"Just had a great time this afternoon at the Coddington Brewpub in Newport, RI. I was there for the Eastern Brewer's Society meeting, with guest speaker Horst Dornbusch of Dornbusch Alt fame. We got there a bit early, so I started out with a crisp, refreshing crystal weizen, a light-bodied malt and wheat accented brew with a touch of yeastiness in the finish. Perfect for the hot day today was. Next was a slightly nutty, dark malty Nut Brown Ale with a piny hop finish reminiscent of Brooklyn Brown or
Pete's Wicked Ale. Very tasty. The last Coddington beer I sampled before the Dornbusch began flowing was a malty, fruity, well balanced pale ale which was an excellent accompaniment to the French onion soup and calamari
I ordered.

Before Herr Dornbusch began speaking, I got to chat with him for awhile about the state of the microbrewing industry in Massachusetts, New England, and the country as a whole. It was interesting comparing our experiences at two different levels of the beer business, and we discovered we have a mutual interest in writing about beer, though Herr Dornbusch is a bit more advanced than me,  writing a book as opposed to my freelance writing for Yankee Brew News. As luck would have it, though, the latest issue of Yankee Brew News had arrived at Coddington, in which appears an article I wrote on Ringwood breweries, and it felt somewhat odd discussing the contributions of British brewers with a German-trained brewmaster.

In any event, Herr Dornbusch was a a bearer of bad and good news. When I asked him why the one-liter swingtops of his Alt and Gold had been so difficult to obtain lately, he explained that his Massachusetts distributor had dropped the brand. Furthermore, he described a bleak brewing scene in New England, where no one is making a profit and many breweries are overloaded with debt. He suspects this is the case with many craft brewers across the land, and expects a large shakeout to come.

The good news is that Dornbusch will be opening a brewpub next year, so Dornbusch Alt is not gone forever. He will also be offering a few new beers, including a schwarzbier. I'll just have to drive a bit further to get my Dornbusch fix. The other bit of good news is that Dornbusch has authored a book on the history of German brewing that will be out in
October. If it is even half as good as the excellent lecture he gave today on the same subject, it will be worth going out of your way looking for.