Bryson is working on a fourth edition of his book, Pennsylvania Breweries. The latest lap of his travels began in Pittsburgh, where he finally got in a visit to the Penn Brewery, went more or less up I-79 to Erie, and homeward from there with a stop at Straub Brewery’s famous Eternal Tap (he’s got a photo of it!.
Hey, glad you got back safely, Lew.
Update on Sierra Nevada Collaboration
Last month, we mentioned Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s plans to celebrate craft brewing’s pioneers by brewing special beers in collaboration with them.
Here are the details.
In March, the brewery will release the first of four beers at Anchor Brewing with Fritz Maytag. The other pioneers are Jack McAuliffe of the departed, but certainly not forgotten, New Albion Brewery; and veteran beer writers and homebrewers Fred Eckhardt and Charlie Papazian.
Speaking of McAuliffe, he’s now living in San Antonio where he’s been recovering from a serious auto accident (hat tip: Jack Curtin and McAuliffe’s sister, Cathy).
Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada’s founder, explained why he’s doing this series:
We wanted to pay tribute to the original pioneers who helped me and hundreds of others get started….Few people in the craft-brewing world have accomplished more than these guys, and we thought it might be fun to get the original crew together and make something special.
Cheers, Ken. That was very classy of you.
If you want more information, Sierra Nevada has created a special website for these beers.
Dates Set for Boston Beer Week
Jason and Todd Alström, the founders of Beer Advocate, have announced that the inaugural Boston Beer Week will take place June 11-20 at numerous locations within the “128-Belt.” The signature event will be Beer Advocate and Harpoon Brewery’s annual American Craft Beer Fest on June 18-19, which will feature more than 400 American craft-brewed beers from over 80 breweries.
The official Boston Beer Week website, which will have details about the Craft Beer Fest and other events, is expected to go live before March 1.
Strong Beer in San Francisco
February is Strong Beer Month at two San Francisco brewpubs: the Magnolia Pub & Brewery and the 21st Amendment Brewery. This event, now in its eighth year, will feature a rotating selection of vintage and barrel-aged beers.
Don’t forget: San Francisco Beer Week is February 5-14. It’s a ten-day week because of the abundnance of good beer in the Bay Area.