The dregs of summer are here. And with them, a couple news stories to close out the season. BrewDog and the Brewers Association are back in the news, and perhaps not for the right reasons.
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When it was founded back in 1997, Ommegang was one of the most unusual breweries in America. In some ways, it is today even more unusual. In a hop-crazy country, Ommegang favors yeast character; in a time when hyper-local is hot, the brewery looks to Belgium. Let us consider its unusual ways.
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A recent study by The Lancet finds that the risks of drinking alcohol are far greater than previously reported. In fact, the study says, the only safe amount of alcohol is no alcohol. But if you look more closely at the study, the data don’t support that conclusion.
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Jürgen Knöller was born in Bavaria, trained there as a brewer, and began his career there before relocating to Missoula, Montana to become the master brewer at the newly-founded Bayern Brewing--a company he bought in 1991. I interviewed him in 2013.
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An update on the brewer compensation survey and an appeal for 180 more responses. The data are rich and interesting, and I think this will be something valuable to those of you who work in a brewery. Please fill out the survey if you havent.
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Two centuries ago, Americans drank all day long. Two generations ago, they toasted each other with three-martini lunches. Today the median drinker sips just a couple drinks a week. What happens if these trends continue?
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As workers, one of the strongest tools you have in bargaining is information, and knowing what your peers make is valuable info. In advance of Labor Day, I’m surveying brewers about what they earn—and I hope you will spend a few minutes helping me out.
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We do so much of our living online that we sometimes forget that our physical environment colors what we think and feel. It has been the hottest summer on record in Portland, and that has a whole city freaked out.
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Friends, Americans, countrymen, loan me your eyeballs. I come to bury Two Hats, not to condemn it. Actually, I do condemn it. But more, I observe how its tombstone stands as a sentinel of warning—and not just to big, industrial breweries.
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Over the weekend, I was visiting Brewery Ommegang for an annual event I found unusual and intriguing. On Saturday, I had a moment to sit down and reflect on what I was seeing.
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A few interesting things happening in and around my life. Well, I think they’re interesting. More travel, book updates, plus a new project.
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