This Pellicle post on pub etiquette has gotten a ton of attention. Since pub mores are dictated by local custom, I have no great opinions on their takes. The long list of rules is itself strange to this American—it seems very English—I like pubs for their laissez-faire attitude toward rules.

In today’s digest, Alan has lots of good stuff, but I want to point to an item down the post a ways—the price of non-alcoholic beer. This is going to be an idiosyncratic little rant and I’m not confident enough to put it on the blog, but Bluesky? Sure. A 🧵…

Politics for those who indulge.

“Czechs have certain considerations about what makes a good beer. It should have some meat on its bones, some hop bite in the finish. It should be crystal clear. Above all, it should encourage another sip, and another half-liter. Diacetyl is just not one of the things it must have or must exclude.”

Amen.

“Czechs have certain considerations about what makes a good beer. It should have some meat on its bones, some hop bite in the finish. It should be crystal clear. Above all, it should encourage another sip, and another half-liter. Diacetyl is just not one of the things it must have or must exclude.”

Beer is a potion of flavor and aroma compounds, and humans are creatures of opinion. In one culture, people favor some and eschew others, while elsewhere they may favor the other and eschew some. This is both inexplicable and universal. (Shout out to @evanrail.bsky.social)

Good read!

It’s Monday morning, so let’s whinge! Reading VinePair’s list, I am convinced that none of these are remotely correlated with beer quality—they’re just big preferences. (Best quote, from Lisa Allen on Mason jar glassware: “I’m not at some bespoke wedding in a barn.”) My strongly-held prefs below.

Portland-ween, 2025 #portland

Politics for those who indulge. (This one is kind of important.)

The vast majority of Americans think of politics as an activity that happens over there. It’s as if it’s a sordid arena sport conducted by trashy people. Donald Trump, in spandex with a floppy red tie battling scrawny democrats who have to keep pushing their horn-rim glasses back up their noses.

Thirty years ago—not 33–Goose Island conducted an experiment that still resonates today. It reminded brewers that wood-aging has an important role to play in beer, and created one of the most American of American beers. Here’s the story of Bourbon County Stout.

Thirty years ago—not 33–Goose Island conducted an experiment that still resonates today. It reminded brewers that wood-aging has an important role to play in beer, and created one of the most American of American beers. Here’s the story of Bourbon County Stout.

Happy Hallow-een-een! It’s Thursday before the kiddies show - so do buy more candy or practice our skills at turning all the house lights off in under 7 seconds? Fortunately no pumpkin beer stories (dead trend alert!) this week but plenty of other news: abetterbeerblog427.com/2025/10/30/y...

Fancy beers, taproom-only specials & limited edition releases are great, but when you wanna just grab a great beer, kick back n chill you still want quality👌🏽🍻 My latest for The Alcohol Professor names a few-feel free to add your own in the comments! www.alcoholprofessor.com/blog-posts/b...

Dave, as always, is on it. As a side comment from me, beer is an interesting product to harness as a political totem. In the one hand, it is salt-of-the-earth authentic. People instinctively love beer. And when a brewery like AB hitches the brand to gauzy, generic patriotism, it works.

More in the next @londonbeercity.bsky.social. Sign up here: www.willhawkes.net/london-beer-...

Sometimes I like to fancy myself a night owl, and the fact that it gets dark at six helps advance this illusion. Here’s a late night shot (c. 7:30 pm) from the establishment at which I had my first pumpkin ale of the year.

Politics for those who indulge.

We have been seeing a tsunami of news articles about how badly the beer industry is doing. It seemed disproportionate to the actual headwinds, and at least one report out last week shows some heartening signs.

Well, with the adjudicator on site this is the actual order! I'm a little disappointed at only 4 out of 7, but that group of four really had me confused - all quite similar, as are the first pair. Sullivan's is 5% so it was a little unfair and I dithered about its inclusion ...

Good morning from my inbox where I have 14 (fourteen) pitches I would like to commission, but I don't have the budget to fund any of them. I keep banging on about this, but @pelliclemag.com needs more subscribers if it is to continue. Please spread the word. Patreon.com/pelliclemag

Just bought a sixer of Reubens Porter this past week. This time of year, I crave porters and stouts. Will drink a dark lager year round.

In my most “give me dark beers, or give me death” opinion, Cascadian Black Ale aka Black IPA is the best modern beer style ever, and it should be everywhere. Best of both worlds: big roasty malts, huge punchy hops. There was a brief moment of ubiquity here in Wisconsin but now they’re hard to find.

In which I attempt to convince myself that dark beers are not, in fact, extinct.

In which I attempt to convince myself that dark beers are not, in fact, extinct.

You might think there are few places less conducive to learning how to drink than Salt Lake City, and reasonably so. In the 1980s, it wasn’t easy to get a drink there. But for the isolated teen, alcohol offered a potent weapon of rebellion.

This family deserves a two part documentary

You might think there are few places less conducive to learning how to drink than Salt Lake City, and reasonably so. In the 1980s, it wasn’t easy to get a drink there. But for the isolated teen, alcohol offered a potent weapon of rebellion.

Politics, for those who indulge.

Is 2025 a “pumpkin beers are the spawn of hades” or “you know, on reconsideration, pumpkin beers are fine” year? I can’t get a bead on what we’re doing.

Via @drinksmaven.bsky.social, this is wild:

If you had to represent American beer culture in three beer styles which would you choose?

Portland always turns out, and this protest covered such a large footprint that I’m not sure how but it was. Leaving that aside, some pics and observations: 1. The crowd was really happy and mellow. The vibe was unexpectedly very upbeat. They were far from in denial, however.

I have rarely been in a more joyful gathering.

Delivering on my promise of a return to beer, I have appended an update to this post from a brewer who explains the economics behind the 16-ounce can. Surprise! They have a dollars-and-cents incentive to use 16s.

Hi folks, I am going to talk politics here and I apologize to those who just want to see beer stuff in their beer feed. I get it, and I’ll be back to IPAs soon enough. But the situation in the U.S. is so dire I want to spend a moment lending my voice in support of democracy.

additional commentary on the NYT’s rage-bait from @beervana.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/beer...

I was going to skip replying to that New York Times op-ed, but I failed.

I was going to skip replying to that New York Times op-ed, but I failed.

The North American Guild of Beer Writers announced the winners of their annual awards competition. I have some notes on the winners, plus some comments on the state of writing and publishing in 2025.

The North American Guild of Beer Writers announced the winners of their annual awards competition. I have some notes on the winners, plus some comments on the state of writing and publishing in 2025.

Politics for those interested.

On Saturday, @boakandbailey.bsky.social unearthed 1974 BBC video of Hook Norton—an amazing document, and not just for the reasons you might imagine. The brewery, then as today one of the most traditional in the UK, was making some interesting beer that sheds a lot of light on the way things change.

On Saturday, @boakandbailey.bsky.social unearthed 1974 BBC video of Hook Norton—an amazing document, and not just for the reasons you might imagine. The brewery, then as today one of the most traditional in the UK, was making some interesting beer that sheds a lot of light on the way things change.

Unlike regular journalistic articles, opinion pieces don’t have to offer data to back up their assertions. But absent actual data, why should I care about this writer’s random string of preferences? It would also help if those preferences were updated to reflect brewing today rather than 2017.

The North American Guild of Beer Writers handed out their awards today, and here are the winners. Congrats!

It occurred to me after I posted these results that eight of the 25 beer medals were won by breweries headed by a woman brewer (UPP, Grand Fir, and Wayfinder). Celebrate Oregon Beer!

Some of the highlights of the latest GABF and its winners, which were announced this morning. Of special interest in Oregon: former 10 Barrel brewers won 7 medals (including 5 for months-old UPP, Tonya Cornett’s new brewery), and zero for 10 Barrel.