The passion for porter and stout in Russia and the Baltic is due to the vigor with which London brewers exported their beers in the 18th and 19th centuries. At one time more than 10 London breweries were making strong versions of their dark beers for export. The most successful was Thrale on the south... View Article
When the Soviet Union collapsed and Winston Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain opened, observers of the brewing scene discovered that Russians drink beer as well as vodka. The country has a fascinating brewing tradition that was hidden from view for most of the 20th century.
Recently, I was invited to participate in one of those wonderful McMenamin’s “drink tanks.” Once or twice a year, Mike and Brian McMenamin gather their friends, workers, and other assorted followers together to participate in ceremonial rites to formulate one of their very special brews. This one, held at the Portland’s Hillsdale Pub, was for... View Article
To those of us in the rest of the country, “ the West Coast” is a world apart. Despite the vast geographical spread from California to Alaska, despite a cultural spread that brought us both the Grateful Dead and Ronald Reagan, viewed from the outside, the West is one strange singularity. It is Hollywood glitz,... View Article
Past Great Canadian Beer Festivals, in Victoria, British Columbia, have been a beer tourist’s Mecca. I lived most of my misspent youth some 90 miles from Vancouver and Victoria. Canadian beer was an always sought-after treasure, and Canada, an exotic destination mere miles from home. Did all Mounties sing like Nelson Eddie? Was the city... View Article
A few days ago, I listened to Moira Gunn interviewing an author on her public radio program, “Tech Nation,” about what technology to expect in the next 50 years. That set me to thinking: what will the craft beer revolution that we have so carefully nurtured be like in 2053?
Imagine my surprise when, one morning at 8:24 a.m., I was interrupted at my labors by a phone call. It was an irate UPS person calling to inform me that I was receiving a shipment of alcohol, an “illegal” substance, and that was more than they could allow—something up with which they could not put.
For some time now, the Slow Food people in my part of the world have acted as though beer did not exist. That’s OK, because until very recently I thought of them as an anti-McDonald’s group and not much else. I could sympathize with them, but I wasn’t ready to squander $60 of my ill-gotten... View Article
Every once in a while, when the room is quiet and I have a freshly poured beer in my glass, I put my beer to my ear and listen. I’ve been doing this for a long time now (20 years or more), and the reader may well inquire about my purpose.
