Beth Demmon

“It’s very American to have our identities completely driven by our professions,” says Julia Herz.
Herz is both familiar with the concept as well as representative of it. For over 16 years, she was an integral part of the Brewers Association, and for 13 of those years, she served as the face of its craft beer programming. Her responsibilities included writing and publishing content for CraftBeer.com, helping update bylaws and codes like the 2017 Marketing and Advertising Code, presenting at n...

Disasters have long served as a catalyst for communities to coalesce around a common goal. In depriving us of the connection we’re used to, COVID-19 has forced us to find and construct those communities in new ways.

In so doing, the virus has also shone an unflinching spotlight on society’s racist and inequitable structures and systems. Recent civic uprisings across the country—and the wider world—make plain the urgency of the need for change. Now is the time to confront all the ways that whi...

The Time is Now
“Community” is a word that has become clichéd in craft beer. Its overuse suggests that the industry’s culture is broadly warm, inclusive, and accepting—that it’s true that “beer brings people together.”
But that notion of “community” is being called into question—particularly as it becomes clear that few breweries are taking the time to understand who it is they’re welcoming and who remains stuck on the outside looking in. Since COVID-19 has prompted new calls for “community s...

Lest any business owners still have reservations about the urgency of creating a more equitable beer industry, know that working towards inclusivity is not just a moral imperative—it’s a financial one, too. Ignoring this reality isn’t just ethically bankrupt; it may well be bankrupting.
As the craft brewing industry reaches maturity, the meteoric growth in production volume that characterized previous decades has leveled off. However, up until the arrival of COVID-19, new brewery additions re...

No two days are the same for Danii Oliver. She’s the owner and brewer at Brooklyn’s Island to Island Brewery as well as a homeschooling mother of two. Like many parents who are also small business owners, Oliver’s life isn’t neatly separated into “work” and “family,” which means her kids are beside her every step of the way.
“My children are my coworkers. They are where I am,” explains Oliver. “Breweries are classrooms. They are laboratories. They are places where people come together.”
She l...

“Sometimes you want to go / Where everybody knows your name / And they're always glad you came / You want to be where you can see / Our troubles are all the same / You want to be where everybody knows your name.”

The theme song from Cheers has never quite landed the way it does now—weeks into COVID-19-induced quarantines, when imposed isolation has deepened into deprivation. Following its sudden arrival several months ago, the virus has since brought the entire world to a collective halt. Wit...

For the Eat the World feature in Saveur's "Growers" issue.
"Overshadowed by high-end viticulture, the art of growing hops for beer might not always get the recognition it deserves."

An in-depth look into the hard kombucha trend and its history, along with national recommendations for the June 2020 issue of EatingWell Magazine.

The bartenders at KINDRED, a heavy metal-themed vegan restaurant in San Diego, CA, are just as likely to be found brandishing blowtorches at garnishes as they are painstakingly arranging flower petals atop neon-hued tropical concoctions. Today, it’s increasingly common for appearances to eclipse taste in order to achieve that perfect picture to cherish forever—or at least until your Instagram story expires.

The Women’s Beer Forum, hosted by Los Angeles-based Eagle Rock Brewery, is the latest victim in a long line of so-called “gender-based discrimination” lawsuits initiated by various men’s rights activists (MRAs), who are lashing out events and promotions designed for women.

San Diego beer prides itself on its history of breaking boundaries, setting high bars for quality, and cultivating a community unlike any other. But despite these accolades, well-earned as they may be, we as an industry have forgotten, ignored, downplayed, or even defended the problematic history of our region.
Like the entirety of the United States, San Diego occupies land stolen from Indigenous people, including bands from the Mission Indians and Kumeyaay Nation. Southern California’s well-...

Participant in a group of audio vignettes outlining a visceral, visual description of beer as part of the Good Beer Hunting podcast network.

An "Out Loud" feature for Good Beer Hunting's podcast: live reading of “Witch (Craft) Beer — How a New Wave of Brewers are Incorporating Magic into Beer,” published on Good Beer Hunting’s website on October 31, 2019.

Responsible consumption in a time of crisis is possible. Frankly, it might be a little necessary. So let’s get the bad news out of the way: it’s too late to hit the bar. Even if your local watering hole is still open and operating at a reduced capacity, pubs are petri dishes of potential community spread. It’s time to embrace the best place in the world to drink—at home.
Now for the good news! It’s not too late to grab some beer to-go. Most San Diego breweries have adjusted their operations t...