To the Future!

Growing up I had an awful impression of "business."  It seemed bland, mundane and downright boring.  What youngster aspires to work in an office, sit in traffic, wear a tie and crunch numbers all day?

I can't say I have grown up (I'm 31 and probably won't ever officially get there) but my impression of what business is has changed immensely since I was a young punk.  Of course, there will always be the "stereotypical" career I just described, but now, more than ever, it seems as though our society (driven by business) places significant value on nurturing and developing highly innovative ideas to make our world a better place.

For this reason, I really love business.  If you happen to be a 10-year-old, no, I don't want to "marry" it.  But I do want to point out a couple of things:

1.)  This is what Hollywood thought the future might look like:

2.) Here is a link to a really interesting website I found earlier today.

Twenty years ago, people thought we would be floating around on "hoverboards."  I'm not sure anyone expected blogs, iPads, or even electric toothbrushes.  Life is good. And life will continue to be good as long as we foster an environment of innovation.  We owe business a big thanks for all that it has done for this world. Consider this my apology for turning my nose up at it when I was a kid.

I Need a Beer!

Surprise!  I like beer.  Hooray for Beer!  Alright, enough of that.

The beer industry is fascinating--cool logos, fun atmosphere and a social product. And, in true Missouri form (Home of Anheuser Busch, Boulevard, Schlafly, O'Fallon) I thought it would make sense to discuss the beer biz a little.


As an undergrad at The University of Washington (That's Seattle, not DC, not WashU) I was the beer writer for the University Daily newspaper.  Any interest in reading some old columns about NW microbrews?  Go here: 


http://dailyuw.com/2000/10/6/n6.beercolumn/
http://dailyuw.com/2000/10/13/n6.maltandhop/
http://dailyuw.com/2000/10/20/n7.brewery/
http://dailyuw.com/2000/10/27/n8.beer/
http://dailyuw.com/2000/11/20/n6.maltandhop/


Otherwise, here is a link to an article about the largest craft brewers in the United States:
http://bit.ly/buNuSz


This would be a good place to start with a search on finding an "in" into the beer biz.  Also, listed below are some fun facts that I have learned about some of these companies over the years during my beer "research."
 --Harpoon:  Each year they throw a gigantic Oktoberfest party on the Boston Waterfront. It seems like half the city attends!
--Magic Hat: Has grown significantly in the last 5 years mostly due to its acquisition by North American Breweries.
--Deschutes:  Based in Bend, Oregon which is consistently ranked as one of the best towns to live in America.  The brewery is located on the Deschutes River which runs through downtown.
--Pyramid: Another NW product. It's brewery is located across the street from Safeco field in downtown Seattle.
--Spoetzl: Brewer of Shiner Bock, Lance Armstrong's favorite brew.
--New Belgium:  Promote a circus-like bicycle tour that visits multiple bike and beer friendly towns each summer.


Here are some of my personal favorite breweries:
--Bear Republic Brewing: Racer 5 might be the best IPA
--Ska Brewing: Located in Durango, CO--visit!
--Port Brewing: The ultimate SoCal surf brewery.
--Mammoth Brewing: Also home to Mammoth Mountain, a top-rated ski resort.
--Elysian Brewing: Located in the funky Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle
--Big Time Brewery: My personal Seattle favorite. They mix coffee grounds into their "Old Rip Stout."


Cheers!