I drink a couple of pints a day, usually between noon and 5, with lunch or without. At these hours, the tap rooms I patronize are generally serving customers my age, either retired or free to work remotely on their laptops. The young people I meet there are generally the employees, and I'm on a first name basis with many of them. I can simply ask "what's good today" and they know I'm looking for a hopped up assertively bitter clear IPA, especially from a respected or uncommon out-of-the-area brewery. I'm as regular and predictable as it gets, they comment when I order a barrel-aged stout or sour, or I've been out of town a couple weeks. It's good to have discovered this Substack for a fresh perspective from within the industry.
With the death of "beertwitter" (and decline of Facebooks and Insta's usability), where are the engaging beer conversations happening these days (besides the comments section of the SubStack)?
In all seriousness, I am working to bring those dialogues back into real spaces where we can have these conversations "over beers." Stay tuned!
As far as digital discourse is concerned, I will be honest; I have never found it very useful. LinkedIn is way over-indexed toward the plights and predicaments of the largest breweries, and, despite the best efforts of folks like you, print and online culture publications have historically lacked thoughtful consideration of beer.
I like what I have seen from Pellicle and always read Evan Rail (usually on VinePair). Bob, who is on this comment thread as "Hop Spitality," has turned me on to a few good podcasts.
I completely agree that we need to embrace our energy and not our non-conformity if this industry is going to continue to be something people will wear t-shirts about. I don't know why that perspective seems to be so uncommon.
In no way do I see this period of contraction as a beneficial winnowing. I know the industry has lost great people and is forever pooer for it BUT when things have gotten so grim that it's only Zealots and stylites left at GABF, perhaps our strange ways will inspire broader fascination and enthusiasm again.
I'm also constantly asking the question about late-stage capitalism and small scale cpg viability. I wish I understood those topics better. That is another conversation that I feel like almost no one is having.
That first sentence nailed it, IMO. In any endeavor, there are periods of expansion and refinement. A healthy movement bounces back and forth from one to the other, and if you find yourself not doing one or the other, you are no longer in motion.
I wonder how cooperative models factor in with your last paragraph.
I drink a couple of pints a day, usually between noon and 5, with lunch or without. At these hours, the tap rooms I patronize are generally serving customers my age, either retired or free to work remotely on their laptops. The young people I meet there are generally the employees, and I'm on a first name basis with many of them. I can simply ask "what's good today" and they know I'm looking for a hopped up assertively bitter clear IPA, especially from a respected or uncommon out-of-the-area brewery. I'm as regular and predictable as it gets, they comment when I order a barrel-aged stout or sour, or I've been out of town a couple weeks. It's good to have discovered this Substack for a fresh perspective from within the industry.
With the death of "beertwitter" (and decline of Facebooks and Insta's usability), where are the engaging beer conversations happening these days (besides the comments section of the SubStack)?
I think you answered your own question, homey. :)
In all seriousness, I am working to bring those dialogues back into real spaces where we can have these conversations "over beers." Stay tuned!
As far as digital discourse is concerned, I will be honest; I have never found it very useful. LinkedIn is way over-indexed toward the plights and predicaments of the largest breweries, and, despite the best efforts of folks like you, print and online culture publications have historically lacked thoughtful consideration of beer.
I like what I have seen from Pellicle and always read Evan Rail (usually on VinePair). Bob, who is on this comment thread as "Hop Spitality," has turned me on to a few good podcasts.
I completely agree that we need to embrace our energy and not our non-conformity if this industry is going to continue to be something people will wear t-shirts about. I don't know why that perspective seems to be so uncommon.
In no way do I see this period of contraction as a beneficial winnowing. I know the industry has lost great people and is forever pooer for it BUT when things have gotten so grim that it's only Zealots and stylites left at GABF, perhaps our strange ways will inspire broader fascination and enthusiasm again.
I'm also constantly asking the question about late-stage capitalism and small scale cpg viability. I wish I understood those topics better. That is another conversation that I feel like almost no one is having.
That first sentence nailed it, IMO. In any endeavor, there are periods of expansion and refinement. A healthy movement bounces back and forth from one to the other, and if you find yourself not doing one or the other, you are no longer in motion.
I wonder how cooperative models factor in with your last paragraph.