Richard “Rick” C. Thompson, 63, of Salisbury, passed away peacefully, on Wednesday morning, May 16, 2012, in the comfort of his own home.
He was born on Feb. 10, 1949, a son of the late, Richard and Bertha (Cook) Thompson in Watertown. He attended Herkimer schools and trained with Job Corps as well.
On June 16, 1984, Rick was united in marriage to Gina Guardi, at their home in Salisbury Center. This year they would have celebrated 28 years together as each other’s best friend and soul mate.
Rick was formerly employed by the New York State Department of Transportation as a Highway Maintenance Supervisor I, in Herkimer. He worked there for 35 years until his retirement several years ago.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, home brewing and taking care of his home. Rick’s most precious time was that spent with his wife, daughters, granddaughter and family. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Rick is survived by his beloved wife, Gina Guardi Thompson, at home; his loving daughters, Joanne Thompson, of Mohawk, and Elizabeth “Betsy” Bennett, of Utica; his cherished granddaughter, Katrina Bennett; his mother and father-in-law, Giocomo and Helen Guardi, of Richfield Springs; a sister-in-law, Nancy Renwick, of Utica; a sister and brother-in-law, Dolly Wolford and her husband, Paul, of Mohawk; a brother-in-law, Jude Guardi, of Richfield Springs; and many nieces, nephews and cousins from both sides of his family.
He was predeceased by his parents, Richard and Bertha Thompson; and two sisters, Frances McEvoy and Shirley Colwell.
Calling hours will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Miller-Plonka Funeral Home, 30 Wolf St., Dolgeville. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2012, at 1 p.m., at the funeral home immediately following calling. Rick’s life will be celebrated by Pastor Robert Brent, pastor of Full Gospel Assembly of God Church in Salisbury Center.
Rick’s family would like to thank the doctors and nurses and Bassett Healthcare Cancer Center in Herkimer and Hospice and Palliative Care in New Hartford for their care and compassion that was shown to Rick during his illness.
In lieu of floral offerings, please consider scholarship contributions for his granddaughter, Katrina Bennett’s education.
To leave a message of sympathy for the Thompson family, please visit www.millerplonkafuneralhome.com and sign the guest book.
As the NATO summit nears, Chicago police detained at least nine people in an investigation into the alleged making of Molotov cocktails, but four were released today without charges, according to police records, lawyers and sources.
The arrests were part of a month-long investigation into a group suspected of making firebombs, according to police reports obtained by the Tribune and sources. But the National Lawyers Guild criticized the late-night raid Wednesday of a Bridgeport apartment building, saying the nine NATO protesters only had beer-making equipment and not Molotov cocktails.
The nine ranged in age from their 20s to a 66-year-old grandfather with a heart condition. Several were with the Occupy movement and had arrived in Chicago in recent weeks from California, North Carolina, Massachusetts and elsewhere.
A Molotov cocktail is a crude bomb often made of gasoline-filled glass bottles with a kerosene-soaked, burning wick to explode into a fire when thrown.
Police and prosecutors so far have declined to publicly discuss or even acknowledge the arrests, and details of the investigation are murky. Police Supt. Garry McCarthy declined Friday to answer questions about the raid in the 1000 block of West 32nd Street, even as the conduct of his officers came under criticism from those arrested and from other building residents.
Building residents described black-clad police officers with battering rams and guns drawn coming into the building, searching their apartments and refusing to tell them what was going on. One resident told the Tribune police taunted him and his roommate, repeatedly calling them communists and using anti-gay slurs.
Adding to the mystery, police arrested a 10th individual, a 28-year-old West Side man, on charges he attempted to possess an explosive device. The man, who is currently on probation for a 2011 aggravated battery of a police officer, was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Thursday outside a UIC assembly hall facility in the 1200 block of South Union Avenue, according to police.
The man was brought to the Cook County Criminal Courts Building Friday to appear in felony bond court, but shortly before court began, he was sent back to a police station for “further investigation,” sources said.
Darrin Annussek, 36, one of the Bridgeport nine who was released today, described being handcuffed and shackled for 18 hours in an “interrogation room.” He said police refused his request to use a restroom and did not read him his constitutional rights.
“None of us were told why this was happening,” Annussek told reporters Friday outside the Harrison District station this afternoon.
Annussek, who had the numbers “1968″ scrawled in magic marker on his right wrist from when police processed him, said police told him he was being held on a “conspiracy” charge. A social worker who got laid off, Annussek arrived in Chicago in time for the May Day march. He said he began marching in November from Philadelphia and Atlanta, “to try and spread the positive message of Occupy Wall Street.”
“To be charged with felony conspiracy to endanger anybody’s life is not only a slap in the face, it’s against everything I stand for,” he said.
William Vassilakis, who said he was hosting those who were arrested, said there were no materials to create a explosive device. Instead, Vassilakis said police confiscated supplies he uses to make beer.
“Home brewing is an increasingly popular hobby in the United States, particularly in Chicago. If anybody would like some, I would like to offer to the entire universe a sip of my beer,” Vassilakis said. “I have two different kinds of beer right now, an India pale ale and a stout.”
The wife of 66-year-old George Haithcock, who was also detained in the Bridgeport raid, said he was released Friday without charges. Colleen Haithcock said her husband told her he was trying to get police to return his cell phone, a computer and his heart medicine. She laughed when told about the bomb-making allegations.
“He’s a pretty middle-of-the-road, very pacifist kind of guy,” she said. “That is the most ridiculous thing.”
She said her husband told her the people where he was staying were making beer and he slept near where they were brewing it. The grandfather of five is a retired technical writer who is anti-war. “He really wanted to be there,” she said. “He was against NATO and where people make so much money and profiteer off of the war business is ridiculous.”
A 25-year-old resident of the Bridgeport building said he heard a loud bang shortly after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday as police dressed in all-black clothing swarmed into this second-floor unit with guns drawn. His roommate was asleep at the time and police pulled him out of the bedroom.
The man, who spoke to the Tribune on the condition he not be identified, said police would not answer their questions or show them a search warrant. “The only thing we were told was that we were in the middle of an investigation,” he said.
Police looked through books in the apartment, finding feminist writings and a book about the selected writings of Karl Marx, best known for his Communist Manifesto. The resident said police repeatedly called him and his roommate communists, used anti-gay slurs and teased them about going to jail.
“These guys were bullying us, harassing us and mocking us,” the man said. “They were cruel.” He said they tightly handcuffed both of them and ignored their pleas that the cuffs were too tight.
He said neither he nor his roommate are involved in any NATO protests and they did not know any of the nine who were detained. He said the nine moved into a nearby apartment a couple of weeks ago.
Another resident, a 26-year-old man. said he was on the back porch outside his third-floor apartment smoking a cigarette when police appeared with guns drawn and began climbing the back fire-escape steps. The man went inside his unit, but moments later officers were on his back porch knocking and he opened the back door, he said.
“The cop asked me some questions, standard questions,” said the man, who also spoke to the Tribune on condition his name not be published. “The officer took my phone and my I.D. and told me he was going to look at my phone and if he saw something that was out of the ordinary and not quite right he was going to search my unit. I told him he wasn’t going to search my unit without a warrant.”
At that point, the man said, the officer took a more confrontational tone and started quizzing him about the photo on his phone’s home screen, which he described as a “fantasy painting.”
“He asked me, ‘What’s the deal with the photo?’ and that’s when he called for backup,” the man said.
Two more officers came upstairs and “that’s when he pulled me out and they searched my place,” he said. The man added that the officer took his phone away from him for 15 to 20 minutes while the search was going on.
Before the search of his own apartment ended, the man said, the police officer said he would only return his phone if he agreed to show police the photos stored on his phone “to show that I had no association” with the people downstairs.
The man said he did not know the group in the apartment below and that he has not participated in any political demonstrations.
The officers never physically mishandled him, he said. “They were very nice about stomping on my civil rights,” he said “It was the kind of like ‘if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about.’”
Tribune reporters Jason Meisner, Carlos Sadovi, Joe Mahr, Alex Richards, Steve Mills, Hal Dardick, David Heinzmann and Jeff Coen also contributed.
rsobol@tribune.com
jgorner@tribune.com
tlighty@tribune.com
Most fine comestibles, like wine, are ruled by oligarchies. A simple Google search demonstrates the point: If you search for “wine rankings,” you’ll find opinions from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and the esteemed Robert Parker. I don’t doubt that these experts have exceptionally sophisticated and sensitive palates—that is, of course, the reason their opinions are supposed to count more than yours or mine. But why should a member of the ignorant, wine-swilling masses, someone who can’t distinguish an unexceptional 2004 Bordeaux from the magnificent 2005 vintage, base his purchasing decisions on the opinions of someone who can?
As the intoxicating scent of cooking cupcakes filled the air, members of the business community, city employees, board members and well-wishers gathered Wednesday at the pink-and-black themed NoRA Cupcake Company for the Middletown Design Review and Preservation Board award presentations.
“We’re really thrilled that each of you [made] a really nice investment in the city and how they all turned out so beautifully,” said Jeff Bianco, chair of the Design Review and Preservation Committee. “It shows we can do design that makes an impact and makes it better.”
Mayor Dan Drew awarded three proclamations to the winners.
Brian O’Rourke, manager of O’Rourke’s Diner, was given this year’s Phoenix Award for its efforts “to revive our historical inheritance after tragedy and restore this asset of Middletown for future generations,” according to the mayor’s proclamation. The diner, founded in 1941, was gutted by a fire in 2006 and reopened in 2008 with the help of the owners and community.
John C. Meerts, vice president for finance and administration, accepted the Preservation Award on behalf of Wesleyan University for its recent renovation of 41 Wyllys Avenue, known as the Squash Courts Building, to house the College of Letters, Art History, and the Career Resource Center. “This reuse of a historic building can accomplish the needs of the present while praising our past,” Drew said.
This year’s design award was given to the storefront signage for NoRA Cupcake Company and Eli Cannon’s Trading Company at 700 Main Street, for its “reimaging of this historic Victorian storefront,” adding to the “eclectic renaissance” underway in the North End. “It’s a fine example of excellent design that enhances the historic district and animates Middletown’s downtown,” Drew said.
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Phil Ouellette, longtime proprietor of Eli Cannon’s Tap Room across the street and the Trading Company, and co-owner of NoRA Cupcake with baker extraordinaire Carrie Carella, told those gathered how his perspective has changed since he first thought of expanding.
When Little Tibet closed little more than a year ago after becoming an institution in the North End for 14 years, Ouelette said he told Carella, then head manager of Eli Cannon’s, “‘Carrie now’s your chance,’” to start her own cupcake business.
“‘It’s all about you,’” Ouelette said at the time. Wednesday, he confessed, “That was a lie,” eliciting chuckles from all gathered. “It’s all about me. I have two empty, blank canvasses that I haven’t had over there for 18 years. Over there, it’s layer upon layer of stuff,” the accumulation of nearly two decades of business.
The trading company sells private-label hot sauces, home-brewing supplies, staff recipes with pre-made kits, apparel and local artists’ work.
Past city award recipients include the General Mansfield House, the Camp Stearns House, the Liberty Commons, Wadsworth Mansion, Inn at Middletown and Middletown Police Station. Others are available here.
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Whether you are a beer aficionado, occasionally indulge your inner Sam Adams or just want an excuse to booze, American Craft Beer Week kicked off Monday to celebrate the masterful hop-barley-yeast concoction — aka fun in a bottle.
The celebratory week was started to help craft brewers connect to fans and to educate patrons on the art of brew.
“It’s an opportunity for brewers around the country to get people focused on what we’re doing,” Swamp Head Brewery brewer Craig Birkmaier said.
Beer has come a long way from being just something to chug at a frat party or NASCAR race, to a multitude of foreign and local artisan ingredients strategically brewed for a variety of tastes, colors and styles.
Like fine wines, microbrews have flavor, smell and texture characteristics that are distinguishable and unique. Depending on a person’s palate, many desirable traits can be detected — bitter, hoppy, smooth, floral, sour, malty, full-bodied, smoky or even spicy.
Swamp Head Brewery, 3140 SW 42nd way, and a few beer bars around Gainesville planned to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.
Wednesday, Swamp Head held the People’s Choice Brew Day, where it solicited requests of different types of beer from fans via social media, and demonstrated beer brewing on a small pilot system based off of the best recipes it received.
Friday they will hold a pub crawl where the crew will visit many different bars in downtown Gainesville, offer discounts and give out free merchandise. Starting at 8 p.m., it will visit The Midnight, Palomino, Stubbie’s, House of Beer, The Bull, Tall Paul’s and Loosey’s.
Tall Paul’s Brew House, which brews in-house under the name Alligator Brewing Company, will feature 10 different microbrews on tap during the full course of the week, according to head brewer Neal Mackowiak.
“It’s been something we’ve been building up for — it’s the responsibility of craft-beer bars to educate people,” Mackowiak said.
Stubbie’s is offering weeklong specials, including $1 off all American crafts on tap, select $3-craft bottles and $2 off Swamp Head pints on Friday, manager Peter Burke said.
Alcove and The Top will feature beers from local breweries, such as Tampa brewery Cigar City Brewing. The Top was renovated in March to expand its micro draft beer capability threefold, from 12 to 36 taps.
As a town that loves its local products, it’s no wonder Gainesville’s first microbrewery, Swamp Head, has experienced tremendous success, evident by its presence and demand in many bars and restaurants in Gainesville.
“Our experience has been phenomenal because of people going out and asking for the product,” Birkmaier said.
Founded in 2008 by UF grad Luke Kemper, Swamp Head is looking to expand its 10-barrel brew system.
“We are starting to look for a 30-barrel brew house,” Birkmaier explained.
This would allow Swamp Head to triple its production to more than 300 barrels per week and distribute to a wider audience. Birkmaier said they would have to move to a larger space and already have their eye on a few new locations. Birkmaier said the move will not affect production and it will continue brewing at the old location until things are up and running.
“People are now willing to spend a little more money for a local, higher quality product,” Birkmaier said. Swamp Head, and most craft beers cost around $5 for a pint and range from about 5-to-10 percent alcohol.
Gainesville’s support of moving away from generic beer to local artisan crafts is also evident by downtown beer bars that seem to multiply.
“Gainesville now has the most concentrated beer scene in Florida – it’s something to be proud of,” Alcove Owner Evan Yavelberg said.
While a few staple bars such as Stubbies Steins, The Top and Alcove have offered craft selection for years, newer bars such as Tall Paul’s Brew House, House of Beer, The Bull, Loosey’s and The Midnight have sprouted up to accommodate craft beer demand.
“The reason I chose Gainesville as a place to open the bar was because of the demand — it was an open market,” Paul Evans, the 6-foot-7-inch owner of Tall Paul’s Brew House, said.
Florida was relatively late to the craft-beer trend, with major microbreweries emerging only in the last few years. Pioneer states such as California and Colorado saw craft breweries begin brewing in the late 1990s.
“We were late to the party, but things are starting to evolve,” Birkmaier added. “Microbrewing is starting to take off — a lot of that has to do with tasting rooms.”
Tasting rooms are small bars attached to the breweries that allow beer drinkers to visit the brewery while tasting permanent and experimental beers. This allows fans to connect with local breweries, it also allows the brewery to recirculate profits directly back into its brewery, instead of the usual three-tiered profit system where beer goes from the brewery to the distribution company to the bar or restaurant where it is served.
Some bars expressed concerns over this week falling during a time when school is on break and beer-loving students and faculty may be out of town.
“We’re in between two semesters, so it will be interesting to see how many people respond to this,” Mackowiak said.
The art of making beer has surpassed simply going to beer bars, and some take matters into their own hands and experiment with home brewing.
“The Hogtown Brewers are very strong as well — we have a very educated public,” Burke said.
The homebrew club, which has been around since 1985, provides monthly education and social outings for homebrewers in Gainesville. The club also put on a craft beer festival in April, where it had beer sampling, beer and food pairing, homebrew demonstrations and educational seminars.
Homebodies looking to indulge can find large beer selections at beer stores Tipple’s Brews, Gator Beverage and Ward’s Supermarket.
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MONTGOMERY — Alabama craft beer loves got a victory with the passage of a bill to allow bigger brew bottles, but they’re still waiting action on a measure to make the state the 49th to allow home brewing.
The Legislature approved the bill to allow bottles up to 25.4 ounces last week. A spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley says he hasn’t decided whether to sign it.
The bill to legalize home brewing has been passed by the House, but is still waiting on action by the Senate. Wednesday is the Legislature’s last regular day.
The Senate Rules Committee controls which bills reach the floor. Chairman Sen. Jabo Waggoner could not be reached.
Craft beer advocates say Alabama has some of the most restrictive regulations but has gotten better in recent years.
- facebook.com/blackstonebrewpub
On the heels of Nashville’s first-ever Craft Beer Week which was held in late March, Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery has come up with a novel idea to celebrate the current American Craft Beer Week from May 14-20. In an effort to celebrate the independent spirit of craft beer drinkers, they are presenting a special “Declaration of Beer Independence” for their fans to demonstrate their support for craft brewers.
According to their announcement, everyone who signs a “Declaration of Beer Independence” at Blackstone Restaurant Brewery on West End now through Sunday, May 20, will receive a card entitling them to special beer pricing for the entire week. “In addition, every signed ‘Declaration of Beer Independence’ will be displayed at Blackstone to celebrate the growing number of people who recognize that American-brewed craft beers have made the United States the envy of every beer-drinking nation in the world for the quality and variety of beers brewed.”
Co-owner Stephanie Weins said Blackstone, established in 1994, is “very proud to be part of a craft beer brewing nation. American Craft Beer Week is an opportunity to introduce more people to the great taste of our craft beers and to thank our customers who have been enjoying our craft beers for many years.”
In addition to Blacktone’s excellent Chaser Pale, Nut Brown Ale, St. Charles Porter and APA, they’ve just released their first seasonal brew, Picnic. It is a lighter version of a pale ale referred to as an “English summer ale” and should be a great way to beat the heat this summer. Swing by this week to try out the newest member of the Blackstone family and declare your independence by pounding some “English” beers.
The bill that would make Alabama the 49th state to allow home brewing — Mississippi would be the final holdout — was passed by the House on May 8 and is awaiting Senate action. The chair of the Senate committee that decides which bills make it to the floor could not be reached for comment.
The action came in advance of Wednesday’s end of the regular session.
The so-called Gourmet Bottle bill would allow beer to be sold in bottles up to 25.4 ounces. Currently it can only be sold in containers up to 16 ounces.
Gabe Harris, president of the beer advocacy group Free the Hops, says a lot of craft and specialty beer is only sold in larger bottles and the bill could bring more beer and brewers to the state if signed.
Alabama advocates for specialty beer say the state is one of the most restrictive, but has come a long way in a short time.
“Between 2008 and now, it’s really a whole new world” for craft beer in Alabama, said Dan Roberts, executive director of the Alabama Brewers Guild.
In 2009 the state first legalized “high-gravity” beers, or beer with an alcohol content of more than 6 percent. Harris said there were only two breweries in the state prior to the passage of the 2009 law. Now there are seven with about three more in the startup stages.
Last year, the Legislature passed a law allowing breweries to set up “tap rooms,” or a space to serve beer on-site at their brewery. If Bentley signs the gourmet bottle bill, Free the Hops will have accomplished its legislative agenda, Harris said.
“We’ll sit down after this session and talk about what we can do for craft beer in general,” he said.
The group may continue to advocate for fewer restrictions on brewing in Alabama, or it may serve a more educational function, letting Alabamians know about what craft beer has to offer. Free the Hops is putting on the Magic City Beer Festival this June in Birmingham to do just that.
“Craft beer is all about choice and taste and being able to enjoy something that’s made locally by people who care about beer and about their craft,” Harris said. “It’s not mass produced for the public — it’s a niche group of people who appreciate good food, good beer, good friends.”
Not all Alabamians are so gung-ho about the loosening of restrictions on beer and brewing.
DuWayne Bridges, R-Valley, filibustered the bill allowing larger bottles for about three and a half hours when it was being debated on the floor. “It’s a known fact that alcohol has broken up many families and caused a lot of abuse in the home and heartache in the home,” Bridges said.
He said larger containers would appeal to young people and would mislead Alabamians who get behind the wheel into thinking they could drive after only having one or two beers.
“I’m not in favor of expanding the size or the alcohol content,” Bridges said. “I was successful last year — I was able to lead the charge against it (the larger bottle bill) and we killed it, but this year I was outnumbered. But that’s not going to prevent me in the future from fighting the expansion of that.”
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI (Leon Kaye)
Beer is only one reason to visit Milwaukee, a city rich in architecture, culture and a vibrant sustainable business community. When it comes to beer, the same could be true for just about any city or town in the U.S. Naturally every community brags about its local I.P.A. or lager, and generally the boasting is justified. But Lakefront Brewery recently started serving what it describes as the first truly “local” beer in the U.S.
Lakefront’s “Wisconsinite” adds to the company’s reputation for innovative brews. Last year Lakefront introduced its gluten-free New Grist, and had to go through bureaucratic hoops in the U.S. government in order to have it “officially approved” as a gluten free beer. Lakefront also sells the nation’s oldest USDA-approved organic brew.
So what makes a genuinely “local” beer?
It helps that Wisconsin benefits locavores with its ample farmland. Geography is a boost as well. The water, of course, comes from Lake Michigan. The wheat comes from Chilton, near Lake Winnebago and 80 miles north of Milwaukee. Malted barley is super local, processed by another local company, Malteurop, just across town. And the magic ingredient, hops, are grown 110 miles west in Mazomanie. For decades, most hops grown for U.S. beer production have been raised in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
But the “local” in Wisconsinite beer includes the yeast, a local strain for which the company’s president pushed and was then developed by Northern Brewer, a home brewing supplies distributor. The strain is supposed to be the only North American-raised yeast available for commercial use. Lakefront has ramped up production of its unique yeast, and is available for commercial and home brewing beer production. The company insists that the yeast makes a huge difference in the taste of beer, so currently it sells the yeast without making any profit. Though the beer has already been a hit, do not count on Wisconsinite to stay local: good news about beer travels fast, and the brewery already distributes its other products in 35 U.S. states and most of Canada.
Leon Kaye, based in California, is a sustainability consultant and the editor of GreenGoPost.com. He also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business and Inhabitat. You can follow him on Twitter.
Photo courtesy Leon Kaye.
Categorized: Agriculture Food, Food Safety, Food Security|
American Craft Beer Week
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By Al the Brewer
| Tuesday, 15 May 2012 18:49
It is American Craft Beer Week, and if you didn’t know this, you should stop reading this for a moment so you can grab an American brewed craft beer. If you already knew this, enjoy the one in your hand.
I must admit, in the midst of my life taking a few crazy turns, I almost passed it by, but then a little post on Facebook brought me back home. In this episode of Al The Brewer, I give you 6 ways to celebrate this brew-blessed week.
Watch – A couple of great movies to catch on Netflix, How Beer Saved the World and Beer Wars. HBSTW provides endless ammo for when your friends ask, “What’s so important about beer?” Lighthearted and filled with beer facts they didn’t teach you in Western History 101, this flick is great for any craft beer lover. Beer Wars is a more direct documentary about the craft beer/brewing industry in America. It has some great interviews and if you are new to the craft beer world, think of it as a Craft Beer 101 video course. New Brew Thursday is a video podcast that came onto the scene a few years ago and is one of the best of what so many other have tried to do – sit around, drink a beer and make it sound interesting. Great hosts and their Master Pairings with Dr. Bill of Stone Brewing are always fun to watch.
Listen – The Brewing Network- Where to start with this!? If you are a home brewer or thinking about getting into home brewing check out Brew Strong, with Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. Both are accomplished writers in the craft beer community, Jamil literally wrote the book on yeast and Palmer shows us How to Brew. Their podcast has some of the best information on how to be a better brewer and how to better enjoy your brew.
Read – Tasting Beer (Mosher) This is a book I recommend to anyone wanting to more fully appreciate the beer in their hand. It is well written, full of colorful info graphics, and goes deep enough to satisfy some of the most ardent of beer snobs. If you are really ready to dig your teeth into something, try out The Oxford Companion to Beer. Garrett Oliver is an overall beer guru and was charged with compiling this encyclopedic book that covers everything you can think of when it comes to beer.
Write – your name on the Declaration of Beer Independence. I found this on craftbeer.com and I have to say I love what it stands for. Appreciating beer for the art form that it is, rather than for the marketing that is pushed at us, is something I can stand behind. Take a look, and I hope you sign it as well.
Attend – Check out this map and find some event to attend. I will personally be going to Ladyface Ale Company’s release of their Chaparral Saison on Tuesday night, as well as hosting my own beer tasting a little later on in the week. There are events all over the US and more than a few in the Long Beach area. If you are having trouble deciding, try hanging out with the Long Beach Hop Heads on Thursday for a bit of craft beer camaraderie at The Factory.
Drink – Ok, enough of this post. Go to your nearest craft beer store and grab something to appreciate. May I suggest to you California Heights Marketor The Wine Country for a few good brews.
How will you be celebrating American Craft Beer Week?
Al the Brewer
Twitter @AltheBrewer
