Last week on our blog:
- A wrap-up of my foray into Queensland Beer Week
- #34 was our first Tassie beer
- Homebrew experiment, Project Quetzal
Last week was the week that a bizarre level of international interest in XXXX led to my review of XXXX Gold being, by far, our most popular post. More people arrive at this blog looking for XXXX than anything else. How depressing, especially as I can’t help but feel people are looking for super-porn (one X more than XXX) instead of beer.
Here are the other highlights from last week:
- WA Beer Week
- American Beer Bloggers’ Conference – Growler Fills (can we get an Australian one already?)
- European Beer Bloggers’ Conference Roundup – Beers I’ve Known
- Oregon Brewfest – The Brew Site
- An account of our expedition to Southern Tier Brewing – Matt’s Beer Den
- Open cover letter to Bacchus Brewing – Westbender (is it sad that my cover letter was remarkably similar?)
- Wig & Pen brewer calls it a day – Australian Brews News
- Terrorist winemakers bomb Carcassonne – The Drinks Business (h/t Ed’s Beer Site)
- Monteith’s misses the point – Beer is your friend
- BrewDog pick a fight they can’t lose – The BeerCast
- Brewers blast Wall St over aluminium prices – HuffPo
- Here’s how Goldman Sachs is making your beer more expensive – Wonkblog
- Microbrew maps: Get your good beer here – Wired
- Bridge Road expanding reach – The Shout
There’s been a bit of commentary around Queensland Beer Week, much of it coming from a disappointed Westbender and 250Beers. I had an inkling something was amiss when the Archive didn’t use the words “Queensland Beer Week” in their marketing material but I didn’t understand the depth of the issues. Perhaps considering this is the same media company that developed the “The Critics’ Choice Australia’s Best Beers” (price tag: $25), the concept of which is disowned by editor Pete Mitcham in the foreword and is in reality a pamphlet half full of advertising and faux-insightful quotes about beer, such as “What a bloody honour to review this classic beer” (cool story, bro), I guess it’s hardly surprising.
It’s typical of Brisbanites to inorganically copy organic ideas Melbourne had – whether it be laneways, comedy festivals or beer weeks – and transplant them north. Sigh. It’s one of the few things about Brisbane I don’t like. Also, didn’t the Story Bridge Hotel have a craft beer week a few years ago?
In other news, Instagram is even more depressing than Facebook; cycling’s newest conundrum; faith and works at Apple; know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em; and 13 photos that shatter your image of famous people.