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Joe Stange

@thirstypilgrim.bsky.social
370 followers 138 following 142 posts

Executive editor, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, Brewing Industry Guide, and Spirits & Distilling. Based in Seoul, for now. Digital nomad, kinda, and since before that was even a thing, but it’s not my fault.

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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Hop Bucha for the world
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
But my laptop has no USB slot now, only USB-C, so I guess that way is kinda antiquated.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
My current preferred way to interview people these days is via carrier pigeons that clutch thumb drives with audio files on them.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
I worked on much of the previous edition from Costa Rica. The real and true reason is that Craft Beer & Brewing basically takes up all my time these days, so I couldn’t reliably be helpful for this one. But we knew Tim S would knock it out of the park.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Grilling/smoking season never ends at our house, so it never restarts, either. But there are absolutely certain weekends when we celebrate it even more. Happy Korean Buddha’s Birthday Weekend!
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Mad respect for those who are still doing it successfully, and there are many of those, too.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
From a selfish consumer’s standpoint, the beer is great these days, and you can find almost any niche you want to find. Salad days for enthusiasts. But is it sustainable? Margins grow thin, costs and prices still going up. Glad I don’t have to run a brewing business myself. It’s fucking hard.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Cause or effect?
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
the world is going to shit but hey, the beer just keeps getting better
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
media.tenor.com
a black and white photo of a man in a suit and hat pointing at something .
ALT: a black and white photo of a man in a suit and hat pointing at something .
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Yes, chimaek 100% gets a pass.
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Daniel Köning @silentdan.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
hey @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social super cool to read about Mendos Fogbelt! I was in Ukiah working in 2011/2015, it was pretty sad to see the whole brewing heritage in the Golden Triangle vanish. We always talked about restarting Ukias Brewery, as a german-us team! // @craftbeerbrew.bsky.social
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
If I could get Korean brewpubs and taprooms to understand one thing, it is this: You do not have to serve burgers, wings, and/or pizza. You do not.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Now that I have reading glasses, I want to always wear a strap to hang them around my neck. And cardigans. And a scrutinizing countenance.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Northbound Eisbock out of Minneapolis was a 2024 GABF gold medal winner when we wrote about it last year. Then (ope) it won gold again. Here’s how they do it, including the doppelbock recipe that gets all froze up and whatnots. Links in there with more details. www.beerandbrewing.com/recipe-north...
beerandbrewing.com
Recipe: Northbound Doppelbock... and Eisbock
From Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub in Minneapolis, here’s a recipe for their Doppelbock that won gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup—and that beer also was the basis for their Eisbock, which won gold at...
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Need those Northeast breweries to make more noise and get out the vote next year.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
You can also listen to a thing! Wallow in our descriptors. www.beerandbrewing.com/podcast-epis...
beerandbrewing.com
Podcast Episode 445: The Best in Beer 2025 Special, Featuring the Stories Behind the Picks
In this once-a-year episode, Jamie Bogner and Joe Stange share Craft Beer & Brewing’s Best 20 Beers in 2025, as selected by our judges and editorial team—plus, the results of our Readers’ Choice surve...
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Best in Beer 2025 issue drop! This is kinda like our Christmas. Go dive in over at beerandbrewing.com.
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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 13/11/2025
House just passed the bill, which as expected still contains the de facto ban on THC, to take place 365 days from enactment. Government is soon to reopen; the $28-billion hemp-derived THC business is on the clock and fighting for its life.
clerk.house.gov
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Granted, lots going on in the news. But the deal to end the shutdown includes a provision that would ban (close the loophole on) hemp-derived THC—a rather popular $30 billion industry—and the mainstream news outlets have barely caught a whiff of it.
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Evan Rail @evanrail.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Irish whiskey is in a weird place — and new US tariffs sure don’t help. For @vinepair.com, I talked to distillers, fans & insiders about Irish whiskey’s path forward. That includes growing sales in places like Poland, now the #2 market for Irish whiskey after the US. vinepair.com/articles/iri...
vinepair.com
The U.S. Put Irish Whiskey Back on the Map. Now the Category Has to Evolve.
The next time you’re ordering a cocktail in Warsaw, Berlin, or Lagos, consider making it a Tipperary or an Irish Coffee: Recently, exports from Ireland to Poland, Germany, Nigeria, and other emerging whiskey scenes have soared. Those new(ish) markets represent a much-needed spot of good news for Irish whiskey — and an example of how the country’s distillers are finding workable solutions in a difficult era.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
One of the very few times I look down my beer-dude nose at wine people is when they're trying to pair it with spicy wings.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Fellas, seems like a good day to remind y'all to NOT burn any witches. Magic's not real. Those are just ladies!
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
all this for gold-plated shitters, wild
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Likewise, Joel!
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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
What are the names of the U.S. Navy officers carrying out these orders to serially bomb civilian boats that pose no threat to their own vessels, killing everyone aboard? Surely they’ll want to take personal credit for this honorable service and perhaps wear a little campaign medal on their chest.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Lush export India porter, on cask, at Machine House in Seattle
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
This is a fantastic beer with a mental yeast blend. So, definitely check it out if you’re into stuff like fantastic beers and mental yeast blends. beerandbrewing.com/recipe-halfw...
beerandbrewing.com
Recipe: Halfway Crooks Sanguine
From Shawn Cooper and Joran Van Gingerachter of Atlanta’s Halfway Crooks, here’s a recipe for their own “brewer’s beer”—a dry, bitter, quenching pale ale packed with Belgian-grown hops and accentuated...
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
There’s a fairly dumb structural reason why we’d probably never expand the House like that: The actual chamber at the Capitol isn’t big enough.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Constitutional amendment to require all states to adopt data-driven, nonpartisan redistricting process. AI spits out maps; technocrats and/or judges narrow it down to maybe 5. Each political party rank-orders their preferences, high score wins. In a tie, flip a coin. Stuck with it for a decade.
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Brookston @brookston.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Beer in Art #1614 The Guitarist, by Hermann Kern, c. late 19th century (Austria, Slovakia)
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
TIL that Korean has its own portmanteau for the combo of fried chicken and beer—chimaek (치맥), for chikin + maekju. Now ready to die for these people.
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Steven L Clark @steven-l-clark.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
beerandbrewing.com/style-school...
beerandbrewing.com
Style School: Get to Know Modern Chicha
Forget the chewing and the spitting. The Americas’ most important indigenous beer is alive and well today, connecting old traditions with curious drinkers.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Interesting tidbit from Gallup (via Mark Brown newsletter) on the drop in self-reported alcohol consumption.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
🎶 won't you take me to ...
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
It's divisive. I love it. My son hates it. But he’s also a teenager who bitches about pineapple on pizza, so what the fuck does he know?
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Cool. You running?
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Will the hotel industry speak out on this one? Restaurants? Bars? www.cnn.com/2025/08/04/p...
cnn.com
State Department may require visa applicants to post bond of up to $15,000 to enter the US | CNN Politics
The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many...
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Andreas Krennmair @akrennmair.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Yesterday was an absolute bucket list day, when I got to visit Brauerei Zehendner in Mönchsambach 30 min south-west from Bamberg together with @louisekrennmair.bsky.social, @johnzee7.bsky.social, @silentdan.bsky.social, @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social and the rest of our Stammtisch crew.
A bunch of people standing in front of a brewery kettle in the Mönchsambacher brew house.Joe, Ben and Daniel standing in front of a few fermenters that are about twice as tall as they are. The fermenters have a perspex cover but are otherwise open so that there's no top pressure."Kufenbier" finishing fermenting. Private customers can bring their own casks, get it filled with beer that just finished fermenting, get a slight secondary fermentation going and then they can lager it at home and drink it as young or matured as they like.A bottle of Mönchsamber Bock, barrel-aged in  wine barrels (Pinot Noir or Chardonnay), with a small beer glass partially filled with that beer next to it. It tasted of Bockbier, with a slightly fruity, vinous and faintly bretty note.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
I wonder if (relatively) higher beer prices are also contributing to Hobbybrauen in Germany? And it does seem (anecdotally, to me) that craft beer is slightly more scarce than it was in 2019.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
IMO the company is a marvel when it comes to character and quality at that scale.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Why should I trust AI with anything when autocorrect continues to insert apostrophes into my possessive “its”?
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
If I try to look something up on Instagram—like, actually try to find a specific photo or piece of information from there—there’s maybe a 90% chance I'll completely forget what I was looking for.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
And for our subscribers, here’s a lager recipe from Accra’s Heritage Brewing. The bulk of the fermentables are corn grits and cassava starch (which get a nudge from an exogenous alpha-amylase enzyme). beerandbrewing.com/recipe-herit...
beerandbrewing.com
Recipe: Heritage Chop Life Lager
From Accra’s Heritage Brewing, Ghana’s first modern brewpub, comes this recipe for their flagship lager—technically an ale, but cleanly fermented—featuring local maize and cassava as the bulk of its f...
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
I like to see craft beer as a global conversation—vectors of influence shooting everywhere, like a mess o’ spaghetti. Anyway, please enjoy this article by Lucy Corne on how Ghana’s brewers are using local starches and winning international medals for their beers: beerandbrewing.com/grown-in-gha...
beerandbrewing.com
Grown in Ghana: How Brewers in West Africa Are Embracing Local Grains
It’s not always a simple process, but independent brewers in Ghana are favoring locally grown starches such as rice and cassava over imported malt, forging an identity for Ghanaian craft—oh, and they’...
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
I think the art is in having it both ways... signal to the geeks (IBUs? hop varieties? decoctions?), maybe in the fine print, but also use a few keywords that anyone can appreciate. And you can do exactly the same on a tap list.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Longtime pet peeve: Wikipedia redirecting “radler” to “shandy.” I don’t live in England. Most people don’t.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
It was! Solid pregame breakfast drink.
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Friday and I hope this evening
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Joe Stange @thirstypilgrim.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Feliz día de la independencia
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