Since 2017
The never ending stream of articles reporting on the consumption of beer, and alcohol in general, can be a pretty confusing mess. It seems that everyone is contradicting one another, and so it's hard to consider each source to be any more reliable than the others. With that said, an interesting article, recently published by Visual Capitalist, highlights beer consumption rates in each of the 50 US States.
AB InBev's North American CEO Joao Castro Neves warns of beer losing its throne as the largest American alcohol market segment as soon as 2030. This projection is based on statistics showing a dramatic 33% loss of market share in the 21-27 year old demographic between 2006 and 2016. In the former, beer made up 65% of total alcohol consumption, falling to just 43% in 2016.
What's up y'all? Its early September which means it's almost Octoberfest! While I have never been, but would love to go, to a proper Bavarian Octoberfest celebration, I still enjoy the Octoberfest seasonal beers. To be honest, this is BY FAR my favorite time of the year from a seasonal beer perspective.
Priscilla White Wit Wheat, a doozy of a name. Mind you, Oskar Blues is the same brewery that brings you Fugli, so make of that what you will. This is the third Oskar Blues brew I've tried, and so far they're 1/2 in my book. As you probably know by now, hops and I have a tolerate and hate relationship most of the time. Dale's Pale Ale was too much for me (full review coming soon enough). Fugli was a great brew because it balanced sweetness with the hops, creating a pleasant flavor throughout. But as a MASSIVE fan of witbier, I was excited to try out Priscilla White Wit Wheat.
Over the last few years, the United States has become increasingly open to Marijuana. Between multiple polls, public debates and the sweeping legislative changes seeing states increasingly accept medicinal and/or recreational marijuana use, it's clear that the United States of America is increasingly "green" friendly.
If you've ever checked out the craft beer communities of prevalent social networks, odds are you have come across Stone Brewing before. Creating popular brews such as Ruination and Tangerine Express, Stone Brewing's reputation for quality craft beer lays on a solid foundation. The only Stone beer I had tried in the past was Arrogant Bastard, which is in a grey area as it was originally a Stone brand but went solo in 2015. As far as I can tell, it is still owned by the same people.
The Samuel Adams Beers of Summer Variety pack is an interesting group of brews. Of course, the flagship Boston Lager is included. My first "new" choice of the pack, the Summer Ale, failed to meet my expectations. It seemed confused as to what it hoped to be, and so it really didn't become anything distinguishable. It was bitter, its was sour, it was meh. After a couple weeks rest, I decided to have another crack at the 12-pack, this time selecting the Berliner Weisse. As a wheat beer fan, I was cautiously optimistic.
This is a beer that, seemingly, needs no introduction. Pliny the Elder has captivated the craft community for quite some time. Brewed by Russian River, based of of California, Pliny has developed a reputation for punching you in the mouth with 100 IBU of hops, but doing it in a lovable, classy way. With 174,000 reviews ratings on Untappd, Pliny has managed to maintain an obscenely high 4.55/5. So when I was presented an opportunity to do a beer trade for a couple bottles, I jumped at the chance.
Sgt. Suds 