Thanks, Charlie Papazian.

Say Goodbye to Charlie Papazian As He Retires From the Brewers Association

D.J. at brewpublic.com:

Bob Pease, president & CEO of the Brewers Association issued the following statement on Charlie’s retirement…

“We would not be where we are today without Charlie Papazian. Armed with a vision, a mission and the passion to succeed, Charlie turned his love of homebrewing into a community and culture that has had profound implications for so many, both personally and professionally. His contributions are indelible and innumerable, and his legacy lives on as the Brewers Association continues to serve the community Charlie helped to create. Cheers to Charlie as he takes the next steps on his never-ending path of living and learning.”

I first heard about Charlie Papazian from “Dr. Bill” Sysak, who at the time, was a member of my podcast with Stephen Johnson, Brad Kohlenberg, and Matt Becker, named New Brew Thursday. In 2010, NBT got to interview Charlie for the first time at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and again in 2011, also at GABF. One of the things he talked about that stuck with me was how the festival started so many years ago with only a handful of breweries. This blew my mind because we were interviewing him at the very beer festival that he founded, but were surrounded by hundreds of breweries and thousands of beer drinkers. It’s quite amazing how far GABF and the beer industry itself has come, and Charlie played a big role in that, not only because of his role in the Great American Beer Festival, but also his influence on so many homebrewers that would one day open breweries of their own. Charlie Papazian is a truly important figure in the American beer scene. He’s also a genuinely kind person who loves beer and the vibrant, enthusiastic community that surrounds it.

Thanks to Charlie for everything he’s done for all of us beer nerds over the years, and may we all never forget, “relax, don’t worry, and have a homebrew.”

Finally, Apple Pay Will Be Accepted in Target Retail Stores

Apple Pay Rolling Out at Target, Taco Bell, and Jack in the Box Across the U.S. in Coming Weeks

Joe Rossignol at macrumors.com:

Apple Pay is in the process of rolling out in Target stores across the United States and will be available at all of the retailer's 1,850 locations nationwide in the coming weeks.

While it [Target] has accepted Apple Pay in its app for quite some time, Target was one of the biggest Apple Pay holdouts in terms of its stores.

Target was one of the first big stores to come out against Apple Pay in their retail stores. My local, family-owned food market has accepted Apple Pay for years and it was quite annoying that a company as big as Target would not adopt Apple Pay, even though their terminals were NFC compliant when Apple Pay was introduced. It took a few years, but I’m happy to see that Apple Pay has become so normalized that even Target capitulated.

Quick Thoughts on the Love Loud Documentary

I just watched the documentary from Dan of Imagine Dragons about his Mormon LGBTQ fest, Love Loud and I’m conflicted. On one hand, I applaud the effort and cause. On the other, knowing that this very popular band has a singer that is a devout Mormon who likely gives massive amounts of money through tithing to an organization that is so oppressive and against so much of what I believe, gives me pause, and makes me rethink how I feel about Imagine Dragons and this documentary.

What's really messed up about this situation, and especially the story of the singer of Neon Trees coming out as homosexual, is that their lives are all about the church, its culture, and family bonds within the church, which is completely understandable. They absolutely love the church that at the same time, shuns them if they're LGBTQ. It’s so contradictory, but their love of the church and its community runs deep.

It was strange to watch as an outsider of the church. I was moved by many aspects of the documentary, but there was always an asterisk associated with those moving moments.

I'm not trying to comment on the church and their stance (ok, I am—it's wrong), I'm just saying that while I applaud the effort of the Love Loud fest, I still feel uneasy about supporting its inherently flawed cause.

Also, this post was basically five minutes of brain dump. Don't be offended. I love you.