iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 1h

Engagement opportunity for historians/humanists in western Washington 👇

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 1h

That's a relief, because I just signed up to present in the spring!

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 1h

Expand history in a broader Humanities effort and it'll be all the easier.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 1h

Every history grad program should be operating a series like these with the local community. It's great experience for grad students and the community is INTERESTED! Not a hard lift (or cost) for a grad student association. I started Purdue's in 2017 and it's still going.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 2h

These are shockingly easy to start. Basically just needs a handshake between some grad students and a local brewery/bar. I created my own, History on Tap Lafayette (Purdue), in 2017. Still running via the current grad students. Historians gotta stop letting scientists have all the fun.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 03/10/2026

It has definitely reached a critical mass!

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 03/10/2026

Me in Chicago: I'd like a slice of pizza. Server: That comes with three sides. Me in Chicago: Lousy shrinkflation...

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 03/10/2026

I know I'm the oddball here, but I really don't get the appeal of Instagram.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 01/10/2026

If only I was in a position to move...and it was 9 years in the past 😉

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Timothy J Lombardo @timothyjlombardo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

My department is hiring! Come work with me or help spread the word to those who might be interested in doing so networks.h-net.org/jobs/70266/u...

networks.h-net.org

University of South Alabama - Assistant Professor in Early U.S./Public History | H-Net

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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026

Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.

wisn.com

Skydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airport

Four people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 25/09/2026

Plywood. I still have to seal them and add brackets for the stakes

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 25/09/2026

The joke headstones were always my favorite as a kid.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 25/09/2026

New additions my Halloween graveyard this year.

Photo of two fake headstones for a Halloween graveyard, made of painted plywood. The epitaph on one is "The WiFi down here sucks" and the other says "Your Ad Here," but then I painted "HE" in red next to the "Ad," so that it reads "Your Head Here."

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David Berg @bergbrew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The Brewer's Association once again showing they don't really care about brewers. Paying the fine of a millionaire, while charging $200 per entry for GABF

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 24/09/2026

I know it's currently the final days of September, but breweries in 2026 should not be starting off their email newsletter with "The final days." Turns out I can get really sad before I get to the fifth word of a sentence.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 24/09/2026

Usually my 1300 word drafts oops their way into 2500 word drafts.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 23/09/2026

The janky, ponderous title is how you know it's academic.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 23/09/2026

I've Got a Bad Feeling About This: The Role of Instinct in Pivotal Moments in Galactic History

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David Nilsen @davidnilsenbeer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I was super excited to write about one of my favorite breweries for @pelliclemag.com - Off Color in Chicago!

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

Löwenbräu would never do such a thing...again.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

Technical issues (it was a podcast). I tried taking it to another outlet but it was just too late in the season.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

Ahhh! I have a whole project on this that was due to come out, but the publisher just killed it. I can't fit it into a thread. Suffice to say Jackson was a factor, but one of many. There's a lot of history there!

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

For sure, I mean his influence on international perceptions of what a "proper" Oktoberfest is.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

as tainted because of it? I honestly don't know. Does a 30% stake that seems (so far I know) mostly oriented around accessing international markets strip Hacker-Pschorr and Paulaner of all authenticity? Augustiner, though, seems totally legit!

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

I see what you're saying, but so many complications to that narrative have emerged over the years. Hofbräu and Löwenbräu, as I undertand it, have been seen as tourist brands by locals for decades (and long before L's buyout). AB-Inbev does have a rep for meddling, but do *Bavarians* see Spaten...

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

I guess what I mean is that concerns about independence, et al, are a fairly recent cultural phenomenon, and just haven't seemed to factor into a small-c conservative, slow-changing event like Oktoberfest.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

On the other end, Munich breweries (not always the official Oktoberfest ones) were happy to flatten and romanticize the fest and its beer abroad, because it helped sales. Löwenbrau was particularly active about this.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

Jackson lionized the Märzen and grudgingly acknowledged the shift toward Festbier that was clearly underway when he was writing. So it wasn't about style diversity for him. And if he had any reason for the choice beyond simply liking Märzen and its story better, I haven't found it.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

(b/c I just wanna gab now 😆) But on a broader (read: beyond Munich) scale, beer fans have *helped* Oktoberfest's dogmatic nature by essentializing it. Michael Jackson wrote as if there was only one acceptable Oktoberfest style, and clearly disdained acknowledging any deviation from it.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

It certainly seems true that Oktoberfest beers have gotten more dogmatic in recent decades, but I'm not sure that's because of astroturfing (I think the static beer styles came long after the static brewery "cabal", right?) And Giesinger should 💯 be allowed in!

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

To be clear, I'm not trying to criticize @blat.at for their post, just engaging in conversation.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 21/09/2026

All true, but I personally don't feel like it's a big deal? Oktoberfest has been a "top-down" event since its very inception, and wielded by monied/political interests for most of its existence. Its appeal lies in a vague claim to tradition, sure, but not grassroots organization or independence.

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

When the powerful playact powerlessness it is always a ploy to avoid accountability.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 20/09/2026

Of pish posh, surely there's no problem we can't shop our way out of.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My new book is finally out! A short, readable overall history of beer tracing the long lines in the development of beer. Seeing history like that inevitably brings out an overlooked side of the history of beer: beer as a source of massive power. Please repost! www.garshol.priv.no/download/pow...

garshol.priv.no

The Power of Beer

Personal site of Lars Marius Garshol.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 20/09/2026

Toasting Oktoberfest old style (but not Old Style) and new style (that's not all really new).

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Andreas Krennmair @akrennmair.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Oktoberfest started today in Munich, so here are my #beerhistory blog posts about its history: 1. the scandal of the first giant Oktoberfest tent: how a restaurateur from outside Munich ignored the authorities and established what is Oktoberfest nowadays. dafteejit.com/2026/03/the-...

dafteejit.com

The Scandal of Oktoberfest's First Giant Tent - Daft Eejit Brewing

In which I wrote about how the first large tent at Oktoberfest came to be, and why it was a scandal for the Oktoberfest restaurateurs at the time.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 19/09/2026

Last year I visited Coleman and asked about this on a whim. What difference *do* fresh hops really make in a beer? I got a "funny you should ask" and a hint they were looking into it with some folks at OSU. This looks like what they were doing. I'm captivated. Must read.

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Historic Beer Ads @beerpuffery.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Oktoberfest kicks off in Munich today, and reminded me that still hadn't looked up the 2026 poster design! Instant favorite. For me it evokes the dazzling, sense-inflaming, nighttime carnival glow of the event. A vibe not broached since 2005 (yes I checked, shut up). Artist: Florian Huber

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Discontinued FoOoOods! 👻🎃 @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Budweiser Discovery Reserve (2019-2019): A red ale brewed with Voyager barley grains, it featured notes of toffee, a subtle hoppiness, and a sharp finish. It was made using an archival recipe from the late 60's, and released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing

A six pack of brown stubby bottles in a box bearing a red, greyish-white and blue color scheme and vaguely spaceship-esque design on the label

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 19/09/2026

If you were involved then you should email the authors and ask for a copy. Most scholars are happy to share, and they most likely aren't seeing any of that $64 anyway.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 19/09/2026

This is stunning (and my first Art History beer)

Photo of a can of Art History's Artoberfest fall seasonal, next to a half liter stein glass filled with said beer.

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 19/09/2026

I'm also down for a fresh hop vs. kiln hop Pepsi Challenge any day (except not rigged, preferably).

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 19/09/2026

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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 17/09/2026

The theft line is getting traction but the doom loop aspect is critical too. AI's promise is to replace the human contributions (we aren't a content supply chain, guy) it needs to stay viable. Either it dies or it burns the information ecosystem down, chokes on its ashes, and dies anyway.

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Jason Kint @kint.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Eye popping. Court just unsealed Summary Judgment motions in New York Times v OpenAI / Microsoft. Easy to see why the AI companies had so many redactions (pink). Their own people wrote the lede for NYT, the "largest theft of labor in human history"... "more and more substitutive..." /1

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