The Keymaster, not the Gatekeeper
Setting aside the cultural, epicurean and economic benefits the craft beer revolution might just herald a larger social good: the extinction of the dead-eyed bartender. Bartending always took an amount of skill, but it increasingly takes engagement. This is pretty true behind any normal bar, but behind the bar at a craft brewery, it is […]
Quick Hit: A festival in pictures
Beer is a draw Just because it doesn’t have a brewery or and real strong desire to have a massive beer festival that competes with the other massive beer festivals doesn’t mean that Laurel has to watch the economic boost attached to the craft beer culture pass it by. Four years ago the chamber of […]
There’s no place like home
That taverns were the heart of the American Revolution, hell, of most revolutions, feels like it’s common knowledge, but why taverns as opposed to private homes or churches is something that escapes people. The fact is, it had very little to do with alcohol. In early America, especially in rural areas, there was a tavern […]
Being undeniable on 45th Street
The restaurant that is Assawoman Bay Brewing Company was under construction when I visited this spring. It was disorienting and made me grateful for the weird beer reporter position I’ve been in for the last few years. I’m privileged to see a lot of breweries mid-construction or conversion, to taste beers that might eventually get […]
Who are the (craft beer) people in your neighborhood?
Part three of a three parter on the cambridge beer festival Listen, I like old people more than most people my age. It’s not merely a “respect for my elders” attitude, although that’s part of it, but there’s something beyond reproach about older folks. There’s a kind of attitude that projects the confidence of experience […]
A craft brewer destination
Part two of a three-parter about (or at least inspired by) the Cambridge Craft Beer Festival Click here for part one. It wasn’t outrageously hot at the Cambridge Beer Festival, but there was a taste in the air of how hot it was going to be by the time summer hit full on. The usual […]
All in good taste
This is the first of a three-part story about the Cambridge Beer festival. Why now, why beer, why Cambridge? Brett Summers must have felt as if he were being interrogated. He, along with Patrick Fanning, own the High Spot in Cambridge and with it, the distinction of being the second, overwhelming wave of craft beer […]
Craft Business as usual: Rubber Soul and the potential greatness of good beer
This part two of a two part story It’s an obvious statement but one that still is worth making: craft beer has tipped and not just in popularity. It is a Thing now, with expectations and pro- and con- sides and subcultures and vanguards. It has become part of our culture in a way very […]
The Word on Rubber Soul
This is Part one of a two-part story Eastern Shore Brewing in St. Michaels got a bad rap when it first opened nearly a decade ago because it had some inconsistency issues. Owner Ace Moritz solved that problem by going back to the drawing board, knocking off the fancy stuff and cranking out a couple of […]
Tall Tales getting taller
Brewing increasingly is becoming an economic engine for Wicomico County. With the passage of the “EVO” bill by the state legislature, breweries will be able to expand even more driving revenue and tourism in the area. Recently, County Executive Bob Culver joined Tall Tales Brewing Company owner Jason Hearn for the ground breaking ceremony that […]
Pharma’s loss is Dogfish’s gain
This is the last of the “series” on women in brewing for this year, but stay tuned for more stories about how women effect beer culture as the year goes on. — TR Making a lot of good beer is even more complex than you might think. At Dogfish Head there is a constant battle […]
Dr. Beer, if it’s all the same to you…
Or: Taking misogyny out of beer through osmosis I’ve interviewed a lot of homebrewers. Some who have turned pro and others who are content to make what they please when they please. The common thread is the Mr. Beer kit which is something between a joke and a rite of passage for many of those […]
