My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The HopPress… posted on Saturday, August 28th.
All of the typical signs are evident that summer is coming to an end and that fall is almost upon us; school began in most local districts this last week, the Champlain Valley Fair starts its 10-day run today and the summer green of the Vermont hillsides are slowly showing a hint of that blaze of color that will be dominant in a month or so.
My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The HopPress… posted on Saturday, August 14th.
It has been a while since I took a more than cursory glance at the beer industry as a whole. What with the economy raising cane in most parts of the world for the last 24 months or so, I was a little afraid of what I might find. Even with some signs of a weak economic recovery beginning here in the US and a few other parts of the world, there are many significant business and personal tragedies left over from the economic devastation that reigned for the better part of 2009 and into most of 2010. For many, the last couple of years have left them financially scarred… a moderate to severe reduction in the value of their retirement nest egg and their real estate investments. The fortunate ones have something of value left to still call their own; the less fortunate are left to try to restructure and restore their personal, business and economic lives.
My latest featured article for RateBeer’s The HopPress… posted on Saturday, July 31st.
Each July for the last 10 years some of New England’s best barbequers and grillers have descended upon tiny Windsor, VT for the New England Championships of BBQ, which is hosted on the grounds of the Harpoon Brewery. This New England Barbecue Society supervised event is attended by thousands of hungry BBQ fans all hoping to get a taste of some of the best BBQ this side of Kansas City and, of course, to sample some of Harpoon’s great beers.