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Our little science elves here at Beervana Amalgamated Sentences have been busy crunching the numbers to determine the very best winter beers. Consult now to make yours a happy holiday! beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

This is very sad news. It’s always unfortunate when any taproom closes, but ForeLand’s Study was a unique place that scores a 100 on ambiance. Few places in the city equaled its pub y feng shui. My best to David and the team as they go forward. newschoolbeer.com/home/2024/12/p…

They start filling up before five and buzz with the chatter of conversation, the clack of cue balls, and the clink of glassware until long after my bed time. Brewery taprooms are struggling, but my local dive bars are flourishing. Why is this? beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

This Jeff Alworth piece reminded me of a conversation with HangingHills a month-plus ago... why do so many brewery taprooms have the same feel, the same aesthetic? And why aren't there more that feel like dive bars, or even just ... BARS? Any thoughts? beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

Unexpected news—real, hard news—broke this week. Each one of three items was interesting, but they seem to have an even greater force when lined up together. Perhaps, if we look at them in just the right way, we can even discern a lesson. beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

So people who “know” Portland from Portlandia should probably stfu when opining about it. It’s always been a blue-collar, working class town with lots of grit. I’ve actually lived in Wisconsin and Milwaukee and Portland share more than a passing resemblance.

In lieu of a year-end best-photos post, today I’m mixing it up. Here are nine photographs from 2024 with a mini-essay describing why I chose it. Maybe a picture with a hundred words is worth more than a picture with none at all. beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

This is a fantastic report on Belgian beer (in Belgium) by Will Hawkes. It is full on details I understood only fuzzily. You’ll probably learn a thing or two as well: vinepair.com/articles/belgi…

In the 18th and 19th century, Brits started using “merry” as a synonym for “drunk.” The state of merriment was considered base and vulgar by the upper classes. So in 1932, King George V started wishing his subjects “Happy Christmas.” We stuck with “merry.” beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

In recent years, many people have decided to spend the first month of the year on an alcohol hiatus. That’s not great for breweries—and holing up isn’t great for people, either. So this year, whether you’re drinking or not, try #PubJanuary instead. beervanablog.com/beervana/2024/…

2024 was a year of mixed signals and confusing trends. In this year-end post, I review the major themes, positive, negative, and just weird. And then I finish with a flourish of almost certainly bad predictions! beervanablog.com/beervana/2025/…

Opening the bidding here… “I just don’t see non-alc becoming much of a market. If it ever reaches 5% of the beer market, I will be shocked. I predict it tops out at 2%.”

Responding to a recent overproduction of hops, U.S. growers scaled back the acres they cultivated in 2024 in dramatic fashion. Here’s a summary of how that affected the states and individual varieties—with graphs and tables.  beervanablog.com/beervana/2025/…