Imaginable Beers: A Primer for Writers of Speculative Fiction

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series For Writers

Recently, a writer friend was asking around on Facebook for some information about the history of brewing and distilling. Since I’ve been studying up on these subjects (and blogging on the subject: see here for brewing, and there’s some stuff about distilling mixed into this tag), it was suggested I might be of some help. I started writing a longish response, and then decided that rather than toss all that information down into the Facebook crevasse where it would never be seen again, I would make a blog post about it. Note, this is primarily directed and writers of fantastical or speculative fiction, but …

Continue Reading

Rankings and Ratings for Beer: Lessons from the Classroom, and Lessons On the Classroom

I posted earlier today on Facebook regarding the topic of ratings collection design systems for beer ratings websites like BrewAdvocate (below, referred to as “BA”), based on my experience designing grading rubrics for teaching and student evaluation purposes. I was posting in the context of others arguing that the ratings systems on various enthusiast rating websites were relatively less meaningful in the fine gradations; that a been with a 97% quality rating may not be “better” than a beer of a 95% rating. I responded as follows: Yeah, also because people’s rankings are affected by others’ rankings, and by reputation. I …

Continue Reading

On Building a Makkeoli Market

Zenkimchi wants Korean promoters to stop calling makkeoli “rice wine” for the very obvious reason that it’s actually not a wine. Of course it’s not rice wine, it’s rice beer (or, yes, specifically “rice ale”), as any brewer can tell you. Of course, he sort of bolts past the point that is very obvious in this picture: If you look at that image for a moment, you’ll get why there’s not a hope in hell Korean makkeoli-promoters are going to consider branding makkeoli as “rice beer” or “rice ale.”

Continue Reading

Hoptastic Brewday: Wonmisan Castle Black Wildling IPA (With Rowan Chadwick)

My friend Rowan flew back in to Korea sometime on Friday; by Saturday afternoon, he was brewing again already. Now that’s dedication! I invited him over to help me brew up my next beer, a “black IPA” (which may or may not end up being black) I’ve named Castle Black Wildling IPA in honor of a certain TV series Miss Jiwaku and I love. (Neither of us has read the books, though I’m sure we both will eventually.) In any case, I had a few concepts in mind for this beer: Brew up a Black IPA (also known as a …

Continue Reading