The Brewers Association introduced its independent craft brewer seal about a year ago and recently Brewbound wrote an article about adoption rates in the U.S. A bit of a recap here: The BA created the seal to help craft beer enthusiasts to easily differentiate between the independent brewers (like us) and beer produced by non-craft… Read more »
What an obnoxious title. Yeah, that’s how Iron Horse does it. Or maybe that’s how I do it and I am trying to cover. More importantly, Nikos Ridge doesn’t need defense. He’s an articulate individual who runs a great business. And chances are you haven’t read his recent article and possibly don’t even know who… Read more »
“Sampler Saturday” is a pretty common phrase among the Pub staff at Iron Horse. This is referring to the obnoxious amount of samplers (flights) that get ordered from the customers on Saturdays. Although I say obnoxious, I actually am quite proud of those who are brave enough to go with a sampler as their drink… Read more »
Kinda Non-boring Summary What does PCR mean? Well, literally what it means is Polymerase Chain Reaction. What it really means to you (the consumer) is a warm and cozy feeling, a blanket of protection if you will. The knowledge that the beer you are about to enjoy is surely free of unwanted flavors that are… Read more »
My views on pretty much anything can be boiled down to one philosophy; I don’t care what another person does as long as it doesn’t directly effect me. I really don’t care if you like to drink Drano or you marry your bearded dragon and I certainly don’t waste time worrying about what you think… Read more »
As part of the sales and marketing team, I spend a considerable amount of time researching and trying to predict the next big “thang”. With over 4,500 craft breweries, it’s an absolute dumpster fire of category noise. IPA continues to be roughly 36% of the Craft Beer category, with fruit and vegetable based hops driving… Read more »
If you know me, which you probably don’t, because I’m anti-social, but if you did, you would know that Scheduling Things is not one of my, er, best attributes. There is something so damn appealing about winging it and using gut instinct for, like, almost everything; the idea of planning more than 10 days in… Read more »
*Originally written by Taylor Castillo who quit Ahh, the Pacific Northwest. The place with great views and even greater brews. Hiking not only brings you closer to nature, but it gives you an opportunity to get away from all the stress and the noise of everyday life. And what better way to escape the craziness,… Read more »
Recently I wrote about basic bitches and their slow takeover of the indie beer scene. But their counterpart “basic bros,” are also taking over what was once a “hipster” hobby. Now indie beer is something the frat dudes take part in too. Like the term “basic bitch,” basic bro refers to men who predominantly like mainstream… Read more »
*Originally written by Paul Von Hagen I vividly remember the very first craft beer I had the pleasure of ingesting. For legal purposes, let’s say that IT WAS TOTALLY not ON MY 18TH BIRTHDAY. I HAD DEFINITELY not BEEN DRINKING complete garbage (Busch Light and Natty Ice), for a couple years now at this time…. Read more »
Growing up with two older brothers meant that I was constantly fighting an uphill battle to out do them in anything I could. It’s not like we were ultra-competitive; we just never wanted to lose at anything. To this day, everything that we do is a competition. About 2 years ago, my middle brother… Read more »
So I’m still sort of new to IHB, (hi, nice to meet you!) but I’m certainly not new to beer. I’ve traveled quite a bit and it seems beer has been the only consistently present factor throughout my travels. My experience of becoming acquainted with beer parallel a lot of important lessons I’ve had to… Read more »
*Originally written by Taylor Castillo who quit Freshman year in college is an interesting time to say the least. You’re no longer under the scrutiny of your parents, you create your own class schedule (which means no classes before 10 a.m.), and you get to experience your first traumatic hangover. Before turning 21, I absolutely… Read more »
Distribution is going to be central to my rant today. Even in the most mature craft markets, AB, MillerCoors and the rest of the global megaconglomerate corporate breweries make up at least 60% of wholesalers revenue stream. Good job, because I know you just assumed that in most markets those suppliers make up more than… Read more »
With the presidential election right around the corner, I was curious to see what kind of a role the Alcohol Industry plays in an election year. In an article written by Monica Vendituoli, she talks about how the industry is made up of wine, beer and liquor producers, distributors, and wholesalers as well as liquor… Read more »
The fourth annual, 3rd consecutive Eastern Washington Brewfest is just around the corner… It’s weird that it’s Eastern Washington Brewfest, event though it’s held in Central Washington. You can get your tickets here if you don’t care about any of this banter. We’re okay with weird, but we’re not okay with only 12% of beer… Read more »
*Originally written by Ashley Stevens who quit When you work for a brewery you have access to a copious amount of beer. Over the 5 years I have been at Iron Horse I have acquired a glorious collection of brews. I very well could have built a separate house to store my collection, but I… Read more »
Indie: cool short-hand for independent, right? Yes, and more. Indie implies a bit of a could-give-a-shit view of what is practical, popular and wise. Indie is a freedom of choice. The early punk rockers didn’t consult with their producer and record labels to determine what kind of music they should be making, they didn’t have… Read more »
