This is really a pretty exciting time to be involved with craft beer. Innovation always has been a part of the culture but now that innovators have had a little success it’s easier for other people to take chances. But for old hands and newcomers alike, the fact that we’re all craft beer revolutionaries is what keeps craft beer moving forward.

It isn’t just that we like trying new things, as if we treasure novelty for its own sake. It’s more that we’re not afraid to have a bad beer experience, which is a rare thing in and of itself. The reason chains are successful isn’t because they’re good, but rather because they’re predictable. We know what we’re going to get when we go to Chili’s.

This is so much the case that better independent restaurants struggle unless they’re in well-to-do areas. People care enough about craft beer, though, that it is a very, very rare dive bar that doesn’t at least have Sam Adams or Dogfish Head on draft.

In this episode we talk about how those chance-takers continue to change craft beer and how we hope to see them continue to do it going forward.

And it’s something we’re all participating in. For example, the prevalence of Oktoberfests that feature local ales is really a very American thing and only has been made possible by craft beer enthusiasts not only attending, but being public about how much they appreciate these events. They travel and bring sleepier towns to life when

The Rise of Stovepipe canes

‘Stovepipe’ Cans Are Here Because Craft Beer Wants to Party

In June, Anchor Brewing launched its flagship Steam Beer in cans for the first time in its 122-year history. Its vessel of choice? Tall and handsome 19.2-ounce cans, also known as “stovepipe” cans. “We wanted a single-serve option, and we saw a lot of other breweries moving into the 19.2,” Scott Ungermann, Anchor Brewing brewmaster, told VinePair.

It’s always great to see craft beer no only hitting back, but also appealing to the singles-drinkers out there. There are a million good reasons for choosing these single-serves. The most obvious one is that they’re going to be really useful at events like concerts, etc. For lots of people, though, the appeal is a little more plain: having access to these beers means that liquor stories will start giving up Budweiser space to craft beer space. It’s already happening in stores by me.

If there’s any downside at all it’s that this really just favors the “big” craft brewers. Littler guys have to stick to pints, but there’s no reason we can’t start seeing pint singles. In a world where I can buy a stovepipe of 60 Minute IPA for $3, I wouldn’t mind paying as much for a single pint of local beer. Breaking up four-pack pints and selling them as singles is something that is just going to make sense in the long run.

It also will give smaller brewers another outlet to get people to try their beers.

Getting Ready for Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest Really Is Just a State of Mind

We’ve been over this before, but American Oktoberfest is a lot different from German Oktoberfest, and that’s a great thing.  In Germany they celebrate their beer culture which is just different than ours, particularly on the micro level.

Any U.S. town with more than 5,000 residents  feels like it has to have an Oktoberfest celebration and, in an effort to reduce overlap, they try and have it when other nearby towns aren’t having one as well. The result is that you can go to a fall beer celebration in America pretty much any weekend between Sept. 1 and Nov. 10 or so.

Also,