Beer2Buds Beer Blog

Calling all Beer Bloggers, Friends, Beer Lovers, Fans, Dogs, Cats, Trees and Rocks:

I need your help.

Pam sent her father, George, a gift for his birthday. We were fortunate enough that Pam chose us for her father’s special day.

Google said this was "George"

I don’t know George, but there are many like him, who deserve a beer for their birthday.

The Problem? George lives in Kansas City. We don’t yet have a Beer2Buds bar in Kansas City.

I pinged the twitterspere and facebooked my request for help finding bars in Kansas City. I got a few suggestions. Great. So I contacted those bars. I used Facebook and Twitter.  I got no response. (Update: I got one response – from Flyer Saucer – thanks guys! – now they just have to accept Beer2Buds)

George is thirsty.

I’m looking to pool together folks that can help give George a place to enjoy his beer.

• Any suggestions of bars I can contact in or around Kansas City?
• How can we make this process work better in the future? Is calling the bar really the only way? Even then, it’s just one person – me – trying to prove that they have customers waiting to go visit them to use Beer2Buds. They aren’t listening and they are missing out.  How can I use social media and you to reach them?

SudsyMaggie, beer blogger, just sent her friend a beer in PA. Thanks, Maggie! We want Maggie’s friend to be able to have a beer in a place they enjoy.

When you suggest a bar to Beer2Buds, we contact them. But I want the bars to hear from you, their customer, where you want to go to have your beer.

And I want to hear from the bars that they’re really using social media to connect with their customers!

Help me help George and the thousands like him. We made it easy to send a beer anywhere in the world and for a bar to sign up. Now all we need is your help reaching out to them.  And, help drinking a beer!

——-

Updates… some great people and friends are helping get the word out – but still nowhere for George to drink his beer:

A lot of discussion at the BBC11 about how to monetize your blog.

1. Advertising

Placing a banner on your site for a brewery, if the brewery is willing to pay for a banner on your site.

2. Beer Money

Isn’t this what it’s really about?

Q. But, how do you get beer money?

A. Add a beer widget to your site.  People who love your blog can contribute to your beer budget by sending you beer money that you can redeem at a Beer2Buds location.

Your information is kept confidential and the beer money is instantly sent to your account.   Contact me libby at beer2buds to get your widget.

The local authority on everybody’s favorite topic?  None other than Kendall Jones of the Washington Beer Blog.

You may have heard of him on Twitter at @beerblog.  Or perhaps you read about him recently as one of the top finalists in Saveur Magazine’s Best Wine/Beer Blog category for their 2011 Best Food Blog Awards.

Kendall has been a staple in the Seattle beer scene for many years, launching the ever-famous ‘Beer Church’ several years ago, and now one of the nation’s top bloggers and experts on beer.

Kendall – can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your blog, and your passion for beer?

“My passion for good beer started back in High School at the dawn of the 1980s when there was no craft beer industry in America. I have friends of English descent and, unlike my family’s refrigerator, their fridge was stocked with Guinness Stout, Watney’s Red Barrel, Bass Ale, and anything else they could find that reminded them of England. If I had to point to one beer that changed my life, it would be Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, which I drank for the first time in about 1982. Seriously, back then there was NO craft beer in America. Early craft breweries like Redhook, Grant’s Ales, and Sierra Nevada were in their infancy–just barely out of the womb.

I brewed my first batch of homebrew at my parents house when I was 18 years old, circa 1983. It was awful, but I didn’t give up and learned quickly. I brewed my own beer throughout my college years and for a few years thereafter. Two of my homebrew partners ended up going to work for Redhook in the mid to late 1980s. In part because of them, I began to make friends in the craft beer business–I started to become a bit of an “insider.’

Fast-forward to the early 1990s when there actually was a craft beer scene in America. By that time I’d become quite bored with the science of brewing beer in my kitchen. AND you could actually get decent beer at the pub. I attended every beer festival I could find and continued my lifelong quest for good beer. In 1998 I founded an organization called Beer Church. A simple concept, really: create ways for people to drink beer and raise money for charitable causes. Beer Church got me even more deeply into the world of craft beer.  As of today, Beer Church has raised just bit more than $100,000 for a variety of causes.

Professionally, it just so happens that I’m a writer. For some time, I created product marketing collateral for a very large software manufacturer. It was rewarding in some ways, but there was no passion for my subject matter. I also endured other software-related writing gigs. Painful. In 2007-2008 my wife and I set out to write a book about Washington beer. Essentially, a travel guide to Washington beer. We began working on the book but quickly realized we were shooting at a moving target. By the time we published it, the book would be outdated. That’s when we decided to do the blog. Good thing we did. When we set out to write the book, we wondered how we would ever manage to visit all ninety-something breweries in Washington. Less than three years later, there are 150 breweries spread out across the evergreen state.

My approach to blogging can be summed up in one word: focus. There are many blogs that talk about craft beer in general, but my blog focuses on Washington craft beer and the beer scene here in the state that I have always called home. Lucky for me, there is plenty to talk about. My goal is to keep people (in Washington and away from Washington) informed about what is happening on the Washington beer scene. After all, Washington is one of the places where the whole craft beer thing started back in the early 1980s, which conveniently is when my love affair with the stuff began.”

Great story, Kendall.  You are a pioneer and one of the first lovers and creators of quality craft beer in Washington State – cheers to you!  Also we raise our glasses to you for the work you’ve done with Beer Church.  We have been lucky to have been involved in a few of your events and we highly commend you for all of your grass roots charitable efforts – especially around the earth’s greatest gift, beer.

Here’s how to reach Kendall:

The Washington Beer Blog

One of the best week’s of the year is here – American Craft Beer Week.

Over 1,700 craft breweries are honored this week and all 50 states are participating in this year’s growing craft beer celebration.

Places holding American Craft Beer week celebrations include:  Seattle, Chicago, Long Island, Minnesota, and San Antonio.  See full list.

To view the list of events, go to the CraftBeer.com website or click here.

A big toast and thanks goes out to all of the craft breweries for making our taste buds burst and our heads feeling hoppy!

Craig Reed is Brewing Some Fun!

Q. Tell us about yourself, Craig –

1. I am a blogger for brewingsomefun.com, a community of craft beer enthusiasts devoted to increasing the awareness and understanding of the beer industry. We have people from all over the country on this blog, which allows us to provide local regional news that otherwise would go unnoticed.

Q.  I love that people come from all over the country.  What specifically do you blog about?

I blog on anything Northwest related. From beer reviews of local breweries and local craft beer festivals, to craft beer bars and beer reviews and information. We love anything beer related, and don’t limit ourselves on topics we blog about. After all, beer culture is interesting!

Q.  Agreed.  Beer culture is even more interesting if you have a beer while you blog!  Share with us a recent entry or topic you wrote about:

Most recent blog entry on “What is Cask Beer?”

http://brewingsomefun.com/2011/04/27/beerreviews/what-is-cask-beer/

Q.  This is always the toughest question – what is your favorite beer and why?

I have so many favorite beers that it is hard to nail down just one beer, let alone one style. I love trying new beers all the time so this is a difficult question. I am without a doubt a major IPA fan. One of my more recent favories is the Harmon Commencement Bay Double IPA found locally here in Tacoma, WA, but also loved Pyramid’s seasonal Outburst Imperial IPA as well. There are just too many beers to rattle off, and now I’m on the spot. 

I was born and raised here in the Pacific Northwest so I have been engulfed in a strong beer culture for a very long time. Between Seattle and Portland (what many consider the craft beer capital of the nation) there are so many bars and breweries to check out (a great problem to have!).

Q.  I’m a hop head too.  I agree, there are so many to choose from.  Can you tell us how to contact you?

Please follow me on Twitter at @bestcraftbeer or check me out on Facebook as well. Cheers!

Q. Tell us about yourself, about your blog and why you started blogging:

The Official Beer Wench Avatar if you will, created by Brian Walline our Master of all Things Corporate Branding in Art Fashion

E.T. Crowe:  the self-described A2 (Ann Arbor) Beer Wench is part owner and Marketing/Distributor Relations Director of the Wolverine State Brewing Co. (www.wolverinebeer.com under construction).   Brewer of “The Most Drinkable Beers in Michigan” the Wolverine State Brewing is a lager-centric company, founded in 2006 by a couple of white-collar dudes who brewed beer in their basement for fun.  (old story, yeah I know)  ”Wolverine Beer” (since re-named Wolverine Premium Lager) was contract brewed for three years and I was asked to join the company in 2008 to make it “for real”.  We opened the doors of our 10bbl commercial brewery and 2000 square foot Tap Room in November 2011 and haven’t looked back since.  We anticipate having 3 bottled products on store shelves by January 2012.

The “Beer Wench” was born out of a desire to tell our story, before there was much to tell, by chronicling my craft beer journey and our story of opening a small business, specifically one that involves having to obtain a liquor license—through ups, downs, sideways and in between, the adventure struck a chord with a lot of reader/followers.  I’ve since expanded to include beer descriptions/ beer schools (our upcoming ones), and a “She Said/He Said” series begun with Fred Bueltmann, the marketing owner at New Holland Brewing, and my personal guru.

I’m personally dedicated to the concept that women have lots of business being in this world with the guys.  I’m going to speaking at several “women in the beer biz” type dinners/tastings and such and have just planned my first ever “Ladies ONLY Tap Room Night” in June–come as you are, taste, learn, laugh, get a mani/pedi, or a mini massage, read some steamy books,  or just ogle the hot men I will hire to serve us.  Hell yes. I’ve pre-sold 20 tickets and just came up with the idea yesterday!

Q. Can you point us to some recent posts that you’d like to highlight:

A recent post was the opening salvo of the “She Said/He Said” series which will switch back and forth between mine and Fred’s Blogs.  We will also be filming a “She’s Right/He’s Wrong” (or something to that effect) tasting session in July at the Michigan Summer Beer Festival which brings something like 30,000 people to a park over 2 days to partake of some of the Michigan’s 83 (and growing) brewing company’s offerings.  It’s here:

http://www.a2beerwench.com/2011/04/womans-place-or-she-saidhe-said-part.html

One that was a sort of “day to day drudgery of owning a business” post that got lots of play was this one:

http://www.a2beerwench.com/2011/03/gettin-down-and-dirty-or-little-toilet.html

and one that was on the requested topic of “how does Wench feel about adjuncts” I’m pretty proud of:

http://www.a2beerwench.com/2011/04/dont-put-that-in-my-beer-or-in-defense.html

And finally my 2011 April Fool’s post was a hit:

http://www.a2beerwench.com/2011/04/craft-brewing-world-is-in-total-uproar.html

I get most of my comments on Facebook via the “notes” section because I’ve linked the blog to my Facebook profile…but more are Always Welcome.

Q. What’s your favorite beer and why?

From my Own Company I have 2:

1.  District 16 Vienna Amber Lager–because it is an amazing blend of color, flavor and subtle-ness in a classic Vienna lager style that makes me want to kiss my brewer on the lips every time I taste it.

2.  The Insolent Mink IPA–an amazing in your face assortment of hops (4 of them), all American, and with one of the bad-assed names you can imagine since we are a company named after a Wolverine.  I’m a hop head.  Through and through.  So my Tap Room staff (bless them) pours me one every time they see me coming.

From others I keep a supply of:

We checked in with Tiffany Adamowski, beer store shopkeeper, beer blogger, beer drinker, and licensed and certificated beer server and asked her to tell us about her blog and what she writes about. Here’s what she had to say—

I’m currently working on two blogs, one for our beer store and the other about my life with beer.

The 99 Bottles blog focuses on things relevant to the store and those who shop there. I’ve been putting a lot of stuff on the store’s facebook page or in The Weekly Brews enewsletter, rather than blogging. I’m working on getting better about posting there.

99 Pours – This is a blog about my beer lifestyle. It’s not always for the faint of heart, as you’ll sometimes get an occasional glimpse into the horrors related to working in retail (e.g., ‘treats’ left behind by customers — and I don’t mean good things). There, I talk about beers I’m enamored with and give recaps of things I’ve drank accompanied by notes relating to the ups-and-downs of life. This is “my notebook,” per se, so you’ll also get glimpses into how I chose to do certain pairings that are featured on the store’s blog.

I also seasonally blog for Hop Scotch Spring Festival and Fremont Oktoberfest.

Q: Tell us about a most recent post you’d like us to link to—

Apparently I have a special gift of writing great “beer porn,” or so I’ve been told. Here’s a recent post on my obsession with New Belgium’s Le Terroir from their Lips of Faith Series. To-date, I’ve drank five bottles.

http://99pours.com/2011/03/pour-me-another-le-terroir

However, as Easter is just around the corner, maybe I should share this one:

www.99bottles.net/blog/2011/04/22/beer-with-easter-dinner

Q: What’s your favorite beer and why?

That’s like asking a mother which is their favorite child, a meteorologist their favorite cloud,… Unfair question! Actually, I get asked that all the time and every time I stumble on it. I am very much a mood-oriented drinker so have many favorites — and I keep discovering new beers.

A fair question would be “What have you been revisiting lately?” That’s easier to answer: Silver City Fat Woody, Epic Ales Solar-Trans Amplifier, Maui Big Swell IPA, and, of course, Le Terroir. Oh, and then there’s the Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Eggs paired with my gateway beer, Lindemans Framboise.

Beer2Buds as you know is a service that sends REAL beers to friends.  But did you know that from our Facebook app you can also send VIRTUAL beers?  The virtual beers are branded with some of your favorite local brews.

Here’s how you can send a virtual beer (to send a real beer, you first need to add beer money to your account).  Go to apps.facebook.com/buyaround.  Click Allow and you will find the following screen:

Click on any of your favorite taps.   Click here to suggest a tap to us.

Enter your friend’s name (Facebook says you must be friends in order to send) and enter a message.  For the dollar amount, leave it at zero $0.00, or virtual, so there is no cost.  No cost coincidentally means no real beer.

Virtual taps allow you to send a Facebook-only beer to enjoy memories and not real suds. For real beer, select a dollar amount or visit Beer2Buds on the web or iPhone.  (Note: For real beer, you would add funds and it does not guarantee the beer you selected is what you get – check the bar’s specific offers as it varies state to state).

Your friend enjoys a note from you with their favorite beer.   You both enjoy a virtual Facebook toast.  Cheers!

They said it on right on their site – they combine “two of the most awesome things of all time – beer and videogames” – what more could you ask for?

These east coast beer lovers tell us what beer goes best with which video game…. finally, you don’t have to guess! Along with that, they share tips and great stories.

These guys are fun and I can’t wait to toss back a beer with them. Over a video game. Come to think of it maybe their strategy is the more I drink the more times they win? Good plan. Either way, cheers to the BeerAndVideoGames.com guys and a happy Beer Friday to all!

Happy Beer Friday and a warm welcome to our first Featured Beer Blogger!  This week we’re featuring Sodakbeer’s Blog.

From the desert of South Dakota, Dale Miskimins shares with us great beer reviews and tells us what brews are new to South Dakota and where to find them.  Dale tells us about the events, including tastings, describes the beers he tastes, and who the brewers and representatives are.

If you want to know anything about beer in South Dakota, Dale is the guy.