beernesday

my growler article from back in january: BEER GIMMICKS, PRETENTIOUS NONSENSE AND OTHER HIPSTER FUCKERY REBECCA WHYMAN •  JANUARY 16, 2018 iStock photo This past fall, gruits – that ancient, hopless beer style flavoured with herbs that seems to be all the rage right now – got me thinking about the elusive line that divides fads, trends, and gimmicks from creative innovations and emerging styles. How do beer geeks decide where they categorize any given beer? Are gimmicky beers harming the reputation of craft beer? I like to think of myself as a beer evangelist (also brilliant, witty, gorgeous and humble…). It is therefore my self-appointed duty to bring people into the fold. I love finding the craft beer that makes a former macro lager drinker’s eyes light up, and introducing a non-beer-drinker to a style they can’t believe is actually beer because it tastes so good. I worry, probably too much, about how people perceive craft beer. Craft beer gets kudos for qualities lik

my first article for the growler , back in July 2017: DOES BEER HAVE TERROIR? REBECCA WHYMAN •  JULY 13, 2017 iStock photo The concept of terroir and its influence are enthusiastically debated in the wine world. Very few of the beer geeks I asked cared one whit about terroir, and hadn’t even given it a thought before I asked. After some debate, they decided that although it was an interesting philosophical question, terroir didn’t matter to their beer drinking experience or influence their beer purchases. The casual beer drinker isn’t interested in the minutiae of which malts or hops are chosen for the beer, let alone where they’re grown. They just care that the final product tastes good. So there you have it. The beer world doesn’t care about terroir. Enter Harley Smith and Tracy McLean of Longwood Brewing. They care. They care a lot. But before we get to why they care, and why you might also, allow me to drone on about what “terroir” means. Indulge me please, I read