There’s a great in-depth article in this week’s New Yorker. It’s a profile of Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery entitled A Better Brew: The rise of extreme beer by Burkhard Bilger, who’s also the author of Noodling for Flatheads. A few months ago I spoke to Bilger at length about the craft beer world in general and extreme beer more specifically. At that point, I don’t think he knew exactly what the focus of the piece would be and I gave him a few brewer’s names — including Sam — to talk to who were known for brewing making extreme beers. It’s easy to see why Bilger chose Calagione. I’ve known Sam for a number of years and he gives great interview. He’s a terrific spokesperson for the craft beer industry. Congratulations Sam.
Thanks for offereing up Sam as a test subject. I am a huge fan of Dogfish Head. I am on a search for the New Yorker here. I can’t wait to read it.
I don’t know how often,if ever, you get back to NYC. With young kids, it’s tough. But the City has really become a much bigger beer mecca since the 70s. It’s worth a visit.
The extremes to which Sam Calagione goes in the cause of creating new and different craft beers are legendary. Apparently, the New Yorker author spent 9 months w/ the Dogfish crew. There was a great event last Weds (11/19) sponsored by The East Village Tavern in NYC, and Dogfish Head and BeerMenus.com. The food and beer pairings were awesome. And Elizabeth from Dogfish brought a small piece of the bullet-proof wood used to make the cask referred to in the article.
Check out BeerMenus.com. I’d be curious to get feedback. It’s the project of two brothers, my sons, and as the dad, my favorite page is the “about” page. The big question in the beginning was whether it could be kept up to date. They presently have 60 of the beer bars that change with the greatest frequency updating their own beer lists on the site–some several times a week. It’s a labor of love for the boys. They hope to get to other cities early next year.