The most ambitious exit in the history of exits took place before I was born — on Thanksgiving Day, 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, CA. It was simply called “The Last Waltz,” and for many, including myself, it is the greatest show ever captured on film. A mere nine years later, the building was torn down and replaced with apartments. Neat.

For the past four years, my “ballroom” has been, for better or worse, this site. In a a fashion opposite of the The Last Waltz, of which I am quite fond, I will keep this short and simple. I have grown to love the beer culture in this town. It is constantly changing but always thriving. The beer scene has provided me a reason to write and an excuse to drink, and it has expanded my social circle, which has evolved into being far more than just beer-drinking buddies.

Furthermore, this tiny speck of Internet has been a catalyst for realizing personal goals beyond any interview, event, or super rare beer. The committed and unbelievably knowledgeable professionals who work every day to make the DC craft beer scene better and better have been an absolute blast to work with. I will be forever indebted to many of these folks for their role as constant educators and advocates of the craft.  Above all, I will miss this the most.

In a few days’ time, I will pack my home into a truck and drive 1,200 miles south to my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana with the intent of starting the first production brewery in the area since Prohibition.

My wife and I want to bring a little bit of what we love about the DC beer culture back to our hometown and join a handful of others who are already well underway in shaping craft beer in Louisiana.

Sponsorship

It has been a blast, folks. Thanks for the good times and continuous support since 2008. I leave the site in the trusted hands of Bill DeBaun, our new editor Chris Van Orden, and our great group of contributors whose volunteer efforts make this site run.

Stay tuned for big things. We have been in design and development for over year, and in the coming weeks we will launch a website that we feel is second to none. Just wait…

Andrew Nations
Great Raft Brewing