First Story | Charlotte Observer | Brewers Try Aging Beer in Whiskey Barrels
It seems one of the industry's spokesmen, Garrett Oliver, made an impression on the writer with his "Black Ops" beer. In addition to Oliver's creation, Townsend writes about some more local folks taking up the trendy notion of aging beer in barrels. Overall, a good introductory piece, appropriate for a newspaper. Good stuff.
Second Story | Daily Nebraskan | Microbrews Help Shed Low Class Image
This story has a bit more meat to it, as Alex Haueter and Michael Mason-D'Croz write about the challenges - or is it the challenging nature - craft brewers have today. Again, this is local piece and many of the brewers mentioned are brewers I'm not personally familiar with - I love it! Overall, I found this to be a great piece for a local paper.
Third Story | Contra Costa Times | Craft Beer Prices Jump on Hops, Barley Price Increases
OK, this one was printed today and is not currently available online. However, from the synopsis provided, it appears to be discussing the jump in beer prices many of us are already familiar with. I have to admit, I loved their opening line:
If you're a drinker of craft beer - that's the good stuff, the beer with the full flavor and unusual twists and turns, it's going to cost a bit more if not today, soon.What's great about this? I love that each story has its own sort of 'homey' feel to them (OK, first two). I personally get tired of seeing reprints in papers, beer stories that seem to be printed from coast to coast. This is actually great stuff, big steps in "support your local brewers" and I hope people who are in the area send in a quick email or post comments to the stories letting the editors know you appreciated the coverage. What's funny about that, you may think nobody cares if you like a story so why bother sending in a comment or email. Well, your comments and emails most certainly are read, and for editors looking to make decisions on upcoming stories - they'll remember.
