Welcome to the Focus on Favoritism blog, where we only cover our favorites.
Welcome to the Focus on Favoritism blog, where we only cover our favorites.
...but isn't that part of the definition? Are bloggers required to cover all breweries equally? The beer content is lacking in this newsletter entry, but I need to get something off my chest.
Caution: Rant incoming…
Whenever any organization puts out a “best of” type article or contest, there’s always negativity because it’s never who “you” think it should be. We’ve done a “Best of” type voting contest multiple times in the past, but every year, someone has something negative to say about the result. Every year, there’s a category we should have considered, a brewery we missed, or people just don’t like who got the most votes and to be perfectly honest, it’s exhausting never being good enough.
Springs Magazine reached out to me a few weeks ago after we both attended an informational meeting for a new beer fest coming in 2024 (more on that in a later newsletter), and wanted to see if I’d contribute to their “Best Breweries” article. I consented and helped with their nomination and voting process, but didn’t have final say on any of the actual breweries being represented or the article in any sense.
Springs put out the article last Wednesday, and I think FotB was the first outlet sharing the link, so people assumed I created the list. As a writer for it and as a reader, I was somewhat disappointed the article was phrased as a “12 Best breweries” list instead of “12 of the best breweries,” the latter which implies there may be some missed “bests” out there. Again, that isn’t my circus and definitely is not my monkey, so I didn’t have any control over that choice.
For clarity, all of the contributors submitted their own list of their favorites, and then we voted on a top 10, which morphed into a top 12. We were assigned different finalists to write blurbs about, so those weren’t “our” picks in any direct sense…just making sure that’s clear.
I’m also not sold on the final listing, either…
Focus on Favoritism
In response to our share of the article, I (and FotB) kept getting tagged in comments from brewers and consumers alike fuming over the choices. Was it fair to call me out over an article I only contributed to? Probably not, but I even saw comments that the article was a “pay to play” type endeavor, when (as far as I’m aware) it was not. That comment came from someone hiding behind a fake named profile, so I’ll take it with a huge grain of salt.
Most notably for me, Brady Hossfeld, the brewer for Battle Mountain posted “Focus On Favoritism” which was a play on the “Focus on the Family” organization, no doubt.
(I’m kidding)
I responded, clarifying my involvement, but after sending Brady a succinct and snarky (on-brand, for me) message: “WTF bud,” I was quickly blocked. I guess that’s the end of that conversation. Pro tip: if you feel like a blogger is not favoring you, blocking and mocking isn’t the best way to get coverage…or maybe it is because this newsletter stemmed from that post.
In the world of beer blogging, “favoritism” like Brady accuses me of, usually stems from someone who feels like they’re not getting enough attention. To his credit, there was a point after the pandemic where I wasn’t sure if I was even going to blog about beer any longer where I have dropped the ball at times when it came to coverage for Battle Mountain, so I know he felt slighted. TL;DR: We had articles planned about BM, but some got lost in a website shuffle/personal issues and never finished…They’ve recently moved to Castle Rock, so go check out their new spot.
Beer isn’t as near and dear for me…
There was a point in my life where I had my ear to the ground and was obsessed on knowing every little thing that was happening in our local scene, to the point of losing sleep. With the ever expanding size of our brewery community, shifting priorities in my life (read: family) have rightfully taken over. I’m no longer spending every waking minute outside of sleep and work tracking down every newsworthy story in the Colorado Springs beer scene, but does my coverage amount to favoritism? I hope not.
It’s also not realistic to expect me to equally feature every single brewery…this newsletter would look like a directory of trivia nights and music video bingo. Partially joking.
I can only write what I know
In this newsletter, and our blog for that manner, I can only highlight what I know about, so if I don’t know you just picked up special bourbon barrels for a future release, or that you’re brewing a collaboration tomorrow with another brewery, is it really favoritism if I only feature news I know about? If you think it is, you’re entitled to your opinion, but I hope it becomes an opportunity for both of us to have a conversation.
On an almost daily basis, my email inbox for Focus on the Beer is inundated with press releases and event notifications from breweries outside of the Pikes Peak region, but there’s only a handful of local places who reach out consistently. For the casual outsider, conversations that turn into content definitely could be interpreted as favoritism, but they’re not.
If you want your brewery to get more coverage…
If you feel like your brewery isn’t fairly represented…
If you have a new beer release you’re super excited about…
If you hired a new brewer who’s elevating your beer…
Reach out. Let’s talk. The more I know, the more I can help others know.
An example of this would be Jeff Zearfoss responding to the newsletter letting me know The Carter Payne (where Local Relic and their other partner organizations are located) was also taking part in the COS Vegan Restaurant Week. I had looked at the list for brewery names, and missed theirs, so was able to update our newsletter from last week to make the correction.
For the Vegan Restaurant Week, Jeff and his team are hosting a Vegan Dinner tomorrow night and have either a full beer or wine paired experience to boot. I wouldn’t have known about that if he didn’t fill me in, so I’m grateful for him reaching out!
Free no matter what
This newsletter (and our blog for that matter) will always be free no matter what, so that means writing about Colorado Springs breweries is a hobby, not a job. I’m not beholden to any corporate overlord, so I write what I want to write. If you want me to write about your beer, you gotta let me know about it. And, if I’m not writing about your favorite brewery, that’s not to say I don’t think your favorite spot is good, it’s just not top of mind…so don’t put me on blast (pretty please).
Just know this: I’m not asking for a freebie or a donation. If you have a release and let me know about it ahead of time, I’ll buy the beer, talk to you about it, and include it in a future newsletter. I can’t promise I’ll make it to every special event, but I do want to make it worth your while if I can. And even with this, I’m going to miss things, I’m going to not feature something that’s near and dear to you or someone you know, but please know it’s not malicious.
If you’re not a brewer, but if you see me out and about, feel free to fill me in on something you feel needs coverage. I’m all ears.
Thanks as always for reading. I know this week’s newsletter is a bit different, but sometimes you just have to set expectations accordingly.
Cheers,
Ryan
Well said and clarified Focus on the Beer! As the editor of springsmag.com, I just wanted to back you up here and say sorry you've taken the hit for this collaborative effort. We are honored to have your voice and insight as part of the project. You stated your position well and we totally back it up. I will confirm that there is no pay-for-play about this article or list. The breweries didn't know we were doing it. It's a collective compilation from locals and contributors whose opinions on beer we highly respect. And as noted in the piece, we welcome other opinions. It's why we included a poll in the story and we'll circle back to let people know what the general public consensus is. Anyway, kudos Focus on the Beer and thanks for your voice in all you do to celebrate and illuminate the local beer scene!