Melissa Cole - Beer Writer Part Two

We’re back this week with the second part of my interview with beer writer, author, and judge Melissa Cole. Since we last heard from Melissa, I actually had the chance to have beers in person with her in Minneapolis during the Craft Brewers Conference. Along with Melissa, my Beer Edge partner John Holl and a couple of Australian beer writers hit several dive bars in Northeast Minneapolis before singing our hearts out at 1 am karaoke. As I said in the last episode, it’s never a dull day with Melissa Cole. 

And the second half of this interview is also unlikely to bore you. In fact, Melissa delivers a devastating indictment of BrewDog amidst all the scandals swirling around the company. These controversies, which seem to multiply week after week, involve a host of issues including allegations of an abusive and harmful corporate culture, poor treatment of workers, surveillance of employees and critics, and mistreatment of females. 

It can be difficult to get your arms around the issues facing BrewDog as they seem to pile on more as time goes on. 

For this week, we continue our chat with Melissa, who has covered BrewDog for more than a decade. And we start at the beginning, including her first memories of meeting BrewDog's co-founder James Watt and how her impressions of him and the company evolved over time. A word of warning for listeners. We discuss some sensitive issues in this episode, including physical abuse, harassment, and sexism. Listener discretion is advised. 

For more information on the Beer Edge Podcast, follow us on Twitter @thebeeredge. And visit Beer Edge for more articles and engaging content.

Host: Andy Crouch
Guest: Melissa Cole
Sponsors: Lallemand, All About Beer