![john and mariah at spencer devon w per 956de6_bd433ea5e72e4b998ea146c7b9f1eb34[1]](http://culturalepress.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/john-and-mariah-at-spencer-devon-w-per-956de6_bd433ea5e72e4b998ea146c7b9f1eb341-150x150.jpg)
John Ritenour and Mariah Gavin brew a range of tasty beers at Spencer Devon Brewing.
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Hopping Around Fredericksburg.. with a visit to a Lake Wobegon Brewery
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Just Go ...
Appears Mondays
In the 1970s, Sally, our close friend and eventual godmother of our daughter, was a single mom raising two small children on a pauper’s private school salary, when she announced she was taking her kids to visit Ireland, the family’s ancestral home. We asked how she could possibly afford it. She said, essentially, “There’s always a way, but none of us will have these years together again.” Two years later, Ellie quit her job to get time off during the summer and, on a pauper’s private school salary, we set off on a two-month romp through Europe. We’ve gone over 30 times since. We’ve taken educators’ tax deductions, sold beer cans, acted as beer importing agents, haven’t bought a piece of furniture in over 30 years, and, oh yes, written books to pay for these trips. Sally was right, there is always a way.
These posts are dedicated to inspiring you to find it.
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A Long Walk on the Wild Side
January 25, 2016 #009 We’re old enough to remember when all but a handful of breweries in the world waged constant and unrelenting war against Brettanomyces, a yeast that can impart a sharp acidic accent to the beer it ferments. We’re amused, and often grateful, to have lived long enough to see the maligned yeast become a microbiological rock star.
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Local Dreams Come True
Brewmasters at both GB and RB host frequent events and tappings.
January 21, 2016 Every real ale drinker in England has a “local”—a Cheers-like home away from home. The beer only has to be good enough – it’s the welcome and the sense of belonging that’s the big draw. Michael Jackson’s was the Ardmore Arms—certainly not the most elegant bar in London nor the one with the widest selection. But a dependable, well-kept pint of Fuller’s was good enough for the greatest beer hunter of all time, and, truthfully, we think the pint of DC Brau or Port City that is increasingly easy to find today is better than that.
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Hopping Around Everywhere: BrewDog’s Global Empire Heralds Increasing Global Craft Competition
January 18, 2016. BrewDog’s new American brewery shouldn’t, we suppose, be a surprise. BrewDog has been one of several truly avant garde brewers for the last several years. But BrewDog has managed successfully to maintain an “in yer face” adventure in brewing with a remarkably successful empire of pub outlets. Our first – and still one of the best—BrewDog was their outlet on Argyll Street in Glasgow’s West End.
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Hopping Around Here: Many Hoppy Returns for Eastern Farmers—and a gem from Utica.
January 14, 2016 Recent beer geeks associate hops with the Pacific Northwest. Old timers know that hops were once a big part of the economy of eastern states. While we’re deeply grateful for all that our West Coast friends have done to protect and develop our favorite plant, we’re delighted to see a resurgence in Eastern hopping as well. Some of the resulting beers manifest a flavor unlike any coming from the west coast or the South Pacific.
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