tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937859432549118181.post1140991153707795798..comments2023-05-12T11:49:19.642-04:00Comments on Beer-Stained Letter: Maybe it's Star-Ledger + beer = boringJeff Linkoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09262928843229439788noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937859432549118181.post-53514895295576458182010-11-28T10:12:31.644-05:002010-11-28T10:12:31.644-05:00Yeah, the byline and screen name are one in the sa...Yeah, the byline and screen name are one in the same. I think the column is featured weekly in the print edition, but I haven't picked up one those in a while.<br /><br />The Star-Ledger used to rain reporters on Trenton politics like confetti at a parade, and thumped its chest like a coverage know-it-all from news to sports to features (it even sent staff to the Beijing Olympics in '08, while it was bleeding cash and pleading with staff to take buyouts to trim payroll). So the farce to me, with their jumping on the craft beer band wagon, is how the paper suddenly decided to go all in on the topic (they sponsored beer festivals at Monmouth Park this past summer; beforehand, they had occasional beer articles). It strikes me as an idea that bubbled up from an advertising department meeting, then got handed off to the newsroom. <br /><br />That's not an crazy business idea by any stretch. But the paper's boast of being YOUR source on the subject is a bit laughable when it looks like the S-L is rushing to catch up.<br /><br />Maybe slamming the paper for pooh-poohing food and beer pairings was a little harsh, but the coverage reeks of dumbing down, like that newspaper axiom of writing so your grandmother can understand it. Food has been central to the beer scene for a while now (an artisanal cheesemaker used a Flying Fish beer to wash their rinds, and FF brewed with oysters last year).<br /><br />Beer drinkers are a range of types, for certain, but it's not just the hardcore craft beer enthusiasts, the geeks, who are into knowing about hops, grain flavors and how the yeast affects the overall flavor – all that "gobbledygook." They look for fresh-hopped beers knowing what wet hops are; they know their glassware types and what kind of beer belongs in which shape. <br /><br />Craft brewers themselves pursue this flow of information, initiating discussion about their beers, going deeper than "this is a stout, this is a double IPA, this is a Belgian quad ..." <br /><br />In one sense, it's part of their marketing, but in a greater sense it's pride: they like creating; they like what they're doing and want to share the appreciation for better beers and exciting flavors. <br /><br />Snobbery it ain't. It's just that the landscape has changed.Jeff Linkoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09262928843229439788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937859432549118181.post-23315411672436504162010-11-28T09:07:17.852-05:002010-11-28T09:07:17.852-05:00I don't quite get it. Is Genovese also "...I don't quite get it. Is Genovese also "Munchdriver"? Why would a reporter use a different screen name in the "comments" section of his own article? <br /><br />Is that really a Star-Ledger "print" article or simply an online "blog"? It does (as someone else mentioned in the "comments") seem odd to discuss a beer like Bell's Oberon, that is not available in New Jersey AND is their summer seasonal.JessKiddenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13957063630653714731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937859432549118181.post-77212100875952633982010-11-27T16:15:04.665-05:002010-11-27T16:15:04.665-05:00Aces...Aces...Kurt Eppsnoreply@blogger.com