Mash Tun Journal #007

The Wonderful World of Beer.

Last May we decided to re-launch our little Craft Beer mag so that we could reach more people where they drink and eat the good stuff. At that time The Mash Tun Journal was mostly available for sale at bookstores and a few breweries and bottle shops, although you could pick one up at our not so frequent events and festivals.

Now Mash Tun is a free circulation publication that is distributed at our favorite bars, breweries, bottle shops and restaurants that serve craft beer and spirits. Consider it an insiders guide to the burgeoning movement in craft beer and the culture that surrounds it.

We started this publication because of our love of the good beer, and the fact that many of us became involved in the industry by either being a member of the hospitality industry, got into home brewing, or work in the beer business in general as a salesman, retailer, brewer or distributor. We would tell each other stories, sing our tales at becoming brewers, and share the agony and joy of making liquid dreams come true.

Throughout our journey we researched our industry and had conversations with brewers, distributors, salesmen and conmen of breweries large and small. We shared stories about the history of beer and debated the pros and cons of the growth of the industry and the people within it. We gave tips on how to open a brewery and how to keep one open. We profiled up and coming alchemists and transient brewers and shared our love of the art of beer in general. And now we are spreading our wings even further.

We noticed that our love of beer was not just a niche lifestyle activity, but really part of the regeneration of a centuries old tradition of making local products for your neighbors. Manufacturing locally seems almost an anachronism in the age of outsourcing and the development of the service industries. So it’s strange. And it’s against the grain of what is happening all over the world with the growth of corporate chains, the monocultural debasement of almost everything in our daily lives. Making craft beer is part of a larger movement by hundreds of thousands of people who believe building small businesses and organizations to be integral parts of our communities is worth the struggle. It’s worth the incredible series of hurdles, the bureaucratic nightmares and the low margins of profitability, or no profit at all.

And these beer people are crazy. They are entrepreneurs as artists. They are dreamers. And they are people you need to know. And maybe you will become one, too.

Please enjoy our new issue. We will be publishing print versions three times a year, and we are on the web at mashtunjournal.org. If you want to share your stories about the insiders and outsiders of the beer industry and the cultural and economic ecology that surrounds craft beer drop us a line.

Cheers!