Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 67: Yuletide atrocities, courtesy of the Butt-Head Bass Quartet (1994 – 2003).
Disclaimer: There aren’t any surviving photos from this period that seem even remotely appropriate to the subject matter, and BREW Magazine has left nary a trace of its existence on the World Wide Web. At the same time, while Counting Crows isn’t everyone’s cup of civet cat coffee stout, the songs on Recovering the Satellites (1996) still cut through me like uric acid crystals —those million tiny gout knives in your big toe — 28 years later.
BUT let’s begin with the good news.
In midsummer of 2024, as I sorted through widely strewn detritus in an effort to recall the world of beer and brewing as it so entertainingly unspooled in the rare old times, word came over the interwebz that the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame (ACBHOF) had been launched.
As a grizzled beer biz veteran and inveterate history buff, this was music to my ears.
The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame has been established to honor, celebrate, and commit to history those people who are responsible for initiating, sustaining, and promoting the American craft beer industry. This Hall is to ensure that the memories of their contributions and achievements will not fade with time.
Shortly thereafter I was gratified to be asked to serve on the ACBHOF’s Board of Advisors, “a committee consisting of more than 50 professionals from across the spectrum of craft beer industry-affiliated people.”
The ACBHOF’s selection process takes the form of elections, with the nominations for these elections taken from recommendations submitted by the advisors. The first election has since been held, and the results will be known in early 2025.
I am immensely honored, flattered, and enthused to be involved with the ACBHOF in any fashion. These tasks, properly aimed at honoring the people who took beer back from the swillocrats, are solemn obligations and should be taken seriously.
And I do.
Viewing the final ballot that emerged, it was clear that even without precedent to guide the participants, a remarkable uniformity of purpose reigned among them. Given a likely sharing of generational and cultural affinities among ACBHOF confederates, sports and music may have been a common point of reference for others, as they were for me, and this merits a digression.
I’m somewhat familiar with the Baseball and Rock...Read more
