New England Cable News, an NBC News affiliate, had a nice video on Russian River Brewing, and Pliny the Elder and the upcoming Pliny the Younger release, which this year will take place February 1. It’s a nice piece, by Garvin Thomas, but when they return to the Anchor, she should have just kept her mouth shut, instead putting her foot well and truly in it. But watch the video first, concentrate on the good vibes, and see if you notice it, too.

At the end, they talk about the poll that the American Homebrewers Association takes annually, asking nationwide members to pick the best beer in America, and how Pliny has been picked as #1 four years in a row. The 2012 Poll got a record 16,445 votes from homebrewers around the country. But that didn’t stop the snark. Understandably, since this is New England Cable News, the announcer chided the list because there were no New England breweries in the Top 25 and the highest ranked New England beer was Samuel Adams, which tied for #31. I understand that’s their audience but was the snark really necessary? She then states almost all of the beers on the list were from the West Coast, saying “not a surprise since the American Homebrewers Association is based in California,” implying that the voting must have been rigged in favor of West Coast beers. Of course, the AHA has been in Boulder, Colorado since 1978 and has members all across the U.S., not concentrated in the Western states. That was just moronic and completely unnecessary. Congratulations to Vinnie and Natalie on the coverage.