What it really means to “go local”

Everyone has a laundry list of resolutions, I’m sure. Lose weight, finish the novel, donate more to charity… I made up a short list of my own as far as my own beer drinking was concerned, and one stuck out to me – “support local beer.” In the days of this economy, where each little business is hanging on the hopes of their customers, it seems more important than ever to me to take a step back and look back into our own neighborhoods. Let’s face it – national craft beer distibution is a wonderful thing, and there are some fabulous beers from “away” that I enjoy very often. But I started to wonder if this national distribution was keeping me from truly enjoying the local flavors around me. [read more]