BeerDorks.com: Reviews, Commentary and Opinions on Midwest Craft Beer and Microbreweries

 
August 22, 2011

Beer Diary:

Since I’m Too Lazy To Write, Here’s Something Else To Read

The best way to run a beer site is to leach off the hard work of others.
by Eddie Glick

I like my beer like my women: pale, strong, full-bodied, and extremely bitter.
Contact Eddie»
Since I’m extremely busy at the moment after a long brew day (more on that later) sitting in my underwear, eating ice cream, and listening to House Of Hair, I thought I’d point out some interesting things to read by others with far more ambition than me.

Lying, er, Marketing
Lew Bryson has a nice little post on branding and beer. He makes some great points, but I’m not sure I agree with his assertion that beer dorks (like us) get “confused” by marketing from craft brewers. In fact, I think the TV spots for Sam Adams are very well done (explaining why the commercials’ style—brewer talking about the beer in the brewery with punchy editing and bluesy American rock music in background—keeps getting ripped off by the likes of Michelob, Leinenkugel’s, and even other craft breweries). Marketing becomes a tool of the Devil when the company—whether they’re brewing beer, selling blue jeans, or making paper plates—realizes it’s far easier to lie about the quality of your beer/blue jeans/paper plates and produce shit than it is to just shut up and make a decent product.

Beer Mythbusting
In case you missed it on #IPAday, Martyn Cornell takes on four of IPA’s more enduring myths. Make sure you scroll down and read the comments, particularly the one by Pete Brown, author of Hops And Glory, and maybe the one person you can call an expert on the subject.

Another Beer Book
I just cracked my new copy of Stan Hieronymus’ latest book, Brewing With Wheat, and it looks to be much like his last one, Brew Like A Monk, in that he doesn’t dumb things down when talking about the nitty gritty details of brewing. Yeah, that means it’s aimed at home brewers—if not pro brewers—but so fascinating that even beer lovers without brewing knowledge will easily enjoy it … and learn a lot in the process.



Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties.
Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it.
Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas.
Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen.
R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed.
Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!!
Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure.
It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile.
Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity.
Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...