From the “Dear Zymurgy” page of the Spring 1989 issue of Zymurgy magazine. Dear Zymurgy, I am writing to express my deep disappointment over your recent Special Issue of Zymurgy, specifically with the exploitation of an individual’s physical attractiveness on your cover. I speak, of course, about the cover of the Beer Lover’s Store catalog […]

A piece written for editor Roland Sweet of Log Homes Illustrated, July 2001.

Published as “Father Knows Best: The State of State Beer Laws” in All About Beer, January 1998. The laws may have changed, but here’s how they stood many years ago. *** Beer drinkers never travel alone. They are always accompanied by the wide-eyed spirit of discovery or the grim specter of frustration. It’s the law. […]

Great Lakes Brewing News, June/July 1996 The last medieval brewery, dating from the 14th century, survived intact until shortly after World War II at Queen’s College, Oxford. In Syracuse, New York, however, one can catch a glimpse of the Middle Ages at 120 Wilkinson Street. The site is not a ruin, but the home of […]

Syracuse New Times, December 24, 1986 Like many traditions that set Christmas distinctly apart from other holidays – gift-giving, evergreens, holly, mistletoe and the wassail bowl – brewing a special holiday beer actually predates Christianity. The tradition that recently brought F.X. Matt’s Season’s Best and other seasonal beers to market has roots in Greek mythology, […]

Syracuse New Times, April 12, 1973; Buffalo New Times, March 31, 1974 This piece is 50 years old, but it does give a picture of what the beer scene was like in the year it was written. *** Warning: Those readers who are unable to safely run the gauntlet of strong emotion from outrage to […]

This article appeared in the Syracuse New Times in June of 1975. Miller High Life was the first beer I ever had. It was about 1949, I think. Being three years old, I could just reach the arm of my father’s chair, and he had this bottle that fascinated me. There was a girl on […]

This appeared in the Syracuse New Times, September 23, 1973, and made it all the way to the brewery president’s desk, angering him and prompting the comment, “What is this paper anyway?” *** As part of a five-year, 300-million dollar expansion program, the Schlitz Brewing Company is building a brewery in the town of Lysander, […]

This article appeared in the Syracuse New Times, February 25, 1987. The brand information is dated, but the larger issues are relevant today. *** When a cold beer slides your way, do you think of your old drinking buddies or Louis Pasteur? Sorry, those are the only two choices. And you can’t drink the beer […]

In 1973, editor Mike Greenstein of the Syracuse New Times gave me the chance to write about beer. My career as a writer had its beginnings then and there. In 1985, Charlie Papazian gave me an opportunity to write for a national publication, Zymurgy, bringing my writing to the attention of people like Dan & […]