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Reflections on Homebrew Con 2016

June 16, 2016 by Derek Springer 6 Comments

Wow, what a great time in Baltimore at Homebrew Con this past weekend. By now you have likely already read some recaps from my amigos Brian Hall, Marshall & Malcolm, and Ed Coffey, so instead of recapping the events of the Con, here are few thoughts that I had about the best weekend of the year.

Baltimore is a Cool City

Natty Boh

Natty Boh 4 Life

I will admit that my only real exposure to Baltimore before Homebrew Con was from watching The Wire–which I hear from folks is both an accurate portrayal of the city, but also just one very specific view into its dark underbelly. There was definitely a vibe that there are some rough edges to the city, but I was super-impressed with how friendly everyone is and just how many cool/old-school/authentic businesses and eateries there are. I kinda did not get why Homebrew Con was in Baltimore this year before I came, but now I totally do. Pair that with support for homebrewing from both the governor of Maryland (who pounded a beer before getting up and giving a short talk) and a state senator–Maryland is a beer-friendly state I can imagine my southern amigos only dream of.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: homebrew con, reflections

Achievement Unlocked

July 20, 2015 by Derek Springer Leave a Comment

I just dethroned @kevindeckerjr as the Mayor of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. on @Swarmapp! https://t.co/NXKS11OKLs pic.twitter.com/DsjpZ9FI34

— Five Blades Brewing (@FiveBlades) July 19, 2015

Whelp, time to call it; it’s all downhill from here. 🙂

Filed Under: Travels

A Tour Through Raleigh – BBC15

July 18, 2015 by Derek Springer 8 Comments

BBC15-logo-NA-only1I typically do not spend too much time writing about commercial beer, but every once in a while I will make an exception to that rule for particularly interesting beers and events.

I am currently in Raleigh, North Carolina for the 2015 Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference, an annual event that invites the greatest beer writers and hottest breweries from around the country to drink, share stories, and drink some more. I attended last year when it was in San Diego, but I am especially excited to be attending again in NC because 1) I have never been to North Carolina and 2) the beer scene is blowing up around here. The event itself is in Asheville where local favorites like Green Man Brewing and Wicked Weed mingle with newly planted facilities from western giants like Oskar Blues and Sierra Nevada, an exciting mix of truly local and the pioneers of craft brewing.

As part of the Beer Bloggers Conference experience I had the opportunity to go on a pre-conference excursion to the breweries of Raleigh led by excellent hosts from visitRaleigh and Beltline Brew Tours. My general impression is that Raleigh is on the cusp of becoming a booming beer city and the breweries we visited will be bursting at the seems before too long. Interesting to note the breweries and consumers in Raleigh have a keen fondness for classic styles, something I wish San Diego brewers would pay more attention to (one can only have so many mega-dank IPAs). All-in-all some great beers were had and I left wishing Raleigh was not so far away!

Read on for the details.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: bbc, bbc15, Raleigh

Live Beer Blogging – BBC14

August 23, 2014 by Derek Springer Leave a Comment

Now for something completely different: I’m at the Beer Bloggers Conference in San Diego this weekend and about to begin their infamous Live Beer Blogging session. The gist of it is a bit like speed dating, every five minutes a different brewery will come to the table and present one of their beers. In those five minutes the brewery will describe the beer, answer questions, and then us bloggers will write a short post/tweet/video about it. Apologies for the loose format, things are coming hot and heavy!

Rough Draft – Weekday IPA

IMG_0017.JPG
Smooth easy drinker with a great nose. Notes of pine and a bit tropical character, very little malt

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: bbc, live blog

Guinness Secrets Revealed!

July 20, 2014 by Derek Springer Leave a Comment

Fergal Murray, Guiness Master Brewer

I was recently in Dublin, Ireland as a sponsor of the European Beer Bloggers Conference and had the opportunity to go on an excursion to Guinness’ St. James Gate Brewery. Besides getting to see Guinness’ brand-spanking-new brewhouse, we went on a personal tour led by Master Brewer Fergal Murray, had a beautifully paired beer dinner, and ultimately had the opportunity to sit down with Fergal and a handful of Guinness brewer/engineers for a Q&A session. Of course, being in a room of all the top European beer bloggers you can be assured that no punches were pulled in the questions for this elite crew. Unfortunately, I was ill-equipped to record the questions or answers, but I did retain a handful of key responses for the topics that I often hear homebrewers chattering about. Here they are in no particular order:

In the lion's den. New brewhouse for @GuinnessIreland #EBBC14 pic.twitter.com/fEhO5S05lB

— Reuben Gray (@TaleOfAle) June 27, 2014

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Travels Tagged With: brewing, guiness, secrets

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Derek Springer

Derek Springer

I write code & brew beer--if you ask nice I'll share some with you :)

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