Several bloggers and other internet sources have written posts about the “most influential” or “top” people to follow on Twitter — in specific topics of interest (such as food, wine, social media, etc…)

However, everyone seems to be over looking the beer community. Pssshhhaw. How rude. Us beer geeks can be influential and important too, ya know!

So I thought I’d take the liberty to make my own (COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE) list of the “Top 20 Most Compelling Beer Personalities on Twitter”. What exactly is my credential for creating the lists? Well let us start by defining the word compelling:

com⋅pel⋅ling  [kuhm-pel-ing]
–adjective
1. tending to compel; overpowering: compelling reasons.
2. having a powerful and irresistible effect; requiring acute admiration, attention, or respect: (a man of compelling integrity; a compelling drama)

THE BEER WENCH’S CRITERIA FOR THE TOP 20 MOST COMPELLING BEER PERSONALTIES ON TWITTER:

1. COMPELLING ENOUGH TO FOLLOW: I must follow this person. Unfortunately, this rules out the people I do not follow — which means this list has potential to change in the future.
2. COMPELLING CONTENT: Tweets contain information of value in relation to the craft beer industry. (i.e.: news updates, events, announcements, beer reviews, links to beer related information, etc…)
3. COMPELLING PERSONALITY: Twitter personality is interesting and captivating. There is a person behind the twitter handle — they are more than just a “brand” or a “blog”.
4. COMPELLING CONVERSATION: Community engagers — people who are constantly engaging in conversations with the twitter community (whether it be through retweeting or replies). People who constantly have one way conversations, in my opinion, are not compelling. Talk to me. And I will follow you.
5. COMPELLING FOLLOWER RATIO: Good follower to following ratio. This does not mean they necessarily need to have a huge followership — number of followers is NOT criteria for this particular list. But they need to have at least an equal amount of followers as they are following.

At first, I was going to rank the top twenty followers — based on how well they execute the basic 5 criteria listed above. But, the metrics on that is too complicated for me to deal with at this time — and besides, it would be entirely way to subjective and open for debate. Instead, I’m going to list my TOP TWENTY MOST COMPELLING BEER PERSONALITIES ON TWITTER in a random order. There is no method in my madness (although, it be but madness). The numbers have no relevance to rankings. IGNORE THE NUMBERS.

THE BEER WENCH’S TOP TWENTY MOST COMPELLING BEER PERSONALITIES ON TWITTER

1. @dogfishbeer – Dogfish Head has (hands down) the best brewery brand presence on Twitter. Why? 1. She has a personality. AND a name. In fact, the Dogfish Head Twitter account is Mariah Calagione — aka Sam’s wife. She is constantly retweeting her followers and engaging in conversations. If you send her a question or mention her brand, she responds. Mariah kicks ass.
2. @TheArtofBeer — Tay Shaw is one of the biggest craft beer evangelists on Twitter. She has been known to send (coveted) craft beer all around the country to her followers. She is extremely active in the twitter community and also very entertaining.
3. @Cicerone_Org — Ray Daniels is one of the foremost educators on the subject of beer. He is one of the most brilliant men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in real life. If you need to know something about beer — he is the man to talk to.
4. #gents – AKA @kenoftheyear @DrStarkWeather @SlovakBrewer @hopcast @beerad – These dudes are hiliariously entertaining, but also a wealth of information. They get together on a frequent basis to homebrew and taste beers … and then share all of their experiences on Twitter. They also create entertaining video blogs at Hop-Cast.com Following the hashtag #gents can get addicting …
5. @beerbabe — Besides having a super cool name and really hot avatar, Carla defies the common misperception that women hate beer. She is a huge advocate of females in the beer industry and uses both Twitter and her blog as a platform for expressing her passion.
6. @hookedonwinter – PJ is one of my favorite people to banter with back and forth about beer. He is an awesome homebrewer (I know this for a fact) who is aspiring to turn his passion into a career. Through both Twitter and his blog, PJ encourages others to join his adventure in starting a brewery.
7. @bruisinales – This woman must be a robot, because I swear she never sleeps. Julie can be found on Twitter just about every minute of every day. No really. Her tweets are very entertaining and she provides a lot of great content regarding beer releases, beer events and beer news.
8. @beerandnosh — Even though I only just started following Jesse, he has provided me with a wealth of beer knowledge via Twitter. Jesse is by far one of the best beer photographers out there and I love living vicariously through his photos and tasting notes.
9. @TimWeber & @StephWeber – Rockstar homebrewing couple in the process of getting certified through the American Brewers Guild. They have aspirations to start their own brewpub in the next 5 years. They are very engaging and informative on Twitter. And well, ADORABLE.
10. @ChipperDave — I’ve been following Dave’s blog for some time now. He is well-connected in the beer world and extremely knowledgeable about all things beer. I was lucky enough to meet him in person at GABF.
11. @beerinator – This dude is super talented. Jonathan is a key member of the Beer Mapping Project as well as DRAFT magazine’s Web Director. He is located in Chicago — beer hub — and is extremely engaging and fun to follower.
12. @olllllo – Very talented homebrewer (LOVED his Pro-AM beer at GABF). Works for a brewery in Arizona. Like me, he travels in the name of beer. Great beer knowledge resource.
13. @StoneGreg — Another “brand” that utilizes social media very well. Greg is the owner of Stone Brewing Co. (you know … that small unknown craft brewery …) Although he travels a lot, Greg does a great job of responding to tweets as well as retweeting others.
14. @beersage — Currently runs one of THE best beer news sites out there — beernews.org. He is always tweeting out the most cutting edge beer news … whether it be new releases or beer events, this guy is definitely one of the best beer sources on the web!
15. @newbrewthursday — A collaborative team of (4) funny & cute beer geeks. All dudes. They are hilarious, supportive and very engaging on Twitter. Excited to meet them at San Diego Beer Week.
16. @HomeBrewChef — Chef, brewer, writer, photographer. Sean knows his beer. And on top of that, he makes amazing food — with beer as an ingredient. I’ve had his cookies — trust me, he’s good.
17. @SudsyMaggie — Another femme fatale in the beer industry. Beer blogger, homebrewer & huge beer evangelist, Maggie is freaking ADORABLE. Regardless of whether or not you’ve met her (I have), she is too cute not to love.
18. @BlatzLiquor — Joe runs Blatz Liquor, a super awesome liquor store that has a kickass beer selection. Joe constantly tweets about new releases and specials that his store is featuring … unfortunately for me, I do not live near Milwaukee … otherwise I’d be there everyday.
19. @TeeCycleTim — Contributing author to DRAFT magazine (online). Tim is THE Beer Runner. He writes about staying physically fit while living the life of a beer enthusiast. He is also a big environmentalist and entrepreneur.
20. @brewed4thought — EXTREMELY well-connected beer “geek”… always ahead of the trend. Great blogger, beer event planner and resource for all things beer. Also, THE editorof the “soon-to-be-released” online beer publication on RATEBEER.COM site (where I will be a featured publisher)… stay tuned.

Runners Up and the “Up and Coming” Beer Tweeters):

• @BeerinBaltimore – Don’t let his avatar fool you. Brad does not limit himself to just tweeting about beer in Baltimore. However, he is THE best resource in Baltimore for beer events & beer news.
• @odiedog52 — Brian is absolutely ADORABLE! Super beer geek … just getting into the whole swing of things with Twitter. Currently imprisoned by the Army, but soon to be released. Brian is also the beer editor for Mutineer Magazine.
• @tattoodbrew — Jon is a talented graphic designer by trade, which explains why he has one of the coolest avatars on Twitter. He offsets his beer “geek” image with his badass tattoo obsession and passion for all things music.
• @jchristie — Josh definitely puts the geek in “beer geek.” Where as most people are pairing their beers with food, Josh pairs his with books. He is probably the most adorable book nerd-beer geek on Twitter.
• @bisonbrew — Emerging brewery brand on Twitter. Daniel is dedicated to all things organic and sustainble. Produces awesome beer … and has a down to earth personality.
• @misohungry — Jenni bakes with beer. Her treats are F*ing phenomenal … and I would know. She has baked with me. Great recipes for beer geeks who want to bake with beer!
• @ruinationpress – Tattoo obsessed beer geek and fellow beer blogger. Really engaging on Twitter. Good friend. Knows his shit.
• @beertodd — Brewer of some awesome and unique beers at Copper Canyon in Southfield, Michigan. Super beer activist … and recently released a great viral video in support of the Rock Art Brewery movement.
• @Beervangelist — Owner of New Holland Brewing Co. in Michigan. Only just started following Fred, but already … he is providing me with lots of compelling and valuable content. Fred is on my list of “brands to watch.”
• @sarahhuska — Voted (in a secret ballot) as one of THE hottest beer lovers on Twitter. Many of my guy beer geek friends have a crush on her … and for good reason. She is hot. And she knows her shit about beer.

NOW … before all you Twitter beer connoisseurs out there start crying about not making this list — just remember, this is a subjective list. My list is based on the people I follow, how often I interact with them and the value of their tweets. As far as I know … this list can change over night.

The two best tips I can give to beer personalities on Twitter is 1. BE HUMAN (don’t talk AT my … talk WITH me) … and 2. BE COMPELLING.

CHEERS!

I love to cook with beer. In my opinion, any recipe that calls for water, stock or broth can easily be replaced with beer. I love to steam rice and couscous in beer. It adds so much flavor.

Whenever I come across a spiced beer, fruit beer or specialty beer — the wheels in my little brain start turning and I think of ways that I can cook with it. Case and point — My new friend Dan Del Grande, brewer and owner of Bison Brewing Company, gave my some samples of his latest release — the Bison Brewing Co. GINGERBREAD ALE.

This beer screams Autumn. It is a refreshing take on an Autumnal spiced beer. During this season, the majority of craft brewers are either producing a pumpkin ale or a Marzen/Oktoberfest-style beer. Some brewers, such as Bison Brewing, are stepping outside of the box and brewing different styles for the season.

Bison GINGERBREAD ALE is a porter spiced with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. The first pairing that came to mind was a nice hearty Roasted Butternut Squash soup. But pairing the beer with the soup was not compelling enough for The Wench. Oh no. So I decided to make my own very special Roasted Butternut Squash soup using Bison GINGERBREAD Ale as an ingredient.

And surprisingly, it worked. It worked very well.

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles of Bison Brewing Gingerbread Ale (spiced porter)
• 2 (very large) Butternut Squash — peeled and diced
• 1 large yellow onion — peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 cloves of Garlic (I know this sounds like a lot, but half of them will be roasted) — peeled and roughly minced
• Raw Ginger — peeled and roughly minced
• 6 TBSP unsalted butter
• 4 TBSP 100% natural maple syrup
• Salt & cracked pepper
• Cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Melt 6 ounces of the unsalted butter. In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash cubes with the melted butter. Add 2 TBPS 100% maple syrup and toss. Put butternut squash cubes onto 2 baking sheets. Sprinkle the cubes with salt, cinnamon and fresh cracked pepper (to taste preference).



3. Roast butternut squash for 30 minutes — or until soft.
4. In a large sauce pan, melt 2 TSPB butter on medium heat. Add minced raw garlic & raw ginger. Sautee for about a minute. Add the roughly chopped yellow onions. Sautee in the butter until golden brown.



5. Add 4 cups of vegetable broth, 1/4 cups raw cane sugar & 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat. Add salt, cinnamon and fresh cracked pepper. Allow mixture to simmer for 10 minutes (in order to allow the garlic and ginger to release more flavor into the broth). Add 2 bottles of Bison Brewing Gingerbread ALE. Bring to a boil.



6. Add butternut squash to the pot.



7. In small batches, blend the butternut squash mixture and pour into a different pot until the whole mix is blended. TASTE. At this point … Personally, I added 1/4 cup of maple syrup and lots of cracked black pepper as well as salt.
8. Serve with Bison GINGERBREAD ALE (and fresh bread if desired). ENJOY!!!
   

Bison Brewing Company is one of the ONLY 100% USDA certified ORGANIC breweries in the United States. I recently discovered them when I moved to Northern California — as they are based out of Berkeley. I was lucky enough to cross paths with Dan Del Grande, head brewer and owner of Bison Brewing, on his way back from the brewery with the first batch of this year’s GINGERBREAD ALE.

THE WENCH’S TASTING NOTES:

BISON BREWING GINGERBREAD ALE

• DETAILS: Porter. 6% ABV. Organic malt, organic hops, water, yeast & organic spices.
• APPEARANCE: Cloudy, dark amber brown color. Frothy off-white head with tiny bubbles. Moderate lacing.
• AROMA: Dark malts, chocolate malts, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar.
• TASTE: Roasted dark malts, chocolate malts — very dry, spices are present but subdued.
• MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied, very dry w/ long lasting (dry) finish.
• OVERALL: This beer is extremely well balanced. Despite its dark color and rich appearance, it is not too heavy and easy to drink (almost too easy for its own good). Perfect for cool Autumn. I recently opened this beer for breakfast. It is awesome…

BIG THANKS TO DAN DEL GRANDE AND BISON BREWING!!! CHEERS!!!