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Singha Beer, Don't Ask No Questions
Nepal, 1992. In case it’s not obvious, I’m wearing a Singha shirt. (Patrick is taking the photo and therefore not in it.) My friend Joe is at left, and to the right of the Shaivite sadhu is Brian....
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Jack's Abby: Making Clear Lagers in Hazy IPA-land
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had the chance to tour Framingham, MA-based Jack's Abby. Unfortunately, I lost my notes on the return plane ride, so this report is from memory only--so apologies...
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Join Me At The Central European Brewers Conference
Photo by Ervin Lukacs on Unsplash I have some exciting news to share: I’ve been invited to give the keynote speech at this year’s Central European Brewers Conference in Budapest. I’ve never visited...
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Gift-Giving Season
The Beer Bible features cool graphics. They look better in your hand! ‘Tis the season, and I would be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to give the gift of words. Good, old-fashioned books make a...
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Year-End Thanks
At pFriem earlier this year with family. As we come to the end of the year, I have some thanks to offer. This blog—website if we’re feeling fancy—looks like a one-man job. It’s not; far from it....
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The Year in Beer 2023
All scribblers come to late December reflecting on the year that was—in music, politics, movies, or, in our case, beer. Most of the recaps of 2023 have struck a gloomy note. Once again, except for...
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The State of the Blog—and Beer Writing More Broadly
Midjourney. Prompt: “over the shoulder view of man writing in a notebook with a glass of beer on the table, watercolor painting style” Here at the end of the year, a number of folks have been...
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The Year in Pictures
Yesterday, with the traditional stocking-stuffer from Sally. Thirty years ago, I invested a small fortune in an Apple laptop that had a docking station and doubled as a desktop computer. It...
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Delightful Beers I Enjoyed in 2023
Subscribe Sign up to receive a weekly update with links and recommendations. Email Address Sign Up I will never share your emails or use them for commercial purposes. Thank you! If you subscribe to...
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In 2024, How About "Pub January?"
In recent years, January has become a time for alcohol fasting. After the boozy holidays it makes sense to take a break, the thinking goes, and after all, who wants to go outside in the dead of...
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Sacred Profane's Amazing, Radical Approach to Beer
Michael Fava, pouring Sacred Profane’s Dark. Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of Biddeford, Maine. Even non-Mainer New Englanders might scratch their head on that one. The state’s sixth-largest...
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Getting to Know Guinness’s New U.S. Head, Rodney Williams
Source: Diageo I met Rodney Williams last spring when he came for a short visit to Portland. About six months earlier, he had been named President of Diageo Beer Company and Diageo Canada. It was a...
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It Happened in a Pub
As our old friend Tom Peterson would say, “Free is a very good price!” The Lucky Lab is marked by a vast bar that must run thirty feet north to south, and yet, testament to the communal spirit that...
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The Corona Mega Mystery in Full
Those of you who follow me on social media may have seen part of the story I’m about to tell. This is the fullest version to date.Thursday last, in the calm, normal time before the ice storm, Sally...
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Watch This Space
This has been a very weird week in the Pacific Northwest. An ice storm blew in last Friday, paralyzing the city and knocking out a lot of power. (Weak branches, coated with heavy ice, fall on power...
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Inside U Fleků
The grant. U Fleků is one of the most interesting breweries in the world, with an important history I’ve written about here. But until yesterday, I’d never gotten inside the brewhouse, which while...
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Prague
The city of Prague is sculpted by dramatic geography. The Vltava River, which should be as famous to Americans as the Thames or the Seine, snakes languidly through town. It carved a bluff on the...
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Notes on Central European Beer
Andrej Čapka (Croatia) receives an award from head judge Marek Kaminski (Kingpin Brewing, Poland) while emcee Evan Rail looks on. I had the great pleasure of joining the Central European Brewers...
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A Eulogy for the Last Burton Union System
(Update: I added a note at the end of the post.) While I was traveling, London’s Morning Advertiser reported this melancholy news: “[Carlsberg-owned] Marston’s Brewing Company has announced it is...
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Twenty-Four Photos of Budapest
That’s not a church, though it was built in the manner of one. It’s the Hungarian Parliament Building, visible throughout Budapest. Every city has a feel. As we stepped from the train station into...
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