Last month I had the pleasure of attending a drag brunch at a local brewery. The event received some backlash from the local community, which created a lot of media buzz. While the threats ultimately amounted to nothing, that is not always the case. While opposition to the LGBTQ community seems to be on the rise, our actions can play a big role in combating bigotry.
Yarrow has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb. Not native to North America, but naturalized, it was an early addition to my garden, and that choice ensured a healthy supply of flowers when I brewed a yarrow ale for a class I was teaching on herbed medieval ales. Even with all my research, it had one more surprise in store for me.
Whether you’re new to craft beer or have been around for years, there is always more to learn about new styles, new breweries, and new initiatives to ensure that everyone can enjoy themselves. Heading into American Craft Beer Week, we’ll look at what we as individuals can do to promote a more equitable and transparent brewing industry and have more fun while doing it.
White men have long dominated the brewing industry, making women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals feel unseen at best and unsafe at worst. The recent reckonings around sexism and racism in our society have impacted many aspects of our lives, including what we drink. This post sheds a light on efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the industry.
Learn from history or be doomed to repeat it, we are warned. The battle between small, independent brewers and large, consolidated production is only in its latest incarnation. There are meaningful arguments about the pros and cons of each side, but the full picture – with all the impacts of our decisions – isn’t always visible. Equity is continuously at stake when we vote with our dollars.
Brewing is a long-beloved hobby of mine, and as a female medievalist, I know there is a rich history of women in brewing across the centuries and throughout the world. How did an activity that was so fundamentally tied to women’s role in the house become dominated by men? And what factors are at play to shift the industry back to something more equitable?
Getting back from a restorative two-week vacation, I talked a big game about making time for myself on a regular basis. Recognizing that I’m in a job with higher stakes than I’ve ever had before and that my physical and mental health could be at stake if I don’t make myself a priority, it’s time to make good on that claim.
This is a great time of year for birthdays, though I may be slightly biased. For my birthday this year, I had planned to combine my loves of classic literature and craft beer in a joint “Leaves of Grass” poetry reading and Bell’s “Leaves of Grass” beer tasting. Unfortunately social distancing has complicated matters, but I’m still feeling connected, even while apart.
Several months ago I saw an article posted on a sustainability website that suggested upcycling your Christmas tree to make beer. As the article correctly states, there is a precedent for using tree components in brewing. However, the article incorrectly implies that using your Christmas tree is the best way to go about making something drinkable.