Happy Thanksgiving – The Craft Beer Edition
I am sure that many blogs – both beer-related and otherwise – will be filled with “what I am thankful for” lists this week. Either that or “this is what beer to serve with Thanksgiving dinner” advice. I love both topics. Being thankful for what one has is a great gift, and reading about what beers different people pair with different variations on Thanksgiving dinner is always interesting and fun. I am going to go with the former this week.
As some one who has enjoyed craft beer for many years now, I am very thankful for people like Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada and Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing, who really resurrected craft brewing and allowed for wider availability and awareness of the drink we love. Their consistent dedication to quality and the art of brewing has paved the way for so many innovative and wonderful breweries in our country.
On the heels of the originators come the innovators. Men like Greg Stone of Stone Brewing, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, and Tony Magee of Lagunitas have helped drive creativity and collaboration in the industry, producing new styles and ideas of what craft brewing is and can be. I am thankful for their entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to breaking new ground.
I am also thankful for those that have helped me personally learn about and experience craft beer. First and foremost would have to be my best friend and fellow beer writer, Josh Kay. I could write an entire post on how thankful I am for him, but for this time and space, let’s just say he has helped my beer education and experience immensely throughout my life. I am also thankful for those that homebrew with me, Sam and Eric, and more recently, Scott. I have learned much from them and consider myself a better beer writer for knowing them. In addition, I have had the opportunity to taste new beers with them at events and in our homes. Good friends are like good beer. Both are indispensable.
My fellow beer-writers and bloggers have been an enormous lift to me in the past year, from the encouragement and belief in me to exposing me to new and exciting thing in the world of beer. I want to specifically mention being thankful for Brian Yaeger, whose book Red, White, and Brew inspired me to begin writing again, and also Mario Rubio who brought me into the Hop Press stable..
I am thankful for my family for many reasons, but one thing in particular is their encouragement of my writing as well as opening the doors to experiencing life and new things. This led me to learning about quality brewing, and their lessons on appreciation of food and drink have driven me throughout my life.
And finally, I am thankful for my wife and children. Their patience and support as I have travelled this beer-lined road is invaluable. Without it, I never would have written word one.
Thanksgiving is about recognizing the good things in our lives. No one’s life is perfect, and there is plenty to complain about throughout the world. Beer lovers should all be thankful to be living in this day and age, when the industry is growing, access to once-unobtainable beers is growing, and the community is exploding. Take some time this Thanksgiving to remember the things you have and the people around you who helped make it possible. From your local storeowner who finds the beers you love to the men and women who pour their souls into every batch, from the farmers growing and harvesting the grains and hops to your significant other at home who teases you for your beer-geekdom. These are the people that make it possible to pursue our love of craft beer.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
