Old school blog – an awesome week in the life of a beer writer

Petrus Aged Pale – a fantastic sour by Brouwerij De Brabandere which would not be available if not for another beer writer – Michael Jackson.

If you look at my website regularly, you know that I don’t often put a stream of consciousness into words – you know – “blogging.” I usually just put links to my articles that are published in other media outlets.

But as I put the finishing touches on my fourth article in seven days last night, I reflected on how really cool this “beer writing” thing has become for me. Last week I visited Whole Foods Market Plymouth Meeting to learn about their upcoming events in support of an article about National Beer Day. While there I had a beer with Anthony Marino, their in house beer expert, learned how he got into craft brew, and we compared notes on our home brewing efforts.

I also finalized an article on the upcoming Philly Beer Week Collaboration Beer, which was brewed in Amsterdam by Menno Olivier of Brouwerij De Molen along with Tom Kehoe, founder and head brewer at Yards Brewing. The coolest part about that article was a few weeks back I stopped in to the Yards Tasting Room on Delaware Avenue and interviewed Tom – who, despite his incredibly busy schedule, was able to sit down and share a beer with me while I asked him to tell me about the trip.

Last Friday was also pretty amazing – it started early in the morning with a phone call to Belgium to speak with fifth generation brewer Albert De Brabandere to learn about the history of his family’s brewery, for my ongoing Belgian History column in Philly Beer Scene magazine.

Then, on Friday night, I traveled to the western end of Montgomery County to Railroad Street Pub & Grille in Linfield, where owner Mike McCloskey has turned an old biker bar into one of the best craft beer bars in the Philadelphia Suburbs. While I was there, I met Tim Hennessey, the force behind last October’s first Pottstown Beerfest, and the upcoming Pottstown Firkinfest, and interviewed him for an upcoming issue of Ticket to Entertainment.

I’ve been writing about beer for three years and it is not losing its luster. There is so much happening in the craft beer world right now that every day I say, “Man, I wish I had time to go there and write about that!”

So that was last week…what will the next weeks bring? Keep an eye open for some fun stuff – the San Antonio beer scene, the Nashville beer scene, the Pottstown Firkinfest, the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia, and of course, the mother of all events – Philly Beer Week!

Cheers!

The Brewholder