It feels like Craft Beer is at a crossroads. We are doing this review for four years now and never before have the answers been so contradictory and never before has there been as much concern among all the excitement. ➽
Can Switzerland handle 1000 breweries?
«Switzerland, a land of brewers» was the title of an article in the Swiss-German newspaper “Der Bund”. The article was built around the fact that by now more than 1000 breweries are registered at the Swiss customs authority. As in pretty much every newspaper article about this topic it also mentioned that this number means Switzerland has the highest brewery density per capita in the world. Considering each and every person in Switzerland “only” drinks 54 liters of beer a year, this sounds like an awful lot if not too many breweries.
Crawling through breweries in South London (with video)
London is a world-class beer city. This has always been the case – after all, London has shaped the development of beer styles such as Porter and IPA. But what was sometimes missing was the opportunity to visit breweries for a beer. However, the number of breweries with taprooms has risen sharply in recent years, so that not only the legendary beer mile in Bermondsey is worth a visit. For example, we traveled further south and visited six breweries there.
The story behind Herr Schneider Hoppy Lager (with video)
Lager has brought us (all?) here, but with the love for ale the respect for lager often dwindles. In fact, most super mainstream mass-produced beers are lager. But Craft wouldn’t be Craft if there weren’t brewers brewing excellent and quaffable ➽
Blackwell x Bierversuche: we are writing chapter two
Die 4 ??? was a spontaneous idea. Four guys. Four pices of paper. And a sum that is bigger than its parts. It’s a collabo taken to somewhat absurd lengths and an exciting experiment at the same time, which now for the second time, is fermenting away.
Great Swiss lager beers for an unforgettable world cup evening
When from 14 June on 22 sweaty men are chasing a ball to the world’s amusement, one drink will be especially on the mind of the male and female football enthusiasts: Beer. We present the best lager beer alternatives to the products of global players such as Heineken (e.g. Eichhof, Calanda, Ittinger, Halengut) or Carlsberg (Feldschlösschen, Valaisanne, Hürlimann, Cardinal) from independent Swiss breweries.
Interview with Brent Mills, Brewmaster/Co-Founder at Four Winds Brewing Company
The wind is blowing this interview from three different directions via the westcoast of Canada all the way to Europe. Why there’s no wind coming from the north and much more about an exceptional brewery located in a curious blindspot when it comes to craft beer awareness, you can read in this interview with Brent Mills of the Four Winds Brewing Company.
Interview with Tommie Sjef Koenen, Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Dutch wunderkind, or not? Tommie Sjef Koenen speaks about his fast rise in the league of extraordinary sour beer producers, talks about blending and injured thumbs. Nana nanana, nanana Tommie Sjef!
2017 is over. Long live 2018!
Like every year we asked our friends about their last year and prodded them for some foresight into the next year. Considering how varied this “beer thing” is, it’s no surprise the answers were equally varied. However, looking through the answers, it becomes crystal clear that one topic moved our friends, it itself being rather murky though. So, before we head any deeper into 2018, let’s quickly have a look back.
A homebrewer walks into a brewery – part 2
Max from the tiny brewery Brasserie Lance-Pierre in Switzerland is doing an internship at renowned Brew By Numbers (BBNo) in London. Over a few instalments, he writes about how it is for a “homebrewer” to be working in a professional and world-class brewery. This is part 2.
Leatherpants at the Great Canadian Beer Festival
With the last remnants of a jetlag hanging in our skull like evaporating water droplets from a harbor fog, our brain was filled to capacity with impressions: We just came back from seeing orcas in the wild, more bald eagles than pigeons and rough-edged coasts and soft moss on millions of trees. In such a state, seeing a person dressed like a unicorn, on a field full of seagull shit, on an island – may it be as big as Belgium, the whole experience could have felt like a motorcycle race during a sandstorm outside of Las Vegas. In the end, attending the Great Canadian Beer Fest(ival) was very little gonzo, but very much fun.
Beer at gas stations and everywhere else – our trip to Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Victoria
Gas stations with a good beer selections and young Asian women drinking flights. It was these two among many, many other moments that made me fall in love with the beer reality in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. We went to British Columbia for orcas, trees and coasts and we came back with a serious crush on all things BC.