Did you ever wonder whether there are beer bloggers?

 

By David McClelland

 

I was not familiar with this type of blogger, but while vacationing in Florida, I read an article in the November 18^th Sarasota-Manatee Herald Tribune that said that, not only do beer bloggers exist, and lot of them, but that they are organized and hold conferences.

 

The most recent conference was in Bolder Colorado on November 5-7. It was the 2010 International Beer Bloggers & Online Media Conference. The article said it was well attended and that one blogger was there from England to meet to learn and to share.

 

If you haven't been served a beer in England, I can tell you that they serve them at room temperature unless you are astute enough to ask for an "iced lager." I'll bet that his blogs are all served warm.

 

At this beer bloggers conference were four categories of attendees: Citizen bloggers who write about beer or the beer industry; Industry bloggers who write a blog related to their brewery or other beer industry business; News media innovators  who work in the world of blogging and social media; and Beer industry members who want to learn about new media or to interact with the bloggers in attendance.

 

The writer, Alan Shaw, who calls himself "Beer Geek," sampled one beer that cost $750 per bottle. It was made by a Scottish brewer and is called Bulldog's The End of History. It contained 55% alcohol. That's right, was 110 proof beer. I think one would be plenty.

 

Shaw said the brewer made only a few bottles of Bulldog's a year and that it came packaged inside a taxidermied weasel. I can imagine wanting to sample such a brew, but I wonder just how many bottles the brewer is able to sell at that price.

 

Next year, the beer bloggers will hold two conferences: One in Portland, Oregon and one in London. You'd better get your reservations in early. For more, you can contact Shaw at:            Alan.shaw@heraldtribune.com