Around this time each year, I usually run a post here to wish everyone Happy Holidays and announce a hiatus from new articles until early January. But as you may have guessed from the headline above, this year’s announcement is a bit different.
After 15 years and more than 17,000 articles, I’ve decided that it’s time to bring Canadian Beer News to an end, meaning this year’s hiatus will be permanent.
On one hand, this wasn’t an easy decision. I still enjoy spreading the word about brewery openings, beer releases, festivals and events, and other developments in Canada’s beer and brewing industry.
But on the other hand, I’m also pretty damn tired of it. CBN has always been a solo operation and a side gig, which means that as the number of breweries in the country has grown from a few dozen to well over 1000, I’ve been devoting more and more of my time on evenings and weekends to make sure the site stays running and the news keeps flowing.
Another factor in this decision is that the next couple of years are expected to be rough ones for the industry. The trickle of brewery closures we’ve seen recently is likely to become a deluge, and honestly, the idea of having to report on so many closures, and the loss of so many people’s livelihoods, just isn’t appealing to me.
As I prepare to turn off the taps, I’d like to thank all of the breweries and their owners and employees for the updates and support (and yes, sometimes, free beer) that they have provided to me over the last decade and a half. I’ve never taken it for granted, and always appreciated it.
Thanks also to everyone who has visited this website, attended the beer dinners and other events I’ve hosted and presented over the years, and followed CBN’s social media accounts. There’s no point running a website like this if no-one is reading it, and for the thousands of people who have done so, I’m genuinely grateful.
While this is the end of new content on the CBN website, it’s certainly not the end of my personal support for my favourite breweries. I’ll still be visiting their taprooms, attending their events, and enjoying their beers at home. I’ll very likely post about them on Facebook and Instagram from time to time, or maybe even revive my long-dormant blog Beer Booze & Bites for an occasional review or report. But the extensive daily coverage is done.
And finally, at the risk of stating the obvious – PLEASE keep supporting your local breweries! They need it now more than ever.
Thanks again, and see y’all at the bar…
cheers,
Greg Clow