Dreading a deadline: will she or won’t she

 

As of today, I have exactly five weeks, or 36 days, or 864 hours, (or 432 hours if I let myself have some sleep each night), to finish my book about craft beer. And this is making me, well, a tad, well crazy.

Why did I take on such a task? I wanted to update my 1997 book about New England craft beer. Correction: we didn’t say “craft” back then, it was “microbrewed” beer. Hence the title: What’s Brewing in New England: A Guide to Brewpubs and Microbreweries.

The first edition of the book I am under deadline to update

The first edition of the book I am under deadline to update

What I didn’t know that fateful day last September when I sat down with my editor at Down East Books, was that the number of craft brewers had more than doubled in New England since 1995 and 1996, the years I spent visiting and calling 100 brewers and owners to get them into the travel guide. There are now, according the Brewer’s Association (BA), more than 200 breweries and brewpubs in New England, with more than 50 in planning. There are over 3,000 in the country. According to Bart Watson, an economist at BA, 1.2 breweries open each day in the United States.

That’s all well and good for these intrepid brewers eager to make their marks on the beer world. But it means it’s nearly impossible for me to get them all into the book before that aforementioned, cursed eight-letter word: Deadline.

So, instead of beginning to call the over 100 breweries just in Massachusetts, which I promised myself (I lie to myself all the time) I would do today, I threw up my hands and decided to whine about it publicly. This most likely won’t do me any good, but it might, if word can get out to have brewers get in touch with me instead of the other way around. I can hope, can’t I?

This is how my process has gone: I visited as many breweries as I could, given my advance. The cost of hotels were the downfall of my ambitions of visiting all of them. Not even close. I even thought I might stay in hostels. But that hasn’t happened either. I went to the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp and one of the Maine brew fests. I stayed with a friend in Rhode Island, my son in Massachusetts and have driven all over Maine to visit breweries.  I did a beer bus tour in New Hampshire and one in Maine and one in Connecticut. Mind you who scoff at my plight of having to sample great beer: I don’t drink and drive, so sipping was more the trend there.

Now I’m at a point where I am doing phone-only work. This might seem simple, but here is how it usually goes:

“Hi, I’m Kate Cone and I’m writing a book about craft beer. Could I speak with either your owner or brewer?”

“What’s the book about?”
“It’s a travel guide, trying to get people to come visit your brewery.”

“Okay, I’ll see if the owner can speak with you.”

Then there are several emails back and forth. Then I might get a date and time when said owner/brewer can speak with me. Then he might forget. Or I might forget (yes, I admit to being human), then they might need to reschedule.

So I thank all the people who have “shown up,” and there are a bunch of them, and I thank all the beer writers and bloggers who have taken the time to contribute short pieces for the book. And I’m happy I got to Massachusetts last weekend to pick up some nice brews you can’t get here, like Jack’s Abby, Spencer Trappist Ale and Pretty Things Meadowlark.

I tried Jack's Abby Hoponius, graded a 98 by Ratebeer

I tried Jack’s Abby Hoponius, graded a 98 by Ratebeer

And happier still I got to see my son’s first soccer game as a varsity coach. Watching soccer on a pitch perfect fall afternoon takes away any frustration and deadline angst.

Proud mom moment, USM grad Burke Hazard, my son

Proud mom moment, USM grad Burke Hazard, my son

Now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, I’ll plunge forward. One thing that’s different this time around? Everyone has a web site and Facebook page, so I can find out “what’s brewing in New England” online. Not my preferred choice, but it’s there. And feel free to chime in! Let me know your favorite craft breweries, tasting rooms and brewpubs you frequent.

 

 

Kate Cone

About Kate Cone

Kate Cone has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, is a freelance writer and the author of "What's Brewing in New England: A Guide to Brewpubs and Microbreweries," published by Downeast Publications in 1997 and completely updated in 2016. She has been a foodie since age 8, when her dad taught her how to make coffee and an omelet, lifelong skills for happy eating.