It’s hard to believe, but today is the two year anniversary of this blog.birthday beer

Man a lot has happened. I’ve met a ton of cool people, drank copious amounts of delicious beer, and even launched a business over at The Homebrew Academy.

To celebrate, I’m going to highlight the top posts from the blog. I didn’t celebrate the 1 year anniversary, which in a way is nice because it gives me 2 whole years of posts to choose from.

These are based on site stats, buzz in social media, and some of my favorites.

I hope you enjoy. Thanks to all my readers for making this thing fun and here’s to many more years of writing about the good stuff.

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QR code marketing is on the rise everywhere, but the beer industry has really taken off with it.

In the video I take a look at 5 different ways they are being used and walk you though each campaign’s experience.

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2011 is behind us and what an eventful year it was for beer. What will we see in 2012? Who the hell knows, but I’m going to give my predictions nonetheless.

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Untappd beer drinking smartphone app
Well, I’ve finally moved out of the Stone Age. I got a smartphone.

For being a pretty tech-savvy guy, it’s surprising that it took me this long to ditch the mini-fridge. I wish I did it sooner because this Galaxy Nexus is sweeeet.

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Beer Canvas BillyBrew Video


You drink good beer, now it’s time to decorate your house with it. So take down that blinking neon Busch Light sign and put up something classy.

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Craft of Stone BrewingBook
Brussels sprouts aren’t exactly “mouth watering.”

In fact, I’d be surprised if they’ve ever caused a mouth to water in their entire history. If they have, it’s probably because they were made with beer.

Stone Brewing has turned boring Brussels sprouts into something you actually want to eat by what else – infusing them with beer. Stone Pale Ale to be exact.

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Every now and then I do a contest for my newsletter readers where I ask them a question and the randomly selected winner gets a box of my homebrew mailed to them.

About a month ago we did a contest where I asked – “What are you drinking for Thanksgiving?”

It was still October so I wasn’t sure what the response would be. Would people have put any thought into what they’re drinking a month from now?

Rule #1 – Never doubt the resolve of craft beer drinkers.

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Beer Vending Machine at Arnold AgencyHave you heard about the tweeting, beer dispensing vending machine named Arnie?

In short, it’s for the employees of the Arnold advertising agency in Boston. Talk about a pleasant work environment.

As a beer geek, I wanted to find out more about the brews this thing is popping out. Below is a Q&A with Greg Murphy, the self described Social Media Manager and Resident Brew Master at Arnold Worldwide.

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It’s all about what’s in the bottle…right?

That’s the argument of us craft beer advocates. Forget the Superbowl commercials and prancing horses. Judge your beer on what actually matters – how it tastes.

It sounds logical, but our looney brains aren’t hardwired to make decisions based on utility alone.

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Without a doubt, this is my favorite time of year for seasonal brews.

Sure, we craft beer lovers are reveling in the party favorites like pumpkin beers and Oktoberfests. However, I’m most excited about the Wet Hop ales. Hops are harvested only once a year, around late Summer/early Fall, and many breweries take this time to celebrate the glorious hops by making special brews to honor the season.

Yes, as a devout “hop head” this is like my holiday! The terms fresh ale and harvest ale are often used interchangeably, but now I’m discovering that they can mean different things…

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