Ale Street News

2017 Best Nine Instagram Photos

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Beer Affair - 2017 Best Nine

The photos you liked the most on Instagram @BeerAffair in 2017.

Beer Affair 2017 Most Liked Photos on Instagram

The “2017 Best Nine.” I thought it was a silly trend at first, but eventually came around to see the value in what viewers liked the most on the @BeerAffair Instagram account over the course of 2017. Of course, every moment of my love affair with beer is special to me, and some of these moments are meaningful, but what I found really interesting is how many of them are, well, sorta not. Continue reading →

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What I Do As a Beer Writer

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Taking notes at Moeder Lambic, Brussels, Belgium.

Taking notes at Moeder Lambic, Brussels, Belgium.

Editor’s note: A version of this post originally appeared on LinkedIn Pulse. I figured I may as well publish it here, too. 

As a craft beer journalist and blogger, I’m often met with mystified expressions and questions when I explain what I do: “A beer writer? So, you drink beer and write about it? That must be fun!”

Well, yes, I do write about beer, and I do drink a lot of it in order to write about it. But, much like food writers don’t spend all of their time seated at fancy restaurants with a sea of courses stretching before them into waves of table infinity, beer writing isn’t all about bellying up to the bar. Continue reading →

NYC Beer Week 2016: Brewers to Look for and Beers to Drink

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NYC Beer Week  2016 (Feb. 19 – 28) is almost upon us. With less than two weeks to go, it’s time to start planning which beers to seek out, many brought to you by the ever-growing and awesome group of talented New York City brewers. Lucky for all of us, some of us were clued in to what will be pouring throughout the 10-day “week” of incredible local beers.

The recommendations below include beers poured at the NYC Beer Week 2016 press preview held at Flatiron Hall on Jan. 27, 2016. Several of these breweries will also be debuting SMaSH beers on Feb. 19 during the city-wide SimulTap, or simultaneous tapping of State Malt and State Hop beers brewed specially for NYC Beer Week. Possibly the best lineup of these (10 SMaSH beers on tap) will be tapping at Banter on Feb. 19, but you can find them throughout the city and week in small quantities. Continue reading →

Ale Street News: The Rise of the Beer Web Series

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Chris Bosh and Sam Calagione in That's Odd...Let's Drink It!

Chris Bosh and Sam Calagione in That’s Odd…Let’s Drink It!

The new issue of Ale Street News is out, which means I finally get to share my favorite feature of the year: The Rise of the Beer Web Series.

On assignment from Tony Forder, ASN editor, I had the opportunity to interview Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery founder, about his new web series that launched recently on First We Feast: That’s Odd…Let’s Drink It!

The series opened a floodgate for me, as I discovered a number of beer series across the Internet of Beer landscape: Craftwerk by Munchies (Vice); the Beer Diaries by the eponymous Beer Diaries TV; Beer Artisan by the Foodable Web TV Network. As these series continue to surface, and as beer shows begin to rise in popularity in general, an important set of questions begins to emerge:

  1. Why are beer shows being produced online instead of on TV?
  2. Can a beer show simultaneously appeal to beer experts and beginners?
  3. What will Sam Calagione do next?

Find out on Page 13 of the latest ASN issue, Vol. 24—No. 6: Craft Beer Gone Crazy. Pick one up in a craft beer bar near you—or click here.

Cheers,
BeerAffair

Chatting With Sam Calagione – Craft Beer, Overripe Tomatoes and Controlling Your Destiny

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Cheersing Sam Calagione with two of Dogfish Head's latest off-centerd ales.

Cheersing Sam Calagione with two of Dogfish Head’s latest off-centerd ales.

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Calagione, my personal idol and founder and president of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, at the premiere of his new web series on First We Feast: “That’s Odd, Let’s Drink It.”

The show, created in collaboration between Dogfish Head and First We Feast parent company, Complex Media, calls together craft beer lovers and pop culture buffs to watch Calagione brew crazy beers with some of his idols, following escapades with unique and unusual ingredients inspired by industries spanning cooking to hip hop.

At the event, which was held at Eataly’s rooftop restaurant and microbrewery, Birreria on Wednesday, Sam ordered me a glass of the show’s debut beer and we talked idols, the importance of creative collaboration, and how to turn rotten fruit into delicious, refreshing beer. Here’s what I learned. Continue reading →