Joe Stange
@thirstypilgrim.bsky.social
Executive editor, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, Brewing Industry Guide, and Spirits & Distilling. Based in Seoul, for now. Digital nomad, kinda, and since before that was even a thing, but it’s not my fault.
My current preferred way to interview people these days is via carrier pigeons that clutch thumb drives with audio files on them.
Grilling/smoking season never ends at our house, so it never restarts, either. But there are absolutely certain weekends when we celebrate it even more. Happy Korean Buddha’s Birthday Weekend!
the world is going to shit but hey, the beer just keeps getting better
hey @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social super cool to read about Mendos Fogbelt! I was in Ukiah working in 2011/2015, it was pretty sad to see the whole brewing heritage in the Golden Triangle vanish. We always talked about restarting Ukias Brewery, as a german-us team! // @craftbeerbrew.bsky.social
If I could get Korean brewpubs and taprooms to understand one thing, it is this: You do not have to serve burgers, wings, and/or pizza. You do not.
Now that I have reading glasses, I want to always wear a strap to hang them around my neck. And cardigans. And a scrutinizing countenance.
Northbound Eisbock out of Minneapolis was a 2024 GABF gold medal winner when we wrote about it last year. Then (ope) it won gold again. Here’s how they do it, including the doppelbock recipe that gets all froze up and whatnots. Links in there with more details. www.beerandbrewing.com/recipe-north...
Recipe: Northbound Doppelbock... and Eisbock
From Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub in Minneapolis, here’s a recipe for their Doppelbock that won gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup—and that beer also was the basis for their Eisbock, which won gold at...
beerandbrewing.com
Best in Beer 2025 issue drop! This is kinda like our Christmas. Go dive in over at beerandbrewing.com.
House just passed the bill, which as expected still contains the de facto ban on THC, to take place 365 days from enactment. Government is soon to reopen; the $28-billion hemp-derived THC business is on the clock and fighting for its life.
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
clerk.house.gov
Dave Infante@dinfontay.com · 11mo agoHemp did not, in fact, have the votes. On a 76-24 vote, Rand Paul’s last-ditch amendment to save the industry failed last night in the Senate. The THC ban stands.
Granted, lots going on in the news. But the deal to end the shutdown includes a provision that would ban (close the loophole on) hemp-derived THC—a rather popular $30 billion industry—and the mainstream news outlets have barely caught a whiff of it.
Irish whiskey is in a weird place — and new US tariffs sure don’t help. For @vinepair.com, I talked to distillers, fans & insiders about Irish whiskey’s path forward. That includes growing sales in places like Poland, now the #2 market for Irish whiskey after the US. vinepair.com/articles/iri...
The U.S. Put Irish Whiskey Back on the Map. Now the Category Has to Evolve.
The next time you’re ordering a cocktail in Warsaw, Berlin, or Lagos, consider making it a Tipperary or an Irish Coffee: Recently, exports from Ireland to Poland, Germany, Nigeria, and other emerging whiskey scenes have soared. Those new(ish) markets represent a much-needed spot of good news for Irish whiskey — and an example of how the country’s distillers are finding workable solutions in a difficult era.
vinepair.com
One of the very few times I look down my beer-dude nose at wine people is when they're trying to pair it with spicy wings.
Fellas, seems like a good day to remind y'all to NOT burn any witches. Magic's not real. Those are just ladies!
What are the names of the U.S. Navy officers carrying out these orders to serially bomb civilian boats that pose no threat to their own vessels, killing everyone aboard? Surely they’ll want to take personal credit for this honorable service and perhaps wear a little campaign medal on their chest.
Lush export India porter, on cask, at Machine House in Seattle
This is a fantastic beer with a mental yeast blend. So, definitely check it out if you’re into stuff like fantastic beers and mental yeast blends. beerandbrewing.com/recipe-halfw...
Recipe: Halfway Crooks Sanguine
From Shawn Cooper and Joran Van Gingerachter of Atlanta’s Halfway Crooks, here’s a recipe for their own “brewer’s beer”—a dry, bitter, quenching pale ale packed with Belgian-grown hops and accentuated...
beerandbrewing.com
Constitutional amendment to require all states to adopt data-driven, nonpartisan redistricting process. AI spits out maps; technocrats and/or judges narrow it down to maybe 5. Each political party rank-orders their preferences, high score wins. In a tie, flip a coin. Stuck with it for a decade.
Beer in Art #1614 The Guitarist, by Hermann Kern, c. late 19th century (Austria, Slovakia)
TIL that Korean has its own portmanteau for the combo of fried chicken and beer—chimaek (치맥), for chikin + maekju. Now ready to die for these people.
Interesting tidbit from Gallup (via Mark Brown newsletter) on the drop in self-reported alcohol consumption.
Will the hotel industry speak out on this one? Restaurants? Bars? www.cnn.com/2025/08/04/p...
State Department may require visa applicants to post bond of up to $15,000 to enter the US | CNN Politics
The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many...
cnn.com
Yesterday was an absolute bucket list day, when I got to visit Brauerei Zehendner in Mönchsambach 30 min south-west from Bamberg together with @louisekrennmair.bsky.social, @johnzee7.bsky.social, @silentdan.bsky.social, @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social and the rest of our Stammtisch crew.
Why should I trust AI with anything when autocorrect continues to insert apostrophes into my possessive “its”?
If I try to look something up on Instagram—like, actually try to find a specific photo or piece of information from there—there’s maybe a 90% chance I'll completely forget what I was looking for.
I like to see craft beer as a global conversation—vectors of influence shooting everywhere, like a mess o’ spaghetti. Anyway, please enjoy this article by Lucy Corne on how Ghana’s brewers are using local starches and winning international medals for their beers: beerandbrewing.com/grown-in-gha...
Grown in Ghana: How Brewers in West Africa Are Embracing Local Grains
It’s not always a simple process, but independent brewers in Ghana are favoring locally grown starches such as rice and cassava over imported malt, forging an identity for Ghanaian craft—oh, and they’...
beerandbrewing.com