Hey all! I just wanted to drop in and remind myself that this blog exists. I should spend more time collecting my thoughts and committing them to the interwebs. I've met so many great people, had numerous, deep conversations and drunk countless craft beers over the last few months!
As summer approaches I hope to be able to focus more on this page and less on all the non-beer-related nonsense in life. So check back more often and I'll work on making a more interesting and engaging place to visit.
In the meantime, be sure to interact with me on Twitter. The world can always use another craft beer #brewsader!
Thanks for stopping in! We'll be 'talking' soon.
Cheers,
Zach
Mar 19, 2014
It's Coming...9th Annual Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival!
Saves The Day, The Dirty Heads, Less Than Jake. That's your soundtrack. Your LIVE, craft-beer-drinking soundtrack!
The two-day festival has seen incredible growth since debuting in 2006 and this year looks to be another record breaker. 20,000+ attendees, 125+ breweries, 450+ beers! If you haven't been to one yet, make this the year and help turn the ACC into "The Celebration of The Suds"! Get your tickets HERE!
So what craft beer can you expect to sample while listening to some kick-ass music and noshing on some tasty bites? Oh, just the biggest names in beer like: 21st Amendment, Avery, Ballast Point, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, DuClaw, Firestone, Green Flash, Keegan Ales, Lagunitas. Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada, Stone Brewing...and popular LOCAL favorites like:
See the press release below for more info and get your tickets HERE now!
_____________________________________________________________________
The 9th Annual Atlantic City Beer Festival gears up for April The Celebration of the Suds, better known as “The Atlantic
City Beer Fest” presented by 100.7 WZXL, returns to The
Atlantic City Convention Center for the 9th straight year on
April 4th & 5th. The 2014 event will be an amazing experience
in taste, as electrifying musical guests set the sound track to
savor brews from all over the planet. In 2014, Atlantic City,
New Jersey is the destination to discover beer, music, and
much more!
Over 150 different breweries from across the country will
showcase their unique libations. The focus of The Atlantic City
Beer and Music Festival is the promotion and education of
craft beers and a celebration of the brewers that create them.
This event is the perfect opportunity for beer aficionados,
beer lovers and the casual beer drinker to speak to company
representatives and brewers responsible for some of their
favorite brews. This is the one true opportunity to discover
and taste new brews and special “limited release” beers and
ales.
Every year festival organizers review the event and look to further enhance the beer lover’s experience and make each year better than the last. Now in its 9th year, the festival has easily become one of the country’s largest gatherings of all things beer. For 2014 festival producers will bring in musical headliners, Saves the Day, Dirty Heads and Less than Jake to anchor the weekend’s line up, and further highlight each session. Already one of Atlantic City’s most anticipated events of the year, the 2014 festival will have the perfect soundtrack to enjoy great brews, great tunes and thousands of great people! All bands and performers will be featured on the event web site under the heading sounds.
The 2014 Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival will also feature culinary demonstrations from prominent area chefs; beer seminars hosted by well-known personalities/brewers and some “off the wall” activities. Additionally, festival exhibitors will offer great food and some unique beer-related apparel and goods. This year’s festival will appeal to absolutely everyone.
The festival offers a “Designated Driver” ticket price of $15, available at the door, to encourage attendee responsibility and usage of Atlantic City’s many transportation options, including jitneys and cabs. New Jersey Transit’s Atlantic City Line train arrives right inside the Atlantic City Convention Center and NJ Transit officials report that Beer Fest weekend marks the highest single day ridership numbers all year long. (See www.njtransit.com for a train schedule) This is one of the reasons why the Atlantic City Convention Center makes for the perfect home of “The Celebration of The Suds.”
Mar 14, 2014
#CraftBeer On Instagram
Like pictures on Instagram?
Like beer?
Follow me for your fix of both!
@BeerIsMyChurch
If you're not on Instagram, why not give it a try? Might make you thirsty? That's a legitimate concern.
If you are on Instagram and post lots of beer pics, be sure to tag them with #brewsader!
Cheers,
Zach
#brewsader
@BeerIsMyChurch
If you're not on Instagram, why not give it a try? Might make you thirsty? That's a legitimate concern.
If you are on Instagram and post lots of beer pics, be sure to tag them with #brewsader!
Cheers,
Zach
#brewsader
Feb 11, 2014
Dearest Beer Store, I Am Not A Child
If there's something that's been increasing over the years, it's craft brewers releasing more and more "limited" offerings. The most coveted of which, at least in my area, has been Founders Brewing's vaunted annual release of KBS, their Kentucky Breakfast Stout. There were stories during the 2013 release that the local distributor had to disguise their trucks, change their routes and make deliveries at odd times to throw off the the scent of nagging beer hunters. How much of that is fact and how much is urban legend, I don't know...and I'm not sure I want to know.
Mention that level of hype and anticipation in front of a craft beer retailer and you're likely to get one of two reactions. 1) Yawn or 2) More hyperbole. It's the second response that seems most prevalent lately and behind the perpetuation of many retailers' behavior that has gotten my panties all in a bunch.
How many times have you walked into your local, or worse yet a distant, beer store to 'hunt' for that elusive brew? The latest limited release from your favorite craft brewer is due on shelves today. You've driven all over your state, certain you were going to find that beer. You just knew it, but you walked out of every store empty handed. Why?
Well, the dirty little secret (if you didn't know already) is that many retailers never put that beer on the shelf. It was kept "in the back" or "behind the counter". You had to ask for it. Not only that, you had to ask the right person for it. The reasons I've been given for this practice are as varied as the colors of the rainbow. None of which hold much water with me.
"We want to make sure it gets in the hands of true beer lovers."
"We don't want just anyone being able to buy this beer."
"We got a very limited supply and didn't want to move current stock off the shelf to make room for it."
"If you're not on the list you can't have a bottle."
"The beer manager says he's not selling any yet."
And so on, and so on.
These are all things I've heard said to others or have been told myself.
There's nothing I loathe more than having to find an employee, who refers me to the "beer manager", who I then have to ask if a particular beer is "in the back". Why? In what other retail situation am I begging to buy a product, hoping I pass muster? Or live up to whatever standard you've set for someone worthy enough to buy this beer?
Have I been a victim of this practice? Yes. Often, and especially earlier in my beer hunting career. Have I benefited from knowing what to ask for and who to ask? Absolutely. That doesn't make me feel any better, though. I think equal, open access makes the most sense.
So...dearest beer retailer, please don't treat us like children. We're not. We're more and more sophisticated and educated than ever before. We love beer. Not games. Don't keep the "good stuff" locked in your cabinets and out of our sight and reach. Put it on the shelf. Maybe in a special section if that makes you feel better. Impose buying limits if you like (and most of you do). That all seems reasonable to me. But STOP making me beg for beer. It's embarrassing...and it doesn't make you cool.
I've decided I won't chase beer or employees anymore. I'm frequenting those stores less and less often, but if I find a "rare" one on the shelf, great! If I don't, oh well. I guess it went to someone more "worthy", and I guess either way they're making their buck. So I won't expect any change anytime soon.
Cheers,
Zach
#brewsader
How many times have you walked into your local, or worse yet a distant, beer store to 'hunt' for that elusive brew? The latest limited release from your favorite craft brewer is due on shelves today. You've driven all over your state, certain you were going to find that beer. You just knew it, but you walked out of every store empty handed. Why?
"We want to make sure it gets in the hands of true beer lovers."
"We don't want just anyone being able to buy this beer."
"We got a very limited supply and didn't want to move current stock off the shelf to make room for it."
"If you're not on the list you can't have a bottle."
"The beer manager says he's not selling any yet."
And so on, and so on.
These are all things I've heard said to others or have been told myself.
There's nothing I loathe more than having to find an employee, who refers me to the "beer manager", who I then have to ask if a particular beer is "in the back". Why? In what other retail situation am I begging to buy a product, hoping I pass muster? Or live up to whatever standard you've set for someone worthy enough to buy this beer?Have I been a victim of this practice? Yes. Often, and especially earlier in my beer hunting career. Have I benefited from knowing what to ask for and who to ask? Absolutely. That doesn't make me feel any better, though. I think equal, open access makes the most sense.
So...dearest beer retailer, please don't treat us like children. We're not. We're more and more sophisticated and educated than ever before. We love beer. Not games. Don't keep the "good stuff" locked in your cabinets and out of our sight and reach. Put it on the shelf. Maybe in a special section if that makes you feel better. Impose buying limits if you like (and most of you do). That all seems reasonable to me. But STOP making me beg for beer. It's embarrassing...and it doesn't make you cool.
I've decided I won't chase beer or employees anymore. I'm frequenting those stores less and less often, but if I find a "rare" one on the shelf, great! If I don't, oh well. I guess it went to someone more "worthy", and I guess either way they're making their buck. So I won't expect any change anytime soon.
Cheers,
Zach
#brewsader
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