July 2025 – Professor Good Ales

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Salt City Homebrewers in Syracuse, NY. Former member of Escambia Bay Brewers, Clarksville Carboys and Music City Homebrewers. Ken has been writing on beer-related topics, and interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast, for well over 30 years.

There’s an obvious trend that brewers, and those thinking of opening a brewery, should consider. Some may ignore it if they have a brewery in a very small, very rural town, like where I live. When starting a brewery get the basics first, of course. But all who ignore this trend ignore it at their own peril, business-wise.
The craft scene has expanded, contracted, then expanded many times. But I think we have reached what, I hope, is a permanent plateau, and paying attention to how the industry exists as it is now is crucial.
Back when it started brewing a good porter or stout, a tasty light ale that’s more flavorful than the biggies, an IPA, well, you were all set. You were a credit to the growing craft beer community. Hell, even if they weren’t that good in some places you were set… for a while.
Oh my, how times have changed. You don’t stand out as much in craft beer world. Even most of the big brewers are brewing porters, stouts, IPAs.
Sorry if that’s bad news, but for most that no longer works as well as it used to. You walk into some of the more thriving breweries and they have several sours, maybe a barleywine, several kinds of IPAS: a trend I expect to shrink at least a little eventually, various fruit beers, maybe even a braggot, a gruit and/or a graff: a fermented cider/beer mix.
Just so you know, I have General McGraff’s Appley Braggot I just bottled in my kitchen as I type. A cider, mead, beer mix. Yes, I do tend to go crazy. And I admit I write this as a fan of unique brews.
Back to the topic… Continue reading

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

~The Lay of the Land~
Munich. Beer gardens. And beer hiking. Three things I can’t get enough of. Put them all together and you have a ramble that takes you to some of Munich’s most beloved and most illustrious beer gardens.

For years I’d had an urban beer hiking itinerary in mind that would take in the fine beer gardens in the woods along the Isar River in southern Munich. With indoor dining still subject to Covid regulations in the early autumn of 2021, I had the perfect opportunity to do just that. And now I’ve finally gotten around to putting it all together in a post.

Mid-September is a time when you can get drenched in a downpour one year and need nothing more than summer apparel the next. The forecast previous to my arrival called for sunshine, but by the time I arrived in Munich a light drizzle had descended upon the city. Undaunted, I took Tram 25 to its terminus in Grünwald in the southern reaches of Munich to piece together a beer garden jaunt from beer gardens I had visited in the past.

This 15-kilometer walk takes you north from your starting point at the Brückenwirt along the Isar through wooded areas and small hamlets. Beer garden stops along the way include the Waldwirtschaft, the Menterschwaige, and Hinterbrühl. Zum Flaucher rounds it all out. Just as enjoyable as the beer gardens themselves are the amusing stories and legends attached to them.

Time to go exploring!

Want to read more? Please click… HERE!!!

Month: July 2025

Brew Biz: Werts and All: What to Consider if You Own a Brewery or Plan to Open One

Beer Garden Ambles in Southern Munich

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard