Our friends at the North Bay Business Journal (owned by the same people, located across the hall from the PD) have an interesting list this week: the region's breweries ranked by size. They list the 14 craft breweries they could identify and get information out of and the results give [...]
Being that this is IPA Day and all, the Twittersphere is alive with discussions of Best IPAs and the like (including some dissenting opinions, such as this one, suggesting that we celebrate IPA Day by drinking some other kind of beer). Writer and beer lover (and former Northern Californian) John [...]
I'm not sure that Craft Brew's most popular style really needs a day of commemoration, but it has one anyway. And that's today - IPA Day. Ashley Routson, also known as The Beer Wench (@TheBeerWench for you Twitterheads), explains that today is a day to share your stories, pictures and [...]
Is there any craft beer list left in the universe that doesn't rank Lagunitas and Russian River somewhere near the top? Anyone? I didn't think so. Website The Daily Meal recently quizzed its readers on the best American craft brew outfits and, perhaps unsurprisingly, our two locals showed up on [...]
Beer won't necessarily make you fat, but there is no arguing with the fact that it adds calories to your diet, from 100 or so per bottle for the lightest of beers, to 400 or more for the big thick monsters that the extreme beer craze of the late '90s [...]
Russian River Brewing is among a dozen smaller craft brewers nationwide chosen by craft big-boy Sierra Nevada for a collaboration in 2014 to celebrate the Chico-based brewery's planned opening of a new East Coast plant. The idea is that the 12 brewers will come to Chico to work with Sierra [...]
Lagunitas Brewing is rarely in a position to get kicked around, partly because of its size and partly because of the larger-than-life personality of founder Tony Magee, but the brewery had to back down this week after an Atlanta-based brewery demanded that it stop using the term "420" on [...]
As you have certainly noticed, beer companies have a long and not entirely dignified history of employing (or exploiting) breasts to sell their products in ads. Since 2000, however, some breweries have turned this partnership to a more noble cause, this time exploiting beer to help breasts, or at least [...]
In June we brought you the story of the Economic Development Board's look at the effect of beer, cider, and spirits on Sonoma County's economy (summary: not nearly as much as wine, but not insignificant. $123 million per year). One thing we didn't bring you, in large part because this [...]
Sonoma County brewers made a powerful showing on the top 50 beers of 2013 list in the latest issue of the American Homebrewers Association magazine Zymurgy (that’s the fancy name for brewing). Number 1 was, for the fifth straight year, Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, which already sits [...]
A resident of Santa Rosa for most of his life, Peter Lopez Jr., 34, has taken over the duties of beer blogger for the Press Democrat. He has been a part of the beer and wine industry for almost his entire adult life and brings a wealth of knowledge. Currently Peter is a partner at the Healdsburg Emporium where he does the beer and wine purchasing. He is also the wine 
buyer at Fircrest Market in Sebastopol and the administrator of the NorCal Beer Geeks group on Facebook.
Beer is a big business in this part of the world, with some of the best and most sought-after brews made right in our own back yard. But too often that beer culture is hidden behind the iconic wine industry that defines the region. The Beer Country blog will bring you news and notes about our local brew scene, and maybe a little about cider while we’re at it. Have news, ideas, or questions that need answering? Drop a line in the comments section of the blog or email us at info@pressdemocrat.com