Nights are getting shorter. And baseball is getting into full swing now that the national holidays are behind us. Well, not Bastille Day but it seems every day is Bastille Day in France these days. No, it’s the cooler days now that we long for. Baseball and a beer. A time of romance. To your right, an image from the website formerly known as Twitter, a view of a 1960s or ’70s beer concession at the old Tigers Stadium in Detroit. 60 cents a beer. Anything you like as long as it is Stroh’s. Crush your damn cups. That’s what they are thinking: “he’s not gonna crush, is he…” “Nope, he ain’t.”
Speaking of bulk beer, we are about a year and a half from 2025 when the rules of buying beer in Ontario may change to give us something we have not had in over a century – beer in corner stores:
In the spring of 2023, the Ford government launched consultations on expanding sales to corner stores. Participants were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, so little is known about what is on the table. Dave Bryans, CEO of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, says he received an invitation to consult on the proposal. “We are inching if not moving faster towards an open market,” he told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday, noting that he has participated in multiple consultation processes over 13 years and signed numerous NDAs that prevent him from talking about the meetings themselves.
Excellent. Nothing gives confidence in things moving towards the public good like numerous non-disclosure agreements. Well, maybe the level of confidence one has in the dancing around, the avoiding saying anything like “decline” while not saying much else. (Hmm… those ladies up there? Straight talkers. Crush the damn cups.) Question: is an antipodiean decline really a rise? Nope. Perspective: other craft is suffering too… and yet some sorts are even making a comeback.
Conversely, there was a surprisingly good bit of information in an article by Jessica Mason in The Drinks Business on how craft brewers can actually cope in these troubled times. I say surprising because I first thought there was little chance that some sensible advice could be condensed into such a tight format but I think I might have been wrong:
One thing the beer experts had in common was their admittance that the situation was not easy and there still was not a one-size-fits-all piece of advice. That this was why their advice was so intricate and far-reaching to include all areas of the business. Burgess admitted: “I know it’s not a single piece of advice, but it’s a war on all sides to survive right now” and said “OST and a really good software system to control price are probably tops right now, but all the other points blend in to more than just a single point”. Sadler advised: “I would, personally, avoid trying out new styles without some serious consideration. Stick to the core beers that sell and sell well. Maintaining a positive cash flow, albeit small, is a big plus rather than being another ‘me too’ beer using the latest hop or technique.”
More good advice? Ron is right. Write and record.
Pellicle‘s feature this week is a profile by Phil Mellows of Bass pale ale which, thankfully, does not actually include the word “magic” despite the promo. The news is not necesarily all that good:
There is currently no Bass at all in the whole of East Anglia, and only one pub serving it in Sussex, Surrey and Kent—the Miners Arms in Sevenoaks. We know all this because someone keeps track of the pubs pouring it. In 2018 Ian Thurman, concerned the beer would disappear, gathered a willing group of Bass lovers to report sightings around the country. This crowdsourced research discovered that the number of pubs with Bass permanently on the pumps had fallen to a mere 350. A beer once drunk in thousands of pubs across the land was displaying all the symptoms of an endangered species.
It’s part of a big picture, as the UK’s Office for National Statistics explains:
The data, which was produced by price comparison firm Idealo, reveals there has been a 25% growth in the number of consumers buying beer in the off-trade from supermarkets and independent retailers. It shows that British drinkers bought some £4.1bn per year on beer to drink at home, which is up 25% on 2020 levels. Analysts from Idealo said the rising cost of living is “making people less willing to go out drinking, but more willing to treat themselves to a bottle of wine or beer during their weekly shop.” The news follows concern about the price of beer in the on-trade. A pint of lager in pubs and bars has risen by more than 50p within the space of a single year, according to ONS data.
But not apparently in Scotland. Who to believe? Well, I do find this believable:
“It’s clear that for most consumers, alcohol is still at the heart of a pub experience but today, many just want a bit less booze,” said Clarke. “That only 4% of moderating pub-goers choose a No-Low beer is not down to lack of product awareness – ads are everywhere – it’s because many drinkers don’t like how they taste.
UPDATE: fonio! fonio!! fonio!!!
In his weekly Monday update, Stan noted an interesting thing or two about the state of homebrewing which might… just might… see a glimmer of hope in these tough times:
The survey does not pretend to represent all homebrewers, but it makes you wonder how the hobby might find a wider audience. And about the crossroads Drew Beechum is referring to in the second link. “Homebrewing is at a crossroads right now. Involvement is declining, homebrew shops and clubs see less interest. Every neighborhood has a brewery or two. Why bother spending 4-8 precious weekend hours making beer that I can buy down the street in a minute?
Why bother? Maybe if you are seeing tough times coming. Me, I really homebrewed the most when I was in forced isolation in Prince Edward Island with sporadic efforts after I started up this thing you are reading over 20 years ago now. Back in those before times, when I was getting by in PEI, everyone I knew there was making something like that, beer or wine or something you traded for beer and wine. To save money – and there was a general ban there back in the day on cans or imports or anything a local political hack could not make a margin on. What would it take for a real comeback?
Speaking of margin, sometimes transparency isn’t always as clear as you might expect. The chart to the left was shared by Bordeaux producer Chateau Bauduc in an effort to explain that (in the UK as of August 1st) a £6.50 bottle of French wine in the UK has 40p worth of actual wine while a £20 has £7. VAT, margin, duty, shipping and packaging make up the other costs. But what is margin? Profit? Note that duty, shipping and packaging are all similar in terms of costs. The VAT rate is the same for each. The variable is return to agricultural and margin.
Mudgie has revisited some startlingly bold assertions about relative values as relates to the pub trade:
If you’re someone who never much cared for pubs in the first place, you can’t really be criticised for staying away now. But if you have professed support for pubs in the past, and you are under 60 in reasonable general health, you really need to consider your position. While the death toll from the pandemic has been appalling and tragic, it has overwhelmingly affected the very old and those already in poor health. It has killed just 300 healthy people in the UK under the age of 60. The fatality rate has been 1 in 9,000 for under-65s, but 1 in 250 for over -65s. Now, when the rate of infection is greatly reduced, you are probably more likely to be killed crossing the road on your way to the pub than from contracting Covid-19 when you get there. To still stay away on the grounds that it is not safe represents a warped and exaggerated perception of risk.
Hmm: “…frightened to death by hysterical propaganda…” What is it about beer writers and public health? Hmm… I think there might be something missing in that analysis. Like this little puzzle about likeminded nations coming together:
According to data from 2021, Hungarian beers are mainly destined for EU Member States (80.46 percent), but the growing trade with East Asian countries is noteworthy. In 2014, China accounted for only 0.71 percent of Hungary’s beer exports, but by 2021, 10.6 percent of beer exports were destined for the Asian country.
Hmm… Speaking of hmm… Beth Demmon wrote a good article for Food & Wine about something that isn’t really either – the Trappist beer business in these times of haze and fruit sauces:
Staunton is optimistic about an ongoing future, even as consumer tastes evolve from the “big Belgian beer” mania of the ‘90s to today’s “drink as fresh as possible” movement. “When someone is told over and over by their local brewers to drink beer that day, and then they find something with a five year shelf life, like Orval, they might look at it cross-eyed,” he laughs. “The whole industry has to do a better job of education and bringing this to the new drinker. If you’re 21 years old and somebody throws an Orval at you, you’re not going to know what to do with it!”
And Beth also published another portrait under her Prohibitchin’ series too, a portrait this month of Arizona brewer Ayla Kapahi:
“It’s silly to say, but it took me a year of working in our production facility when suddenly I looked around, and I’m thinking ‘I see women doing everything. There’s a woman working in our lab, brewing our beer, doing the kegging… wait a second… I don’t think this is common!’” She laughs at the memory now, but says it took some time to figure out how to balance a desire to promote their setup as an achievable goal for others against seeming performative.
And The Beer Nut went to Snalbins… to Snalbins he did go… but on the way out the door, not a lasting linging lovely leisurely…
Maybe it’s because I had been drinking it on a warm day, and perhaps the can hadn’t been chilled down to the requisite temperature, but it all felt a bit soupy to me, being neither cleanly refreshing nor full and rounded. I wasn’t impressed. And the reason I picked it is because I’ve heard it scored very highly in a recent, but as-yet unpublicised, blind-tasted assessment. The opposition mustn’t have been up to much. And so to the airport. Thunderstorms across Europe were disrupting flight patterns, and London Luton was full of harried people with nowhere to go. The Big Smoke Brewery has a concession bar here, one which had run out of ice and several of the beers but was bravely muddling through with two very capable teenagers at the helm.
That’s it! Not much going on this week really. And where it’s going on it’s beer writers interviewing beer writing pals poaching and parroting the work of others, playing job title bingo… craft beer expert… industry analyist. No need of that. It’s now back to you all as always. Talk amongst yourselves. Write something. Something for me to read and cut and paste. And also as per, you can check out the many ways to connect including at my new cool Threads presence @agoodbeerblog and also including these voices on Mastodon, the newer ones noted in bold:
Alan McLeod | A Good Beer Blog (… me…)
Stan Hieronymus | The Man!
Boak & Bailey | The B² experience
Curmudgeon Ale Works | Jonathon is Brewing
Katie Mather | Shiny Biscuit and Corto
David Jesudason | “Desi Pubs” (2023) author
BeoirFest | They say “Let’s Talk Beer”
Ron Pattinson | The RonAlongAThon Himself
Al Reece AKA Velky Al | Fuggled
Jennifer Jordan | US hops historian
Andreas Krennmair | Vienna beer and lager historian
Beer Ladies Podcast | Lisa Grimm and colleagues
The Bar Towel | Toronto’s chat zone for beer lovers
Chicago Beer Society | Folk in Chicago getting social over beer
Jay Brooks | Brookston Beer Bulletin
Joe Stange | Belgian beer expert, beer magazine editor
Cider Bar | Barry makes Kertelreiter cider
Laura Hadland | CAMRA historian and beer writer
Brian Alberts | US beer historian
Jon Abernathy | The Beer Site
Maureen Ogle | US Beer Historian
Lars Garshol | Norwegian Beer Historian and Kveik Hunter
James Beeson | Beeson on Beer
Carla Jean | MAINER!!!
Thandi Guilherme | Beer Ladies Podcast Co-host
Lisa Grimm | Beer Ladies Podcast Co-host
Roy of Quare Swally | Beery ramblings from Northern Ireland
Rob Talksbeer | Podcaster and Youtuber
Anthony Gladman | UK Drinks Writer
Jeff Alworth | Manna Of Beervana
Northwest Beer Guide | Fairly self explanatory… but not NW Latvia…
Evan Rail | Prague based GBH editor, freelance writer, NYT etc.
Todd Alström | 50% of the Alströms
Jacob Berg | Beer talking librarian
Anyone else? And, yes, we also check the blogs, podcasts and newsletters to stay on top of things – including more weekly recommendations from Boak and Bailey every Saturday and Stan at his spot on those Mondays! Get your emailed issue of Episodes of my Pub Life by David Jesudason on many Fridays. And Phil Mellows is at the BritishBeerBreaks. Once a month, Will Hawkes issues his London Beer City newsletter and do sign up for Katie’s now more occassional but always wonderful newsletter, The Gulp, too. Ben’s Beer and Badword is back! And check out the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog‘s weekly roundup. There is new reading at The Glass. Any more? Yes! Check to see the highly recommended Beer Ladies Podcast. And the long standing Beervana podcast . There is the Boys Are From Märzen podcast too and check out the travel vids at Ontario’s own A Quick Beer. There is more from DaftAboutCraft‘s podcast, too. All About Beer has introduced a podcast. There’s also The Perfect Pour. Plus follow the venerable Full Pint podcast. And the Craft Beer Channel on Youtube soon celebrating a decade of vids. And remember BeerEdge, too, and The Moon Under Water… if you have $10 a month for this sort of thing… I don’t. Pete Brown’s costs a fifth of that. There was also the Beer O’clock Show but that was gone after a ten year run but returned renewed and here is the link!*
*And finally the list of the departed newsletters and podcasts or those in purgatory. Looks like both Brewsround and Cabin Fever died in 2020, . We appreciate that the OCBG Podcast is on a very quiet schedule these days – but it’s been there now and again. The Fizz died in 2019. Plus Fermentation Radio with Emma Inch seems done and the AfroBeerChick podcast is gone as well! The Fingers Podcast packed it in citing, umm, lack of success… as might have been anticipated, honestly. Did they suffer a common fate? Who knows?
I don’t understand why you’ve got a three year old article from The Pub Curmudgeon. You young folks like irony.
You got me! I usually keep an email for each link I post to act as sort of a back door citation EXACTLY for moments like this. But I can’t see it… hmm… did he re-up it in the timeline? Very odd.
There. He did re-up it and stands by the comment. I enriched your experience to move to an entirely 4D environment on the subject… err… I added a link or two to explain.