Beer Nerds Bond Over Kentucky Craft Writing Symposium

Comprised of about 48 hours of continual beer consumption (both in body and in academic spirit) the University-of-Kentucky-sponsored Craft Writing Symposium in Lexington was a lot to take in. It's been almost a week, and I'm still a little hungover drunk on the experience.

There've been no shortage of summative remarks already shared in the last few days (and I'm sure there are more to come). What follows are my lasting impressions, as frustratingly biased and lacking in journalistic ethos as they may or may not be (sorry, Stan).

Brevity's not my strong suit, so let me open with this:

My take away from this weekends #CraftWriting: stop writing shit blogs & taking beer selfies, have meaningful conversations about beer.
— sande edwards (@sandeedwards) February 17, 2014

Said it before. Will say it again- #craftbeer people are flat out good peeps. @heybrewtiful
— Snobby beer bitch (@Snobbybeerbitch) February 16, 2014

Georgia Craft Beer Fest to support GCBG

RED BRICK BREWING CO TO HOST FIRST GEORGIA CRAFT BEER FEST

First of its kind event will bring together all of Georgia’s breweries

ATLANTA- On March 22, 2014 Georgia’s craft brewers will convene under the banner of the “Georgia Craft Beer Fest” to celebrate the state’s flourishing craft beer community. From old guard breweries to brand new upstarts, over 25 GA breweries have been confirmed to take part in this all day event. There will informative tours, food trucks, live music, and the best craft beer the Georgia has to offer.

The GCBF will benefit the Georgia Craft Brewers’ Guild, a non-profit organization that works to support the brewing community, inform consumers, and encourage growth in up and coming craft beer-based businesses in our state.

The festival will be hosted by the state’s oldest craft brewery, Red Brick Brewing Co. President Bob Budd had to say about the event, “We are beyond thrilled to be hosting this event because, honestly, some folks thought it might never happen. As one of the founding members of the Georgia Craft Brewers’ Guild, one of our goals has been to mentor up and coming breweries. So to have over 25 Georgia breweries under one roof shows the progress that the community at large is making.”

The GCBF will be held from 1-6 pm on March 22, with VIP opening at noon. It will be held at Red Brick Brewing Co, 2323 Defoor Hills Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30318. Tickets are $40 for general admission and $75 for VIP. For more information, a complete list of breweries, and to purchase tickets, visit www.gacraftbeerfest.com.

For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Tyler Cates at 

(919)819-2398 or tylercates@atlantabrewing.com

Molly Gunn: A Lady Who Loves Beer

An Atlanta native and long-time resident, Molly Gunn made her dream of becoming a restaurant owner a reality in October of 2008 when, along with husband and co-owner Nick Rutherford (also executive chef, vintage list curator, and "ultimate handyman"), The Porter Beer Bar was born. 

There's almost nowhere I'd rather be for a weekend brunch and beer in Atlanta, and with an extensive menu of draft and bottled beers (over 44 beers on draft at last count) there's a good chance you'll find yourself right at home with a plate and a pint no matter where your hometown lies (I personally consider relocating at least once a week just so I can sit at the bar more often). 

With a cookbook in the works for Summer 2014 which promises to include items from their impressive specials menu, as well as bits of personal history, Molly and Nick have their future goals set on making The Porter an institution. If you ask me, they're already there. 

Read more about Molly Gunn and her plans for 2014 in this month's focus on women and beer in Atlanta.

{Update} with Tierney Pomone: A Lady Who Loves Beer

A dream date with Dave Grohl, Bourbon County Rare, and a kitten named Simcoe, Tierney Pomone has her priorities in order. Check out more of what Ms. Pomone has in store in today's update. 

So what's new? I decided to rope myself in about halfway through last year realizing I had stretched myself pretty thin and my priorities were a mess. I've focused my writing to just Stouts and Stilettos and SaraBozich.com. On the professional side I've successfully scaled myself down to just one job, maintaining my cubicle-drone-by-day, craft-beer-evangelista-by-night persona. In my personal life I moved into a new place out of the suburbs and into the actual city of Harrisburg and got a kitten who we appropriately named Simcoe.

Kim Leshinski: A Lady Who Loves Beer

Kim Leshinski is serious about her beer.

A New England native, this Rochester Institute of Technology graduate has combined her love for beer and design into her own small business. Since moving to Chicago to expand her tastes and her portfolio, she's become a noted beer blogger and avid home brewer, founded the Chicago Beer Gals Collective, and left her full-time agency job to pursue self-employment.

Currently working toward becoming a certified beer judge and Cicerone, this smarty-pants beer drinker has made quite a name for herself and no doubt will continue to inspire other women to join the ranks.

Read more about this lady who loves beer in this month's {BeyondATL} feature on women and beer. 

My beer has lady parts (and yours does too)

Dear Fellow Imbibers,

My beer has genitals (again).

A few months back the internets kind of blew up over a craft beer misstep made by a women's forum when they recommended fruity beers as an entryway to the "confusing" world of beer (they've since removed their video). You can read an expletive-laden version of events by Claire Lower (because expletives are really my favorite) or a more sober rendition from Guys Drinking Beer.

Click image to enlarge

This month, La Fleur Magazine's boasts "Girl Beer" as a feature on their January 2014 cover (pictured at left). The gendered article title has elicited some negative reactions. Ginger Johnson of Women Enjoying Beer takes issue with the terminology, stating that "nothing good can come from the perpetuation of less than full respect titles" and that "it perpetuates [the idea of] gender oriented beers."

Despite my own mild objections to the headline, La Fleur's article (which you can read online for yourself) does a decent job of recommending some pretty top-notch beers in a manner that both respects the intelligence of its readers and does justice to the beer itself. Not to mention, it was written by women who actually like beer.

What's a girl to do?

Does it matter what we call ourselves if the end goal is to invite more women to the table? Or is it disrespectful to use "girl" in any context when we're talking about grown women? Is a gender-neutral approach really effective or required when we're trying to call more women to attend to their glass?

Post by Women Enjoying Beer.

Jennifer Rios, a commenter on the WEB Facebook page, says context is key:

"After reading the article, I'm thinking 'girl beer' was meant to be more of a tongue in cheek attention grabbing headline. None of the selected beers are what that title brings to my mind [...] my lady friends & I would have no problem with Pike or Dogfish. Girl beer is just a term, it only has as much power as you give it."

@ATLbrewbabe, who recently started up a Georgia chapter of Girls Pint Out had this to say when asked for comment:

"I'm 31 and don't mind the word 'girl' and use it frequently. I don't think twice about seeing the word 'girl' all over pop culture either, i.e. HBO's GIRLS, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Truth is, there isn’t a clear-cut official marker of adulthood in our culture. If you're 35 living with mom and dad are you a girl (by immaturity) or a woman (by age)? I'm so confused. That's it, I'm bringing back the oh-so-slang, but gender neutral 'peeps.'"

Rather than getting our panties in a bunch, I say we go commando and shine some light on our similarities. Arguments aside, quibbling about the difference doesn't seem to inspire people to shake their groove thing on a common dance floor. You know what I mean? Of course you do.

So let's just let beer be sexy, and if so-called "girls" want to come to the party with their drinking cards, let's ask them to join the rumba. Shall we? Until the next glass my lovelies, eat well, drink whole heartedly, and savor the deliciousness of your daily life. As always, I'm devotedly yours in the way of beer.

Cheers,
hb

{Update} with Jessica Smyer: A Lady Who Loves Beer

The updates from last year's features on women and beer are still pouring in. Here's an update from Jessica Smyer, a local imbiber with a taste for Asheville, Belgian style brews, and beer-cations.

So, update. What's happened since we last checked in with you? 

Admittedly, not much has changed lately. I suppose smooth sailing on the sea of life isn’t always a bad thing. Cheeseburger Bobby’s recently held a fundraiser for Murphy-Harpst Children’s home and raised $11,000. I’m glad we got to benefit a local organization. We are developing the new restaurant schedule for the next year: oncoming franchisees, store updates, and the like. Personally, I’d love to see one open near Savannah or in Florida.