My failure to keep this blog frequently updated is largely due to two issues: 1) I'm quite busy, balancing a full-time job, freelance work, a somewhat needy little dog, and a personal life of some sort, and 2) I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I hate putting forth effort on something if I don't think I can finish it or it won't be up to my entirely self-imposed standards. The first issue I can do little about, but maybe I can give myself a bit of a break on issue two.
Read MoreUp until my visit to Dogfish Head in Delaware, my visits to breweries had been entirely observational. I got to see where the magic happened and the ingredients that would be turned into delicious beer, but that was where my involvement usually ended. When I found out I’d get to participate in a brew at Dogfish Head, I was pretty excited, and when I found out I’d be doing so alongside the brewery’s founder and president, Sam Calagione, I could hardly believe it.
Read MoreBefore World of Beer sent me to Kansas City, MO on assignment to get to know Boulevard beer better, I had never really been to the midwest (apart from a short weekend working trip to Chicago, which doesn't really count.) It remained a mystery to me, and I was excited to see if everything I'd heard was true - are the people that nice? The barbecue that good? The local pride that real?
Yes, yes, and yes.
Read MoreIt's been almost a month since my trip to San Diego for SourFest 2016 at Stone Brewing in Escondido, but it feels like only yesterday. The trip out was momentous in a way, as it was my first real travel assignment as a World Of Beer Drink It Intern. The dream was really coming to life as I packed up my gear and boarded a plane all on my lonesome, in pursuit of new ex-beer-iences to document and share.
Read MoreEarlier this month I was thrust headfirst into the wide, wild, and wonderful world of sour and wild ales at annual Brooklyn event, Where the Wild Beers Are. Unlike any beer event I had ever attended, WTWBA is a bottle-sharing event that requires participants to bring commercially produced wild, sour, and farmhouse ales in order to attend. The amount you bring determines the amount you receive in tasting pours, served by event volunteers at stations around the event.
Read MoreCraft beer. What is it?
According to the Brewer's Association, a craft brewer is "small, independent, and traditional." Sounds kinda vague, right? Well to get more into it, SMALL means "annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less "; INDEPENDENT means "less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer"; and TRADITIONAL means "a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation".
Alright, so how does that translate to what's in your glass?
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