THE YEAR IN BEER REVIEW
If you read the end of the year reports for any major beer producer, the song remains the same: 2OO9 was a challenging and complicated year in the beer industry, stemming from a depressed economic environment, tightening credit markets and continuing cost pressures. Overall, beer sales in the United States... Read More
Global Travels
Beer tourism is on the rise. As someone who covers the industry, I have spent a lot of time over the past three years traveling to various up and coming beer spots around the world. A decade ago, beer tourists endeavored to travel to Belgium, Germany and Britain to try... Read More
Irish Beer Today
Among everyday beer drinkers, the Republic of Ireland stands as one of the world’s great brewing nations. The land where velvety pints of Dublin Gold pour forth from countless taps in myriad quaint pubs, from Dublin to Kinsale to Sligo. The nation is also home to the slightly less well... Read More
The Changing Face of the Beer Industry
Starting in earnest during the early years of the 198Os, few could have guessed just how much the complexion of the American beer industry would change. It’s moved from an era when a small handful of corporate brewers reigned supreme from coast to coast to a time when the plains... Read More
Great American Beer Festival 2009
Things could have gone very differently this year. In the midst of the worst economy for consumer goods in more than half a century, craft and domestic brewers alike braced for a painful and unknown impact. They anticipated sharp declines, the product of worried consumers staying home and away from... Read More
Seasonal Beers
With all of the sustained and even explosive growth craft beer has enjoyed over the last decade, perhaps no area has been more active than seasonal beer. Brewers have long understood the importance of appealing to the changing consumer drinking patterns that accompany shifting weather patterns, which fuels the active... Read More
Matt Steinberg
Matt Steinberg is a rare breed in the beer business, an individual who understands the intricate details of how to both brew and sell beer. Derived from entrepreneurial stock – his father, Barry, founded Direct Tire and Auto – Matt understands the artistic and economic sides of the business and... Read More
A Tale of Two Breweries
The culture and influence of American craft brewing is quietly moving across the world. From upstart Danish micro brewers to quirky Japanese extreme ale producers subtle changes are taking place in the way we all think about beer. These operations are often run by beverage alcohol industry veterans who are... Read More
CRAFT NAVIGATES NEW WATERS
Despite long-standing concerns with the economy the domestic beer segment overall, and the craft beer set in particular, continues to perform well for retailers and distributors. Nudging up one half percent, the beer industry fought against strong and troubling economic trends, especially in the second half of 2OO8. Craft brewers... Read More
The Dick Cantwell Interview
Born in Germany and raised in the Upper Midwest Dick Cantwell developed his passion for beer as a homebrewer living and writing in the Boston area in the late 198Os. By 199O he decided to move once again, this time to Seattle, where he became the head brewer for the... Read More