“The irony is that it was Bondi’s incredible loyalty that made her termination almost mandatory. Had she been more selective in targeting Trump’s enemies, she wouldn’t have been so routinely and publicly humiliated. It didn’t help that she was simultaneously incompetent and loathsome.”

The Oregon Beer Awards were handed out last night, and I have some detailed notes on the winners, plus a reflection on the mood of the evening, which suggested a shift in the industry at large.

The Oregon Beer Awards were handed out last night, and I have some detailed notes on the winners, plus a reflection on the mood of the evening, which suggested a shift in the industry at large.

Nerds take note about the yeast. 👀 👀

Frustrating that this Montana Quarterly story I reported on how Scotch ales came to be ubiquitous in the state is print-only, but if anyone wants a copy, I'm happy to scan it.

And while I’m posting links, this is a good one:

I always love @boakandbailey.bsky.social’s analysis, and I am surprisingly magnetized by Bass’s reemergence, so this was catnip.

Match the state with its local drinking preferences. (Click the link for the answers.) Colorado, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon: • Scottish ales • IPAs • cream ale • traditional UK Styles • light lagers Yes, America does have (some) regional variation in beer preferences.

Increasingly, states are hosting their own beer competitions, and the way they organize them tells us a lot about what kinds of beers people are actually drinking. And here’s a cool thing: we can discern regional preferences in them.

Increasingly, states are hosting their own beer competitions, and the way they organize them tells us a lot about what kinds of beers people are actually drinking. And here’s a cool thing: we can discern regional preferences in them.

Just gave your piece a read. Looks like you were there right before we met up in Vienna! Here's my take on the Gilded Paper Flower: tempestinatankard.com/2025/09/17/l...

Two years ago we adopted this little dearie and she has been a very welcome ray of sunshine in these sometimes dark times. Here’s Rosie from last week. 🙂🐕

I have discovered the ultimate Tourney hack. Since I always fill out a busted bracket, all I have to do is have Duke winning it all and I will inevitably destroy the Blue Devils. You’re welcome.

Celebrate Oregon Beer is looking for some volunteers — and all you have to do is visit breweries to help. What could be easier? We’re also looking for an Oregon-based podcaster (some budget there).

Celebrate Oregon Beer is looking for some volunteers — and all you have to do is visit breweries to help. What could be easier? We’re also looking for an Oregon-based podcaster (some budget there).

I don’t want to knock any brewery that’s on this list, and I haven’t been to two of them (M. Crow, Chetco)—though neither, I’ll wager, has the Buffalo-based writer. But lists that exclude Breakside, Von Ebert, Sunriver, and Pelican probably have some splainin to do.

Exactly ten years ago, I predicted where beer would be in 2026. Well, how did I do?

Time sensitive: this is the last day to submit comments opposing the Bureau of Land Management's clearcutting of Oregon's ancient forests. This is a tool that educates you on just how diabolical it is, and it helps you submit your comment. morethanjustparks.com/oregon-old-g...

In case you missed this rare Saturday post.

This is a great article on the enshittification of the WaPo, and an excellent exploration of Will Lewis’ tenure as its chief executive. “As for Bezos’s loyalty to him in the face of enduring failure, Kessler speculates: ‘No one wants to admit he made a mistake, especially a billionaire.’”

Where naming is concerned, meeting customers where they are seems like sensible advice. Describing your beer as a black lager will appeal to more people than “schwarzbier” would. There are limits to this advice, however.

Where naming is concerned, meeting customers where they are seems like sensible advice. Describing your beer as a black lager will appeal to more people than “schwarzbier” would. There are limits to this advice, however.

To bolster @dinfontay.com’s argument here, I would expand it. Not only is there no evidence that celebrity can move N/A beer, there’s no evidence it can move *regular* beer, either. (Longer discussion about Garage beer, but I wouldn’t call it great evidence.) Anyway, quite a fun read.

ICYMI…

Tremendous photo!

The problem with paywalls is that (a) you end up with writers posting good stuff where hardly anyone can read it and (b) people who can't afford subscriptions are excluded from reading that good stuff. 🧵

Base #malt is an essential ingredient for ale/beer, providing the fermentable malt sugars in the mash tun. This piece on base malt explains so much about the skills of the modern maltster and, yes, I learned a lot from reading it even though I've been studying malt and malting for ages. Excellent!

Politics for those who care (and note that this one is both highly partisan and a little bit profane).

What is the main driver of the way a base malt tastes, the barley variety or the malting process? In a long-overdue part two on my series on malting, we learn the answer.

However, I do love a good Guinness, so if you’re out drinking you have my blessing and encouragement. Split those G’s, my friends!

I don’t think I’ve ever written a single St Patrick’s Day post. What is there to say that hasn’t been said one million times. Don’t expect me to break with tradition today.

Suns out, and so are Portland’s 4 pm drinkers.

Listen now!

Listen now!

You can now listen to the teaser, where John Holl and I have a short discussion about the podcast. Link below is for Apple Podcasts, but you can find it in your favorite podcast service. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

I am very excited to announce the launch of a new podcast: “One Iconic Beer.” It will land in your favorite email service on Monday, and in the meantime, here’s an introduction about what it’s about.

I am very excited to announce the launch of a new podcast: “One Iconic Beer.” It will land in your favorite email service on Monday, and in the meantime, here’s an introduction about what it’s about.

A quote from a founding-era craft brewer about why he started his brewery got me thinking. Maybe *less* romance would be a helpful way to think about beer.

A quote from a founding-era craft brewer about why he started his brewery got me thinking. Maybe *less* romance would be a helpful way to think about beer.

Dive bar meditations (Lutz Tavern, PDX)

To my international friends who wonder what’s happening in the U.S., a recent poll: 98% of MAGA Republicans approve of Trump (63% of non-MAGA Republicans do). Astoundingly, 72% of independents *disapprove* of Trump.

I missed this thread and detail (thanks for the link, @agoodbeerblog.bsky.social), and wow. In case anyone thought Tilray was playing ten-dimensional chess, I think the answer is “no” (re: James’ fina sentence).

In the final post celebrating this blog’s 20th anniversary, I revel in the weirdest stories, happenings, and trends of the past two decades. There were a lot of them!

In the final post celebrating this blog’s 20th anniversary, I revel in the weirdest stories, happenings, and trends of the past two decades. There were a lot of them!

Rogue’s inventory is still incredibly cheap—in many cases with no bids yet. If you want to start a brewery, capital costs are crazy low right now. Auctions at liquidation are good times to buy.

Not a part of the deal, sadly. I would have enjoyed the ironies of all that.

Okay, one more. Do you recall that Stone built a massive brewery in Berlin a decade ago? When it failed, BrewDog took it over. I’m pretty sure it’s part of the Tilray deal. The cost of that single brewery/pub? $29 mil. Wonder how they’re feeling in Escondido today?

When I posted this news yesterday, I left out another important piece of context. BrewDog’s “Equity for Punks” crowd-source campaign raised £75 million pounds (or $100m in today’s dollars) alone. That is 2.5 times the amount Tilray paid *for the entire company.* Just to give you a sense of things.

If you missed my talk on American beer culture last week, here’s the video. We discussed how German immigrants turned the U.S. into a beer country, and then how during the craft era Americans invented a new way of thinking about and brewing hoppy ales.