About Ding
Ding
44 year old Englishman marooned in the beer culture desert that is “The South” of the USA. Desperately missing cask ale, pubs and beer culture, www.dingsbeerblog.com is/will be a stream of consciousness, but is also mainly just bitching & moaning – it’s what I do best. Well, that and drink beer.
This Blog just didn’t come out of nowhere. For well over 7 years I’ve been contributing on a daily (hourly) basis at beeradvocate.com with thousands of reviews, forum posts and photo credits. For now (at least) you can still see many of my contributions over there via Googles’ cache. However, things have changed a LOT at beeradvocate.com (*maybe* more to follow on that later) and because of those changes I felt the need to start a completely independent record of my inner beer thoughts; hence dingsbeerblog. Welcome along, it should be fun!
I’ve been drinking high quality beer for close to 30 years now (for the first 34 years of my life living in England), and have experience and cultural reference points that are both uncommon amongst movers and shakers in the contemporary, American craft beer scene. This means that inevitably my opinions, ideas and reference points are much different to many of the beer people that I interact with in the US, and that makes for some interesting conversation. I hope to bring some of that flavor (flavour) to these pages.
So grab something appropriate, kick back and enjoy!
Cheers
Ding
May 2011
53 Comments
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05/06/2011 at 11:35
Yeah, things have changed at BA…the bros finally got sick of your antics, and you were banned. Thank god…it’s a much better forum without you. Some things haven’t changed though. You’re still an Anti-American, prejudice, royalist douche bag with 30+ years of worthless opinion on beer.
Good luck with your blog.
05/06/2011 at 16:50
Shame you haven’t got the backbone to identify yourself – although I could guess! Increasingly typical though, so I’m not surprised. BA doesn’t need *me* per se, but it does need people *like* me. Way too many of the experienced, opinionated group have been driven away for no other reason than having a differing opinion. For now I think the Bros. have (for many reasons, but one in particular) slightly lost their way. Maybe they will get it back, maybe they won’t, but for now BA is being run like a power-crazed dictatorship. I have no beef with them as such, it’s their site and they can do as they choose, but there is one influence that is skewing things violently. We all know it’s never been a democracy at BA, but at the moment the lunatics seem to have taken over the asylum! More to follow from me in a subsequent, detailed post about me and BA in general, so why not subscribe to the blog and stay tuned so you can follow? Cheers.
P.S. Nice job on the name calling, always a class-act and a sure sign of higher intelligence and winning the debate!
07/02/2011 at 15:25
@gladurgone
files.sharenator.com/I_know_what_you_are_Youre_a_fail_troll_RE_My_New_Avatar-s590x775-106384.jpg
05/08/2011 at 19:44
Looking forward to your 1st anti tipping thread. I miss beating up on you for your stupidity and bs
05/09/2011 at 06:44
Anti-tipping? It’s coming because it’s commonsense.
05/08/2011 at 23:46
Ding, I am interested in seeing your thoughts on BA. The “incident” that supposedly led to your departure had been erased by the time I saw it, but much as I like salacious gossip, I imagine your commentary won’t focus much on that specifically. Nonetheless I’d like to see it.
I am one of those on BA who often (though by no means always) agreed with your views, for the record, though I’m not leaving my BA handle on this comment due to a probably excessive sense of paranoia :)
05/09/2011 at 19:43
Ding,
I think you’re a pompous ass, and don’t know what happened, *but* I don’t agree with you or others being banned for having different opinions. You are knowledgable about beer and its a loss for the site. I would love to know what happened.
Cheers.
05/09/2011 at 20:02
All in good time, all in good time.
05/18/2011 at 18:33
Ding, I really enjoyed your contributions to BA, I’m sad to see you go. Cheers
05/22/2011 at 22:52
Someone was recently banned (actually re-banned) from BA for posting your blog weblink.
I’m surprised that you of all people Ding would speak periphrastically; you pissed Candice Alström off, which is why you were banned.
“there is one influence that is skewing things violently” = Candice Alström.
For some colorful history apropos Mrs. Alström, read this: www.beerinator.com/community/index.php?topic=2177
To be fair, the thread’s commentary is obviously almost entirely one-sided. But the quotes speak for themselves.
Your situation is most unfortunate Ding. I am finding less and less useful posts on the site worth reading. Remember the famous Apple computer commercial, during some Superbowl, that was like a scene from “1984″? That is what BA has come to, a bunch of drones and any disruption to the status quo is swiftly removed. Except you Ding, you weren’t swiftly removed!!!
I’m glad to see that you are still doing what you do.
Cheers
05/22/2011 at 22:57
And for those who are unawares, Ding was banned from BA after getting into an argument with Mrs. Alström regarding whether craft beer enthusiasts ought to boycott viewing the Royal Wedding, because of media reports that beer was deemed unsuitable for the reception.
06/01/2011 at 22:27
While we have had our agreements and disagreements, I’d agree that it’s rather absurd that you were banned.
I do miss your posts. They tend to be well thought and constructive and contribute a refreshing perspective to what is a rather mundane cyberworld.
Cheers.
06/09/2011 at 10:43
Ding,
Glad to see you back in some kind of manner. Keep up the good work, I’ll be back to check the blog out on a regular basis.
06/12/2011 at 01:49
Ding:
Sorry to see you gone from BA. I have kind of moved away from there myself (not banned, but just gravitating away). I didn’t always agree with your opinions, but I loved your sincerity. I am also trying to explore drinks other than beer. I have always been a Scotch enthusiast, and could not stand Bourbon, but this week I finally got to sample the forgotten spirit of the world. Straight Rye Whiskey, which some people call a relic in a bottle. I have only sampled one so far (Wild Turkey Straight Rye 101), but this $20 bottle has simply blown me away. I don’t know if you have ever had a chance to try it, but I highly recommend it. If you are going to live in a savage and uncivilized place, might as well drink what the cowboys in the wild west drank.
06/14/2011 at 10:51
Excited to read your beer thoughts here, Ding. I always respected your opinions, and miss seeing your posts – and extremely helpful reviews – on BA. Take care.
-DeutschesBier
06/14/2011 at 21:23
Thanks! Eventually (in the VERY distant future) all the reviews will appear on the Blog. That’s a long term project though.
07/05/2011 at 15:16
I know you probably can’t view this (beeradvocate.com/forum/read/3900201#3900317), but drop me a line and I’ll send you a PDF of it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy…
07/05/2011 at 18:02
That thread was a trainwreck.
Btw, it was locked the instant someone mentioned you Ding and the post containing the mention deleted.
Lol.
07/10/2011 at 03:29
Ding,
I was recently banned from BA and many of my posts were deleted for defending freedom of speech or freedom of beer. I can’t understand what is going on with that site. They have become a dictatorship. Even though I didn’t always agree with you I appreciated your honesty.
07/10/2011 at 07:29
Anyone that knows me knows that I appreciate strong, unswerving, opinionated comment, but there is a big difference between that and the kind of profanity laden, venom-spitting, misspelled deluge that we get from YKW on BA. There’s a degree of bitterness that is difficult to fathom, and sad disregard for many of the people that have built the site up to be what it is. It’s shortsighted.
07/13/2011 at 14:11
Hey, Ding, I’ve got a question for you:
If I send you some homebrewed bitters, could you give me some feedback?
I live in the middle of Nowheres-ville Midwest as far as access to British beer goes and, though I like the bitter-styled beers I’ve brewed so far, I’d be interested in knowing how my beers vary from and/or stack up to the beers brewed by those who brew ‘em and know ‘em best.
Obviously I can’t send you a cask but, if you can ignore the differences created by the different packaging methods, I CAN send you some bottle-conditioned American-made, British-inspired beers.
If you’re interested, get ahold of me. I’d like to pick your brain and gain a little more insight in to British beer. You should have my email address from the “Email” field I had to complete before posting.
Thanks,
Wutz
07/15/2011 at 13:30
Growing beer circle on google+. Would be good to have you in the mix. Add me gplus.to/joelikesbeer
07/30/2011 at 15:23
Happy to find you again!
Sad stuff with BA.
I always enjoyed your reviews etc.
Myself at one time was an ex-pat( Scot) in Atlanta from 1992-99
So i know were you are coming from.
Anyway cheers mate from Oregon.
08/07/2011 at 12:43
Great site Ding.
Hugely enjoyable and interesting.
08/13/2011 at 11:59
You might be surprised to hear this because we butt heads so often over the years, but I miss your posts on BeerAdvocate and always appreciated your very different point of view. It was foolish for them to ban you.
Good luck with the blog, I will be checking in from time to time.
08/14/2011 at 15:25
Thanks for the comments and the encouragement. Frankly, getting people to agree with me is not my goal, rather the Blog is just a place that allows me to sound off, and in the process I can remain sane!
08/29/2011 at 05:26
There’s a thread right now about most missed BAs and your name popped up at least 20 times. This is how I found your blog. Miss your comments on BA even if I didn’t always agree with you.
08/29/2011 at 07:09
Interesting read. I was quite surprised that it was still there when I went to look! Thanks for the kind words.
09/28/2011 at 15:55
Ding-
Sorry to hear about your troubles w/the bros, or their sister, or whoever Candice is. The only other interaction I’ve really noticed from her was the Clown Shoes thing and…wow. ‘Nuff said. Anyway, a bunch of us do miss your curmudgeonly British rantings (me especially, as I am a self-professed Anglophile in terms of beer, sport, my career, and food). Keep on keeping on. I’m still quite active on BA, but mostly for homebrewing help/just to check reviews before buying beer. It’s become increasingly angry/juvenile at times.
09/28/2011 at 16:11
Candice is Todd’s wife and the Clown Shoes rant/debacle was/is typical.
09/30/2011 at 09:04
Hey Ding! I wondered where you went. Glad to see you are doing well.
09/30/2011 at 22:28
is there a way to reach you by email?
10/02/2011 at 11:01
Ding,
I am not asking this question with any malice or trying to be