Readings You Might Have Missed

Food

To Cut Food Waste, Spain’s Solidarity Fridge Supplies Endless Leftovers.
I need this to be a thing I can contribute to, pronto. I always cook far, far too much. And I really hate food waste.

Beer

Waste Not, Want Not: 5 Ways Breweries Recycle Their Waste
I am endlessly fascinated by learning about what different breweries do in dealing with their waste streams. I think because it’s all such simple waste (water, grain, etc), and thus something I can see potential in and have some clue about how to reuse it. And probably because I know there’s some amazing potential for goodies in there.

Science

Building standards aren’t to blame for chilly offices
So what is? Because, at this point, we’ve all ready about how it’s sexism in building standards.… Continue reading →

Two Weeks of Links

I didn’t do links last Monday because something more important came up. So this week, instead of one link per section, you can have several! Except in the beer section, because the beer stuff I got these last couple of weeks somehow wasn’t my jam.

Food

Beyond Brothels: Farms And Fisheries Are Frontier Of Human Trafficking When Americans think about modern-day slavery, we typically tend to think of sexual slavery and movies like “Taken”. The reality is that trafficking is as much, if not more, about forced work of a non-sexual nature. Food is often produced under such conditions.

Europe’s Taste For Caviar Is Putting Pressure On A Great Lakes Fish. Lake Superior apparently has really adorable tiny fish that, in turn, have really delicious roe.… Continue reading →

Five Fascinating Links

Food: Whole Foods, Expensive Cheese, and the Dilemma of Cheap Prison Labor.

I had no idea public-private enterprises for prison labor use existed (again). It seems like a sticky situation, in that I can understand the arguments that this is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s definitely something for me to further mull over. And I’d love to know your thoughts on the matter, please.

A cheese board with built in cutlery. Alas, it won't help me cut through the ethical problems with so many cheeses.

Beer: The Defining Reason to Talk About Sam Adams Not Being ‘Craft’

“Craft” is a tricky word in the beer industry and in the beer community. You may have heard about (or participated in!) the debates around “craft vs ‘crafty’,” but the conversation seems to have died down some in the years since that press release was put out.… Continue reading →

Beer & Food Pairing: New Belgium Eric’s Ale & Smoked Pecans

While listening to the best speech at Beer Bloggers Conference, I was sipping a beer from that company. Specifically, Kim Jordan (co-founder and CEO) of New Belgium Brewing Company was giving the keynote address and I was sipping on Eric’s Ale. A few sips in I was diving into my bag for snacks. Not long after that, I was quietly demanding people sip and snack with me. (I even slipped one nice woman some pecans for later, since she wasn’t legally allowed to taste the beer while working the event.)

This comes about from reading, over on Getting Ready to Go, the packing list Matthew and Molly of Bub Gourmand shared. It’s from having been to beer bloggers con last year and knowing what it’s like (read: full of beer).… Continue reading →

Five Years. Holy Cow, Five Years.

I have been blogging for five years now. It’s kinda overwhelming to consider, honestly. I’ve published (as of this post) 508 posts, so theoretically a rate of 100 posts/year. Not too shabby.

Of course, there’ve been ups and downs. I basically took 2011 off, which wasn’t hot. But Steve from Drinking and Writing Theater once called my blog “the best beer blog in Chicago.” He was talking to someone else, even! He was sober at the time! So that gave me some serious ups.

I love this online space, and I plan to inhabit it a long time. That said, I also want to stretch my wings, so two things will be changing, a little. I’m going to start looking for more places to guest post at and I am launching a new blog, Getting Ready to Go.… Continue reading →