You know, Andy Crouch has been on fire lately. Well, maybe not. You really can't be a blog on fire and post four times since June. But he is making some good points. Like:

• "...the beer geek addiction to alcohol, hop, and barrel bombs is not only disturbing but I just can’t bring myself to even feign interest in them at this point..."
• "...the sudden wholesaler interest in their products and promises of quick sales should give weary brewers pause. And craft beer drinkers should give some long term thought to whether it’s a good thing have every craft beer available at our local stores..."
• "...I think we should be looking at how the British guild manages to sustain itself, probably without a centralized organization and largely run through the Internet and volunteer work. Many others believe we don’t have any need for such an organization. In either event, folks should be discussing these issues...."

Sometimes when I start to wonder why I bother writing these posts, Andy usually gets me interested again. It is not the slog, giving it away for free or the lack of purpose that dissuades me but the lulls in the discourse. It's me, really. There is no lack of flow of sheer content about beer. In fact, plenty enough that I would wonder why anyone might want to start a business based on the topic given that volume. I love that ability and desire to dig, to risk being seen as a crank, to assume someone won't like what you say. Andy does that well and gets my brain going as a result.

Another blog that is getting some of my attention lately is Fermentarium, though I am not sure why yet. It is sort of newsy but aimed at some of the oddball news. But he covers both legal cases and questions big craft. Another good and different point of view.

A voice in addition to a view that also inspires is Boak and Bailey and, again, I have a hard time putting my finger on it. They certainly write well but also they write as beer drinkers, not experts. They live in a British pubby world that I do not and seem to want to not take sides so much as report upon their enjoyment. They remind me that even when it is fun to debate it is usually more fun to have a good pull on a pint and daydream out the window for a bit.

I could go on. Knut, Ron, Lew, Jeff, Stan, Evan, Stephen (even when works too hard to not get things!), Troy, the Nut and Joe are just a few of the usual suspects in the quality reads out there. Given all this rich discourse... how does anyone ever make a buck at this stuff given all the good ideas flying around our heads? And how do I ever think there is a lull?