Beervana Podcast

Yesterday Bend’s Deschutes Brewery announced it was buying in-town rival Boneyard. Beware hot takes about how happy the marriage will be: the devil in these kinds of deals involves details we can’t see.

One of the more remarkable stories in the beer world is the incredibly long process of developing a viable commercial hop variety, and the long odds any single seed has of becoming a winner. In the first of the Sightglass articles, we examine HBC 1019 to see how it all works.

Oregon legislators have introduced a new beer tax that would make the state the most-taxed in the country—at a level nearly twice as high as the next state, and more than ten times the national median. Worse, the rhetoric suggests an explicit goal is to cripple Oregon breweries.

Chicago Tribune reporter Josh Noel joins us for today's show. Josh has been writing about beer for the Tribune since 2009, and in 2018 published one of the most deeply-reported books ever written on the beer industry, Barrel Aged Stout and Selling Out. We’ll talk about that book and get an update on what’s happening with its subject, AB InBev-owned Goose Island, as well as discussing beer more generally, as well as what it’s like to be one of the few working newspaper reporters covering the beer beat.

I am bad at predicting future events—often spectacularly, hilariously so. What’s a good anniversary without a good roasting? To that end, I have a looked back to see what what I predicted about glitter beer, hazy IPAs, and hard seltzer.

This week Beervana turns fifteen. Throughout the week I’ll be posting some lighthearted material looking back, and today we kick things off with a quick look back. It turns out this blog almost perfectly corresponds to the modern era of brewing in the US.

Mass market lagers aren’t, let’s be honest, especially interesting beers. They are often made by giant corporations in equally giant plants. But drinking them—in that act we might locate some pleasure.

So many forces are now scrambling the beer industry—including Covid, which may change it forever—that the very meaning of “craft beer” is up for grabs. It may help to consider the era through different lenses to take its full measure.

In May, Pelican Brewery turns 25. For the whole of its life, it has reflected the vision of its longtime brewer, Darron Welch. Yet unlike so many legacy breweries, Pelican is growing and thriving. There’s an important lesson here.

Today we continue our exploration of graphic design and branding with Jordan Wilson. In today's show, Jordan uses examples of his own work with Old Town, 54-40, and Foreland to illustrate how brands are built or recast, and what they should accomplish.