Uncle Jimbo

07/24/2026

Germany is banning drinking alcohol in train stations (except inside bars and pubs). Drinking on trains is still allowed.

A beer on the platform while you wait. Normal for decades. That ends this autumn.

Deutsche Bahn is extending its alcohol ban to all 5,400 train stations in Germany. No beer, no wine, no spirits on platforms or in station halls. The rollout finishes on October 15, 2026. Bild broke it, DB confirmed it to the German press agency, and boss Evelyn Palla did not soften it: "Es reicht. Genug ist genug."

But the ban is not the part most people will notice.

DB security and the federal police will enforce it. Get caught holding a drink and you are walked out of the station that minute. Do it again and you can be barred from the building for good.

Only the big stations do this today. Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne. Hamburg central banned drinking in April 2024 and fights between passengers fell noticeably. Cleaning got cheaper too. That result is why all 5,400 are next.

Two things stay legal. The bars and restaurants inside stations keep pouring. And there is still no general alcohol ban inside DB trains.

The reason is uglier than the rule. In Baden-Wuerttemberg a DB security worker fell out of a moving regional train after a fight with a drunk passenger. In Rhineland-Palatinate, police say a passenger beat a train conductor to death. Palla says this is about protecting staff.

So the platform beer goes. The station bar stays. Same building, different rules.

Send this to someone who always grabs a beer before the train. They have until October 15.

07/02/2026

Samuel Smith's Brewery patriarch, Humphrey Smith, has died at age 81.

Humphrey Smith, the patriarch of the Samuel Smith Brewery, has died. He was a man who lived in the ‘70s—the 1870s. And in his later years, his “traditional” approach, lauded in the newspaper obits yesterday, curdled into something darker and weirder.

06/06/2026

Chemistry of smoking foods. Also relates to smoked malt used to brew beer.

What gives smoked foods their flavour, and where do these flavour compounds come from? This edition of in C&EN has the answers: https://cen.acs.org/articles/104/web/2026/04/food-science-smoked-foods-smoking-barbecue.html

05/29/2026

BrewDog LOL! This is funny.

05/26/2026

Another brewery sale (fail?).
"According to a letter to investors "Voodoo has entered into a transaction involving the sale of substantially all of its operating assets to a new ownership entity" leaving investors "to consider their investment a total [financial] loss". "

According to a letter to investors "Voodoo has entered into a transaction involving the sale of substantially all of its operating assets to a new ownership entity" leaving investors "to consider their investment a total [financial] loss". Story in comments

04/24/2026

Stone Brewinghas been sold by Sapporo to Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and Duvel. I wonder how this will turn out in the long run?

Brand and hospitality acquisition to include three San Diego locations, but questions remain about future of Escondido staff and restaurant.

03/25/2026

Hi, all, a women-owned and -run brewery in Rwanda needs your help. Kweza Craft Brewery — Rwanda’s first and only craft brewery — will close within weeks without support. They had issues with their landlord who tried to steal their business, but won in court, but used up all their cash in the fight. Please donate if you can. Thanks!

Do you believe in: ⚖️ Justice for small businesses? ❤️ Wome… Jessi Flynn needs your support for Kweza Craft Brewery, a Women-Led Brewery Fighting To Survive