Cross-cultural beer pioneers
By
Published September 2013, Volume 34, Number 4
Peter Bouckaert, a native Belgian and brewmaster at New Belgium Brewing Co.
By Heather Vandenengel
Early last June of 2012, Brian Purcell, CEO and brewmaster of the soon-to-open Three Taverns Craft Brewery in Decatur, GA, took a seven-day beer tour of Belgium with his wife. He and his partner and CFO, Chet Burge, had almost reached their funding goal to open a Belgian-beer-inspired brewery, and the trip served as inspiration—in more ways than one.
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Library Houses Life Collections of Beer Writer Michael Jackson
By Stan Hieronymus
Published September 2013, Volume 34, Number 4
A view of beer writer Michael Jackson's office, the contents of which are now at a library in the United Kingdom. Photo courtesy of Oxford Brookes University.
The world’s best-known beer writer did not claim to get everything right at first.
“Obviously, I’m learning all the time, and revising my ideas. Nor did I start with the assumption that I knew better than anyone else,” Michael Jackson wrote to American beer importer Charles Finkel in 1981. “My initial contribution was not knowledge but a willingness to research.”
Jackson and Finkel were near the beginning of a friendship and business relationship that would last until the Englishman Jackson died in 2007. Finkel once said finding Jackson’s World Guide to Beer in 1978 “was to me like a heathen discovering the Bible,” and it was an essential reference in building the portfolio for his company, Merchant du Vin. Finkel had recently visited the author in London, and that the two were at ease with each other was obvious. Jackson suggested Finkel must have had a good time, because there was part of the evening the American apparently did not remember.
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By Brian Yaeger
Published September 2013, Volume 34, Number 4
Michael Zislis, Gene Simmons and Dave Furano
Kiss’ two active original members, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, want you to rock ’n’ roll all night, party every day—and how about you nosh on some burgers and wings and try some microbrew from the new international casual dining chain they’re partners in, Rock & Brews.
In their trademark makeup, Simmons as “The Demon” and Stanley as “The Starchild” fashion the image of Kiss that’s as recognized—and bankable—as Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald. Makes you wonder why I, a beer writer, am hanging out with them in Los Cabos, Mexico, on assignment. They’re hardly connoisseurs.
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Young Brewers Set to Make Waves in the Brewing World
By Whit Richardson
Published March 2013, Volume 34, Number 1
With more than 2,000 craft breweries in production and another 1,000 in the planning stages, the craft beer scene is poised for growth and ground-breaking innovation like we’ve never seen before.
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A Major Ingredient of Great Beer is Knowledge
By Rick Lyke
Published January 2011, Volume 31, Number 6
It takes a great deal of talent and energy to brew great beer. It also takes a unique set of ingredients to create today’s craft lagers and ales. Some of these raw materials can be spelled out in recipes—hops, malt and yeast—while others, like the knowledge to build a killer beer list and train bar wait staff, are just as vital to our enjoyment of great beer. Read More…
Guiding your way through Craft Beer
By Rick Lyke
Published January 2011, Volume 31, Number 6
Beer is sold on draught, in bottles and in cans. It is also sold in books, magazines, at tastings and training sessions. At the core of the craft beer movement is beer and the people who brew it—and both have stories to tell. Effectively telling the story behind beer is essential to building the craft beer community, generating fans and ensuring the success of the liquid itself. Read More…
