Jim Wells is a freelance beer writer in Boston. When he’s not scouring the globe for the next scoop, Jim’s investigating local brew fests to find the next great beer.
Long Trail lends a hand to citizens in need; brewers throughout the Northeastern US cope with floods; can extra bubbles give Foster’s a lift?; Yuengling expands distribution to the Buckeye State; and the world’s strongest fermented beer, fresh from a deer.
Genesee beer sign illuminates community once more; Funkwerks brew stirs ire of indigenous New Zealanders; Massachusetts ABCC withdraws troublesome farmer-brewer decision; and lager’s missing link discovered in Patagonia.
Anheuser-Busch: brewing your area code?; Sunoco testing growlers to-go in western NY; beloved friend of beer, Ray Deter, passes away; Senate Small Brewers’ Caucus formed; and change in Massachusetts law threatens dozens of small brewers.
Adverse growing conditions impact the Canadian barley crop; archaeological site provides oldest evidence of brewing in France; non-alcoholic Weissbier’s health benefits; New Century Brewing closes; and Charles Koch Jr. passes away at 88.
George Washington’s beer recipe discovered, brewed; California hops held up by Secret Service; two proposed Texas beer laws killed; and Stone announces $26.6 million expansion plans.
Dogfish Head, Great Divide, Avery and Allagash pull back on distribution; Flying Dog files suit against the Michigan State Liquor Control Commission; and Free the Hops calls for a boycott of all products offered by ABI’s distributors.
Illinois breweries fighting to keep right to distribute; Goose Island acquired by A-B InBev; Surly campaigns to change law and build brewery/restaurant; Mexican brewery unveils world’s first beers for the LGBT community; and Indiana state laws may stifle breweries’ growth.
Brewers Association definition of “craft brewer” scales up; Oregon brewing legend Don Younger passes away; and Texas tries to achieve brewpub-friendly legislation.
Mini-fridge converted to personal “beer cannon”; Sierra Nevada named “Green Business of the Year” by EPA; A-B Inbev and MLB reach agreement; and fire at Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy.
Anhesuser-Busch sues Major League Baseball; Brewery Ommegang teams with activists to achieve gas-drilling moratorium; and Moonshot banned in wake of caffeinated-beverage probe.
“Organic” brews to require organic hops; Odin’s Smoky Bacon Ale sizzles in Seattle; Beer bikes banned from German roads; and Lost Abbey Witches Wit label conjures controversy.
Have brewpub, will travel; beer designed for zero-gravity consumption; deep-fried beer makes its sizzling debut; and world’s oldest (drinkable) beer found in Baltic Sea.
Will Straub’s returnable bottles get canned?; Independent Brewers United acquired by North American Breweries; no Christmas this year for Goose Island; and Sierra Nevada teaming up with Trappist monks.
Robot serves a cold one; BrewDog ends history, t’ Koelchip starts the future; “Brewed” coming soon to a TV near you; Canadian football team eradicating beer snakes.
Stone’s Ales not cutting the mustard; Georgetown brewing changes brew’s name, logo; crew kidnapped while attempting to film commercial in Mexico; “Orange Girls” arrested for alleged World Cup guerilla marketing stunt.
