Lew Has Left The Building

I regret to say that four months after resigning my position as managing editor, I will no longer be writing a column or whiskey reviews for Whisky Advocate. After more than 20 years of being part of the voice of the magazine, I was told on Monday that because the magazine was "going in a different direction," my services in those capacities were no longer needed.

I was afforded an incredible opportunity, and I'm grateful for that, however it ended. It has also been a complete pleasure to work with this loosely-knit team of the best whisky writers in the world. Every three months, fascinating writing would arrive in my inbox, affording me a fantastic whisky education.

It has been an equal pleasure to work with representatives from all parts of the industry, to watch that grow from a solid core of long-term veterans in the mid-1990s to a small army of exciting new personalities as the industry entered another boom phase, and then to welcome the small producers of the craft distilling category. I very much look forward to continuing that association.

I've certainly also enjoyed the readers of the magazine: their excitement, their loyalty, their engagement, and their eager interest in the brown spirit that's entranced us all. It's been fantastic to meet you at the events over the years, and I hope to see all of you in the future.

Of course, I'm not leaving whiskey! There's a new book project to work on, I've returned to writing this blog (really, I have, and I know I owe you some whiskey reviews), and several magazines have welcomed me back as a freelancer (with more projects in the works). I'm also back to writing about beer, which I missed terribly, and that will now expand as well. I may even expand my writing into new areas; I have a couple projects percolating.

Onward and outward!

One door closes, and many more open. What do the different directions of the future hold for me? Nothing's sure, but I hope it holds more opportunities to see each of you, and more chances to work with you, in some capacity or another. I'm certain it will hold more chances to share a drink and some laughs.

My very best regards,

Lew Bryson

Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh is open!

The Pittsburgh Hofbräuhaus just opened, and STAG has a correspondent inside: check it out!

All's Right With the World: may yours be right as well

We went to evening mass (St. Andrew's doesn't do midnight mass, for unknown reasons), and Nora and I sang with the choir. My parents are staying overnight for tomorrow's celebration. The children are settled in. Gifts have been wrapped and arranged under the tree. Santa's been left a Hop Wallop (the label looks a lot like him) and an opener. I've got a mug of egg nog blended with a mix of one part Bacardi golden rum, one part cognac, and 4 parts Jim Beam 7 Year Old, and it's tasting pretty damned good. Penderyn's curled up on Cathy's lap.

It's been a good year. We've had some fun here, and some great conversations. I've met even more of you, and New Jersey Breweries is off to a sweet start, out-pacing Pennsylvania Breweries. My thanks to all the brewers, distillers, bar and restaurant people, wholesalers, and public relations types who've been so generous with their time so I can write the stories my editors want (or the blog postings...which I assume someone wants). Most of all, thanks to the readers who keep things interesting, who ask the good questions.

Best wishes to all of you at Christmastide, best of luck in the challenging new year ahead. Remember: drink it because you think it's good, drink it because you support the cause -- and you think it's good -- drink it because it's interesting and innovating...and you think it's good. Fight any forces that try to take away your rights, your choices. Be fair, don't be a snob, be open-minded. Try new things. Discuss them. Spread the word.

Cheers!

In Which I Keep All About Beer's Streak Alive

As this posts, I'm accepting the trade and specialized beer and brewing media award of the Michael Jackson Beer Journalism Awards at the GABF; my piece in All About Beer on "The Real History of Craft Beer" won. My apologies to all the folks I told I was not going to be at GABF: the BA asked me not to tell anyone about winning the award, so I didn't. At all.

And so this morning I left my hotel in San Francisco at 4:20, flew out of SFO at 6:20, and got into Denver about 10 AM to make it to the GABF on time to get the award. At least, I assume I did; I'm writing this in my room at the San Francisco Marriott Downtown on Friday afternoon before WhiskyFest.

My thanks to Rogue Ales, Boston Beer, and Brooklyn Brewery for the sponsorship of the award, to Daniel Bradford for the original idea of the story, and to Julie Bradford for suggesting that I submit the piece for the program. "We've got a streak going," she said, "and I just have a feeling about that piece." Other folks liked it too -- it's one of the few pieces I've done that I've gotten fan mail on -- so I sent it in.

So right now I'm collecting the award (that's a picture Tom Dalldorf took, and thanks to him and Celebrator for it), and tonight I'm going to spend some time at Falling Rock or Wynkoop with brewers and fellow writers. Good times, folks, good times. Thanks to everyone who's dug my writing; I do it for the most sincere beer geeky reasons: to share the love.

An update: I ran into Don Russell at the Fest afterwards, and we got to talking. Writers from Philadelphia have won one of these awards every year they've been awarded: Don, Carolyn Smagalski, Marnie Old, and now me. Sounds like we've got America's Best Beer-Writing City, too!