Mash Tun Journal #005

AHoy-hoy folks!

Thanks for joining us once again for the bumper fifth issue of Mash Tun. This issue focuses on the locals, the favorites and the old country, as our far-flung staff – now based on both coasts and hailing from three continents – takes you deep inside the global phenomenon of craft beer.

America now has some 3000 breweries, of which 2500 are craft. In conjunction, macrobrewery consumption in the States continues to fall, and we are in the midst of what many agree is a Golden Age for hand-made, lovingly crafted suds. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in the rest of the world and we have two dispatches on how some old-line brewing giants are trying to catch up. Ludo Waldemier reports on how experimentation has come to Germany, while our co-editors report how England has been bitten by the craft brewing bug.

Closer to home, Jake Guidry talks about the “other” brewery on the Illinois/Indiana border, proudly tiny One Trick Pony. Laura “Queenie” Nunez takes you inside the craft explosion in Los Angeles, with a peek inside the two-block brewing frenzy that is in Torrance.

Paul Durica and Elliot Crumpley form a Prohibition one-two this time out, with Durica detailing the lost history of the Chicago “beer flat,” a homebrew/speakeasy combo that took the White City by storm. And Crumpley tells the strange tale of Congress’ own personal bootlegger, known as the Man in The Green Hat.

Pat Fahey joins our pages for a new Q&A feature on brewing chemistry, while Kate Slagoski checks in on adjuncts and coffee. Ian Wise checks in on cheese, and Sarah Morton schools you in glassware in the latest edition of Mash Tun’s exclusive comics feature.

This is all wrapped up with a bow with a special section on Chicago’s New Wave of brewers and the best in label art from around the globe.

This issue also marks a milestone for Mash Tun Journal: just like the craft brewing scene, we’re expanding! This is the first of three issues we’ll release in 2014, meaning you’ll get 50% more Tun in your life this year. Thanks as always for reading and we’ll be back in the dog days of summer with dispatches from Rio, Italy, Portugal and beyond!

Shanna van Volt and Jamie Trecker
Co-Editors in Chief