Just an administrative question - how do you read this blog? Do you come to the site directly from you bookmarks or read it via RSS or go through link from someone else's place? I am particularly interested in the aggregator users out there as while the readership here has gone up to 3900 visits from over 200 separate folk last Thursday and Friday, RSS appears to have provided only 10% of those visits. Two years ago, with under half the visits and visitors, RSS draw on this blog was over 30% of the total.






Comments
Joe Lencioni - January 14, 2008 9:44 PM
RSS -- Google Reader
Stan Hieronymus - January 14, 2008 10:06 PM
rss - I'm subscribed twice, once through Feed Demon and also through Firefox Live Bookmarks.
Craig - January 14, 2008 10:18 PM
RSS through Google Reader as well.
Jordan Crouse - January 14, 2008 10:29 PM
RSS through Google Reader - the only way to fly
TC - January 14, 2008 11:13 PM
I'm another Google Reader guy.
Cameron Clark - January 14, 2008 11:19 PM
RSS through Google Reader
Spencer Thomas - January 14, 2008 11:32 PM
RSS -- Google reader. Except when I want to comment, of course, or when I'm sending a link on to someone else, then I come to the blog itself.
Andy D - January 14, 2008 11:34 PM
Another for RSS via Google Reader
erik_flannestad - January 15, 2008 12:20 AM
RSS via google reader.
ron hendricks - January 15, 2008 12:48 AM
Hi,
This is my first visit. I found you because I was searching for information about beer in China. I live in China and I drink beer.
Ron Hendricks
aka General Rongwei
josh from flying dog - January 15, 2008 12:58 AM
i'm also a google reader guy. i've always found that hits don't always translate into actual users - a lot of hits can be spam commenters. I know that the captcha deters them, but perhaps that doesn't stop them from trying...
Brian - January 15, 2008 1:26 AM
Google reader for me - makes it easier to follow of the beer blogs out there!
Thomas - January 15, 2008 2:20 AM
RSS feed, bloglines
Leo-oo- - January 15, 2008 3:51 AM
RSS in Flock
Tom Scotney - January 15, 2008 4:12 AM
RSS through Google Reader
The Beer Nut - January 15, 2008 6:00 AM
RSS via FeedReader
Paul Garrard - January 15, 2008 7:15 AM
Through the blog from my favourites, most days.
Knut Albert - January 15, 2008 7:25 AM
Through the link on my blog. I use the wordpress platform for my blog now, where there are some nifty statistics about the traffic.
Alan - January 15, 2008 7:59 AM
Thanks everyone - please keep it coming as this is instructive. And, Josh, you are quite correct: hits are a mug's game. I used to figure that real to spam was around a 17% ratio. Far less I am imagine now.
kevin - January 15, 2008 9:18 AM
Google Reader
brendan - January 15, 2008 9:39 AM
Google Reader here.
Darcy - January 15, 2008 9:58 AM
RSS - Google Reader, sometimes via bookmark in Firefox
Paul of Kingston - January 15, 2008 9:59 AM
Through favorites on my IE.
Max - January 15, 2008 10:15 AM
RSS - Google Reader
David - January 15, 2008 11:01 AM
Typically alerted to new posts via my RSS client (NetNewsWire). If I want to read in depth, and follow comments I'll usually bring it up in my web browser. NNW is perfectly capable of handling it, but I often will follow links I want to bookmark in the browser. I also open all the blogs I link to daily in the browser.
John Hoffoss - January 15, 2008 11:19 AM
RSS via Google Reader
Troy Burtch - January 15, 2008 11:29 AM
I get here through the link posted on my blog.
Scott s - January 15, 2008 11:33 AM
Google Reader!
Brad Goddard - January 15, 2008 11:35 AM
RSS feed from Safari reader.
Chris - January 15, 2008 12:05 PM
Google Reader.
Travis - January 15, 2008 12:49 PM
I use Google Homepage (iGoogle) which is a variation on Google Reader. Does anyone else use that when they are saying "Google reader"?
Frank McDonald - January 15, 2008 2:28 PM
I have you bookmarked in Firefox. I usually 'check in' once a day to see whats new. There are 13 beer blogs bookmarked in my browser.
James - January 15, 2008 3:05 PM
RSS, Google Reader
Matt Newman - January 15, 2008 4:15 PM
RSS Google Reader
Adam @ Beer Bits 2 - January 15, 2008 5:10 PM
Via the a link on my site http://beerbits2.blogspot.com.
Jeff - January 15, 2008 6:55 PM
bookmarks in Firefox - I have about a dozen to 18 beer blogs in the beer/blog folder - check in periodically, about once a week or so.
Tony - January 15, 2008 6:57 PM
RSS via BlogLines
wittaker - January 15, 2008 7:34 PM
Favorite on IE
Dave - January 15, 2008 8:19 PM
RSS google reader
Steve - January 15, 2008 9:16 PM
RSS via Google Reader - checked daily
Sean - January 15, 2008 10:42 PM
Via NetVibes.
Darrell Glaser - January 16, 2008 6:49 PM
It's one of a few homepages.
Aisha - January 16, 2008 9:16 PM
RSS via Bloglines...can't seem to get into Google Reader :)
Josh - January 16, 2008 10:34 PM
Bookmark in Firefox
Paul - January 16, 2008 11:14 PM
I'm also using Firefox live bookmarks to subscribe.
Rob - January 17, 2008 9:53 AM
Hey Alan, I use RSS feed via Nevibes.
Alan - January 17, 2008 9:54 AM
This is great and a little surprising. Keep it coming.
E.S. Delia - January 17, 2008 3:45 PM
Google Reader. With my personal laptop on the fritz, i've been a lot less frequent, though.
Grey - January 17, 2008 9:20 PM
Netvibes user here, so RSS for me.
Peter - January 17, 2008 10:53 PM
RSS - Bloglines.
Danny - January 18, 2008 5:30 AM
First time visit. I got here through Beer Culture- the Czech Beer Blog. http://www.praguemonitor.com/beer/
Keep up the good work!
Bob - January 19, 2008 2:54 PM
RSS via BlogLines
Johannes Roy - January 23, 2008 8:03 PM
I keep coming back here through google. You are definetely the most objective of internet beer connoisseurs(however you spell that... I'm french-canadian, but I'm never sure about these... words. Like uh "coup d'etat" n stuff... ya know, "menage a trois". Either way, you can disregard this for it it likely that, once polled about beer. I'd probably represent the desperate minority who prefer strong, flavourfull beer and able to appreciate them individualy. I Suppose caramel and hops can mean different thing to different palattes but when we speak of oranges, figs and nutmeg, the ability to discern is available to only a distinguished few. I believe you are one of them. Either way. When you praise a beer, I agree to it's merits. When you are unsure, I notice something is not quite right. When you say "no", I don't even bother because I trust your judgement. Excellent blog.
Long live beer.
Alan - January 23, 2008 8:18 PM
How kind! I have to thank my forefathers who were servants in great houses in Scotland, one of whom trained at Cordon Bleu about a century ago, all of whom passed down a love of tasting long before I got into beer.
Big Hint: if you want to try to find out the figgy flavours in beer, for example, you have to east figs - fresh and dry and all the varieties you can get your hands on. Same with dates and honey styles and coffees and plums... To learn more about what is in your beer glass, trying many different ingredients of food is really important. "Tasting kits" will not cut it.
Jason Nota - January 23, 2008 8:59 PM
I enjoy reading about beer. This is one of a few beer sites that I bookmarked.
Perno - January 28, 2008 10:55 PM
RSS via Google Reader, your blog was recommended by Google based off of the other blogs I read which include lifehacker, engadget, and kotaku to name a few.