Each week, Tony Budny pens SCREAMING INTO THE VOID and looks at the best in writing and social media conversation around the biggest issues in beer. If you feel something should be included, have a tip, or just want to sound off, feel free to look him up on Twitter @drinksthethings, email DCBeer, or hit him up on snaptube or what else the kids do these days.
Greetings cats and kittens. Boy, do we have a heaping helping of news this week. With another fine weekend of beer drinking upon us and a bunch of reads contained within, what better way to begin with a nice, refreshing–
Hmmm. Maybe wine this weekend instead.
A RIGHT PROPER PINT
Right Proper Brewing of Shaw won this year's RAMMY award for Best Beer Program. This is way better than the whammy award in this blogger’s humble opinion. Congrats.
Also, I've been informed that Port City Brewing in Alexandria also won a RAMMY so I guess I win the whammy after all.
ARCHER REACTS TO THE NEWS THAT OCELOT NOW HAS A DISTRIBUTOR
Reverie Distrubution of Richmond, Virginia has their first clients, and that lucky brewery is the ever popular and growing Ocelot Brewing Company in Dulles. Their great beer getting wider distro is a win for everyone.
LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED
After 10 years, Stone Brewmaster Mitch Steele is leaving the brewery this month to start a new endeavor. He already has investors for his new brewery lined up and rightfully so, as he shaped Stone's most recent portfolio of IPAs. I have a feeling he’s going to land on his feet with whatever comes next.
Jason Notte published a wide-ranging interview with Greg Koch where he said the following:
“Koch: Arrogant Brewing is run by the beer Arrogant Bastard. It requires a little bit of the relaxing of the conceptualization centers of your brain. You have to just relax and let it flow. The more you want it to be penned in and defined, the less it’s going to be willing to have that done to it.
[Notte:] So if I just kind of stare at this beer long enough, there’s going to be a schooner somewhere in that picture?
Koch: Yeah. Basically, it’s like one of those pictures from the ’80s where, if you relax your eyes, you can kind of see an image in it. If you try too hard, you’re just unable to see it. It’s kind of like that.”
I think he may have had a bit more than beer before doing this interview. I’m now imagining an actual bottle of beer with glasses and a hat overlooking a bottling line of… itself. Good luck figuring the rest out.
TRIPEL DOUBLE
Good Beer Hunting talked with Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing Co. in Pennsylvania and he dropped this stat:
28% of sales from a brewery that creates as many good beers as Victory does is striking. The answer to this question, is, as always: me, the guy who drinks 10% imperial stouts in July outside in DC. Beside that, Will Gordon has a time-tested theory:
When in doubt, follow the drunks. Maybe there are #insatiableanimals in other beer categories as well.
Speaking of Victory, Bill has a great post about the support he received from his father while starting his brewery, which is something good to remember as Father’s Day approaches.
MAYBE BEER SHOULD GET A FLOTILLA, TOO
The Brexit vote is coming on June 23rd.
*hears the sound of people clicking away from this page*
Wait, come back, there’s a point to this, I promise!
Beer is an importable, exportable, consumable good. And like all goods traded back and forth between the British Isles and Europe, it will be affected by a leave vote. Total Ales has three good reasons why Britain staying in the EU will be good for craft beer in the country.
Also, I think the Brew Dog folks would likely have the aircraft carrier of any beer flotilla in that country.
AH WICKED PISSAH
Former Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis, The Greek God of Walks, is opening a brewery with his brother Scott in Los Gatos, California. I assume every beer label with be adorned with his beard, under which is another beard, which then contains another beard. He’ll fit into the brewing community just fine.
Phew. We need a break. I’ll take this opportunity to congratulate the Bills on their first title.
COLORADO CRAFT CRISIS AND UNRELATED BAD PEOPLE WHO SHOULD FEEL BAD ABOUT THEIR BADNESS
All About Beer has the latest on how the changing face of craft beer has put some breweries at odds with each other and pubs in Colorado.
While we’re on the subject of crises, what on Earth do you call this? It’s good to see that in this egalitarian era of craft beer, even the lowest common denominators can own a brewery.
Wait, I think Nick Anderson knows what to call this:
An AB distributor is in trouble in North Carolina after using the logo of the Native American Lumbee tribe without their consent to promote their brand.
Related to all this, Beer Advocate looks at the growth of craft and the tendency toward insularity within the industry.
Ok, that was a heavy section. We need a music break.
Are you still with me? Do you need a cold towel? Don’t wave the white flag yet, there’s still more to go! Stay with me!
Hey, hey, hey, get your own beer blog.
This read has been so long we’ve begun to evolve into beer. Yes, I said evolve because it's quite clear the yeast in beer are higher order organisms than humans.
Happy Hour of the Week
You know what, just have a shower beer, screw it.
I’ll see you next week on the Void when some of us will have evolved into Brett-C (the good Brett).
