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.
Hello, all you turkeys. I hope you’ve eaten most if not all of your Thanksgiving leftovers by now because food goes bad. Just thought I’d point that out to those who drank so much over the holiday you forgot. Links also go bad in time, but it it takes much longer, so here are your Thanksgiving Void leftovers. TO THE LINKS CAVE, ROBIN!
Bourbon County, a beer almost not released this year, is probably still floating about your local beer stores, so here’s a good time to listen to former barrel program manager John Laffler talk about his continued expansion of his venture, Off Color.
Jason Notte talks the recent race to buy all the Texas craft brewers. Resistance is futile. Acquisitions aren’t the only way Big Beer is making waves in the state. The tug and pull between brewers and distributors is working its way through court, currently.
Beer Advocate has a detailed article on women in STEM fields and brewing is helping to open up new avenues in the discipline.
The University of Maryland has researched hop and barley growth in the state. So far, the program has been a success.
The Brown Ale. A classic British style. Today this style might be seen by the most ardent fans of craft beer as boring. I, though, will always have a soft spot for the simplicity presented by styles such as this. Porch Drinking agrees, calling the style "underrated," which while true, isn’t the whole story.
Avery’s demon series beers were not, in this humble beer writer’s opinion, underrated and boring. But they got axed anyway. Bummer. These were some of my favorites.
Let’s talk about the Montgomery County liquor monopoly again. Critics say Council Chairman Ike Leggett's plan for reform won’t go nearly far enough.
Beer and potato chips are the classic American combination. All right, I have no idea if this is true or not. I just wanted to test your trust in my knowledge. Anyway, here are beer and chip pairings.
Sorry, beer and "crisp" pairings. We have to say crisps in front of these London pub cats. Now I’m dreaming of sitting in a dark London pub on a cold December drinking a cask porter in front of a fire with a cat in my lap.
Matthew Curtis talks about London's craft beer boom. I had a chance to visit Bermondsey for some of these in August. It is worth the trip.
Speaking of places I have had the golden opportunity of visiting, a Zoigl program has began in Oregon where patrons can buy wort and yeast instead of finished beer, similar to the concept passed down for hundreds of years in the villages in southeastern Germany.
And ^^^ there ^^^ is a brew facility inside a Zoiglstube in Windischeschenbach, Germany. What good lager that was. Anything that puts the knowledge of the Zoigl tradition into more hands is fine by me.
Beer Infinity spent three months in the Netherlands and took a train trip to Bamberg, Germany to have some smoked beers. It is a shame we can only get one of these in the U.S. as far as I know.
Who among us hasn’t mistaken hops for marijuana? They are relatives genetically, after all.
Belgian beer wants UNESCO cultural designation. Does this mean I can drink world heritage? Hey, that sounds fine. Sounds healthy. Definitely not poison.
That is also not poison. I would like to drink that non-poison when it is racked.
WHO WANTS MORE BEER?!?!
That’s just too much, I’m sorry.
Nah I’m just kidding, put any beer in a barrel and I’ll be first in line to drink it.
Brewdog wants cities with the most investors to have a pub. Unfortunately, 25 investors seems…. Small.
Meanwhile, Tree House is investing $7.7 million into expansion to avoid lines circling the globe to get one six pack of their beer.
Just drink your damn beer and worry less about its container.
Noted statistician Bryan Roth asks if any of us can really rank a beer, maaaaaaaaaaan.
Pennsylvanians bought so much beer before Thanksgiving they crashed a credit card system. Can NOT imagine why that would be in a state that went red for the first time 28 years.
Oh that is some sweet old school swag right there.
Look, Will Gordon says let's all just drink these eight beers immediately. Who cares if its a week late? And who am I to say no? We’ll get through it together. Don’t worry. See you next week.
