From my perspective, the InBev/Goose Island thing is a lovely coincidence: I just got home from the 2011 Craft Brewers Conference where I gave a short talk about the dangers of mindless expansion and why "mindful" growth is safer, even if that means no growth/expansion at all.

The example I used in my talk (well, one of the examples) was Leinenkugel: I argued that the Leinenkugel family had always focused its "growth" strategy not on their own bottom line, but on how growth (or not) would affect the community where the brewery was located (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin). The family realized that if the company went under, everyone in town would be hurt by that outcome. So they always thought hard about making any kind of move toward expansion.

And when, in 1988, the family decided to sell the company to Miller Brewing, they did so not because they planned to make out like bandits, but because it was the only way to keep the company going and protect the town. (The deal they signed with Miller clearly guaranteed that Miller would leave the brewery up, running, intact, and in good health. Miller has honored that contract.)

My main point to my audience, which was composed of owners of small companies, was: Think before you leap. Because the history of American brewing is littered with the carcasses of brewers who opted for mindless expansion and failed because of that.

Anyway: on a cheerier note, my talk was brief because the main point of our conference session was to let Jack McAuliffe, pioneering microbrewer, speak. Renee DeLuca, who was also on the panel, and I asked Jack questions, and then we turned things over to the audience, many of whom were eager to tell Jack how they'd first heard about his brewery. One guy had two bottles of New Albion with him! Jack signed the labels.

Photo courtesy of Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson

It was a deeply moving experience. Deeply moving. I meant what I said: I can now die happy because I finally got Jack in front of an audience of craft brewers so they could pay homage to him. It was all I could do to maintain my composure at the end, when the audience rose for a standing ovation.

On a more personal note: I've talked with Jack many times by phone over the years but we'd never met in person. He's even funnier in person. The  man has an incredibly sharp wit (not surprising given that he's extraordinarily intelligent). The accident that nearly killed him two years ago has taken a toll: He speaks more slowly than pre-accident, and in a softer voice. He's also lost the use of his left arm (among his other injuries was a severed nerve in that arm, which means his brain no longer sends or receives signals that enable his muscles to move).

But he's in great spirits. Turns out he hates big crowds and noise as much as I do, so, like me, he mostly hid out. But when he was out and about, it was a joy to see people approach him. As when he and I signed books after the talk.

And it was ALL worth it when he stepped on to the trade floor for the first time: the convention includes a trade show where beer-related vendors show their wares, and when Jack saw all that brewing equipment, his eyes grew three sizes and he couldn't escape from us dames (myself, Renee, and his sister Cathy) fast enough. (Jack is still an avid homebrewer and is now also distilling.)

So: a life goal achieved. Jack, my friend, here's to you.

I just got back from the 2011 Craft Brewers Conference in San Francisco. (Yes, had a great time; thanks for asking. Well, except for the part about the no airplane available on Sunday morning, which forced me to stay an extra day spent almost entirely in an airport hotel.....)

While I was gone, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced it had purchased a controlling share of Goose Island Brewing in Chicago and would soon buy the remaining shares. (ABIB already owned a share of the company that holds the minority share.

And the hand wringing has begun. (I'd post links, but there are too many. Just roam around the beerblogosphere and you'll find plenty.)

But: why? Why the hand wringing? And why is anyone surprised? People, were ya not payin’ attention here at the ol’ blogarooney?

I told you three years ago that you could expect to see moves like this. The only surprising fact here is that there haven’t been more of such moves.

Yes, ABIB and MillerCoors will continue to grab onto craft breweries (how many of them depends entirely on who is inclined to sell. Many craft brewers prefer to keep it small/local/beautiful/whatever). And why not? The people running those companies are not stupid. They understand that a small but affluent segment of beer drinkers is willing to pay a premium for, ya know, premimum beers. Like Goose Island.

And for a beer maker, premium is where it’s at. (Premium beers take up the same amount of space in the warehouse and on the truck, but they bringer a higher profit per bottle than “regular” beers.)

So. Of course ABIB is interested. What will the company do with its new acquisition? I haven’t a clue, although it has two obvious options.

One, it can leave the beermakers alone to keep making what they make (premium beers). Or two, it can tell the beermakers to cease and desist and start making Budweiser knock-offs.

Smart money says they opt for Door Number One. Why? Because ABIB isn’t looking for Bud knockoffs. It’s hunting for premium beers. (Remember those: the ones that yield more profit per bottle than Bud?) Why screw with the goose that’s laying the golden egg? (No pun intended until I realized that, heee heeeee!, I’d just made a pun!) (I’m not so good at puns.)

Leaving Goose Island alone to do what it does best is a win-win for ABIB: It earns profit and it can start loading GI products on its trucks and selling them in a larger territory than was available to GI when it was on its own. 

So. Time will tell, but --- I’ve been a pretty good prognosticator up to now.

Had to come out of the writing cave (yes, things are cranking right along in there) to tout a new beer book: The Best of Beervana from one of my favorite writers, Jeff Alworth.

The book is a compilation of pieces from his blog Beervana, and rangest from beer reviews (of course) to pub reviews to random rants and musings. (In other words: it reflects a perfect blog: a little of this, a little of that.) ("Perfect," of course, because, ahem, that's also a description of my own blog.)

Jeff writes with verve and enthusiasm and above all --- intelligence. If you're into beer, you're gonna love it.

You can buy the book here.

So. Whatchawaitinfor? Go do it.

Man, this is getting old. (KIDDING!) Jack McAuliffe is in the news again, this time in today's Washington Post. All I have to say is: Better late than never. Or: About time. Or, well, whatever.

I told Jack he should have some t-shirts printed up to read "FoFOF," the letters standing for Friends of Famous Old Fart.

Small side note to this particular story: Back when Jack's brewery was open and he was out there alone in the brewing wilderness, the Washington Post was pretty much the only newspaper to take him seriously. A reporter showed up at New Albion one day and wrote a great piece about Jack and his work. That's where the lovely photo comes from, which I reproduce here in case you're one of the few beer-people who have not yet seen it. Enjoy!

Andy Crouch (one of my favorite contrarians) has a new book out: Great American Craft Beer: A Guide to the Nation's Finest Beers and Breweries.

You know what to do.

'Cause ya know, the best of them aren't beer bloggers, if you know what I mean.

Case in points is one of my complete, total favorite bloggers (notice lack of adjective), Jeff Alworth and this recent rumination.

I mean, come ON. How can you NOT love this guy?? I'd marry the guy except I'm old enough to be his mother and he's out of my league. Oh, and, uh, I'm already married.

And then there's this from the always delightful Alan McLeod and Stan Hieronymus. Start with the original post by Stan. And then make sure to read the comment from Alan (who lives here).

The "money quote" is as follows:

 We may not know who is craft beer but we sure as hell will know what is craft beer by who isn’t.

Seriously. What's not to like?

Who says nothing happens in August? Just got an email alerting me to a new brewery in St. Louis (or Sant Looois, as the natives call it). Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. is the work of a trio of locals, two of them former A-B employees. (Or ABIB employees). Check it out.

This piece in last Sunday's New York Times: An interview with Brian Grossman, son of Sierra beer guru Ken Grossman. Good stuff, and wonderful insight into a successful family company.

Oh, boy, can't wait to read this one! Sounds like a winner. Won't be out until October (and hey, who knows? Maybe by then I'll have a chance to read something other than poultry industry trade journals).

I've been hearing about this for months, mostly via Jack McAuliffe, but now there's finally something up that everyone can enjoy: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is celebrating 30th anniversary this year.

The company kicked off the festivities a few days ago by launching a special website. There you'll find photos, videos, and information about the special beers being planned for the occasion. The site is here.

So, hey, take a break and go for a visit. (Apparently that's not a photo of Jack himself, but of his brother Tom. As Jack says, he musta been seriously fucked up when he sent that to Chico. Me, I blame his post-accident meds.)

(And by the way, he's feeling much better. Back to his old cranky, sassy self --- and looking forward to the brewing collaboration in the spring.)

UPDATE: according to Jack's siblings, yes, that's really Jack in the photo. So: either they're crazy or Jack is. My vote's on the latter. Tip o' the mug to Loyal Reader Dave for reminding me to post a notice about all of this here at the blog. And now, per Dave's instructions, it's back to work for me.

Okey-dokey, folks. Now you CAN see "Beer Wars" --- and I don't wanna hear any excuses about why you didn't/haven't seen it. As of tomorrow (February 1, 2010), the film is available on-demand. Details here. See it. Or else. (No, I've not figured out what the "or else" part is. But I will . .  . )

Over at A Good Beer Blog, Alan McLeod has rolled out the winners of this year's photo contest. The "grand prize" winner (and, ahem, loser) are here. The other winners are here and here and here. Round of applause and a cup o' cheer, please, for Alan, who gets nothing out of this except the pleasure of sharing the photos with all of us.

How's that for use of slash marks?

The lovely Bryan Kolesar at BrewLounge is once again running a brew-round-up, in which he asks various beer types to opine about the current and future years. His own take is here. Part One of "others'" views is here.

Elsewhere in the net-o-sphere, the equally lovely Stan Hieronymus has added more thoughts on his views about "lists." Leave it to him to be, well, thoughtful. Lew is up to his usual, so you should take a gander. Why? Because I like him. (Not, mind you, that I know the guy. I just like his smarts, talent, and wit.)

The folks at All About Beer finally (as in finally) have their new website up and running, so that's another place to visit.

Jay Brooks, a guy whose interests range far, wide, and in between, has a marvelous post about Gregg Hinlicky's portraits of brewers. The image of Fritz Maytag is a marvel. (Full disclosure: Fritz and I are friends, and the portrait captures the man's spirit and intelligence.)

Reminder: only a few days left to submit your beer photos to the 2009 contest. Tim Beauchamp has a number of posts worth reading (he's a ranter after my own heart).

And if you've ever wondered "What ARE the dimensions of a stainless steel firkin?" --- wonder no more. Tom has the answer.

This got right by me --- but this past week Pete Brown was named Beer Writer of the Year by the British Guild of Beer Writers. To which I say: Congratulations, Mr. Brown!

Pete is an immensely gifted writer (note that I did not describe him as a "beer writer"; he transcends the genre). He's also an extraordinarily nice and generous human being. So --- Pete: here's to you.

Another matter that I lost track of (because right now I'm losing track of things right and left. If it doesn't involve the history of meat in America, my brain's not connecting ). Anyway: Alan McLeod is taking submissions for this year's Yule Beer Photo competition. You have one week to send your photos to him. Do it!

I'm not a beer aficionada (I'm a historian, folks; not a gourmet). The whole beer-as-object-of-devotion-and-adulation thing is annoying as hell. Don't ge me wrong: I appreciate well-made beer, but as a fetish, well . . . Anyway, this today from Alan at the Good Beer Blog. Now Alan is something I can see as an object of devotion/adulation, me being a serious fan of contrarianism.

I admire Shawn Connelly: he's smart, talented, and  engaged with the world around  him. And --- he acts on his passions. What's not to like? (Some of you already know him. He's the brain behind Aleluminati and Beer Philosopher.) Naturally I was glad to see this three-part interview with him. (The link is to part one; links to parts two and three are at the bottom of the first installment.) Enjoy!

Who knew? Turns out there was a method to Greg's madness backstage at the "Beer Wars" premiere. He had a phone/camera/something in his hands the entire time (and the "entire time" was hours on end). What was he doing? Making a "vblog." Which, mercifully, he edited down to eight minutes.

So if you want to know part of what happened backstage, have at it. Sadly, he didn't include any of what happened after the film ended --- when Sam, having been corralled entirely too long, went in search of beer. (And could not find any.) (I'm not kidding.)

. . . who have nothing to do with each other. (Er, I mean whose Good Deeds are unrelated to one another.) (Although I doubt they know each other.)

First, if you live in the Portland, Oregon, area, you're lucky: A group of local mixologists are mixing it up ("it" in this case being beer and spirits) this coming Sunday on behalf of Schoolhouse Supplies, which provides school supplies for kids in need. Read more here at Jacob Grier's blog. Then be there, or be square.

Second shout-out (and, really, the two are not connected): chops to Carl Miller at BeerBooks.com. Besides running BeerBooks, Carl is an accomplished historian whose focus is beer. This week I learned  that his new project involves tracking down the story --- the real one --- about the Conrad-Busch-Budweiser relationship. This is a labor of love (although one that I hope will reward him in more than love) by one of the good guys.

So, go get 'em, Carl. (Frankly, better you than me wading through all those legal briefs. . . )

How's that for random acts of blogging? Well, okay, long as I'm here and long as you asked: Yes, am hard at work on the manuscript. Spent a miserable week tearing a chapter apart and trying, with not much success, to reassemble it. Every book has such a chapter: one that does not want to come together. Does. Not. But I'll get the bastard in the end. 'Cause I always do.

You-Know-Who (yes, Dexter) sent me a bunch of links about a certain Hawaiian beer. I accidentally deleted the email, but here are two mentions of the beer to which Dexter referred: From Jack Curtain's Liquid Diet, and this from The Full Pint. I gotta say --- I wouldn't turn down a glass of the stuff.