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 or email DCBeer.
Beer. Ha. I’m supposed to write about beer after the election. What kind of a joke is that? Your kind neighborhood social justice beer drinker had opinions about it and, as you might imagine, they were not good! They were so not good I didn’t drink for two days and advised people not to as well. There wasn’t even a Void last week. But we have to soldier on. My three day long migraine finally subsided. As you might imagine, these past weeks were a bit light on beer stuff. All I have to worry about is the mysterious long-term effects of this election on beer. Will Latin American brands continue to be amongst the fastest-growing in the U.S.? Is this still a good idea?
Who knows! Who knows anything! Let this video of a coolship calm you.
Well, I guess we do know something. There will be enough IPAs for everyone.
I had a chance, thanks to preeminent DCBeer dot com contributor Nick Rakowski, to finally try Westy 12. Here is one review of it, as it has been compared to St. Bernadus 12. I can say there are some similarities. Westy is sweeter, so if you prefer less brown sugar and more dark fruit in your quads, you may actually prefer it's easier to find cousin. I will also say that no beer is ever worth the hype. Drink what you like. That said, if you ever arrive in a situation where by the generosity of a friend you happen upon a bottle, you will try it and will likely say “hmm, this beer is pretty good, I could drink this” but then realize that’s impossible so then you will continue to buy other quads.
Oklahoma voted to loosen its alcohol laws and not a moment too soon. Same with yet another DC Brau expansion. We’re gonna need more beer.
Will Gordon says when its ok to send back a beer at a bar.
Bryan Roth asks when rumors of a brewery acquisition should actually get our attention.
CraftBeer.com got a snazzy new upgrade to its interface.
Black Acre Brewing Company banned a patron because of sexual harassment. The owner wrote about the experience of the man who kept coming back and kept harassing his employees.
Ken Weaver tells us that the life of a professional beer taster includes a lot of fun and a lot of wasted beer. Boo!
The fallout from the ongoing Massachusetts pay-for-play investigations continues, as distributor Shelton Brothers has filed suit against the Craft Brewers Guild.
In local ongoing drama, Bardo Brew Pub has sued the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board alleging improper communications.
Staying local, Heritage Brewing is opening a brewpub in Arlington.
Washington City Paper says Virginia and Maryland are currently lapping Washingon, DC in the current brewery boom. Spoiler alert: there’s a space shortage and the rent is too damn high. Of course, DC has the advantage of more lax importation regulations, so breweries like Fat Head can just sliiiiiiide into beer drinker's DMs with little to no issue.
Speaking of DC bars, the lovely and talented Phil Runco over at Thrillist gives us a rundown of a bunch good bars because they are good bars and you should drink at each one.
Craft Beer Dot Com weighs in on InBev’s purchase of Houston's Karbach Brewing
Take a tour of White Labs without ever going there, in case you can’t.
Do you like beer that was fermented spontaneously in a coolship? Well boy does Jeff Alstrom have the brewery for you.
Did you know that porters can be brown? There were a few of them at GABF. As a person with an affinity for English styles, this is good news.
Your latest in our favorite new crazy, beer is a health food, a new study suggests a beer a day helps ward off heart disease. Boy, all of my friends are going to be so heart disease free. It’s like they’re going to grow a new heart out of all the beer they’ve been drinking. I mean, I can't imagine how little heart disease this guy will have after drinking a beer at a pub near every tube station in London. Look, do I really even need to say it?
Would you wait in this line for six cans of beer? Let me know.
Finally, a meme I can really get behind.
Finally, it’s winter beer season, my favorite season.
Stay tuned to the Void. If you’re politically inclined and want to make a step toward make a difference in the process and involving yourself in politics, maybe you, fair reader, should consider making the brewery, the real meeting hall of the millennial generation, hold a more significant place now.
