Phil Cook
@beerdiary.bsky.social
Beer diarist (at philcook.net), bartender, and various beer industry miscellany for a decade and counting. Continually disappointed optimist. He/him.
From: Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington
Recently: Naarm / Melbourne
Now: Nacotchtank land / Washington DC
From: Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington
Recently: Naarm / Melbourne
Now: Nacotchtank land / Washington DC
Pinned
Phil Cook
@beerdiary.bsky.social
· Oct 15
It's officially¹ Shandy On A Rooftop Season.
1: I mean, I say so. An excellent day wandering around a warm Melbourne has put me in the mood to declare it, and I'm claiming the authority. Any objections? Didn't think so.
1: I mean, I say so. An excellent day wandering around a warm Melbourne has put me in the mood to declare it, and I'm claiming the authority. Any objections? Didn't think so.
Reposted by Phil Cook
I've been collecting pandemic era signs that nobody can be bothered to take down or remove. There's something grimly fascinating about this. Putting them up was urgent and important; removing them is nobody's job. How long will some of these hang around?
November 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
I've been collecting pandemic era signs that nobody can be bothered to take down or remove. There's something grimly fascinating about this. Putting them up was urgent and important; removing them is nobody's job. How long will some of these hang around?
Reposted by Phil Cook
From Bine to Glass: A behind-the-scenes look at the 2025 hop harvest, following fresh green hops from Hukins Hops in Kent to breweries like Five Points and Beak as they brew with them within hours of picking. www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
November 11, 2025 at 2:24 PM
From Bine to Glass: A behind-the-scenes look at the 2025 hop harvest, following fresh green hops from Hukins Hops in Kent to breweries like Five Points and Beak as they brew with them within hours of picking. www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
The earworm is a nice bonus, if you ask me.
November 12, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The earworm is a nice bonus, if you ask me.
Reposted by Phil Cook
🧵Content Warning: I am about to propose that you watch a 95-minute video about bike lanes. Sorry about that. But Not Just Bikes has done a genuinely great job with this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPd...
This is Why Cycling is Dangerous in America
YouTube video by Not Just Bikes
www.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 AM
🧵Content Warning: I am about to propose that you watch a 95-minute video about bike lanes. Sorry about that. But Not Just Bikes has done a genuinely great job with this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPd...
Reposted by Phil Cook
Happy birthday Melbourne trams.
The public transport punt that changed Melbourne
Melbourne's history with trams goes back 140 years. The city got its first tram in 1885 and the fleet has grown to become the world's largest tram network.
www.abc.net.au
November 10, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Happy birthday Melbourne trams.
Reposted by Phil Cook
We ask everyone outside of the car to be safe so that drivers can be dangerous.
November 8, 2025 at 11:21 PM
We ask everyone outside of the car to be safe so that drivers can be dangerous.
The Beta Band at the @930club.bsky.social last night were an absolute delight. The reunion tour was announced shortly after we moved to DC and it felt incredibly lucky to be able to catch them here. One of those dream gigs I'll be thinking about for ages.
October 29, 2025 at 11:55 PM
The Beta Band at the @930club.bsky.social last night were an absolute delight. The reunion tour was announced shortly after we moved to DC and it felt incredibly lucky to be able to catch them here. One of those dream gigs I'll be thinking about for ages.
Reposted by Phil Cook
Passengers eager for entertainment between trains could check their bags with a Red Cap and enjoy cartoons, short subject films, or newsreels in the 300-seat theater. A large illuminated clock above the screen helped people keep track of the time so they did not miss their trains.
October 28, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Passengers eager for entertainment between trains could check their bags with a Red Cap and enjoy cartoons, short subject films, or newsreels in the 300-seat theater. A large illuminated clock above the screen helped people keep track of the time so they did not miss their trains.
Reposted by Phil Cook
43 years ago today, readers the world over opened their newspapers and gazed upon cow tools for the first time. happy birthday cow tools. you look great.
October 28, 2025 at 12:23 PM
43 years ago today, readers the world over opened their newspapers and gazed upon cow tools for the first time. happy birthday cow tools. you look great.
Reposted by Phil Cook
Cool how one of the most prevalent tech stories now is “here’s how to be a creep and/or convincing fraud.”
How I Used Smart Glasses to Trick a Bartender Into Giving Me a Free Drink
How smart glasses can be used to con, cheat, and manipulate—and how to spot if someone is doing it.
lifehacker.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Cool how one of the most prevalent tech stories now is “here’s how to be a creep and/or convincing fraud.”
#crispsandwichday observances are scattered throughout a *lot* of the calendar in my house, if I'm being completely honest about my eating habits. But I'm delighted to join in the official celebrations and see more people experimenting with the artform today.
October 25, 2025 at 9:47 PM
#crispsandwichday observances are scattered throughout a *lot* of the calendar in my house, if I'm being completely honest about my eating habits. But I'm delighted to join in the official celebrations and see more people experimenting with the artform today.
Reposted by Phil Cook
Imagine if they made a beer taste like a ball of marzipan dunked in prune juice but it was literally the best thing ever.
October 25, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Imagine if they made a beer taste like a ball of marzipan dunked in prune juice but it was literally the best thing ever.
Reposted by Phil Cook
Good afternoon from @theshirkersrest.bsky.social where #CrispSandwichDay is in full swing!
October 25, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Good afternoon from @theshirkersrest.bsky.social where #CrispSandwichDay is in full swing!
Reposted by Phil Cook
I'm always stoked to say our dark lager is our biggest seller. The past six months it's been 42% of our volume.
It's a regional thing that not many people in NZ really think about, but NZers love dark lager, which is why we called it Kiwi Dark. 4% abv, 100% NZ ingredients
It's a regional thing that not many people in NZ really think about, but NZers love dark lager, which is why we called it Kiwi Dark. 4% abv, 100% NZ ingredients
In which I attempt to convince myself that dark beers are not, in fact, extinct.
Back in Black (?) — Beervana
In which I attempt to convince myself that dark beers are not, in fact, extinct.
www.beervanablog.com
October 25, 2025 at 1:04 AM
I'm always stoked to say our dark lager is our biggest seller. The past six months it's been 42% of our volume.
It's a regional thing that not many people in NZ really think about, but NZers love dark lager, which is why we called it Kiwi Dark. 4% abv, 100% NZ ingredients
It's a regional thing that not many people in NZ really think about, but NZers love dark lager, which is why we called it Kiwi Dark. 4% abv, 100% NZ ingredients
Reposted by Phil Cook
Green hop beers are like Oktoberfest beers. It's a mark on the calendar as the year passes. A reminder of the end of summer. A style that seems constrained.
However it's also a delightful celebration of a style of beer - like CAMRAs Mild May - that keeps things interesting & long may they prosper.
However it's also a delightful celebration of a style of beer - like CAMRAs Mild May - that keeps things interesting & long may they prosper.
October 23, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Green hop beers are like Oktoberfest beers. It's a mark on the calendar as the year passes. A reminder of the end of summer. A style that seems constrained.
However it's also a delightful celebration of a style of beer - like CAMRAs Mild May - that keeps things interesting & long may they prosper.
However it's also a delightful celebration of a style of beer - like CAMRAs Mild May - that keeps things interesting & long may they prosper.
Reposted by Phil Cook
The first of seven collaborative beers between Northern Monk and myself, Extra Extra Special Bitter. 6.2% Golden Promise w/ crystal malts and crystal rye, hopped w/ Fuggles, Target, East Kent Goldings. Serious business. The whole series is based on pub beers. This out now, in pubs and bottle shops.
October 22, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The first of seven collaborative beers between Northern Monk and myself, Extra Extra Special Bitter. 6.2% Golden Promise w/ crystal malts and crystal rye, hopped w/ Fuggles, Target, East Kent Goldings. Serious business. The whole series is based on pub beers. This out now, in pubs and bottle shops.
Reposted by Phil Cook
Reposted by Phil Cook
Here’s a Halloween treat from 1963, featuring Rowlf on THE JIMMY DEAN SHOW. Rowlf was Jim Henson’s first breakout character on a national scale, & it’s a joy to see how much fun Jimmy Dean seemed to always have in any of their interactions - most often just downright tickled…
October 20, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Here’s a Halloween treat from 1963, featuring Rowlf on THE JIMMY DEAN SHOW. Rowlf was Jim Henson’s first breakout character on a national scale, & it’s a joy to see how much fun Jimmy Dean seemed to always have in any of their interactions - most often just downright tickled…
Speaking as a native Wellingtonian and adoptive Melbournite, this tracks.
Everyone loves the "Shitsville" wheel for Wellington seasons but let me now share with you the 12 seasons of Melbroune (courtesy of my colleagues there) pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/don...
October 20, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Speaking as a native Wellingtonian and adoptive Melbournite, this tracks.
Reposted by Phil Cook
"New Far Side comics" was definitely not on my bingo card for this week. They're not bad!
www.thefarside.com/new-stuff/
www.thefarside.com/new-stuff/
October 16, 2025 at 6:58 PM
"New Far Side comics" was definitely not on my bingo card for this week. They're not bad!
www.thefarside.com/new-stuff/
www.thefarside.com/new-stuff/
Reposted by Phil Cook
Mad Enough to Blog It™️
October 17, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Mad Enough to Blog It™️
Reposted by Phil Cook
BLOG POST: On filleting an old copy of Punch to find out what it can tell us about the status of beer in 1986. 🍻🍺
boakandbailey.com/2025/10/beer...
boakandbailey.com/2025/10/beer...
Beer as emerging status symbol, 1986 | Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog
You can learn a lot about beer’s social position if you stare at a single copy of a magazine for long enough, like an edition of Punch from 1986.
boakandbailey.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:06 PM
BLOG POST: On filleting an old copy of Punch to find out what it can tell us about the status of beer in 1986. 🍻🍺
boakandbailey.com/2025/10/beer...
boakandbailey.com/2025/10/beer...
Reposted by Phil Cook
I was going to skip replying to that New York Times op-ed, but I failed.
On That NYT Op-Ed About Craft Beer — Beervana
You may have seen the op-ed in the New York Times offering handy advice to reverse the declines in the craft beer segment of the beer industry. It produced a chuckle among those who actually underst...
www.beervanablog.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I was going to skip replying to that New York Times op-ed, but I failed.
Whenever there's an acquisition / merger it's worth saving a copy of the announcement press release to see how quickly they contradict its claims about preserving autonomy, or continuity in leadership, or other such soothing assurances. This one didn't quite make it to its first birthday.
Something I *will* share from Linkedin is that I've just seen that Sam McMeekin, co-founder of Gipsy Hill has stepped away from the business 12 months after it became part of the 'Sunrise Beverage Alliance' — GH's core production has also been moved to Curious Brewery in Kent.
October 16, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Whenever there's an acquisition / merger it's worth saving a copy of the announcement press release to see how quickly they contradict its claims about preserving autonomy, or continuity in leadership, or other such soothing assurances. This one didn't quite make it to its first birthday.