So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

A Fond Farewell

After some serious consideration, we have decided to retire The Taster Tray newsletter. This is the last you’ll hear from us.

We gave it a shot, but in the end, The Taster Tray failed to gain the momentum we’d hoped for. In other words, growing an audience proved more difficult than we’d imagined or hoped. No regrets. It was worth a shot.

In some ways, the kind of stuff we reported told us that The Taster Tray could prove itself necessary and valuable. In other ways, the kind of stuff we reported (over and over again) told us that maybe it was a bit irrelevant in today’s craft beer world, where more people than ever drink craft beer but fewer people harbor a deep, hobby-like passion for it. More consumers, less enthusiasts.

And that’s fine. In a way, as longtime craft beer industry insiders, it’s what we’ve always wanted. No more secret handshakes. No more exclusive clubs. Craft beer has become mainstream. Now, the trick for the industry is to figure out how to prosper within that context.

Time to reveal the “we” behind The Taster Tray. I am Kendall Jones, the founder of the Washington Beer Blog, among other things. My partner in the venture is/was Adam Robbings, one of the owners/founders of Reuben’s Brews. We are not hard to find or to contact should you ever want to do that.

As time allows, I will repost some of my favorite Taster Tray stories on the Washington Beer Blog and you’ll be able to access that archive here.

We thank you for your interest and your support. We hope The Taster Tray has provided some useful information and a bit of entertainment.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye.

Cheers to craft beer!
Kendall