From the Editors (Issue 21)

The past few months have seen the world of beer turned on its head. For those living under a Rolling Rock, some of the biggest brewing companies in the world have agreed on a merger of unprecedented proportions, and craft pioneers like Lagunitas have entered into partnerships with big beer; moves that would have been unheard of just a few years ago are becoming the norm.

The times are changing as sure as the seasons, and we’re here to cover both. In this issue, we examine what it really means to be a big, or little brewer, while Jonathan Ingram investigates whether passion has a pricetag. And since we’re on the topic of price, check out some of the best beery Holiday gifts money can buy in our Twelve Days of Christmas-themed Beer Lover’s Gift Guide.

If the shopping has you dropping, pick yourself back up with Sherry Dryja’s perfectly curated Holiday hors d'oeuvres. Just add beer and cheer.

We’ll travel to England to take a tour of Long Man Brewery, imbibe the pristine atmosphere of Vermont, and take a heady excursion into the affairs of Europe’s finer brews and brewers.

And if you’ve been living under a Stone, you’ll feel right at home reading our Innovators Series, where Jay Brooks brings us the exclusive story of Stone co-founder and CEO Greg Koch, whose rock origins began long before his monolithic beer company.

On top of that, we’ve got another round of World Class beer reviews, along with Q&A’s with some of the industry’s most respected figures, including Boston Beer founder Jim Koch’s thoughts on his fabled flagship, Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

When it comes to beer, there can never be too many Kochs in the kitchen, and never too many brews in the fridge. We’ve got 120 Hot New Releases, ordered by region, for your perusal.

Sit back, grab a warming Tropical Stout (one of our featured Style Studies), and enjoy this 21^st issue of The Beer Connoisseur. Rather than carry on with everything we’ve got in here, we’ll let you see for yourself. After all, the thrill of discovery is one of the many wonderful facets to the prismatic world of beer.

Cheers!

Jim and Chris