My Reign Has Ended (And On To the Next Chapter)

Since early 2007, I've been the American-beer-history, go-to person in the U.S. (And, for that matter, often abroad as well.) (*1) That wasn't my goal when I wrote the beer book. Rather, that was an unexpected but happy consequence. A payoff for my hard work and the years devoted to amassing knowledge.

My reign is over. Craft beer has a new historian, and I hereby hand my crown to him (and do so with good cheer). (*2)

Tom Acitelli is the author of The Audacity of Hops: The History of America's Craft Beer Revolution, a new book whose title describes its contents.

I loved the book. He did the topic justice. (*3)

From here on, a journalist looking for info about craft beer (which is more groovy than ever and certainly more so than when my book appeared in 2006) can turn to Tom for what he/she wants to know.

Tom, here's to you and the future of good beer and good writing and good history. It's all yours. (Don't fuck it up, okay?)

Having said that --- I'm slightly sad about the end of this part of my life. Slightly. Because, no surprise, I'm on to other stuff (and as some of you know, when I'm on the trail of new work, I'm jazzed). (*4)

If you will, please join me in applauding Tom and his accomplishment.

And now Tom: over to you. Godspeed.

______________

*1: No, I don't mean I'm the ONLY PERSON EVER that journalists have consulted on the subject of beer's American history. There are others. But I had a particular niche, and had it more or less to myself, and I did it justice. No apologies at my end. Indeed, I've crusaded and proselytized for craft beer's passion, ingenuity, and creativity since 2006. I'd like to think I converted a few skeptics in the world of reporting.

*2: Some of you may be thinking "What the fuck kind of egomaniac is she?" I assure you, and as those who know me will attest, egomania is the least of my flaws.

*3: My [possibly too glowing] review of it is in the new issue of All About Beer magazine. Alas, it's not available online. (But you could track down a copy of the magazine, right?)

*4: I believe that some of that "stuff" will be concerned with beer, or beer's recent history. But oooh, boy, I'm glad Tom's handled the heavy lifting for what I have in mind for my next long-form commentary on beer and history and so forth.