Occasionally punctual, sometimes factual, almost never as funny as he thinks,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 and welcome to the WHAT THE HELL IS THAT
You know, people sometimes say that beer is boring, but if that’s the future of drink, pass me the Bud Light, please. Why would you drink that when you can find magnums of this beer sitting around at Costco in DC:
It’s a good thing I can’t think of anything wor–
You know what? I have the perfect place for this opening.
Now, onto the reads. The work by the Maryland Reform on Tap Task Force has come to an end. This is a good distillation of what appears to be solid work by state Comptroller Peter Franchot, as he attempts to see what the HB 1283 meant for breweries statewide. The Baltimore Sun has more on the story.
Local favorite Favio Garcia, who helped Lost Rhino become a sought-after brand in Northern Virginia, will open his own brewery, after spending most of the last year working at multiple breweries in the area.
Politics and Prose will feature the history of beer, with a beer tasting, on November 15th.
Atlas Brew Works is developing a program to take ugly fruit to make beer with, in another example of a brewery attempting to stake its claim to a part of environmentalism. They have a way to go, though, to reach the heights of this brewery.
One of the original locations for craft beer pilgrimages on the east coast, Dogfish Head’s original Rehoboth, Delaware pub, gets the wrecking ball so an expansion to its restaurant can get built.
The New York Times helps you pair beers with Thanksgiving meals this fall, with an appearance by Greg Engert.
Let’s talk about beer as a business and what that means as a whole for the industry. Good Beer Hunting posts on a subject every industry has to reckon with, the state of mental health in the profession. It’s a high anxiety inducing industry, with so many small businesses relying on razor-thin margins, high debt, dangerous working conditions, and 16 hour days. The industry as a whole could do more to help itself. That is also evident in how the beer industry generally treats its labor. Because we must always remember that beer is a business. And like any business, the industry must adjust to changing markets and that has implications, at a micro-level, for people who work in it and for the people who buy it. Even craft brands that tried to set themselves up well for the future are feeling the squeeze. Here is a handy chart that very simply demonstrates how industries change over time. Finally, here is a story on the much forgotten key ingredient in beer: barley, and how business is booming for malt suppliers.
And sometimes that beer money gets funneled into offshore accounts. Whoops!
Also, do not ever do this. As Bryan Roth pointed out on Twitter, Watts won a $100 prize for second place in the costume contest, determined by crowd applause.
…determined by crowd applause. For black face.
Boy, do we have a long way to go.
OK, take a brief timeout after that to see breweries with a view.
Jeff Alworth talks about the most interesting brewery in Oregon, which brews all gluten-free beer, that tastes like beer, using a proprietary mashing process. Put aside your biases and read.
It's Utopias season, for you high roller Void readers. Bell’s is putting its summer favorite, Oberon, in a barrel.
Finally, watch a trailer for a new beer documentary chronicling the path to becoming a Master Cicerone.
Thanks for reading the Void and always remember to enter the matrix.
