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  • Book Review: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (Carlo M. Cipolla)

    Book Review: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (Carlo M. Cipolla)

    (Human) Stupidity

    We all see it daily, maybe even hourly. We encounter it when we’re least expecting it — as well as when we are expecting it. Perhaps it can even happen to us – or from us. Of course, I am talking about human stupidity.

    We encounter it all the time in our daily lives. At work, at home, online (especially online), while driving, while out eating, while out shopping, etc, etc, etc.

    Perhaps its one of those things we just accept and move on, knowing that its going to be involved in our lives and there isn’t much we can really do about it.

    Thankfully Carlo M. Cipolla gave us a codified look at the Laws of Human Stupidity. Philosophy in that same sense as ‘On Bullshit’ by Harry G. Frankfurt and ‘Assholes: A Theory’ by Aaron James. This is a quick dive into the stupidity of human nature.

    Audio Book

    While doing inventory at work today, I opened up Libby (an audio book app that lets you borrow books from libraries to listen to). It was a super quick read, and read extremely well too. Less than an hour for the book to be read all told, and it was read with the dry wit and humor that this piece is attempting to invoke while also being true and smart and intelligent.

    It was narrated by Paul Boehmer.

    The Laws:


    1. Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us.
     2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
     3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves.
     4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
     5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

    Book Review – The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

    The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity – written by Carlo M. Cipolla with a forward by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (and narrated by Paul Boehmer)

     

    GoodReads Blurb:

    In the spirit of On Bullshit and Assholes: A Theory, an economist explores the five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world

    Since time immemorial, a powerful dark force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness. It is more powerful than the Mafia or the military. It has global catastrophic effects and can be found anywhere from the world’s most powerful boardrooms to your local pub. This is the immensely powerful force of human stupidity.

    Seeing the shambolic state of human affairs, and sensing the dark force at work behind it, Carlo M. Cipolla, the late, noted professor of economic history at the University of California, Berkeley, created a vitally important economic model that would allow us to detect, know, and neutralize this threat: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.

    If you’ve ever found yourself despairing at the ubiquity of stupidity among even the most ‘intellectual’ of people, then this hilarious, timely, and slightly alarming little book is for you. Arm yourself in the face of baffling political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or the unbridled misery of Christmas day with the in-laws with the first and only economic model for stupidity.

    “Cipolla’s subtle tongue-in-cheek humor made this book an underground classic in Italy. Today, under current worldwide political trends, it reads more like black humor. Keep in mind: reliable statistical data shows that 98% of the people seriously believe that they are far less stupid than the average.” –Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

    The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (GoodReads)

    One of my favorite quotes from the book: “A stupid creature will harass you for no reason, for no advantage, without any plan or scheme and at the most improbable times and places. You have no rational way of telling if and when and how and why the stupid creature attacks. When confronted with a stupid individual you are completely at his mercy.”

    This about sums up stupid people. The laws are pretty irrefutable, and there isn’t much room for negotiation on it. Again, the laws are:

    1. Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us.
     2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
     3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves.
     4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
     5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

    The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

    The first is exceptionally true. We all underestimate the number of stupid individuals among us. They are everywhere. Its like shape shifters, alien lizard people, like the Skrulls from Marvel, they are hiding in plan sight. They might even be someone you know – your best friend, your mum, your girlfriend even, who knows? Thats how insidious this “disease” [stupidity] is.

    The book is pretty blunt in its language and phrasing. Theres no real political correctness, but there is no real political [in]correctness either. It just is. For example, rule number two is pretty straight forward – the stupid person is stupid because he’s not stupid; not because of any other defining characteristic. His race, his ethics, his nationality, his location, his place of birth, the way he looks, his gender, the skin color, etc, doesn’t matter. He is stupid — simply because — he is stupid.

    George Carlin pretty much best sums it all up:

    “Consider that the average person is stupid. Now, consider that most people are below average.”

    George Carlin

    I would have to look up the date for Carlin’s quote in question to see if he was inspired by Cipolla or vice versa; but they are basically cribbing off each other on this one.

    Whereas Carlin is looking at things kind of more on an anecdotal, sociological side of things, more for the purposes of just humor with a bit of provocation of thought – Cipolla is doing it on kind of a philosophical, sociological, and academically / scholarly side. The economics and finance background of Cipolla lends him some credibility with the probability, the statistics, and the scholarly worldview. Whereas Carlin is making the statement and moving on with his monologue, Cipolla has science to back himself up and gives it to us.

    Stupidity comes in many forms. And with that – in comes to people of all different levels; people who we would “think” are intelligent. Noble Prize Winners can do some stupid things (example – James Watson, the DNA co-discoverer, claiming that Blacks are inferior to Whites), politicians (…actually, this might not come as much of a shock to many people), leaders of all sorts – Hitler attacking Russia, people who have extreme values and allow them to cloud their normally intelligent judgments, people who express conspiracy theories long after they’ve been proven wrong; and these can be from all forms of walks of life – teachers, mentors, professionals and experts in their fields, etc, etc, etc.

    “Whether the Second Basic Law is liked or not, however, its implications are frightening: the Law implies that whether you move in distinguished circles or you take refuge among the head-hunters of Polynesia, whether you lock yourself into a monastery or decide to spend the rest of your life in the company of beautiful and lascivious women, you always have to face the same percentage of stupid people—which percentage (in accordance with the First Law) will always surpass your expectations.”

    The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

    This book borderlines on the brevity, one might even call it a pamphlet more than an actual rigorous book of academic value. But that might also be its best feature, its saving grace. For if it this was taken too far, to continue too long, it would become more on the bore, more on the tedious side, and lose much of that sharp wit, much of what makes it so poignant. On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt follows that same similar ideology.

    As some might say, this book goes a long way to showcasing the “downfall of Western Society since 1945”. Might be a bit too harsh on society… but then you have to remember – the stupid walk amongst us.

    My GoodReads Rating: ****
    My LibraryThing Rating: ****1/2
    GoodReads Average Rating: 3.88 (as of 11.20.23)

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    More Information

    Carlo M. Cipolla

    Carlo M. Cipolla on August 15th, 1922
    (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

    The following biography comes from Wikipedia:

    Carlo M. Cipolla (15 August 1922 – 5 September 2000) was an Italian economic historian. He was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society

    …

    As a young man, Cipolla wanted to teach history and philosophy in an Italian high school, and therefore enrolled at the political science faculty at the University of Pavia. While a student there, thanks to professor Franco Borlandi, a specialist in medieval economic history, he discovered his passion for economic history. He graduated from Pavia in 1944. Subsequently, he studied at the University of Paris and the London School of Economics.

    Cipolla obtained his first teaching post in economic history in Catania at the age of 27. This was to be the first stop in a long academic career in Italy (Venice, Turin, Pavia, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Fiesole) and abroad. In 1953 Cipolla left for the United States as a Fulbright fellow and in 1957 became a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Two years later he obtained a full professorship.

    Carlo M. Cipolla (Wikipedia)

     

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  • Book Review: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (J.R.R. Tolkien)

    The Lay of Atrou and Itroun by J.R.R. Tolkien

    J.R.R. Tolkien

    Now, I think most people are familiar who J.R.R. Tolkien, mot likely due to Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, or just in general knowledge of the man. I’m not about to give a full wrap up or summary of the man, his works, and his influence on the world of literature, especially in fantasy, here, just because… well…. that’d be several blog posts in and of themselves. Maybe for a future in – depth look? Maybe a segment on authors? Who knows. Would be fun or interesting to do. But for here, I’m just going to kinda give an overview, and just a shout out and mentioning.

    He’s a man who needs no introduction…. so let me go ahead and introduce him. Unless, we pull the Futurama joke where Bender says “And now, a man who needs no introduction” and just walks right off the stage. Leaving Fry sitting in bafflement until Bender kicks him and tells him he has to go up.

    A quick summary of him can be taken from Wikipedia:

    “John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL (/ˈruːl ˈtɒlkiːn/;[a] 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic, best known as the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

    He served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford from 1925 to 1945 and the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fellow of Merton College, Oxford from 1945 to 1959. He was a close friend of C. S. Lewis, a co-member of the informal literary discussion group The Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.

    After Tolkien’s death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his father’s extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and, within it, Middle-earth.[b] Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings.

    While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the “father” of modern fantasy literature—or, more precisely, of high fantasy.”

    J.R.R. Tolkien: Wikipedia Page
    J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1940s (Picture credit: Wikipedia)

    Like I said, he is most famous for his Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and as a whole his Middle-Earth world. He is a world class linguistic specialist, creating several of his own languages for his Middle-Earth, as well as a top notch world builder. His list of bibliography, most of which was produced posthumously by his estate through his son Chris Tolkien is nearly a mile long. This – The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun being just one such example.

    The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

    The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

    As per GoodReads:

    “Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun” is an important non Middle-earth work to set alongside his other retellings of existing myth and legend, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo.

    Unavailable for more than 70 years, this early but important work is published for the first time with Tolkien’s ‘Corrigan’ poems and other supporting material, including a prefatory note by Christopher Tolkien.

    Set ‘In Britain’s land beyond the seas’ during the Age of Chivalry, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the ‘Aotrou’ and ‘Itroun’ of the title) and the tragedy that befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan, or malevolent fairy. When the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins, the corrigan returns seeking her fee, and Aotrou is forced to choose between betraying his marriage and losing his life.

    Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, together with the two shorter ‘Corrigan’ poems that lead up to it and which are also included, was the outcome of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien’s life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and legend.

    Originally written in 1930 and long out of print, this early but seminal work is an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and should be set alongside Tolkien’s other retellings of myth and legend, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo. Like these works, it belongs to a small but important corpus of his ventures into ‘real-world’ mythologies, each of which in its own way would be a formative influence on his own legendarium.”

    GoodReads: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

    This is Tolkien working on his idea of the great British fantasies, in the vein of Sir Arthur, and the Green Knight, and fay and faerie. There’s been several released by Chris Tolkien, such as: Beowulf, Roverandom, The Story of Kullervo, and numerous Middle-Earth pieces (like The Children of Hurin, etc.). Chris Tolkien and a few others have done diligent work reconstructing his father’s manuscripts and page notes and little pieces of scrap paper to make the most comprehensive books out of it all, with numerous versions and editions of the stories, showing you the dates of changes, and everything.

    Book Review

    Ok, so lets discuss the book finally. Its a very thin, 120~ ish page piece of work (counting in indexes, prefaces, etc.), with a lot of repetition and blank spaces. Its almost an academic study of his work that was originally published in the Welsh Review back in 1945. There’s not a ton of substance to all of this, and much of the work is the same story reiterated in a couple of different but similar ways with just a few, sometimes notable, sometimes not, changes.

    Thats not to say this is bad, or boring, or poor piece of work. There is a lot here, and its actually, I think vital, to see all of what Tolkien wrote, and how his own writing evolved too. It gives you a bit of a glimpse into his mental mind and his creative process. Something that is lacking from most authors because all you see is a polished, formal, finished piece of work.

    It follows a relatively simplistic plot of a fairy that is in fact evil, tricking a King and causing his wife’s death rather than giving him the heir he thought he was destined to get from her. Most of the versions in the book are done in poem form rather than in prose form, so (in my opinion) loses some of the nuance of character emotions, beliefs, and driving force. You get more of a bare bones of the story, the plot, and it shows the level of ignorance and stubbornness (and stupidity) on the Bretton Lord’s part.

    Especially now in 2021, the plot seems obvious, cliche, and done to death. Perhaps back in 1945 it wasn’t, and perhaps even further back from whence Tolkien got the story, it wasn’t (pretty certain it wasn’t then), but nonetheless, this works more as an academic “here’s a story from the past” rather than as a story of the day.

    And I think thats the way this needs to be viewed, as an academic view of a past story, and the past of British fantasy in the form of faerie storytelling, rather than as a fictional piece of work to be enjoyed for its fiction and storytelling in that sense. Look at it as the precursor that helped build future fantasy genres and novels and stories rather than as a story in and of its own right.

    Maybe? I’m not sure if thats the intent, but thats my way of looking at it, and the way I think it works best as.

    My GoodReads Rating: ***
    Global Average GoodReads Rating: 4.06 (as of 7.3.21)
    LibraryThing Rating: ***

    As always everyone, thanks for reading, and hopefully you’re enjoying these non – beer related articles. Between the hikes, the book reviews, etc, if you do or don’t, either way, let us know in the comments!

    Cheers and thanks for reading everyone! Hope you enjoyed. Let us know your thoughts on the book and hike reviews! Thanks!

    -B. Kline

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  • Book Review: Machiavelli – The Art of Teaching People What to Fear (Patrick Boucheron)

    Machiavelli: The Art of Teaching People What to Fear by Patrick Boucheron

    Well, I haven’t heard anything negative or anything after the first book review, so I’m plowing forward and jumping into the second book review here for the blog (well, third overall, but second non – beer related). Going to make some changes to the book reviewing process this time around (and going forward) similar to how the beer reviews are setup. Like a scientific process if you will.

    Changes to the Book Reviews

    Similar to how the beer reviews on the blog here have a set style to them, where I give some background information, some lead up to the review, the information on the beer (provided by Untappd), and recently I also added a section devoted to the brewery behind the beer; I will do the same for the book reviews now on the site.

    I’ll give a little prelude to the review itself, like why I chose this book, how I came about having it to read it, etc. Any contextual information, etc. Then go into a bit of a background on the author, any of his or her other works, if I’ve read him or her before, etc. Followed by the blurb of the book (provided by GoodReads or Amazon), and from there go into my actual review.

    My actual reviews will follow a somewhat similar pattern, but not always be the exact same. For my beer reviews I usually broke it down into paragraphs of “appearance, aroma, taste”, where with the book reviews I might break it down into some paragraphs that might follow from one review to the next, but not always. Especially in different genres or when reviewing fiction vs. non-fiction.

    The Background

    So let’s get right to it; whats the background of the book and how I came to read it. Well, I finished the previous book (Wit’s End by James Geary) and was looking for a quick book to read on my bookshelf, and one in the vein of philosophy, and non-fiction, and deep thinking books. Or at least a book that would make me think, but also be a quick read. These are the ones that always make me feel smarter than I am (not a hard task by any means) because their borderline deep, and I can read them fast. So I feel good about myself.

    I had picked this up at the Barnes and Nobles in Camp Hill, without reading it or really looking at it, just knowing Machiavelli and interested in reading a biography of him. Giving me a gift card to a bookstore is dangerous, and I shouldn’t be allowed in a bookstore without adult supervision. I’ll walk in with a 25$ gift card, and walk out 300$ less in my wallet. Guaranteed.

    Niccolò Machiavelli has always been a figure and a person of interest for me. Little is known about him and he just has this air of mystery, enigma, and a convoluted history due to how his name is used in modern times. Could he really be as ruthless as he seems due to ‘The Prince’? Could he be as cutthroat as we’ve made him out to be? Is Machiavelli the essence of Machiavellian or Machiavellianism?

    Machiavelli

    What all do we know about Niccolò Machiavelli? Not a whole whole lot really. But, you know you must an interesting person to say the least, when they eponymous your name. Specifically with the way Machiavellianism or Machiavellian is used in modern times. Before going into the book in question, a little background on Machiavelli, as per his Wikipedia page:

    Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (/ˌmækiəˈvɛli/, also US: /ˌmɑːk-/; Italian: [nikkoˈlɔ mmakjaˈvɛlli]; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher and writer, best known for The Prince (Il Principe), written in 1513.[5] He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.[6]

    For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is of high importance to historians and scholars.[7] He worked as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power.

    Machiavelli’s name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in The Prince.[8] Machiavelli considered political battles, not through a lens of morality, but as though they are a board game with established rules. His experience showed him that politics have always been played with deception, treachery and crime.[9] He also notably said that a ruler who is establishing a kingdom or a republic, and is criticized for his deeds, including violence, should be excused when the intention and the result is beneficial.[10][11][12] Machiavelli’s Prince was much read as a manuscript long before it was published in 1532 and the reaction was mixed. Some considered it a straightforward description of the evil means used by bad rulers; others read in it evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power.[13]

    The term Machiavellian often connotes political deceit, deviousness, and realpolitik. Even though Machiavelli has become most famous for his work on principalities, scholars also give attention to the exhortations in his other works of political philosophy. While much less well known than The Prince, the Discourses on Livy (composed c. 1517) is often said to have paved the way of modern republicanism.[14]

    Niccolo Machiavelli (Wikipedia)

    Machiavelli is best known for his two works – The Prince and Discourses on Livy. He also wrote (his own, and in no relation to Sun Tzu’s) The Art of War. It is assumed much of The Prince is based on the life of Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. Mario Puzo‘s last novel (slightly unfinished at his death, but finished after his death) was about the Borgia family – Pope Alexander VI, Lucrezia, Cesare, Giovanni, and Machiavelli also played a small role as a side character in the novel. The book was called ‘The Family‘.

    Patrick Boucheron

    GoodReads doesn’t have a whole lot of information about the author Patrick Boucheron. But he does have his own Wikipedia page – Patrick Boucheron. From his Wikipedia page:

    Patrick Boucheron (born 1965) is a French historian. He previously taught medieval history at the École normale supérieure and the University of Paris. He is a professor of history at the Collège de France. He is the author of 12 books and or the editor of 5 books. His 2017 book, Histoire mondiale de la France (Global History of France), compiled work by 122 historians and became an unexpected bestseller, with more than 110 000 copies sold.[1] From 2017 to 2020, he hosted Dates in World History, a TV program of 10 episodes which explored different important dates in world history.

    Patrick Boucheron (Wikipedia)

    Most of his works are currently only in French, although he has two published in English (with the use of a translator). His English published works include: France in the World: A New Global History, and Machiavelli: The Man Who Taught the People What They Have to Fear.

    Book Review: Machiavelli – The Man Who Taught the People What They Have to Fear

    First, before going into the review, I’m going to provide the background information (basically the back of the book blurb) provided by GoodReads. Similar to the beer reviews on the blog here, where I would give the Untappd description and various other stats (ABV, IBU, style, etc.).

    GoodReads blurb: “In a series of poignant vignettes, a preeminent historian makes a compelling case for Machiavelli as an unjustly maligned figure with valuable political insights that resonate as strongly today as they did in his time.

    Whenever a tempestuous period in history begins, Machiavelli is summoned, because he is known as one for philosophizing in dark times. In fact, since his death in 1527, we have never ceased to read him to pull ourselves out of torpors. But what do we really know about this man apart from the term invented by his detractors to refer to that political evil, Machiavellianism?

    It was Machiavelli’s luck to be disappointed by every statesman he encountered throughout his life–that was why he had to write The Prince. If the book endeavors to dissociate political action from common morality, the question still remains today, not why, but for whom Machiavelli wrote. For princes, or for those who want to resist them? Is the art of governing to take power or to keep it? And what is “the people?” Can they govern themselves? Beyond cynical advice for the powerful, Machiavelli meditates profoundly on the idea of popular sovereignty, because the people know best who oppresses them.

    With verve and a delightful erudition, Patrick Boucheron sheds light on the life and works of this unclassifiable visionary, illustrating how we can continue to use him as a guide in times of crisis.”

    This is a very quick read. Each chapter is roughly two to three pages, and also includes a picture, typically a full page picture (sometimes less). There was blank spaces for segment breaks, as well as some chapters. Its only 159 pages, counting index, preface, and photo credits. Its also not the full height and width of a hardcover but obviously larger than a mass market paperback.

    While I say this, it doesn’t necessarily take a way from the book and the work done; but it also leaves you feeling like its just a series of vignettes and is kind of “dumbed down” almost in a way. Like this is much more for the layman and the person who goes, “Oooh, Machiavelli, I’d like to read about him” ……which is I guess what trapped me and lured me in when I saw the book on the shelf at Barnes and Nobles. And lord help us, we all know I’m a layman, I am far from professional or any real critic or anything.

    I was looking for a bit more background information on Machiavelli, as I feel this is always a lacking area in the common knowledge of him as a person. His philosophy is fleshed out, and has been gone over and over and over by hundreds (if not thousands or even tens of thousands) of scholars, but there’s a bit of a dearth in knowledge of who he is, and how he came to be. There is some in this, there’s a modicum of background tidbits and pieces and some juxtapositions of that with his landscape (ie. the city states of Italy).

    Speaking of Italy, this is a fascinating time in the history of Italy. The city states of Italy in the late 1300s, 1400s, and 1500s is a fascinating look at politics and fighting between small governments, whilst there are these much bigger and powerful monarchies hanging around (France, England, Germany, etc.). Its like a smaller version of Risk, and is setting up the stage for how a larger game of Risk would be played with Europe come World War I (and World War II).

    The underlying theme that runs current through the thirty small chapters is that Machiavelli is much aligned and isn’t the “cutthroat monster” we have been pretty much led to believe by historians and history itself, by the way his name is used eponymously and how he is portrayed in fiction and even by scholars themselves. As the cover shows, (a grafitti’d Machiavelli, with devil horns), Machiavelli is believed and portrayed as this cutthroat man who believed “the ends always justify the means” and almost a “anything goes” attitude towards princes, and kings, and those in power; as a form of keeping their power, and making sure the government they are in control of continues on.

    Whilst the work does give a general rough chronological outline of his biography, the overall theme is still about the timelessness to Machiavelli. That he speaks to the future (and our present) as much as he spoke to the people of his time. Boucheron believes he speaks more to our present and our future than he actually did to the people of Italy in the 1500s. That he is a classic and timeless read that one must do regardless of what century he finds himself in.

    The opening preface makes quite a bit of reference to Donald Trump, George Orwell and his 1984, and how reading classics like 1984 and The Prince in context to our current times helps us establish our thoughts and opinions of the current climate (political, and otherwise) that we find ourselves in. Using the past and future as a way to establish our own thoughts on our own present.

    Machiavelli did have a lot to teach about fear, its usage, its power, its conception, its control, its psychological importance, etc. He had as much to teach us about it as he did the Princes and the rulers. And as Boucheron showcases here, he had much more to show us – the common folk, the peasants, the non – rulers – about fear than he did the Cesare Borgias and Medicis of the world. And that is why we still read (and still need to read) Machiavelli in today’s world, and in today’s context.

    My LibraryThing rating: ***3/4
    My GoodReads rating: ****
    Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.68 (as of 4.7.21)

    Thank you everyone for reading my second non – beer related article here on the blog, and the second non – beer related book review. Below is a list of the other current book reviews I’ve done here on the blog (one is a beer related book). Hopefully people appreciate these non – beer related articles. Hopefully can expand this to much more, as well as start writing much more on the beer side of things as well. So there is plenty here for people to see of all types and interests. Thanks for reading and hope you have a tremendous day!

    Cheers.

    -B. Kline

    Our other Book Reviews:


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    Book Review: Wit’s End (James Geary)

  • Visiting Reading Pennsylvania

    The Pagoda is owned by the City of Reading. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. (Photo and captioning automatically uploaded courtesy of KlineServices.com)

    In celebration of my birthday tomorrow, my buddy and I are hitting the road and heading out to Reading Pennsylvania (PA) to try out several breweries. So I took a look at the local breweries, some websites, maps, etc, and decided on what all we’re going to be doing tomorrow. The above image comes from Google Images and is courtesy of KlinesServices.com (so the tag says), and interestingly when I uploaded it here on the blog, it immediately through that caption on it. (I added the tagline in parenthesis.)

    Reading Pennsylvania skyline. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

    There is lots of things to see and do in Reading, PA. We won’t be seeing or doing most of those things. We will be seeing, and doing, breweries. We don’t have an extremely long time in the area, but we do have some time, and we will be putting it to full effect.

    There is certainly a lot of great breweries in the Reading PA area. Some are:

    Two Sly Fox locations:

    Leaving Reading and heading towards home, there is also the famous Stoudt’s Brewing Company, that we could stop at in Adamstown.

    The following maps are courtesy of Breweries in PA and their Breweries of PA map.

    The greater Reading area
    A more centralized look at Reading PA

    Based on opening times, it looks like order of events might be this:

    Slyfox Taphouse – (Opens at 11:30). Then hit The Barley Mow (opens at 12). Then hit Oakbrook Brewing (opens at 4). Then hit Chatty Monks (opens at 12) and see David Morrow who is a good friend, he is currently the head brewer for Chatty Monks. Follow this up with Broken Chair (opens at 5). Then as we leave the city hit Schaylor Brewing (opens at 4). And possibly on the drive home stop in at Adamstown and visit Stoudt’s Brewing Company (opens at 12).

    Oakbrook Brewing

    We might even put in a stop at The Pagoda as seen above. Why not, looks pretty.

    Chatty Monks

    I donate blood at 11AM. So we will be making the trip soon after that. And will most likely be staying out until about 8-9PM before making the return trip. Coming to and from Harrisburg, its about exactly an hour drive (depending on time I check it, Google Maps tells me 54 minutes, 56 minutes, 1 hour and 1 minute, etc., so must fluctuate due to traffic).

    So let us know, is there anything we’re missing? Anything we should hit? Any places to avoid? Anything we should know about before making our trip out? Let us know in the comments!

    See you guys afterwards for the wrap-up of the tour!

    Oh, and final note, I had my first day of hop harvest, and you can see the results below:

    Day 1 of the 2020 Hop Harvest (Chinook and Cascade)

    As always everyone, cheers, stay safe, and enjoy a nice refreshing craft beer!

    -B. Kline

    For more info:
    7 Reasons to Visit Reading PA

  • Brewery Touring York and Hanover PA

    So, this was meant to get written a few days ago, but everything kinda turned upside down on its head when Wednesday I got the call that I was going back to work, and officially Friday (July 3rd) was my first day back. I was also switched to swing shift, and our days went from being 8 Hour days to 10 Hour Days. So this post is a bit late in getting up and I apologize for that.

    Also, this will be somewhat similar in some of my other travelogue and brewery hopping posts. So if you like reading about me and checking out breweries, I think you will dig this. This will probably not get posted until July 5th, but I’ve started it now on July 4th. I wanted to get it written before going back to work – yesterday – July 3rd, but it just didn’t happen. Friday didn’t quite go as planned, and I didn’t get nearly as much done as I wanted before having to get to work by 5PM for a meeting, and then starting my 10 hour actual work day. Today – July 4th – I start at 6PM, but I’m only going to be writing for about an hour before celebrating 4th of July with my daughters. I got home last night (technically I suppose this morning), ate a little bit, fell asleep, and woke back up at 8AM and then at 10AM, and got a little work done at home and now started on the blog, but hopefully it will – fingers crossed – it will then get finished tomorrow in my time between waking up and going back to work. (I feel like this will become a regular cycle on my new schedule…. work…. sleep…. write…. work…. sleep….) (Its looking like I’m lined up for six to eight days straight at 10HR days…. so, we’ll see how I survive all this.)

    Ok, lets get right into this. This travelogue is pretty straight forward. Ming messaged me about any plans upcoming, and I told him I was going down to York for The York Emporium’s book sale. Ming offered to come on with, since he had some errands and chores to do in the York and Hanover areas, thus it was decided, we’d make a whole day trip and excursion out of it. Why not right? It was furlough and we had no plans, so why not? Grab some cheap books, some drinks, hit a state park, have a bit of adventure… why not?

    Luckily it didn’t pan out like my trip with my daughters to Monocacy. So it wasn’t one of “those adventures” (sorry to disappoint). This was going to be a pretty straight forward trip. I drive to meet Ming at his place in Mount Joy, we drive down to York, stop at the York Emporium for the book sale, hit a brewery in York, Ming drops some stuff off for a friend in the York area, we go to Hanover to the state park there, hit a few breweries, then head back to Mount Joy and then I would drive home after calling it a day. Straight forward, simple, easy peasy.

    The York Emporium

    Friday, June 26th, 2020, I drove up from Hummelstown to Mount Joy to meet Ming and the two of us headed down to York. First, of course, Ming had to show me the impressive assortment of animals on his property – quails, chickens, turtles, dogs, kittens, quail eggs…. and possibly a dragon, not sure. He gathered the stuff he needed to drop off (mum clippings that he potted and grew) and off we were to York Pennsylvania.

    A quick drive down and we got to The York Emporium roughly around 2PM. I’ve been to The York Emporium once or twice before, I believe both prior times were when the store was doing their book sale – just like this time. This year, unfortunately due to the COVID-19, many libraries have announced they aren’t doing their book sales (the Hershey Public Library, one of the biggest in the area has announced their not, I believe Hummelstown’s – which is in October – is still yet undecided), so it was nice to get to a book sale of some sort.

    Row after row, shelf after shelf of books at the York Emporium

    We meandered through the halls and rows and shelves of books. Browsing this section, that section, etc. Philosophy, Civil War, sociology, US Presidents, science fiction, history, the classics, etc. All told, I ended up walking out with a fairly sizeable amount of books – 16 books for myself, and 1 for Ming – for only 52$. Can’t beat deals like that, when hardcover books released typically are 25.99-34.99$ nowadays. After getting back in the car, we jumped a few short blocks over and found us at brewery number one for the day….

    Mudhook Brewing Company

    We didn’t stay here long, Ming was worried about his parking meter and it running out, but we did enjoy the nice sun, sat out for a pint. I got a pint (in a plastic throwaway cup) of Cherry Lane Strong Ale. It’s a Belgian Strong Dark Ale; 9% ABV, 22 IBU, and its Untappd description reads: “Dark Belgian strong ale brewed with tart cherries, dark Belgian candy sugar and trappist style yeast.”

    Cherry Lane Strong Ale at Mudhook Brewing Co.

    It was tasty, and was a nice strong beer to start the day. I gave it **** on Untappd. It has a global average rating (as of 7.5.20) of 3.59.

    Getting back to his car with just two minutes to spare on the meter, we then headed out for his first errand, which was to drop off some of the mum clippings at a friend’s house. I didn’t know this, but Ming explained to me if you cut a decent size branch (or piece) of a mum, diagonally of course, and root it in water and soil for a bit, it will grow to become a full mum in due time. It is amazing how some plants can do that, I know of some, like roses that can do that as well.

    After dropping off the flowers, we were on our way to Hanover Pennsylvania, and back to back breweries. The first of which was….

    Miscreation Brewing, Hanover Pennsylvania

    Miscreation Brewing Company. Lovely little brewery on a busy square in the town. Me and Ming sat out for a pint, and were going to get food, but their kitchen wasn’t going to open until 5PM and we were there at 3:30PM. So I ordered a pint of Mediocre Security Blanket.

    Mediocre Security Blanket – a lager by Miscreation Brewing Company

    Mediocre Security Blanket is an Amber Lager by Miscreation Brewing Company, its 5% ABV and has 30IBU. Their Untappd description is simple and to the point: “Amber Lager brewed with Simcoe hops.” I gave it ***.50 on Untappd. As of 7.5.20 it has a global average rating of 3.89.

    Before we left, I grabbed a four pack to go (for Cadorus State Park). For 15$, they even let me make it a mixed four pack, so I grabbed 2 stouts, a pale ale, and a pumpkin beer (they only had three options of canned beers). 15$ for a 4 pack is a great deal, especially when you can mix-match it (that comes out to 3.75$ per beer). Many craft breweries tend to be 16-24$ for a 4 pack, so while not as cheap as getting a case of something like Natty Ice for 8-12$, its cheap for the standards. And I much rather spend 15$ for a 4 pack from Miscreation than 10$ for a case of Natty Ice…. any day of the week. That’s for damn sure.

    After Miscreation Brewing, we walked around the block and came to…

    Something Wicked Brewing Company

    Something Wicked Brewing Company. Another lovely spot in Hanover Pennsylvania. This time we went inside (they had no outdoor seating as far as I could tell). And here Ming was able to get some food too. The entrance we took led us through a winding, twisting, route into the main tap room and dining area. The hallways we walked through had paintings from various movie franchises. Most notably (to me at least) being the twin girls from The Shining.

    Paintings in the hallways leading into Something Wicked Brewing Company

    For beers at Something Wicked I got two pints while there, Ming as usual, just got water, but for food he ordered tacos which he said were delicious. Claimed they weren’t quite as good as his, but next best thing. So….. take that for what its worth…

    The beers I had there were White Wookie and Incessant Debauchery – Curuba.

    White Wookie by Something Wicked Brewing Company

    White Wookie is a white IPA, it is 8.1% ABV and has 109 IBUs. The Untappd description reads: “A Belgian style white IPA double dry hopped with Galaxy hops. Rich hop bouquet with bubble gum hop finish”. I rated it ***.75 on Untappd, and currently (as of 7.5.20) it has a global average rating of 3.62.

    Incessant Debauchery – Curuba by Something Wicked Brewing Company, Hanover Pennsylvania

    Incessant Debauchery – Curuba is a 5.3% ABV fruited sour by Something Wicked Brewing Company. It has 24 IBUs and its Untappd description reads: “The latest in our rotating fruited sour series. It features the puckering flavor of the Curuba (Banana Shaped Passion fruit from Latin America) with a touch of vanilla. This bold passion fruit is our sourest offering yet!” My Untappd rating for it was: ****. As of 7.5.20 on Untappd it has a global average rating of 4.05.

    Before leaving I grabbed a crowler of Butt Monkey, which I later enjoyed, sharing it with D. Scott during one of our gaming sessions for his Knights of Nostalgia page. (You can click the link provided there to check it out. We somewhat regularly stream us playing old school NES, SNES, etc, video games. He streams regularly, and I am a guest on his ‘show’. Similar to the podcast him and Esteban [Estey] have that I also somewhat regularly appear on – So a Mexican and a Scott Walk Into a Bar….). I might do a full beer review of this in the future, to be determined (I have so many beers I want to write up reviews for.)

    But, a quick summary of it – Butt Monkey is a 5.1% ABV American Pale Ale, it has 26 IBU, and the Untappd description for it reads: “This session Pale Ale is dedicated to all of the Butt Monkeys out there that like to send cease and desist letters to the small guys. Enjoy this crushable beer as you think about those whom you wish ceased and desisted.” I gave it ***.75, the global average rating (as of 7.5.20) is 3.58.

    Codorus State Park, Pennsylvania

    Now with the food eaten – which makes Ming a happy Ming; and beers were drank – which makes me a happy Ben; we were on our way to Codorus State Park in Hanover Pennsylvania. Technically, according to the Wikipedia page on Codorus State Park its located in Heidelberg, Manheim, Penn, and West Manheim Townships in southwestern York County, Pennsylvania in the United States. As the Wikipedia states: “Codorus State Park is a 3,500-acre (1,400 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Heidelberg, Manheim, Penn, and West Manheim Townships in southwestern York County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park was created around Lake Marburg, an artificial lake covering 1,275 acres (516 ha), and is named for Codorus Creek, which forms the lake. Codorus State Park is located on Pennsylvania Route 216, 3 miles (4.8 km) from the borough of Hanover.”

    Kayaks at Codorus State Park

    Either way, Ming and myself came to kayak, and so that is exactly what we did. Normally we hike trails and do all that kind of stuff, but this time instead of taking a hike like we did for Ricketts Glenn we went kayaking. I’m not much of a water guy; drinking it, swimming in it, boating in it, kayaking in it, etc – just not my cup of tea (or cup of water if you will…… pa-dum-dissss…..) but here we were, and so we were going to do it. I brought along my four-pack from Miscreation Brewing to enjoy while kayaking.

    Kayaking with Ming at Codorus State Park

    It was a beautiful view, and we had a great time. I learned how to kayak properly without just going in circles like we were on The Simpsons or the Three Stooges. Got to watch the sunset a bit which was gorgeous, and I got to drink a few beers. Plus got a bit of a workout in as well, so can’t complain about that I suppose.

    The map of our kayaking adventure at Codorus State Park

    The two beers I had while kayaking were – MBC IPA and Smashed PumpKing Porter.

    MBC IPA by Miscreation Brewing

    MBC IPA is an American IPA (relatively a session IPA in this case) thats 5% ABV and 72 IBUs. The Untappd description reads: “West Coast style IPA. Brewed with Chinook and Cascade hops.” I gave it ***.75, and its global average rating (as of 7.5.20) is 3.87.

    Smashed PumpKing Porter by Miscreation Brewing

    I think the face of the pumpkin on the can is how Ming looked quite a few times during our kayaking travels. (Needless to say, I was not the best person to do a tandem kayak with.) Anyway…. the porter is a 6.5% ABV and 30 IBU Pumpkin / Yam Beer porter. Its Untappd description reads: “Seasonal Porter brewed with Pumpkin and Pumpkin spices.” I gave it ***.75 on Untappd, and the global average rating for it is 3.53 as of 7.5.20.

    After finishing the kayaking we got back in the car and headed back up through York to make a stop and then to get back to Ming’s house in Mount Joy where I originally met him at. Once on the road, I attempted to get a last shot of the sunset.

    My attempt at taking a picture of the sunset.

    Its not the best piece of photography, and its not the best picture… but it was too gorgeous of a sunset not to at least attempt getting a picture of it. Plus I was a few beers in by this point, and taking the picture through the car. Either way, let it be known – there was a beautiful sunset that evening. And that I attempted to document it for all of you – my faithful readers.

    Coming back up through York we made the last stop for Ming, and I decided (while he was running the mums up to the house) to take a gander at the old Untappd map and see if there were any breweries in the direct vicinity… and lo and behold, just up ahead on the highway was one. So, needless to say, we stopped at Stony Run Brew House. Stony Run was nice, the inside looked beautiful, almost like an Italian Villa style restaurant, reminded me of the old Italian Villa Rosa that used to be on Route 22 in Grantville (where the new Sheetz is at the corner of 743 and 22).

    We went in to hit the bathroom and get a table outside. Ordered some nacho chips. I believe we tried to order fries or quesadilla or something else but they were out, so we ended up with the nacho chips. I ordered a flight. I think the only other place that offered a flight (of the breweries we visited on June 26th – Mudhook Brewing, Miscreation Brewing, Something Wicked Brewing, and Stony Run Brewing) was Mudhook Brewing. So two out of four, not bad. But, I didn’t get a flight at Mudhook due to time. Typically when trying out new breweries I like to get flights so I can sample more of their beers and try as much as I can, and then decide what to buy to take home, but given the current environment with COVID-19 and everything, its understandable that many places aren’t doing flights.

    My flight from Stony Run Brew House

    They had a few guest taps, one of which was a delicious sour from Weyerbacher. So my flight was three beers from Stony Run Brewing and one from Weyerbacher. My flight was: first from Stony Run Brewing – Blackstrap English Porter, Irish Eyes, Capt. Jack Block – Hell, and from Weyerbacher – the Rico Guave. All were very good.

    My flight from Stony Run Brewing

    A quick rundown of the flight:

    • Bootstrap English Porter – 5.5% ABV, 31 IBU. “The key ingredient to this moderate strength brown beer is the addition of blackstrap molasses, contributing to its roasty character and bitterness. This Porter goes down smooth and easy.” My rating: ***.75 / global rating (7.5.20): 3.8
    • Irish Eyes – an Irish Red Ale, thats 4.2% ABV and 22 IBU (no description). My rating: ***.25, global rating: 3.75.
    • Capt. Jack Block – Hell – is a strong Lager thats 6.7% ABV and 20 IBU. Untappd Description: “Strong German Lager, lightly hop and malty.” My rating is ***.75, not enough ratings yet to give it a global rating.
    • Rico Guave (Weyerbacher) – Rico Guave is a 9% ABV fruited sour with 25 IBU. The Untappd description reads: “Rico Guave is a 9% sour ale brewed with pineapple and guava. Rich with the tropical notes of pineapple and fruitiness of guava, this pink hued brew is clean and refreshing with a touch of tartness.” My rating was ****, global rating was 3.69 as of 7.5.20.

    While at Stony Run it began to drizzle on us a bit, and we could hear lightening and thunder in the distance. After finishing up we headed back to Mount Joy. Where once there, we went over and visited a friend of his who is turning his barn into a bar / rec area for himself and friends and is going to be setting up pinball machines and other kinds of games. I also got to play with a Pug puppy, so just that right there made my day.

    Finally it was time to call it a day (well now night) at 2-3AM after Don came home from work. He had started back up at the casino before the rest of us. I myself now started back up at work on the 3rd, while Ming still hasn’t gotten his return call yet. But soon, shortly, he will.

    And that was our trip around York and Hanover Pennsylvania. We visited Mudhook Brewing, Miscreation Brewing, Something Wicked Brewing, and Stony Run Brewing. I hope you all enjoyed this brewery touring. Before I got the call back to work me and Ming made a plan to visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and Wellsboro PA and visit a few breweries in that neck of the woods (probably New Trail Brewing while up there too). But with me going back to work, that is currently on hold. But rest assured, you will read about it on here when we go.

    Ok everyone, cheers, and stay safe, especially as places are reopening. Don’t get lax, still wash, cover your face, and take care of each other. Cheers!

    -B. Kline

    August (2019) Road Trip Series:

    Rickett’s Glen (2020) Road Trip Series:

    Monocacy Battlefield Road Trip:

    Other Brewery Hopping Articles:

    My Article for Breweries in PA:

    My Podcast About Breweries in Central PA:

    Some other brewery tour and road trip articles:

    Kayaking at Codorus State Park

    Codorus Links:

    Breweries Link:

  • Stoudts Brewing Closing

    Stoudts Brewing Company logo

    This is certainly not the blog article I wanted to do today. Yesterday (2.3.20) the news came out while I was at work. In the morning before work, I started writing my next beer review – This Is The Way – by Broken Goblet, but with the news of Stoudts Brewing closing, I’ve pushed that back. Around 1PM or so yesterday, Stoudts Facebook page posted this message:

    Friends,

    As we’re sure you know, the craft beer industry is changing. 33 years ago, when Carol Stoudt became America’s first female brew master since prohibition, craft beer was a total rarity with only about 150 breweries nation-wide. Today there are nearly 8 thousand. The truth is, with such an increase in competition, and with Carol and Ed preparing for retirement, we’ve had to make the incredibly difficult decision to drastically scale back brewery operations, with a plan to cease production by Winter’s end. At this point, we will still have a limited supply of beer for purchase and on tap in our brew pub.

    We are considering all investment opportunities, but regardless of the brewery’s future, Stoudts as a whole will live on. The restaurant which has stood for 58 years will continue to serve scratch-cooked dishes and hand-trimmed steaks. The bakery’s 120-year old yeast culture will continue to produce perfect sourdoughs, and we will not slow down our commitment to vegan and heritage baking. The antiques mall will continue to house only the finest pieces, and the bier garden will be home to ever more musical evenings and dog-friendly events.

    Thank you so much for joining us on this multi-generational journey. Your support has always meant the world, and we hope that you will continue to shape the future of Stoudts with us.

    Prost!
    The Stoudt Family

    P.S. our official press release can be found here: https://stoudts.com/brewery/

    Source: Stoudts Facebok page
    Stoudts new signature logo

    Predictably, the Craft Beer online community erupted upon the news. Soon after their announcement, PennLive.com and LancasterOnline both ran stories (links provided at the ending in the sources). In Central PA, this is sadly not the first closing news in recent history. On January 25th, Crystal Ball Brewing in York PA closed up permanently. (You can read our coverage of it here: Crystal Ball Closing.)

    All day yesterday, and so far today, my Facebook and Twitter feeds, Facebook groups, etc, are all posting the Stoudts message. Accompanied by congratulations to Carol Stoudt for retiring, as well as dismay at the closing of the actual brewery. Even across the country where Stoudts isn’t readily available there is all kinds of talk about its closing. Being one of the oldest craft breweries – at least of the new wave – and closing, its extremely disheartening.

    Just to give you some kind of scope and size of Stoudts’ Brewing, look at how they have their own Wikipedia page: Stoudts Brewing Co. Not many craft breweries can claim that, let alone ones in Pennsylvania.

    For some background on the Stoudts and their brewery, lets look to their beginning. Carol and Ed Stoudt began brewing and opening their brewery and restaurant in Adamstown, Lancaster County, PA, back in 1987. Carol is credited as being one of the first female brewers since Prohibition. At the time of their startup, there was only 150 active breweries in America, there is currently 8,000 some (at the start of the year).

    Carol announced her retirement this year, and with that, the brewing aspects of the business will be shutting down. The Black Angus restaurant – Ed’s original start-up – will continue. At the start, Ed had his Black Angus restaurant and they added the brewing operations to it.

    “This was a difficult decision to make, but we’re not moving enough volume to justify the expense of keeping the brewery open. However, we’re not closing the doors to any business opportunities that could help the Stoudts brand live on.” Carol Stoudt stated for the press release posted on their website (and circulated on social media).

    Recently, Sly Fox and Stoudts did a collaboration for a new beer – Black Lager.

    Similar to Crystal Ball’s closing recently, cited reasons are over-saturation of the market, pressures from giant breweries like In-Bev and CoorsMiller, and economic factors like the new sales tax, aluminum upticks, and other factors. PennLive recently did a write-up (just posted a few days ago) on the over-saturation of the craft beer market: Suds Up. Its a rather weak article, but does go over the talking points that most people have been discussing (in and out of the industry). (This will possibly be a future article here on The Beer Thrillers, where, perhaps myself and J. Doncevic and maybe others will discuss reasons for closings, and preventative measures for breweries in the area.)

    Central PA definitely has a large assortment of breweries, and the list is ever growing. In Dauphin county, looking at towns like Hershey – Troegs Independent Craft Brewery and Iron Hill Brewing (with a Rotunda Brew Pub), in Harrisburg – The Millworks, ZeroDay Brewing, Boneshire Brew Works, The Vegetable Hunter, and Pizza Boy’s secondary location at Official BBQ and Burgers, in Middletown with Tattered Flag (as well as their location primarily for their distillery options in Hershey), Elizabethtown has Cox Brewing Company as well as Moo-Duck Brewery, and Hummelstown is set to open Rubber Soul Brewing (tentative date being April / May) and Howling Henry’s Tap Room. And this is just a small sample size. Its not going into other new breweries opening like Hemeaur’s and Wolf Brewing. Or the many other options in the Lebanon, Lancaster, Perry, and other counties close by.

    For Stoudts Brewing, the brewery operations will cease in Spring, allowing the brewery to go up for sale. No word on any specifics on the sale or if there is any interested parties yet. The restaurant, and other adjoining and adjacent businesses will remain open for the foreseeable future. No word on exact dates, just the ambiguous ‘spring’ announcement. Most likely to give time to move all product on their floor. And to finish out the tanks and release what has been made.

    In 2019 the Brewers of Pennsylvania Association honored Carol Stoudt with their inaugural “Presidents Award”. She was a pioneer and an inspiration for many in the industry, male or female, race or creed, she was an inspiration and a fantastic spirit for the community and industry as a whole. Her retirement is well deserved and hopefully will be blissful and peaceful. At the end of the press release she stated that she’s done her turn and its time for the next generation to take over. That regardless of the brewery’s future, the Stoudts tradition will live on. The Restaurant and Antiques Mall will remain in operation, and hopefully through investors or potential interested parties the brewery itself will be bought and remain brewing.

    Sources:

    Hopefully this will be the last of these closings articles I’ll have to write for a while. This was intended to be a beer review, not a sad closing article. I do have several beer review articles to post, some of which are: Doppelganger by Tree House, Loki (by Karl Larson) of Newfangled Brew Works, This is the Way by Broken Goblet, Anagnorisis by Boneshire Brew Works, and much more.

    Sorry for this article only now coming out Wednesday morning, I started it yesterday morning (Tuesday, 2.4.20) and intended to finish it after work, but didn’t get a chance to (kids, life, stopping in at Newfangled Brew Works to try Karl Larson’s first small batch for them – Loki, myriad of things, etc.), but its finished now. I am finishing up a six-day work week today (yay!), but will have off the next three days (unexpected and unplanned three day weekends in the casino industry are basically unheard of, but so very well beloved). Tomorrow I have a funeral for my great Uncle Ed, who passed away on the 1st, on his 90th birthday. Possibly Thursday (tomorrow) night I will be doing the podcast for LOST Seasons 3 and 4, if not Thursday, probably Friday night. Saturday is the big bottle share at Tattered Flag with Breweries in PA. Myself and D. Scott will be attending that. So that should be interesting.

    For those new to the blog, please check out some of our recent articles. Like the Tree House series of beer reviews: Sap, Autumn, Julius, and Haze (with Doppelganger forthcoming). Or check out my beer review of Florence by Hill Farmstead. Or you can check out some of our older beer reviews like LazerSnake by Three Floyds, or Baby Genius by Bissell Brothers, or The Veil’s Black & Blue Tastee.

    And as always, I’ll recommend checking out our Facebook and Twitter pages (located at the bottom on the icons), and please click to follow us either through WordPress or by signing up with your e-mail so you’ll be alerted as to our next blog’s posting.

    Cheers everyone! And maybe I’ll get to see you at the bottle share. Leave a comment here for any of your fondest Stoudts memories or if you’ll be going to the bottle share so we can meet up. Prost!

    -B. Kline