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.
Welcome back to The Void, and boy has it been something these past couple of weeks. I don’t know if you heard but there was a big beer conference in town last year– I mean, week. [Ed. Note: Well, two weeks ago. Hangovers last a long time, sometimes.] Let’s see how it went.
Oh. Oh I see. Well, you all probably didn’t miss reading about beer considering you were immersed in it. No, really, they had inflatable bright tank swimming pools and coolships for conference attendee enjoyment.*
*they did not have either of these things there
There were lots of significant developments that will be synopsized in a future post on this very website, so I won’t get into the details. However, I will bring attention to the Brewers Association’s handling of the diversity and sexism issue. Many beer writers attending the conference brought up the issue in a question and answer session, to which the BA broke news they have formed a committee on diversity. And beers with sexist labels beware: they may be disqualified from receiving awards.
There will be much to say about this and other developments during the week, but for now, see how two stalwarts of the DC beer scene, Greg Engert and Jace Gonnerman handled the week.
The Giant in Columbia Heights sold literal bags of beer. After CBC Week, these look appealing, to be honest. It’ll keep a patron of CBC quenched for weeks (days? Ok, fine, hours). If that interests you, maybe a beer with bat shavings will as well?
Where have we heard about the wine-ification of beer before? Everywhere, that’s where. Well, here it is again, referring to business models. The article doesn’t use that name, but you might as well tag it as that for your organizing purposes.
Craft beer is going through a transitional period where the industry is maturing and changing, and a change in perspective is required to understand what’s really going on. It is safe to say though that your local brewery isn’t going anywhere (probably) anytime soon (maybe) so you definitely shouldn’t rush there to get extra of that beer you like (you should). Josh Bernstein knows beer and talks about those changes and other topics.
The saga of HB 1283 in the Maryland house is still going. Naptown Pint, your source for news on the issue, talks about the tone deaf response from the Maryland senate president in regards to the bill. The state’s laws with regard to breweries have consequences.
Here's a map of the best beer gardens in DC if you’d like to enjoy the two weeks of spring DC gets each year outside.
One year after Devils Backbone was acquired by AB-InBev, VA Brew Review sits down with Steve Crandall, its founder, to share his experience on what it’s been like since.
And speaking of AB, here's Good Beer Hunting talking about their building of a high-end brewery in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami and how that’s a symbol of the changes going on there, through the lense of Wynwood Brewing.
If you like big beers, there will soon be an all-imperial brewery opening in Massachusetts. This seems on-brand for me, the guy who drinks any beer put in a barrel for any length of time.
Let’s take a break from links and read a story of a lost wallet, finding its owner a decade later, and a cider drinking contest in the owner's honor.
Also, Eric Thames is currently an MLB leader in home runs after spending professional time in South Korea. He landed in the right situation:
If you live in Richmond and you’re reading this, you can get beer and wine delivered while you're doing so. And yeah, Hardywood is part of the inventory, so you should get some Hardywood delivered or something. I hope it comes via one of those little robots.
Theresa McCulla wants you to know about the history of brewing in the US. She also wants to you know its future. Spoiler: it’s insatiable:
All hop everything all the time. I hope you like hops because we dry-hopped your hops in a barrel of hops double dry-hopped with cryo hops. Boom. Beervana talks more about that and the "zero-IBU" trend that isn't really zero-IBU at all.
Speaking of insatiable, the venerable Bryan Roth looks at why Jim Koch is so mad all the time. He’s going to continue to be mad and probably get moreso. So look out. Everyone hold your bread yeast packets a little closer.
And finally, here’s a good story about a Danish brewery putting people with autism to work.
Don’t forget your unicorn whalez on the way out the door. See you next week.
