All posts by The Beer Professor

Neil Reid is Professor of Geography and Planning and Director of the Jack Ford Urban Affairs Center at the University of Toledo. He studies and writes about the beer industry.
Beer Styles, International

Bottle Conditioned: The Story of Lambic

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Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to preview the documentary film, Bottle Conditioned, a few weeks before its public release by Bullfrog Fims. Directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Jerry Franck, the documentary explores the world of lambic beer.

Before discussing the film, let me say something about lambic beer. Lambic is one of the world’s most iconic beer styles. It is a sour wheat beer, brewed by using spontaneous fermentation. In other words, unlike most beers which are brewed using yeast selected by the brewer, lambic uses wild yeast that is naturally present in the environment. Authentic lambic is brewed in one small geographic region – Pajottenland and the adjacent Zenne Valley, which lie southwest of Belgium’s capital city Brussels.

Exactly how long lambic has been around is unclear – some sources suggest it was first brewed in the 13th century, while others date its origins to the 15th and 18th centuries respectively. The weight of evidence suggests an 18th century origin to be the most likely. In addition to Lambic, there are several derivatives. These include fruit lambic, faro, and gueuze. Of these gueuze is considered the “most noble”, being often “likened to champagne”.

Gueuze, is made by blending a young Lambic (one year old) with older (two and three years old) lambics. As the young lambic is not fully fermented, a secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. No two batches of gueuze are the same as the yeast used in their production comes from the natural environment, making it “impossible to produce a standardised product”. Following fermentation, lambic is aged in wooden barrels (usually wine) for several years. Because of seasonal variations in the microflora in the Pajottenland and Zenne Valley lambic can only be brewed between October and May.

A lambic produced by Cantillon

Bottle Conditioned, tells the story of three lambic producers/blenders (Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, and Bokke), the people who own and run them, and their visions of the future. As we learn in the film, after a period of decline, lambic today is experiencing something of a renaissance.  In the early 1950s, there were several hundred producers/blenders of lambic in the region, with each village having two or three. In the subsequent four decades, however, consumer demand for lambic went into free fall. Jean-Pierre Van Roy (Co-Owner of Cantillon) lays part of the blame at the feet of Coca Cola, which was introduced into Europe after World War II. Coca Cola’s arrival was part of a larger trend in which standardization of tastes became a dominant force. Van Roy likens Coca Cola to a drug that arrived “violently” in Europe. As Coca Cola became more popular, people developed a taste for sweeter drinks. Changing consumer tastes were also reflected in the growing popularity of less-expensive mass-produced Lagers, against which lambic producers found it impossible to compete. Faced with this reality, one response by some lambic producers was to add saccharine to their blends, thus making it sweeter and more appealing to consumers. As a result, product quality and authenticity were compromised, although it did allow some lambic producers to survive. In a paper published in the International Journal of Heritage Studies, Arie Stoffelen, interviewed some 1980s lambic/gueuze drinkers. According to one of them:

“I drank old gueuzes in the 80s. You had to have a lot of courage and sacrifice to empty the glass . . . There was a lot of bad stuff on the market”

During this period, a small number of lambic producers, whose practices remained loyal to the beer’s authenticity, refused to add sweeteners. To survive, some leveraged lambic’s cultural heritage to generate customers and boost sales. In 1979 Jean-Pierre Van Roy established the Brussels Museum of Gueuze, with the goal of generating income to help keep the brewery alive. It was a resounding success. Cantillon is still in business and today, the brewery attracts over 30,000 visitors per year.

As recently as the 1990s, consumer interest in lambic remained at a very low ebb. The industry was moribund and the few brewers/blenders who were still in business faced a bleak and uncertain future. However, beginning in the early 2000s, lambic started receiving more attention, particularly in international markets. This renewed interest in lambic coincided with the growth of craft beer and a spurning, among a growing number of beer drinkers, of the bland-tasting, homogeneous, mass-produced Lagers.

This resurgence in lambic’s popularity brought with it both challenges and opportunities, each of which presented questions that had to be answered and decisions that had to be made. Many of these questions and decisions revolved around the future of the industry. As we weave our way through the film it becomes quite clear that there are competing visions about that future, competing visions within families and competing visions between producers.

On the one hand, there are producers like Cantillon’s Jean-Pierre Van Roy for whom tradition and protecting the heritage of lambic are important. Van Roy bemoans the emphasis that the younger generation of brewers’ place on “production, turnover, and profits”. According to him, “the beauty and aesthetics” of producing authentic lambic “doesn’t interest them”. In a recent interview with The Brussels Times, Van Roy bemoans the use of lactic acid by some lambic brewers. Lactic acid, with its attendant sourness, is produced naturally during the fermentation process. However, Van Roy notes that some lambic brewers add lactic acid to the coolship, thus reducing the length of time it takes to produce a lambic from several years to 4-5 months.

When it comes to producing lambic, Jean-Pierre Van Roy of Cantillon is protective of traditional values and practices

Van Roy is also dismissive of the modern beer drinker – “When I see people drink beer nowadays, I’m horrified”, he says. He dislikes the way many of them analyze beer as they drink it, taking notes, lining up bottles and taking photographs. This, Van Roy says, is “atrocious”. At one point in the film, Van Roy laments that “I am simply from a different time”.

The viewer is left in no doubt that tradition and protecting the heritage of lambic are important to Jean-Pierre Van Roy.  At the same he realizes that it is perhaps time for him to acquiesce and let the next generation implement their ideas and fulfill their visions. In the case of Cantillon, the next generation is represented by his son Jean. Jean has a more holistic, and some might argue, more realistic vision of the future. He recognizes that the world is changing, and that competition is escalating. For example, he observes there are a lot of good fruit beers being produced using secondary fermentation.

Jean’s observation is supported by the Tour De Geuze, a biennial celebration of lambic held in Pajottenland and the Zenne Valley where new products are often unveiled. For example, at the 2024 iteration of the event, Brewery Kestermont unveiled two new lambics, one brewed with blood orange and one brewed with bergamot. A visit to the website of Cantillon displays a wide range of lambics, including variations containing blue honeysuckle, raspberries, and rhubarb.

At one point in the film, Jean-Pierre outlines his desire to use some of Cantillon’s production space for the purpose of extending the brewery’s museum displays. His son objects on the grounds that valuable brewing capacity would be lost. Jean-Pierre accuses his son of only wanting to “produce, produce, produce”. In the end, it is the son who prevails, and the new museum space is built (at a cost of 1.6 million Euros).

Another lambic producer we meet in the film is Armand Debelder of 3 Forteinen Brewery. Debelder took over the running of 3 Forteinen from his parents in the early 1980s. As noted above, this was a tough time for lambic. But he persevered, continuing to produce authentic lambic. Shortly after appearing in the film, Debelder pased away from prostate cancer. By then, however, Debelder had passed the reins of 3 Forteinen to his business partners Michaël Blancquaert and Werner Van Obberghen.

In the film we learn that 3 Forteinen is receiving a 25 million Euro investment from a private equity firm. When news of this investment broke, some of the responses (particularly online) bordered on vitriolic. One online posting asked whether 3 Forteinen was more interested in generating shareholder profits than in producing good beer. Others accused them of selling their soul, of becoming a factory. Critics felt that there are dangers associated with becoming “too big”. Responding to the criticism, Werner Van Obberghen, Managing Director of 3 Forteinen points out that the volume of lambic produce is irrelevant if quality standards are maintained. 3 Forteinen, he insists, will always privilege quality. He accuses detractors of missing the point in their call to “make lambic rare again”.

Raf Souvereyns, who we also meet in the film, has progressive ideas. Souvereyns is the owner of Bokke Blendery (~100 km outside of Pajottenland). Souvereyns is not a brewer. He buys wort from lambic breweries, putting it in a coolship for spontaneous fermentation. A producer of mainly fruit beers, Souvereyns likes to push the limits of what can be done. He is quite happy to jettison a traditional technique if he feels it is not delivering for him. He uses the terms “deconstructing” and “reconstructing” to describe much of what he does. He talks about the infinite combinations of different fruits, and the experimentation that this involves.

Raf Souvereyns of Bokke Blendery is not beholden to tradition when blending lambics

Bottle Conditioned is film that pits tradition and heritage against non-conformity and innovation. On the one hand, we have Jean-Pierre Van Roy who values tradition and heritage; on the other we have Raf Souvereyns who is forging ahead with new and creative ideas. As I watched the film, I found myself sympathizing with both perspectives. Yes, I want to be able to drink lambic produced using traditional methods and recipes. At the same time, I am not opposed to tasting something new and experimental.

When Bullfrog Films invited me to preview the film, they asked that I provide a short blurb that they could use for promotional purposes. So, I will end this blog entry with my blurb:

“Bottle Conditioned is a must-see love story for anyone interested in the resurgence of one of the world’s most iconic styles of beer – lambic. As with most love stories there are hopes and dreams, anxieties and fears, tensions and conflicts. Bottle Conditioned has all of these, and more, as director Jerry Franck takes us deep into the world of lambic and the people who produce it; a world where competing visions of the future are discussed and debated. If you only watch one beer film this year, make sure it’s this one.”

Further Viewing and Reading:

Franck, Jerry. 2022. Bottle Conditioned. Reading, PA: Bullfrog Films.

Mulder, Roel. 2018. Lambic: The need for a new historical narrative. Journal of the Brewery History Society, Volume 175: Pages 2-13.

Stoffelen, Arie. 2022. Revitalising place-based commercial heritage: A cultural political economy approach to the renaissance of lambic beers in Belgium. International Journal of Heritage Studies, Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 16-29.

History, International, Scholarship

Guinness and the Student’s t-test

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Well, that’s another St. Patrick’s Day behind us. I am not really a green beer person, and don’t care much for corned beef (although I am partial to cabbage). So, I usually don’t participate in the celebrations that occur on the famous saint’s feast day. This year, however, I did make a presentation on St. Patrick and the history of Guinness as part of the monthly Pint Talk series at one of my local breweries, Quenched and Tempered.

Speaking about St. Patrick and the history of Gunnesss at Quenched & Tempered Brewing Company (Photo Credit: Beth Schlemper)

As I was preparing my talk, my oldest daughter sent me a text asking if I knew that the student t-test was developed by an employee of Guinness. My daughter is a nurse and is working on her Master of Science degree in Nursing at Ohio University. In one of her classes, the instructor was covering some basic statistical techniques. This is where the student’s t-test came up. I responded to her text, telling her that I was indeed familiar with both the test itself and the fact that it had been developed by a Guinness employee, and that both would be mentioned in my presentation.

William Sealy Gosset was born in Canterbury, England in 1876. As a student at Oxford University, Gosset studied mathematics and chemistry. Soon after graduating from Oxford, in 1899, Gosset joined the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland, as a master brewer and experimental scientist. As it was to turn out, all of Gosset’s working days (1899-1937) were spent as a Guinness employee. When he joined Guinness, it was the largest brewery in the world, producing close to 1.2 million barrels of beer. And it was on a growth trajectory. By 1914, it was producing almost 2.4 million barrels.

William Sealy Gosset

The arrival of Gosset at Guinness signaled something of a scientific revolution for the Irish brewery – from that day forward, scientific rigor would underpin all of the brewery’s activities. As noted by Stephen T. Ziliak, “all factors of production, from barley breeding to taste testing” would be “controlled, improved, and confirmed by experimental science”. A degree in science from Oxford or Cambridge would be required of anyone hoping to become a Guinness brewer. By applying scientific principles to brewing, Guinness hoped to improve both the quality and consistency of its beer, while minimizing production costs. One observer likens being a brewer at Guinness in the early 1900s to “being a computer scientist at Bell Labs in the 1970s or an artificial intelligence researcher at Google today“.

Quality and consistency of the final product was highly dependent upon the quality and consistency of the barley and hops used in the brewing process. In the case of hops, Guinness’ traditional method of choosing which to use was based on looks and/or fragrance – a highly unreliable technique. A more reliable method would have been knowledge of the degree of soft resins in the hops. This was problematic, however. The vicissitudes of agriculture meant that there could be considerable variation in the soft resin content of hops, both from field to field and year to year.

Measuring the soft resin content in every hop cone was not feasible. By 1886, Guinness was using ~5 million pounds of hops. An alternative was to take a sample of hops and measure their soft resin content. But this raised some important questions? For example, how many hop cones did you have to sample? And how could you tell if your samples were representative of the larger batch of hops you were considering using in the brewing process. This was one of the tasks to which Gosset set his mind. In 1906 Guinness granted Gosset a sabbatical to work on this problem, so he spent a year at the Biometrics Laboratory of mathematician Karl Pearson at University College London.

Gosset was particularly interested in the problem of small samples. In other words, by measuring the soft resin content of a small sample of hops, can you infer that the entire crop has an acceptable soft resin content? Up until that point, all methods for extrapolating from a sample relied on having at least 30 observations. It was during his year at Pearson’s laboratory that Gosset figured out how characteristics of larger populations could be inferred from a very small number of samples. In his initial work he did not focus on hops. but malt extract. By taking just four samples of malt extract Gosset found that he could be sure with more than 92% certainty that the “degrees saccharine” of the extract was within 0.5 degrees of the required amount which was 133 degrees.

In 1908 Goset published the results of his research in the journal Biometrika. He did so under the pseudonym “Student”. While Guinness was happy for Gosset to share his work, they preferred that competitors not know for whom the author worked and the manner in which the brewery was applying his research. Indeed, Gosset used the same pseudonym in 19 of the 21 scientific papers he published.

As a result of Gosset using the pseudonym in his paper, the statistical technique that he presented became known as Student’s t-test. Today the Student t-test is taught in every introductory statistics course in the world (I don’t know that for sure, but I can’t imagine an introductory statistic’s course without it).

It is also widely used by both academic and non-academic researchers. For example, in medical research it can be used to compare the effectiveness of two drugs (or a placebo and a drug) in a clinical trial, while Psychologists might use it to assess the impact of therapy on an individual (before and after therapy scenarios). A manufacturer may use it to assess whether average customer satisfaction rating for a new product differs significantly from a pre-determined benchmark.

In a letter published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, Younis Skaij described the Student’s t-test as the ‘bread and butter” of statistical analysis. Writing in the Scientific American, Jack Murtagh, called the Student’s t-test as “one of the most important statistical techniques in all of science“. As Gosset’s research was published under the pseudonym of Student, he probably does not get the recognition he deserves among the scientific community. But next time you raise a glass of Guinness to your lips, give a thought to this “gentleman scientist“.

Further Reading:

Ziliak, Stephen T. 2008. Guinnessometrics: The economic
foundation of “Student’s” t. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 22, Issue 4, Pages 199–216.

Craft Breweries, Education, Experiential Drinking

Brewery Talk

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As an academic who researches and writes about the brewing industry, I give a lot of presentations at academic conferences. The vast majority of these take place either in a hotel (common in North America) or on a university campus (common in Asia, Europe, and Latin America). Occasionally, however, I give a presentation about the brewing industry in a brewery. Last year was a good one in that respect. I gave a total of four presentations in three different breweries – Quenched and Tempered Brewing Co. in Toledo, OH (two presentations), Hostinec Brewery in Košice, Slovakia, and Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia.

Talking about the brewing industry while standing in a brewery has a number of advantages over giving a presentation in a non-brewery setting. For example, it is not uncommon for the fermentation tanks to be in full view, transforming what otherwise might be a fairly standard presentation into an experiential occasion. Also, there is always a member of the brewery staff (often the owner and/or master brewer) on hand to provide his/her insights on the industry, to tell the story of his/her brewery, and/or to lead the audience through a tasting of some of the brewery’s beers.

Those working in the craft brewing industry are amazingly passionate and generous individuals. They love to talk about the industry and to share their own personal journey from home brewer to the proud owner of a commercial brewery. Their passion is most apparent when they are leading the audience through a tasting of their beer. About a week before Christmas, I gave a presentation on the history of Christmas Ales at Quenched and Tempered (Q&T) Brewing Co. in my home city, Toledo. After my presentation, audience members were given a sample of the beer Q&T had brewed for the holiday season – a Belgian Quad, which weighed in at an impressive 11.2% ABV. As the samples were being distributed and enjoyed, brewery owner and brewmaster, Alex Drozdowicz, shared his inspiration for the brew, as well as talk about the brewing process and the beer’s ingredients, which included cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cranberry, and orange peel. There is no question that my presentation was enhanced by the brewery setting , the opportunity to sample the brewery’s beer, and to hear Alex share his passion and knowledge.

Quenched and Tempered Winter Holiday Ale (Photo credit: Quenched and Tempered Brewing Co.)

In 2024, I also gave presentations at Hostinec Brewery in Košice, Slovakia, and Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia. Both of these presentations were given as part of conferences I was attending. The idea was to combine an evening of local beer and food with a short educational program about some aspect of the brewing industry.

At Hostinec Brewery, I spoke about the origins of the craft beer revolution, after which brewery owner Peter Škripko talked about the history of the brewery and led attendees through a tasting of four of his beers. After the tasting, we were given a tour of Hostinec’s production space and the opportunity to sample more beer straight from the fermentation tanks.

Talking about the evolution of the craft beer movement at Hostinec Brewery in Košice, Slovakia
Peter Škripko led our group through a tasting of some of his brewery’s beers
Owner Peter Škripko gave conference attendees a tour of Hostinec’s production space

At Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia I gave a short presentation on the globalization and fragmentation trends that had been sweeping through and changing the face of the global brewing industry since the mid-1980s. After my presentation, Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewery spoke about Dargett and its emergence as a major player in the Armenian craft beer market. Inna fielded a number of questions from conference attendees, providing them with a unique insider’s view of the craft brewing industry in Armenia.

Talking about the popularity of craft beer at Dargett Brewpub in Yerevan, Armenia
Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewpub tells the audience about Dargett Brewery 

Craft breweries are examples of what Conrad Kickert of the School of Architecture and Planning at the State University of New York in Buffalo refers to as “maker ecosystems”, which are characterized by “shared production, education, distribution and sales facilities”. In other words, craft breweries are so much more than just places where beer is produced and where people go to drink beer. They are often multi-functonal community spaces where everything from yoga classes to book clubs, to educational programing takes place. This makes them invaluable assets to the communities within which they are embedded

Next month, I’ll be back at Quenched and Tempered Brewing Co., here in Toledo where I will be talking about St. Patrick and the history of Irish brewing. The brewmaster, Alex, will have his Irish Red Ale on tap and I am sure that folks will enjoy learning about the brewing process and the malts and hops that give it its unique aroma and flavor.

Beer Styles, Lager

I’ll Have a Lager Please

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Lager is the most popular type of beer in the world. Walk into any bar in any country and the chances of Lager not being available is almost zero. This includes the United States, where Lager accounts for approximately 87% of beer sales. Almost all of the world’s best-known beers are Lagers – think Budwesier, Modelo, Heineken, Molson, and Stella Artois. A noteworthy exception is Guinness. This highly popular brew is an Ale.

The popularity of Lager in the United States can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century when large numbers of German immigrants arrived in the United States. It was these immigrants who introduced Lager to the American beer drinker. Prior to their arrival, Ales, brought here by the British, had dominated the American brewing landscape.

But what is the difference between an Ale and a Lager? Well, to start with, they are brewed using different types of yeast. Generally speaking, Lagers are brewed using ‘bottom-fermenting’ yeasts (Saccharomyces pastorianus), while Ales are brewed using ‘top-fermenting’ yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). They are also fermented at different temperatures, with Ale yeast’s fermenting between 60°F to 75°F and Lager yeasts fermenting between 45°F to 55°F. Lagers also take longer to produce. It can take 7-8 weeks to brew a Lager, compared with 2-3 weeks for an Ale. Indeed, the word “Lager” is derived from the German word lagern, which means “to store” and refers to the long cold-conditioning phase that follows primary fermentation. Not surprisingly, the final products tend to have different characteristics. Lagers are more carbonated and can be best described as crisp, smooth, and mellow. Ales, in comparison, are more robust, fruity, and aromatic. If they are IPAs, they can also be quite bitter.

In discussing Lagers and Ales, it important to distinguish between types and styles of beer. Lagers and Ales are types of beer. Think of Lagers and Ales as an umbrella, beneath which exist dozens of different styles and sub-styles. Indeed, the Brewers Association recognizes over a hundred different styles/sub-styles of beer. Examples of Ale styles include India Pale Ale, Scotch Ale, and Oatmeal Stout, while examples of Lagers include American Light Lager, Vienna Lager, and Munich-style Dunkel.

While Lager is the most popular type of beer among beer drinkers generally, this is not the case when it comes to craft beer drinkers. In the world of craft beer India Pale Ale (IPA) is king. A recent report published by the Brewers Association looked at regional variations in the popularity of different craft beer styles. It reported that sales of IPA ranged from 45% of all craft beer sold in the Midwest to 62% in the Northeast. Furthermore, the same report showed that the popularity of IPA has been growing since 2020. At some craft breweries, IPAs may account for 90% of the beer they produce.

According to Matt Westfall owner and brewer of Counter Weight Brewing Co. in Cheshire, CT, in the early days of the craft brewing movement, IPAs allowed craft breweries to really differentiate themselves from mass producers such as Anheuser-Busch. Craft Lagers were frequently “disparaged by craft beer aficionados for being too akin to mainstream beers”.

In recent years, there have been a number of stories in the media suggesting that Lagers are becoming more popular among craft beer drinkers. Jamal Robinson, Sales and Marketing Director at New England Brewing Co. in Woodbridge, CT credits this to the fact that many craft beer drinkers have palate fatigue. An over-indulgence in big, bold, hoppy, IPAs has left some craft beer drinkers seeking something more crisp, more mellow, and more sessionable (i.e., lower ABVs) beers. Jim Vorel, writing for Paste Magazine, believes that the increasing availability of craft lager “represents a desperately needed (and much appreciated) alternative to the other styles that command peak popularity at most taprooms”. According to Malika Wichner, writing for Backbar Academy, Lagers “are not only easy to drink but also retain a depth of flavor that appeals to a wide range of palates, making them ideal for both casual settings and larger social gatherings where a more approachable beer is desired.” Wichner, identifies the growing popularity of craft Lagers as one of eight beer industry trends to look out for in 2025. And it’s not just in the United States that craft Lager is gaining popularity. A similar trend has been identified in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Craft Lagers can also serve as gateway beer for people who typically drink mass produced Lagers. Justin Jacobson of Whitchcraft Beer Store in Austin, TX suggests that craft Lagers, “serve as a good launching pad into craft beer” for drinkers of mainstream beers (which are predominantly Lagers).

I was reminded of the growing popularity of craft Lagers on a recent trip to New Orleans, LA. While there I paid a visit to Brewery Saint X. As I perused their beer menu, I was struck by the number of Lagers on offer. Of the sixteen beers on their menu, six were Lagers. In addition to two different Helles Lagers, there was a Schankbier Lager, a Rice Lager, a Kellerbier Lager, and a Märzen Lager. I opted for one of the Helles Lagers (Struttin’) and a Rice Lager. While it is not uncommon to see a Helles Lager on the menu at craft breweries, Rice Lagers are somewhat rarer, but there is certainly a market for them. According to Jim Vorel, the range of Lagers that I found at Brewery Saint X is a relatively recent phenomenon. How recent? Walk into most breweries as recently as 2019 and Vorel suggests that the choice of Lagers was quite limited.

The beer menu at Brewery Saint X in New Orleans, LA

Brewery Saint X (established in 2023) is part of Neighborhood Restaurant Group (NRG), based in Alexandria, VA. NRG, is a collective of hospitality venues. Greg Engert is NRG’s Beer Director. As someone who works in the brewing industry Engert says that he is “drawn not only to the innovative spirit of brewing, but also to its history. While we’re excited to showcase a wide array of styles at Saint X, it’s the classics that we’re most interested in honoring.” And when it comes to beer, there is nothing more classic than German Lagers. Indeed, on their website, the brewery mentions they have “a particular reverence for the classics, from German and Czech-inspired lagers to British cask-style beers.”

I enjoyed a Rice Lager at Brewery Saint X

There are, of course, some disincentives to brewing Lagers. Due to the length of time it takes to brew them (6-8 weeks), they take up valuable fermentation tank space that could be used for producing Ales. Thus, brewing a Lager comes with high opportunity costs. Lagers are also more challenging to brew. When brewing an Ale, it is much easier to hide imperfections thanks to the heavy use of hops and other ingredients such as coffee, peanut butter etc. In the case of Lagers, any imperfections are easily detectable. As noted by Aaron Baker, Senior Marketing manager at Oskar Blues Brewery, Lagers are “the hardest to perfect” as there are “a lot more things that can go wrong during the brewing process.”

There are also some hurdles with respect to consumer perception that have to be overcome. Much of the impetus for the craft beer movement was its opposition to the mass producers and their homogeneous, uninspiring, Lagers. Rightly or wrongly, Lagers were associated with low-quality, bland tasting beer. And while they were more time-consuming and, in many ways, more challenging to produce, some consumers balked at the idea of paying premium price for a beer style that Anheuser-Busch were offering at half the price. While brewing craft Lagers may sound mundane to some, there is still room for pushing the envelope when it comes to experimentation and creativity. For example, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham. MA produce Hoponious Union, a West Coast Style Hoppy Lager, while Providence Brewing Co. of Providence, RI brew a hazy New England India Pale Lager. At the same time, some breweries go to considerable lengths to brew an authentic Lager. For example, as highlighted on the website of Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers:

“To create authentic German-style flavors, Jack’s Abby brews with traditional ingredients and techniques. The Jack’s Abby brewing team travels to Germany every year to procure German hops and malt from small family run operations in Bavaria. The brewers use old-world brewing techniques of decoction and spunding to recreate historical lagers.”

My early beer drinking days in my native Scotland were dominated by Lagers. Lagers made by breweries such as Tennant’s were ubiquitous and the beer of choice of many beer drinkers in Scotland. Today, thanks in large extent to the craft beer revolution, my palate has evolved, and I enjoy a wide variety of beer styles – Brown Ales, Hazy IPAs, Sours etc. I do still enjoy Lagers, however, especially during the warmer months of summer. So, I am pleased to see more breweries brewing more Lager.

Further Reading:

Casey, Gregory Paul. 2022. The Inspiring and Surprising History and Legacy of American Lager Beer. Master Brewers Association Technical Quarterly, Volume 57, Issue 1, Pages 9-18.

Breweries, Craft Breweries, International

2024 Year in Review

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Between 2017 and 2021, at the end of each year, I posted a blog entry documenting all the breweries I had visited during the calendar year. Included was one photograph from each brewery. In 2022, I did not post such an entry. I can’t quite remember why this was the case. However, I also failed to make an end-of- year posting in 2023. Anyway, 2024 is almost over and I thought I’d get back into the habit of documenting the breweries I visited.

During 2024, I visited a total of forty-five breweries. Before going any further, I should define what I am counting as a brewery. Any establishment owned by a brewery, whether beer is brewed on-site or not, is included in my list. For example, Inside The Five Brewing Company has three locations in northwest Ohio. At only one of those locations is beer brewed. However, all three locations are included in the list of breweries I visited in 2024.

Of the forty-five breweries I visited in 2024, eighteen were in my home state of Ohio, seventeen were located elsewhere in the United States, and ten were outside of the United States. Of the seventeen breweries I visited elsewhere in the United States, four were in the neighboring state of Michigan. Toledo, where I live, is located just south of the Ohio/Michigan border, so visits to Michigan breweries are fairly routine. Trips to California, Indiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania afforded me the opportunity to visit breweries in those states. In terms of breweries outside of the United States, two trips to Canada, as well as trips to Armenia and Slovakia, meant that I visited more non-US breweries than I normally do.

Of the forty-five breweries I visited, sixteen were repeat visits. This meant there were twenty-nine breweries that I visited for the first time (indicated in bold font in the list below).

I hope you enjoy the photographs below. I wish every one a Happy New Year and hope that 2025 is a wonderful year for you.

OHIO (18)

  • 60CC Brewing, Toledo, OH
    Arlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OH
  • Brewing Green, Bowling Green, OH
  • Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)
  • Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)
  • Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
  • HEAVY Beer Co., Toledo, OH
  • Inside the Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg, OH
  • Inside the Five Brewing Co., Sylvania, OH
  • Inside the Five Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
  • Juniper Brewing Co., Bowling Green, OH
  • Maumee Bay Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
  • Oncore Brewing, Swanton, OH
  • Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
  • Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
  • Twin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OH
  • Upside Brewing, Sylvania, OH
  • Wild Side Brewing Company, Toledo, OH

REST OF UNITED STATES (17)

  • Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)
  • Blake’s Brewing Company, Almont, MI
  • Blake’s Brewing Company, Armada, MI
  • Brewery Saint X, New Orleans, LA
  • Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV
  • Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA
  • Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN
  • GOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CA
  • Gordon Biersch Brewery, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
  • Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant , Phoenixville, PA
  • Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
    Red Hook Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)
  • Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV
  • Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)
  • Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, IN
    TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)
  • Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CA

INTERNATIONAL (10)

  • 379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia
  • Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada
  • Dargett Brewpub, Yerevan, Armenia
  • Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON
  • Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada
  • Hostinec Brewery, Košice, Slovakia
  • Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
  • The Beerded Dog, Harrow, ON, Canada
  • The Grove Brewing Company, Kinsgville, ON, Canada
  • The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada
379 Torch & Brew, Yerevan, Armenia
60CC Brewing, Toledo, OH
Arlyn’s Good Beer, Bowling Green, OH
Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA (Little Italy Location)
Banded Goose Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON
Blake’s Brewing Co., Almont, MI
Blake’s Brewing Co., Armada, MI
Brewery Saint X, New Orleans, LA
Brewing Green, Bowling Green, OH
Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV
Crescent City Brewhouse, New Orleans, LA
Dargett Brewpub, Yerevan, Armenia
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Downtown Location)
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH (Westgate Location)
Evil Czech Brewery and Public House, Mishakawa, IN
Fairweather Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
GOAL. Brewing, San Diego, CA
Gordon Biersch Brewimg, Romulus, MI (Airport Location)
Grain & Grit Beer Co., Hamilton, ON, Canada
Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
Hosintec Brewery, Košice, Slovakia
Inside The Five Brewing Co., Perrysburg OH
Inside The Five Brewing, Sylvania, OH
Inside The Five Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Phoenixville, PA
Jolly Pumpkin, Romulus, MI (Airport Location))
Juniper Brewing Co., Bowling Green, OH
Maumee Bay Brewing Co., Toledo, OH
Oncore Brewing, Swanton, OH
Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
Quenched and Tempered Brewing Company,Toledo, OH
Red Rock Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT (Airport Location)
Seek Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA (Airport Location)
Sun King Brewery, Mishakawa, IN
TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego, CA (Pacific Beach Location)
The Beerded Dog Brewing Co., Harrow, ON
The Grove Brewing Company, Kingsville, ON, Canada
Triple 7 Restaurant and Brewery, Las Vegas, NV
Twin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OH
The George Hamilton Restaurant & Brewery, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Upside Brewing, Sylvania, OH
Wild Side Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
International

Four Days in Armenia

I recently returned from a four day visit to Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. I was there as one of the keynote speakers at a conference on “The Transformative Economy: Digital Technology, Spatial Disparities and Quality of Life”, The conference was one of a number of events celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Yerevan State University.

For those of you unfamiliar with Armenia, it is a landlocked country, which shares borders with Georgia to the north, Türkiye to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. While it considers itself to be part of Europe, from a geographic perspective an argument can be made that it is part of Western Asia. While Armenia has a long and interesting geopolitical history, most recently it was part of the USSR, from which it gained independence in 1991. It is a relatively small country, with a population of ~3 million, a third of which live in Yerevan.

Armenia’s Geographic Location (Source: BBC.com)

Armenian beer traces its roots at least as far back as the 4th century BC. It was then that it is mentioned in the travel diary of the ancient Greek mercenary, Xenophon. Traveling through eastern Anatolia, Xenephon makes mention of Armenians enjoying a tasty, but potent, drink he called “barley wine”. As was fairly common during this period, beer was served in a large bowl and consumed communally using straws.

In the late 19th century, when Armenia was part of the Russian Empire, beer was brewed in both Alexandrapol and Yerevan. The former was later renamed Gyumri and today is Armenia’s second largest city. In 1926, by which time, Armenia was part of the USSR, the last Armenian brewery was closed.

Beer production would not return to Armenia until the 1950s. As alcoholism was a significant problem in the USSR, the Russians prohibited the import of foreign beer, most of which was of higher quality than that brewed locally. As a result, according to Karine Vann, writing in The Smithsonian, “a network of subversive beer drinkers emerged, gathering in Soviet Armenia’s watering holes. The good stuff [such as imported Czech Lager] was possible to find – for the right price – if you had the right acquaintances.”

Today, Armenia, like many other countries in the region, has a small, but dynamic craft brewing industry. During my recent visit, I had the opportunity to visit two of the country’s craft breweries.

On a sunny Monday afternoon, I walked the twenty minutes from my hotel, to 379 Torch and Brew Restaurant which is owned and operated by 379 Brewing Company. Opened in 2021, the restaurant is located in the heart of Yerevan. The restaurant has a delightful courtyard where I spent a wonderful couple of hours enjoying some of 379’s beers.

The courtyard at 379 Torch and Brew Restaurant

As is common in many European craft breweries 379 had a relatively small number of beers available – an American Wheat Ale, a Weizen, a Pilsner, a Dunkel, and a Barley Wine. I tried three of the five beers on offer – American Wheat Ale, Weizen, and Pilsner. I thoroughly enjoyed them all. If you are ever in Yerevan, 379 Torch and Brew is a delightful place to kick back and relax for a couple of hours

Details about four of 379’s beer were available on this creative menu
I enjoyed this American Wheat Ale at 379 Torch and Brew

The second craft brewery I had the opportunity to visit while in Yerevan was Dargett Brewery. My visit to Dargett was somewhat more formal than it had been to 379 Torch and Brew. As part of the evening events associated with the conference, I had agreed to make a short presentation on the globalization and fragmentation trends that had been sweeping through and changing the face of the global brewing industry since the mid-1980s. So, I spoke about the consolidation that had been taking place among the global behemoths such as AB InBev and SAB Miller at the same time as the craft beer segment was gaining an increasing share of the beer market in a growing number of countries. After my brief presentation, Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewery spoke about Dargett and its emergence as a major player in the Armenian craft beer market.

Discussing changes in the global brewing industry at Dargett Brewery
Inna Khostikyan, Executive Director of Dargett Brewpub tells the audience about Dargett Brewery

Established in 2016, Dargett is the first modern-day Armenian craft brewery. Its mission is simple – “to bring unfiltered and unpasteurized beer to the consumer and keep it fresh.” Founded by two brothers, Aren and Hovhannes Durgarian, Dargett is both an innovator and a leader. For example, it was the first Armenian brewery to produce an IPA, the first to make cider (using Armenian apples), and the first to produce a fruit beer.

The fruit beer was an Apricot Ale, made with local apricots. Archaeological evidence suggests that apricots have been grown in Armenia for at least six thousand years. Today, Armenia is one of world’s leading apricot producers, and the fruit is popular among locals and tourists alike. For many, the apricot is a symbol of Armenia. As I was chatting with Inna Khostikyan after my presentation, she asked me if I would like a glass of the brewery’s Apricot Ale. I said yes of course, and have to say it was outstanding.

Apricot Ale brewed by Dargett Brewery

This was my first visit to Armenia. It was a short, but highly enjoyable, one. Since my first overseas trip (to Malta) when I was sixteen years old, I have always enjoyed international travel. Seeing new places and learning about different cultures have always fascinated me. In recent years, my travel has become, I believe, more enjoyable because of my interest in craft beer. Visiting craft breweries in countries such as Armenia, Italy, Slovakia, and Japan has expanded my appreciation of the industry. I look forward to more international travel in 2025 and the opportunity to visit more breweries.

Events, Experiential Drinking, Festivals

Zootoberfest

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The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a “time for everything,
 and a season for every activity under the heavens” – a time to dance, a time to mourn, a time to speak, etc. In the world of beer, the Fall season is the time for Oktoberfest and the wonderful Märzen-style beers that accompany it. I have to admit (while I do not care for Pumpkin Ales) I love
Märzens.

Oktoberfest has its origins in the festivities to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen  that were held in the German city of Munich in 1810. In 1811, Bavarian Agricultural Association decided to continue holding the festival, seeing it as a forum to showcase their farming achievements. Over the years, the festival evolved – carnival rides and food vendors were added, and beer became an integral feature of the event. Indeed, today many view Oktoberfest primarily as a beer festival. Not surprisingly, it attracts lots of people, with Its 189th iteration in 2023, attracting 7.2 million visitors from around the world.

Not only does Oktoberfest attract millions of visitors, it also attracts a large number of imitators. Today, town and cities across the world hold their own version of Munich’s famous festival. In the United States, Cincinnati, OH boasts the largest Oktoberfest in the country.

We don’t have an Oktoberfest celebration here in Toledo. But we do have Zootoberfest, a single-evening beer festival held in October at the beautiful Toledo Zoo & Aquarium Having attended Zootoberfest in 2023, I was looking forward to the 2024 version. It did not disappoint.

Opened in 1900, the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium is a beautiful facility. I particularly like the architecture dotted around the zoo’s 51 acres. These include the zoo’s earliest buildings inspired by the architecture of the city’s namesake, Toledo, Spain, and those built during the 1930s as part of the federal government’s Works Progress Administration (WPA). For those of you unfamiliar with the WPA, it was an employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt during the height of the Great Depression in 1935. Its objective was to employ as many Americans as possible, building schools, hospitals, roads and other public works. Toledo Zoo buildings that were constructed as WPA projects include the Reptile House, the Amphitheater, the Museum of Science, the Aquarium, and the Aviary. The zoo is a true gem within the city and is universally loved by Toledo residents. Such is the value placed upon the zoo by local residents that, in 2014, it received enough votes to be named the nation’s No. 1 Zoo in the USA Today Reader’s Choice poll.

Dedicated in 1936, the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater has seen great such as Louis Armstrong, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan grace its stage.
Toledo Zoo & Aquarium provided a beautiful setting for a beer festival

A total of 29 breweries were represented at the event, many of which were from northwest Ohio. My ticket to the event gave me access to 15 beer samples that I enjoyed in a souvenir beer glass. Several food trucks were also in attendance providing participants with some tasty food options. Most of the breweries had their version of an Oktoberfest beer available for sampling. For the first half of the evening Oktoberfests were my beer of choice. After that I switched it up and enjoyed some IPAs, Stouts, and Brown Ales. While Oktoberfest beers were freely flowing at Zootoberfest, it is worth noting that in 2022 The European Commission made “Oktoberfestbier”, brewed in Munich, a protected geographical indicator of Germany. One of the intents of this designation is protection against imitation.

Findlay Brewing Company was one of the northwest Ohio breweries participating in Zootoberfest
Patron Saints Brewery was one of the Toledo breweries participating in Zootoberfest

In addition to drinking beer, Zootoberfest provided an opportunity to enjoy some of the zoo’s exhibits. Toledo Zoo & Aquarium is home to over 16,000 animals, representing over 680 species, many of which were accessible during the beer festival. And if the exhibits did not provide enough entertainment, local cover band The Red Carpet Crashers put on a fantastic show in the zoo’s beautiful amphitheater.

Many of the exhibits (above and below) were open for Zootoberfest participants to view
Entertainment was provided by local cover band, The Red Carpet Crashers

I have been to a number of craft beer festivals over the years. Many of these have been held in a bland trade convention center type settings. The beer was usually great but the venue unexceptional. Zootoberfest combined some exceptional local beers with a stunning setting. In effect, Zootoberfest took what could have been a rather routine beer festival and turned it into an experience. To that, I say Kudos to the staff of the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium. I am already looking forward to next year’s event.

Craft Breweries, International

Pivovar Hostinec

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Earlier this year, I spent a week in the city of Košice in Slovakia. I was there participating in a week-long Summer Institute at the Technical University of Košice. The participants in the Summer Institute were faculty from nine countries and doctoral students from five countries. The event was described as a week-long bootcamp in which participants would explore, discuss, and debate “the X-factor of a city” – the X-factor being those characteristics and features of a city that contribute to it being high performing and making it a wonderful place to live and work.

Among other responsibilities, my participation in the event included giving an hour-long presentation on a topic of relevance to the bootcamp’s theme. My particular presentation focused on the role and importance of Third Places in the modern city. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Third Places, they are, to quote the urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg, “nothing more than informal public gathering places”. Much of my own research on the craft brewing industry has examined how craft breweries function as neighborhood Third Places in towns and cities across America. You can read some of my thoughts on craft breweries as Third Places here, here, and here. While my presentation included some discussion of the role of American craft breweries and British community pubs as Third Places, much of it focused on the concept of Third Places more broadly.

Getting ready to talk about Third Places at the Technical University of Košice

If you are unfamiliar with the city of Košice, it is the second largest city in the country and the largest city (population ~240,000) in eastern Slovakia. Dating back to the 13th century, the city has a long and fascinating history. At various times during its history, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Principality of Transylvania, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Czechoslovakia. Since the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993, it has been part of the Slovak Republic.

On the second to last evening of the bootcamp we had a farewell gathering. And guess what – this was held in a brewery. Pivovar Hostinec (Hostinec Brewery) was established in 2015 by Peter Škripko. It is housed in a building that dates to the second half of the 15th century. Originally a private residence, it was purchased by the city of Košice in 1569 and run as an inn. In 1617, a section of the building was leased and converted into a printing house; the first printing house in Kosice. Records indicate that part of the building was used as a brewery (the first in Košice) in 1604. The building was also the venue for the wedding festivities of Gabriel Bethlen, the Prince of Transylvania, and Catherine of Brandenburg in 1626. The marriage established an alliance between the Protestant Prince of Transylvania and the Protestant powers of Denmark and Sweden. This is certainly a building with a long and rich history. But that’s enough history. Let’s talk about beer.

Knowing my interest in craft brewing, the conference organizers asked me if I would be willing to collaborate with the brewery owner, Peter Škripko, and host a short but educational and fun presentation to kick-off the evening’s proceedings. Peter and I had a Zoom call and devised a plan of action. I would give a short presentation on the history of the craft brewing movement, after which he would provide an overview of the history of the brewery. Following that, Peter would lead the attendees through a tasting of four of the brewery’s beers.

Talking about the origins of the craft brewing movement at Hostinec Brewery
Peter led our group through a tasting of some of his brewery’s beers

Like many European craft breweries, Pivovar Hostinec, has a relatively small number of different beers on tap at any given time. Unlike many American craft breweries, which might have over a dozen different beers on tap, Pivovar Hostinec usually has six. The formal beer tasting was followed by a tour (and more tasting) of one of the brewery’s cellars where the fermentation tanks are housed. Not surprisingly, the evening was a roaring success, much of which was due to Peter’s vibrant and generous personality (and copious amounts of beer).

The evening finished with a tour of the cellars where Hostinec’s beer is brewed
Our group enjoyed the opportunity to tour Hostinec’s production space while sampling more beers

As I noted at the beginning of this blog entry, the aim of the week was to identify those characteristics and features of a city that contribute to it being high performing and making it a wonderful place to live and work. As the evening wound down, there were few of us who did not appreciate the role that Peter Škripko and Pivovar Hostinec play in enhancing the quality of life in the city of Košice.

Craft Breweries, International

The Generosity of Peter Škripko

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Craft brewers are incredibly generous people. This generosity is manifest in a myriad of ways. As an example, take their efforts in support of charitable initiatives. While the data are rather dated, in 2016, American craft breweries donated an astonishing $73.4 million to charities. Many of these dollars benefited organizations in their own communities and, by extension, local residents. In 2019, 95 craft breweries in the state of Minnesota who responded to a survey, reported contributing $874,310 to 3,000 community and charitable organizations.

In the 10+ years I have been studying the craft brewing industry I have also found craft brewers very generous of their time when I have asked them for an interview or tour of their brewery. This does not surprise me. Craft brewers are passionate about their profession and are very happy to make the time to share that passion with you.

Recently I experienced an unprecedented example of craft brewer generosity. I was in the city of Košice in Slovakia to participate in a Summer Institute at the Technical University of Košice (TUKE). Prior to my visit my friend and colleague, Oto Hudec (who is on the faculty at TUKE) had connected me with Peter Škripko, the owner of Pivovar Hostinec, one of two breweries in the city. Peter offered to give me a tour of both his brewery and the city, including a visit to some of his favorite craft beer bars.

Peter and I had arranged to meet after lunch on a Wednesday afternoon. During lunch, Oto got a telephone call from Peter, asking if I would be comfortable touring the city by bike rather than by foot. This would allow Peter to provide me with a geographically more expansive tour of the city. When Oto asked me about the possibility of touring by bike, I must admit that I hesitated. You see, I had not ridden a bicycle since I was teenager, over 40 years ago. Despite my hesitation, I agreed to undertake the tour by bike. After all, riding a bike must be just like “riding a bike” – if I had done it before, I could surely do it again.

Peter picked me up in his car outside the restaurant where I had lunch and drove me to his brewery. Her fixed me up with one of the brewery’s bikes and after some adjustment to the saddle we were ready to go.

Bike tour of Košice with Peter Škripko
My first time riding a bike in over 40 years

As with many European cities I have visited, Košice is bike-friendly, with ample bike paths. Peter proved to be a fantastic tour guide. This was the city of his birth, and he knew a great deal about its history. He also knew the best places to get a craft beer, and we had numerous refreshment stops during our 8km+ ride.

We made several stops for beer during our bike tour of Košice

Our penultimate stop before arriving back at the brewery was Camelot Restaurant, also owned by Peter. At Camelot, under Peter’s watchful eye, I had the opportunity at trying my hand at pouring (tapping) some Pilsner Urquell. Pilsner Urquell, of course, is famous as being the original pilsner beer, having been first brewed by brewmaster Josef Groll in 1842 in the city of  Plzeň in the Czech Republic.

Peter knows a thing or two about Pilsner Urquell. In 2011, he won the national competition to become Slovakia’s Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender. The competition tested not only Peter’s ability to pour and serve a glass of Pilsner Urquell, but also his ability to communicate effectively with customers, and his knowledge of the history of the famous beer. Winning the national competition made Peter eligible to represent Slovakia in the international bartender competition, where he placed an impressive third.

In 2011, Peter became Slovakia’s Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender. This poster in Camelot highlights this achievement

There are three ways in which Pilsner Urquell can be served – Hladinka, Šnyt, and Mlíko. The standard pour is the Hladinka, which has “three fingers” of foam atop the lager. The Šnyt (pronounced ‘shnit’), is two parts beer, three parts foam and one part empty space at the top of the glass. The Mlíko is a glass of foam, with just a small amount of beer at the bottom. Each pour type is created to pair with different foods. The Hladinka pairs well with rich foods like duck, theŠnyt with hearty food like goulash or a burger, and the Mlíko with dessert.

The three ways in which Pilsner Urquell can be served – Hladinka (left), Šnyt (center), and Mlíko (right). Photo source: PilsnerUrquell.com.

Peter and his bartenders demonstrated the different pours to me and then gave me the opportunity to try my hand. You can judge how successful I was by the video posted here

Enjoying the fruits of my labor with two of Camelot’s wonderful bar staff
Enjoying another Pilsner Urquell with Peter

The following day I met up with Peter again, this time at his brewery. We were going on another tour. This time it was on foot, however, and involved going no further than the cellars of the brewery where Hostinec’s fermentation tanks are housed. Once there, I spent a glorious couple of hours with Peter talking about our common passion for the liquid nectar, while sampling at least a dozen different beers straight from the fermentation tanks.

The day after our bike tour, Peter gave me a tour (and a taste) of his production space
One of the dozen or so beers I sampled while touring Peter’s production space

As I said in my introduction to this blog entry, craft brewers are generally very generous individuals. But Peter Škripko took that generosity to a whole new level when he spent a significant chunk of time with me on my visit to Košice. Thank you, Peter, for being such a generous host.

Craft Breweries, Neighborhoods

Selling Your Home? Don’t Forget To Mention That Brewery

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In 2023, according the National Association of Realtors, the number of existing homes that were sold was just over four million, with an average sales price of $389,300. One of the steps in preparing your home for sale is to write a real estate description in which you outline the key features of your home and the neighborhood in which it is located. Writing for the website Orchard.com, Allaire Conte notes, “A good, effective real estate listing description can attract the right buyers and generate interest in the property. It only makes sense that a poor description can do the opposite, scaring away potential buyers and leaving the property sitting on the market with no offers”. According to Dorothy O’Donnell and Kelsey Morrison, who write for the website Homelight.com, “The listing description is your chance to emphasize the best aspects of both your home and the surrounding area, whether you have access to quality schools or are walking distance from the historic district with boutiques and microbreweries. Access to breweries? Do people really mention those as a neighborhood amenity when listing their home for sale? Apparently they do, indicating that mentioning them can make a home more attractive to potential buyers.

That people would mention proximity to breweries in their home listings does not surprise me. I have been studying the craft brewing industry for over ten years now; particularly the impact of breweries on neighborhoods and communities. As a result of this research, and the research of others, I have arrived at the conclusion that craft breweries are neighborhood assets and that living close to one is a good thing. This is primarily because craft breweries serve as neighborhood Third Places, where friends and family can gather for a pint of locally brewed IPA while enjoying each other’s company. Many craft breweries are also child and dog friendly, making them places where young families are welcome.

Many breweries, such as Birdson Brewing in Charlotte, NC are child and dog friendly

Some of the research I have conducted has focused on the city of Charlotte, NC. Charlotte has a vibrant craft brewing, with over eighty breweries dotted across the metropolitan area. Two neighborhoods which have attracted a disproportionate number of craft breweries are the post-industrial districts of South End (south-west of downtown) and NoDa (north-east of downtown). My research on Charlotte has been carried out in collaboration with my colleague Isabelle Nilsson, a faculty member at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. In a paper I published with Isabelle in 2019, we were able to isolate the impact of being in close proximity to a craft brewery on residential real estate valued. In that research, we determined that single-family homes and condominiums within a half mile of a craft brewery enjoyed an increase in value of 9.2% and 3.2% respectively, as a result of this proximity. This suggests that many homeowners appreciate being within walking distance of a craft brewery.

In my most recent research with Isabelle, we compared 1,088 home listings that mentioned breweries with the same number of randomly selected home listings that did not mention breweries. As with our previous research, all the homes were in Charlotte, NC. An example of a home listing included in our study is shown below.

“When location is key, you can’t get much better than this! 5 minutes from both NoDa & Plaza Midwood shopping, restaurants, and breweries. This 1920’s bungalow is full of charm & nestled in the Villa Heights community. Original hardwoods throughout portions of the home. Claw foot tub in the renovated bathroom. Fenced in back yard with mature trees. Smart features throughout the home include Ecobee thermostat & Alexa controlled lights/switches. Several projects in the home are unfinished & some updates are still needed, but with some TLC, you could have the cutest house on the block. Given the recent sales in the neighborhood, this would also be perfect for an investor looking to completely renovate for a flip. Home is being sold as is with no repairs to be made. HVAC is a 2021 unit & under warranty.”

According to a 2019 report by the National Association of Realtors, 93% of recent homebuyers found online websites as the most useful source of information about prospective homes. Of buyers who used the internet while searching for a home, 85% found detailed information about properties for sale very useful. This suggests that having a well-written, accurate, and appealing home listing is important in attracting potential buyers. The website Homes.com includes walkability and proximity to amenities (parks, gyms, restaurants etc.) as two of a number of neighborhood factors to consider when purchasing a home.

Proximity to Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood, home of Heist Brewery, is mentioned as a neighborhood amenity in some home listings

In our most recent research, Isabelle and I were particularly interested in identifying the types of neighborhood in which craft breweries were being listed as a neighborhood amenity by home sellers. Our findings showed that homes mentioning breweries were generally higher priced and sold more quickly than the average home in the Charlotte metropolitan area. We also discovered that, in home listings, breweries were commonly mentioned in conjunction with other neighborhood amenities such as restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. This suggests that craft breweries tend to be located in amenity-rich neighborhoods and are being mentioned as part of a broader package of amenities. The term ‘walkable’ is also frequently mentioned in listings mentioning breweries. This suggests that breweries tend to be in walkable neighborhoods which, in all likelihood, have a high Walk Score. Indeed, the NoDa neighborhood has a Walk Score of 70, making it a “very walkable” neighborhood, where “most errands can be accomplished on foot”. Another word often mentioned is ‘local’. This may suggest geographic proximity and/or locally-owned establishments, such as breweries, book stores, coffee shops etc. A critical feature of Third Places is their accessibility. As noted by Ray Oldenburg, “Third places work . . . when they are local; and they work best when within walking distance of the people they serve”.

In addition to describing the neighborhood, home listings describe the house itself. In our study, words mentioned in the same listings where breweries were mentioned include ‘historic’, ‘bungalow’, ‘renovated’, and ‘original’, with the latter referring to a home’s features. Both South End and NoDa are historic neighborhoods in Charlotte, so these descriptors make sense. In the early 20th, NoDa was home to a number of textile mills and bungalow-style homes that housed the mills’ workers. The aforementioned Heist Brewery is housed in a former textile mill.

An old mill worker’s home in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood. This home is visible from Heist Brewery

The language used to describe the randomly selected sample of home listings that do not mention breweries are quite different. Words such as ‘acres’ (indicating large lots), ‘schools’, and ‘culdesac’, ‘bonus room’, ‘formal dining’, and ‘family room’ describe homes that are indicative of a more suburban setting. In these listings, more emphasis appears to be placed upon the feature of the home rather than the characteristics of the neighborhood.

The research conducted by Isabelle, and I added support to the idea that craft breweries are viewed by both home sellers and real estate agents as neighborhood amenities. Otherwise, why mention them? So, next time you go to sell your home, make sure you mention that brewery just down the street from you.

Further Reading:

Nilsson, Isabelle and Neil Reid. 2019. The value of a craft brewery: On the relationship between craft breweries and property values. Growth and Change, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 689-704.

Nilsson, Isabelle and Neil Reid. 2024. Craft breweries as a neighborhood amenity: Evidence from residential real estate listings. Urban Geography, Volume