Comments on: Support Your Local Brewery

By: Josiah Volking

Josiah Volking — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:51:11 +0000

I was really impressed with your blog and I must say, you are a pretty good writer my friend.

By: Will Bud Become Belgian? « Beer Activist

Will Bud Become Belgian? « Beer Activist — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:57:15 +0000

[...] (and has a stranglehold on the beer distribution system, which serves as a convenient excuse for gobbling up lots of small craft brewers (like Redhook, Goose Island, and Old Dominion) who just want fair access to the market – but, [...]

By: Casey

Casey — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:58:52 +0000

The problem here is that people are just uninformed. When you speculate what the truth is and rather than search and find out you choose to be ignorant that is an issue. With regard to Rolling Rock. That beer was gone until AB decided to get involved. There was going to be no more Rolling Rock. Wake up People, there is no conspiracy to change the taste of your favorite beers. The fact is that beer is very difficult to make consistently in mass quantities. If you know anything about the brewing process and selected ingredients you would understand that nailing a recipe is not easy. With respect to the Coastal Brewing/AB Alliance, once again it’s opinion not fact. If you think that Old Dominion & Fordham are somehow going to change and throw away all the good things that got them here you are wrong. These two breweries have been representing the local craft market for 20 years. People working hard to grow these brands and excite beer drinkers with an array of styles and tastes. It is unfortunate in this society that we cannot do the research before we come to some unbreakable conclusion. What is so different about these breweries now that AB is involved? Were you there during the meeting’s with Bob Tupper? Do you know the whole story? I believe that both Old Dominion & Fordham are stronger than ever and that they are dedicated to brewing great beers and getting them out to as many people as possible. What is wrong with that? It is easy to judge when you have no blood, sweat & tears in it. Look beyond the opinions, learn the facts, open your mind and drink good beer.–

By: beeractivist

beeractivist — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:48:46 +0000

TheGreenMiles,

I really need to do a lengthy post on this sometime, but for now, the quick and dirty version:

Franklin’s is my favorite brewpub within the immediate DC metro area, a great independent brewpub in Hyattsville, MD (near College Park).

I like the happy hour special at District Chophouse near Gallery Place. Chophouse brews good beers and is owned by Rock Bottom.

The Rock Bottoms (a national chain) in the area also make good beer, but the atmosphere is too college sports-bar for me and the food is decent but not very interesting.

Capital City Brewing (a regional chain) also makes good beer but similarly lacks much of interest atmospherically. Some of the bar staff in the downtown locations are actually a bit insulting, often approaching customers with the question: “Light, medium, or dark?”

The couple Gordon Biersch’s in the area (its a national chain) make reliably excellent German style beers and the downtown one is located in an interesting old bank building but its often really loud and, like the others, the food is decent (really nothing to complain about) but nothing special either.

Sweetwater Tavern is a regional chain. Like the other chains, their beers are reliably good, but at the risk of repetition, the food is fine but uninventive. The atmosphere is, again, loud, and a little too suburban yuppie for me to really love it enough to go out of my way to get there.

My favorite in Baltimore is Brewers Art. Awesome beers. Great atmosphere. A degree of commitment to organic and local foods.

All for now,
Chris

By: TheGreenMiles

TheGreenMiles — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:10:25 +0000

What are you recommendations for top local breweries in the Northern VA/DC area?

By: beeractivist

beeractivist — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:22:34 +0000

Brendan,

I grew up in State College, PA so I was also saddened by the A-B buyout of Rolling Rock. And I’m not surprised about the taste changing. Turns out I was wrong about my assumption in the above article that Old Dominion wouldn’t radically change their brands too fast for fear of alienating loyal customers. They have already axed my favorite beers: Tupper’s Hop Pocket Ale and Pils. The Pils was described by Michael Jackson as one of best beers in the world.

Ironically, it doesn’t sell well, so Coastal/A-B/Old Dominion decided to discontinue it. Bob Tupper, the owner of the brand and recipes, decided to go elsewhere rather than allow old Dominion to brew just the Ale. Last I heard from him, he’s still looking for another brewery to make the beers. I feel very bitter toward Old Dominion right now – it’s a very different kind of bitter beer face.

Cheers,
Chris

By: Brendan Hickey

Brendan Hickey — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:13:20 +0000

Thanks for collecting and publishing the science to support the intuitive advantages of buying local beer. In response to the “first question,” I would say that the taste of Rolling Rock changed, clearly for the worse, after A-B bought the label and moved production to Newark. RR wasn’t a great beer but it was great on a hot day while pondering the mystery of “33″ and supporting a home-state brewery. RR A-B might as well be Budweiser in a green dress.

By: How to Find Independent Coffee Shops: “Delocate” « Bean Activist

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:10:56 +0000

[...] And it’s true. They do deserve your dime because on average they return that dime to the neighborhood and much higher rates than do corporate chains. I wrote an article about this for American Brewer magazine, right here. [...]