Our 56th Session is a nod of the head, acknowledging the positive aspects of the big, multinational brewers that we so often admonish and criticize. Our host, Reuben Gray at Tale of the Ale, calls his topic Thanks to the Big Boys, which he describes as follows:

What I’m looking for is this. Most of us that write about beer do so with the small independent brewery in mind. Often it is along the lines of Micro brew = Good and Macro brew, anything brewed by the large multinationals is evil and should be destroyed. Well I don’t agree with that, though there may be some that are a little evil….

Anyway I want people to pick a large brewery or corporation that owns a lot of breweries. There are many to chose from. Give thanks to them for something they have done. Maybe they produce a beer you do actually like. Maybe they do great things for the cause of beer in general even if their beer is bland and tasteless but enjoyed by millions every day.

I can think of two right away that I would like to thank (don’t feel the need to limit yourself to one). If you can’t think of any well then here is one quick one. Diageo and Arthur’s Day. At the very least, this is a worldwide celebration of beer. It may be Guinness* orientated but anything that gets people drinking beer and not alcopops is a good thing in my book. If you honestly have nothing good to say about a large brewer, then make something up. Some satire might be nice, It will be a Friday after all.

So put away your poison pen, at least for the day, and wax poetic about a big brewer. Let’s hear your positive vibes for the next Session on Friday, October 7. And yes, that’s this Friday, just three days away.