ISO: Your Honest Feedback; FT: A New Magazine in 2018

One thing I liked a lot about the magazine were the beer reviews and ratings. I'm rather disappointed that now there are only two reviews per issue currently. Perhaps the mag can return with a larger number of beer reviews.

 

I'm definitely with @beergoot as far as the reviews go. I'd also love to see something like BeerMythBusters where modern brewing science bebunks long-held beer myths. A focus on classic styles (not just classic beers) and their history is something that I love as well. Not that you don't feature that type of thing already. Always enjoy picking up a copy at my local and giving it a read the next day. Keep up the good work!

 

Concurred, I would like to see the return of multiple beer reviews. That was always the highlight of the magazine for me. I also enjoy the travel and recipe. It has on numerous occasions provided me with inspiration for food and destinations.

 

I like the deep dive on two, maybe four beers per issue. The website has plenty of reviews, and maybe there is an opportunity for a daily or weekly posting of expert reviews.

A style specific article would be welcome. Or otherwise educational, ethical, or promoting the good nature of our community.

How about a guest column from amateur writers? These could be journalistic, anecdotal, fictional, or poetic. Something artistic, not political. Folks could submit them via the website.

Any chance we might have a stand alone BeerAdvocate cook book in the future?

 

I'd like to see in-depth articles on styles, currently enough to take 104 months. This would include a history, discussion of off-shoots and variants, stats including popularity and sales, and a list of the top current examples. There have been articles on styles but I'm thinking monthly and in-depth.

 

I have no major gripes about the magazine.

I would suggest you keep most of it.

Focus on Beer culture in different countries would be nice. Say something like "Mexican Beer more German than you think."

 

Boy, this has to be tough. You rightly say that the beer industry continues to evolve and so does the way in which we consume information. I guess the question is, are you asking your current membership how you can best meet their expectations or are you trying to attract new subscribers (or both)?

It's a pertinent question because certain types of content BA has tried to avoid (e.g. lists), perhaps to the approval of the current subscriber-ship. But that's precisely what might attract a larger audience.

That being said, I agree with many of the sentiments above regarding content:

• Beer history
• Unique beers/styles
• Beer travel guides
• Beer fest diary (from what time you woke up to what time you went to bed)
• Beer debates (e.g. canned beer is better than bottled beer; pro vs con)
• Mead?

 

I wouldn't mind seeing a stats snapshot.

Things like the Top Beers overall and by style, with an indication of its positional change from the last month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, ( as in +3, -10, etc. ).

 

Simple suggestion - Prominently list the city, state (and maybe country) in the headings or graphics for articles about single breweries or taprooms. When I am on my first flip through each month I like to quickly see where you're talking about in the geographically anchored articles.

 

for me its def the beer and food stuff

but what gets me down is the difficulty and often times obscurity of the types of food covered...I'd get much more out a much more basic food/beer/cheese 101 kinda stuff...beer n chicken, beer n cheese, beer and bbq...that kinda stuff

 

I subscribe because I get tired of reading things on line and still enjoy a real pages in my hand format. Otherwise, I subscribe to support the web site that we all enjoy - that seems important.

Content - I like the history and looks into different cultures, but I read anything where I think I can learn something. Brewing in the Land of the Thunder Dragon was a really cool article - I read half of it out loud much to the annoyance of others in the house - for example. I guess getting a glimpse into the wider world is what I enjoy - we can talk about things we know on the forums, but getting into something different I think is where the magazine can play more of a role - get the conversation started if anybody wants to jump in, I suppose.

Reviews are OK, but I would not like to see the magazine filled up with them, either. Maybe some focus on what to look for in the different styles, so an expansion of Beer 101 and the styles guidelines would be useful if not overdone.

Travel guides - that would be OK but it could also get stale in a hurry, too. I like reading about places I will never be able to visit, but how much of that can a person really do? Maybe not so much a travel guide, but more culture-focused like the one already mentioned, especially for beyond the USA. Yeah - beer gets brewed everywhere, but how does it matter to every day life and what are the brewing traditions.

I read the articles both places - on the web site and in the magazine when it comes, pretty random when it comes to that. And I like pictures - sometimes they say more than the articles.

 

Have never seen the mag but the one think I really don't like in other beer mags I have seen is short articles. Maybe I'm not the typical reader but a 1 page with photos is not long enough when you get into things with history behind them.

I would like trends......what's trending now , on the horizon, what was a tend and now gone or has become mainstream.

I like a list with some body to it, not just a 1-10.

I don't like all eye candy and no depth

Enjoy


Edit....I guess the articles that are on the main site page come from the mag. I stopped reading most of these.

 

Thanks for the feedback. We often run trend pieces and have published long articles in every issue for years. If you haven't picked up a copy before, consider signing up for a free trial issue.

 

I like it the way it is, good mixture of stuff. Perhaps a series of articles on the St. Pauli Girl models with full photo layouts. Hey, it's beer related.

 

Hey man, don't stretch it. Beer porn around here is already staged and not like real beer at all. I know a guy who fell in love with a cardboard St. Pauli cardboard stand-up ad.
As to the topic, I would love to see more exotic travel pieces, and more exploration of the melding of beer, wine, cider, and distillates.

 

The two parts of the mag I have the hardest time getting through are the beer history and the Drink Beer in Insert City Here. I also really enjoy the Beer with Food, which has been coming and going. Honestly everything else is great, and i like the the Bros rated beers format.

 

How about an article on shower beer - choosing, glassware, safety, etc? Or has that been done?

 

You mean like this article on shower beer?

 

Yeah, EXACTLY like that! I should have remembered that since I commented on it at the time. Just had my first shower beer last week!

 

Local favorites "small batch brewery/brewer of the month" profile.

 

I enjoy the articles that dig into the history of beers and breweries that have been around for 75 years or more, particularly the charts showing recipe/brewing/packaging/ABV changes. Perhaps hire @jesskidden as an historian/archaeologist/fact-checker.

I also enjoy science articles such as one covering the freezing point of beer, effects of aging various styles, proper cellaring, etc. Cool and/or correct glassware might be a good monthly spot.

 

Agree with the food comment by @Billolick. The recipes can be daunting. I'd like to see some simpler recipes that the average cook can prepare.
Otherwise, I like the magazine as it is.

 

Return to beer reviews and include a monthly "regional update" for each section of the USA (northeast, mid-atlantic, southeast, etc).

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the issue is subscription magazine content vs free website content. It's hard to get people to pay for something they can get for free online. Ask every newspaper out there right now. Maybe a paywall for the website is the way to go? Not saying I endorse that or not, it's a your business decision. I resisted paying for NYT and WaPo access until just after November of 2016 for some reason. I realized that true news and investigate journalism was something very much worth investing in. Maybe there needs to be a way to add more value to subscribers.

 

It would certainly be interesting to explore the interrelationships between winemakers, distillers, and brewers. Not just sharing barrelage, but shared methodologies and ingredients.

 

The reason I signed up was for the beer centric nature of content (duh). There wasn't much that I had found at the time for beer news and info. I rather enjoy the "Drinking in..." , Brewer profiles, and the very popular reviews sections especially. They are ways to see/learn about other beers and the different or similar ideas of getting and being in brewing currently.

Only thing I would like to see is the travel and Drinking in sections have maybe both a US/Canada/Mexico city as well as an international destination.

 

My humble take:

- Shoot the print version, completely and decisively. Go strictly digital. I'll still pay the subscription price.

- Amp up the beer reviews (quantity ). I pay attention to what you guys say.

- Add "Places" reviews, even if it's by subscribers. #DrinkLocal is real, and it's becoming realer. We need to know where to go, market by market.

- Keep taking stands. I appreciate that you guys support transparency as much as you do.

Now excuse me, I have a tasty RIS to finish.

 

I would like to see less brewer interviews. They tend to say the same things all of them.

 

Hey Guys,
Love the layout now, if you were to "add" something my top picks would be:
More beer destinations- pick a city/area write up brewery's, tours, pubs
More beer style deep dives - History, variants, top picks
Maybe a brewers corner - Beer recipes, technology, equipment reviews

 

I want to see more....

1. Beer reviews, need more.
2. Brewery/taproom/venue reviews - not a spotlight but a fair actual review. Not of their beer but actual space and layout, service etc.
3. More history of beer, styles, breweries.
4. More coverage of beer events - write-ups, reviews etc.
5. Beer, beer, beer!

** Less food stuff, less international items.

 

I'd be cool if you could create a graphics page with Top beers, bars, breweries of the month based on BA traffic.

Maybe do a monthly "ask the brewer" poll about their fav beer, brewery, guilty pleasure beer, seasonal, etc, etc.

 

i like the articles on cities. I'd like to see online every issue. There's so many great beer cities that most people wouldn't think about.

 

I love reading cellared beer reviews. I'm sure there is a large stash of old bottles that would make for some fun analysis

 

You know how these barns containing hundreds of classic cars keep turning up? Very compelling. Seems to me I've heard of similar things with beer cellars. More stories on beer archaeology would be great.

 

Brutal honesty is what you want?

Less Drew Beechum, please.

 

Well, the magazine I am still enjoying, love the food and beer recipes.

I do miss though the reviews, while we are all critical sometimes the whole existence I think for this site is for reviewing, so I miss your actual tid bits of what you had recently. I also find it interesting to see what you guys have tried lately, and you do run the spectrum instead of just the constant top rated beers here that people spend more time talking about then actually reviewing.

Maybe you could also have guest reviewers?

Also would you solicit an article(s) from BA members like myself, as I have written in the past for a magazine publication? Just putting that out there.

Overall though I am pretty pleased with the format.

 

I hope that's sarcasm.

 

Re: The possibility of writing something for us—you'll find guidelines for contributors at the bottom of this page.