I read your review of the Alaskan Big Nugget Barley Wine. Made we wish I lived on the left coast. You made reference to a barley wine tasting in LA. My wife and I are BIG fans of barley wine style beers. Do you know a web site that would list any barley wine tasting and/or barley wine festivals? Thanks, - Gary 'buz' Fry, beer lover.

Try www.beerfestivals.org for a thorough listing of beer events around the world, barley wine fests included.

I am trying to find out what you consider to be the greatest factors affecting the brewing industry today? Thanks. - Thomas Hick

In brief, I think the single biggest issue facing the industry today is company consolidation. It is both a blessing and a curse in that as the bigger breweries get even bigger, they tend to shed the smaller market and often more interesting brands, and so leave lots of room to be filled by the little guys. At the same time, however, their marketing muscle is a very tough animal to fight.

There is a microbrewery in Quebec called Les Bières de la Nouvelle France which is owned by Auberge Le Baluchon that makes a gluten-free beer called La Messagère. See http://www.fqmc.org/. I have not yet tried it but look forward to doing so on my next trip home. - Lise Shettler

I get a lot of questions about gluten-free beers and so was delighted to recently sample the beer you mention. You can find details on La Messagère in World of Beer's September Feature.

Re: 'So What Makes a Bar Great' (The World of Beer Feature for October) That was a great article. You've definitely done your homework and I agree with everything that you said. A "Great Bar" also should not make the assumption that all of their patrons are sports fanatics and want to watch big screen tvs all over the place. That seems to be the case for where I live. - Brian Estabrooks

Glad you liked the story, Brian. And I sympathize with your predicament.

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