Ah, seems like just yesterday.

I think of myself as an optimistic person in general, but it feels like things are going to get worse for craft brewers before they get better.

Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling Acquires SoulBoxer Cocktail Co. MILWAUKEE (March 30, 2025) – Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling, one of Wisconsin’s most innovative ...

Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling has acquired Milwaukee RTD producer SoulBoxer Cocktail Co., expanding its RTD lineup with new canned cocktails launching April 2 statewide.

Got an email offering help getting a book published. A scam. But it offered comments on a recent article of mine that made it seem he must have read it. It took a minute to realize that this had to be an AI, which probably did read my article and then wrote the email. This stuff is getting weirder.

@brewedculture.org That works for me! (Should I not admit that?)

Promo poster for my upcoming online seminar, "The 30-Year Journey of Chicago's Lager Beer Riot," scheduled for Tuesdays, 4/7 - 4/28/26, all virtual.

Still open spots in my upcoming @newberrylibrary.bsky.social virtual seminar on Chicago's Lager Beer Riot of 1855, and its roots in broader European food riot patterns!

Classes will be recorded, so you can attend asynchronously if you want.

www.newberry.org/calendar/bee...

I agree, especially with the comments on marketing. Breweries used to be among America’s best brand builders, mostly via TV, but they started prioritizing entertainment decades ago (with a few exceptions). There’s a whole new media landscape, but the primacy of brand-building hasn’t changed.

Deep Inside My Heart — Hopleaf, Chicago’s Beer Bar — Pellicle 33 years after it stopped airing, Cheers still embodies the ideal of the neighbourhood bar for many Americans. The place where everybody knows your name has become such a shorthand for this imagin...

This literally brought a tear to my eye. So many memories from Hop Leaf, and so glad it's still around - and will be around, it seems, for years to come. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/2/...

I'll fall on my church key about this. Super Bowl Ad Meter Disease has almost killed the traditional beer ad. Beer advertisers used to be great at building brands. A few still do, but most chase "water cooler talk" alone. They high-five over popularity even when those ads do nothing to boost sales.

The whole idea strikes me as absurd, no matter how good the beer may actually taste. But once you've committed to the idea, you may as well go all out with the poop jokes.

I pointed that out on social media when Colin Kaepernick was still playing (and kneeling) and wow, did I ever get s**t from the commenters.

At long last, he's back. YouTube video by Dos Equis

He's back. And to be honest, I missed him. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNW...

I can't tell you how many new-to-beer brand managers arrived thinking that this was what beer marketing was all about. Sometimes we talked them out of going in this direction, other times they got their way - to the detriment of the brand, beer imagery in general, and in some cases human decency.

As someone who worked in marketing for a big brewer starting in the 80s (US only): there wasn't nearly as much of this sort of thing as people thought. But yeah, when it did happen it drew a disproportionate amount of negative attention (as it should have) and so that's all most people remember.

Well, I want to do my part to keep Fingers financially viable, if only to meet my minimum daily requirement of shitposts.

Do yourself a favor and follow Dave's advice.

Major Kentucky bourbon maker Jim Beam shuttering distillery for 2026 The move comes as Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry is dealing with a glut of supply and slipping sales.

The times we live in are insane, but as a guy working in the alcohol beverage industry, this particular bit of insanity hits home. I can only hope they find a way to help their employees hang in there somehow. www.kentucky.com/news/busines...

The Gallup Number We Should be Focusing On - First Key Consulting The most notable finding in the recent Gallup Poll is the dramatic rise in adults viewing moderate drinking as harmful, suggesting a shift in public perception and potential actions for the alcohol in...

I wrote this intending it as the last word (as in "definitive") on Gallup's beer numbers. The way the timing worked out it may be the last word chronologically. But thanks to @beervana.bsky.social for inspiring the thinking and very helpful comments on the manuscript.) firstkey.com/the-gallup-n...

Here in WI I was really only familiar with Dead Guy over the years, and even though I thought I was fairly familiar with the brand ethos I learned much from Dave's article. So, yeah, Rogue as a purveyor of toxic masculinity was a new idea to me, but it seems apt.

"Every brewery that was once cool will someday not be, and it will still have bills to pay. Or, to dip back into metaphor: You can’t go Rogue forever." I regularly remind my class that yesterday's rebel is today's establishment - it's almost inevitable. Great piece by Dave.

Also @stanhieronymus.bsky.social @brewedculture.org - my original post included a small rant about how this is another example of the current US govt creating unnecessary problems for so many - which I deleted before posting. But I'm encouraged when anyone (like Siebel) respond proactively.

Well, my optimism is sort of a slingshot effect of the pessimism I felt learning that Siebel was facing (unnecessary) obstacles thanks to another ill-conceived US govt action. So by moving to Montreal they took the necessary steps to continue their great work.

It's sad that this is happening, yet it still left me feeling optimistic about the future of Siebel and brewing more generally. Siebel's 150-year role in the development of the beer business can't be overstated. mailchi.mp/08d844f49e24...

The Prize. It's a history of the oil industry by Daniel Yergin. Definitely could be made into a movie.

I love everything about this.

We can all do far worse than quote George Carlin.

I love Catherine Rampell's work!

Do I need to be accompanied by actual trick-or-treaters?

Opinion | How to Save Beer

This op-ed isn't the worst thing I've read about beer in the @nytimes.com, but it relies on some very facile ideas about how the craft beer market works that don't hold up to basic scrutiny.

Everyone thinks they're a marketing expert, but when they share their "expertise," it's usually: "I am the archetypal customer and therefore everyone wants what I want."