BYO - no more printed magazines

[bwible]

I told them I want to cancel. I am not interested in online only content. If Zymurgy follows suit I won’t be an AHA member anymore either, as that is the only tangible benefit we get.

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Dear BYO Print Subscriber: Starting immediately with the next January-February 2025 issue, we are phasing out offering Brew Your Own as a print publication. We'll still be publishing issues on a bi-monthly basis, but these will now only be available online in two different digital formats: A magazine-style flipbook and separate webpages for each article. What Does This Mean to Me? Your BYO print subscription has already been converted over to a BYO+ online membership. You just need to log into byo.com using the email and password you used for your subscription order. If you can't remember your password please click here to go to the "My Account" page. Click on the "Lost Your Password?" link for more help if needed. After you are logged in, you'll have full access to: Our digital magazine issue library with flipbooks available on recent issues An archive of thousands of searchable and indexed homebrewing articles, recipes, and projects from all issues dating back to 1995 New full issue content published every other month Your BYO+ membership also includes live, monthly video chats with brewing experts, and our brewing technique video library. You will receive all the upcoming issues owed to you now in a digital only format through the same expiration date. Why End Print? The decision to end printing our magazine was not made lightly. I love print magazines. I came up in the print magazine industry in the early 1990s and I've been working on print publications ever since, including owning BYO for the last 25 years. But over the last several months it has become clear the economics of continuing to print BYO magazine are simply not sustainable. Our postage and paper costs have almost doubled in the last five years and print industry experts say this trend will only continue. The escalating costs come as print subscription revenue is in decline, the newsstand industry for a publication like BYO has essentially collapsed, and print-based advertising revenue has dramatically eroded. So we are faced with decreased print revenues and increased production and delivery costs all at once. I already raised our print subscription prices to the limit of what I feel homebrewers will spend annually so that's not an option to bring in more money. I've always said we are in the homebrew content business and not the paper and ink business. And if we continue to print our magazines in the face of collapsing print revenues and spiking print-related costs, it puts BYO’s future overall in jeopardy. As a result, I opted instead to make the hard decision to end our print format so we can continue to serve the homebrewing community for years to come with more content and events. To ignore the reality of the grim print financial landscape BYO faces would be irresponsible. Again, you'll be given full credit for all the remaining print issues owed to you in your account with an equal amount of future time as a BYO+ member. And you'll continue to be able to read new issues of BYO published bi-monthly in the magazine page layout of our new fully linked flipbook (that you can also download as a PDF for offline reading) or as individual webpage articles and recipes. Plus online access to 30 years of homebrewing content. In the coming weeks you'll be sent a series of emails on how to get the most out of your new BYO+ membership—from our magazine issue library with flipbooks to brewing technique videos to hundreds of proven and tested recipes. Thank you for your continued support as we look to keep helping you make great beer at home. Cheers, Brad Ring Publisher, Brew Your Own

 

[Agent]

 

[stamandster]

Curious, why so adverse?

 

[khannon]

Yep, as a long-term subscriber, digital only means I'm out..
I like getting it in the mail.
I like reading on paper.
I like that I have it all on a shelf if I want to reference it.
I like the physicality of it.

Online only means that once I stop paying for it I lose access, I can't take it with me to read in my downtime, I can't browse while I'm waiting for a mash..

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

also a topic over in /r/homebrewing (link). That topic is worth a scan/read as there are a couple of posts from personas who claim to be (or recently were) in the magazine publishing business,.

Online only means that once I stop paying for it I lose access, I can't take it with me to read in my downtime, I can't browse while I'm waiting for a mash..

Nope.

From the email (which I also received):

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And you'll continue to be able to read new issues of BYO published bi-monthly in the magazine page layout of our new fully linked flipbook (that you can also download as a PDF for offline reading) or [...]​

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At the moment, it looks like issues back to around 2018 are in flipbook format, downloadable as PDF, and searchable when off-line.

 

[Kickass]

I have no skin in the game as neither an AHA member nor a BYO subscriber.

This is not surprising. I completely understand the tactile desire to hold and read the magazine but that’s not the landscape anymore. If you want the content, you’re going to have to modernize.

I think it’s reasonable to request and receive a refund for the unreceived paper magazines while simultaneously giving up access to future magazines.

 

[shoengine]

Before covid I picked up this really neat magazine dealing with fermentation. Had all sorts of info on stuff, mainly foods. I liked it so much I ordered a subscription. It took a couple of months before I for my next issue, but I must've missed a mailer because I got a completely different magazine. Turns out it got discontinued after just one issue.

Print periodicals are all but dead. The magazine stand at my local drug store was probably 15 feet long. Now it just has old copies of Runners World and Elle.

 

[Halfakneecap]

TikToks the future. Cheesy music and half naked people dry humping the mash tun. You wont learn anything but you'll be stimulated for a few minutes.

 

[day_trippr]

Whoa! At 150-ish°F I gotta believe anyone dry humping a mash tun will only try that once

 

[Bramling Cross]

Why do I need TikTok for that? I've got a sophisticated tun with all kinds of orifices and my kettle has enough holes to make the International Whore of the Year blush.

Regarding BYO, it was a great publication at exactly the right time in the 90's. But when they bifurcated the digital and print subscriptions into two different subscriptions, that pissed me off. I kept my print subscription for a few years after that because I wanted to support them, but their articles had long since become boring and repetitive. I let my subscription lapse several years ago and I can't say I'm the worse for it.

They were the right magazine at the right time, but their time has long passed. I can't say I'll miss them.

 

[CodyRonan]

I liked the print magazine as well. It was fun. I won't be paying for a link.

 

[esdill]

The past two issues of Zymurgy were sent to me digitally, I never received the hard copies. I find it very difficult to read the digital versions, having to enlarge in order to read the words and then move the page around to see all the content. I'll be discontinuing both of them.

 

[hottpeper13]

They claim lack of advertising funds. I quit when they advertised the bootcamp that took up 16 pages in 3 issues. The adds are 1/2 of the content. Same with Zymurgy!

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I wish more magazines would do this, but they need to do it right. I don't want to log in and pay for viewing a website. If it's a digital form of the print version, I'm game.

I had three milk crates full of magazines that hung onto for years. I found the same ones in PDF along with decades of back issues and only takes up half a thumb drive. Portable and referenceable.

 

[hottpeper13]

Do they still have all those bleeping adds on digital?

 

[Yesfan]

I let both of my subscriptions lapse a few years ago. I guess I'm somewhat of an outlier as I didn't want to have to maintain a place to store tons and tons of magazine issues. I used to have a ton of those from publications like Sound & Vision and Home Theater Magazine back in the 90s/2000s before getting rid of them.

Unless the downloadable pdf files become unviewable after you let your subscription lapse, I don't see this as much as a problem. It seems like you get to trim more of the fat and just keep what you want from the current digital issue as a printable pdf file and not a printed issue where half the pages are ads.

 

[stamandster]

Imagine if HBT was a write in periodical, how many of us would be here? There are advantages and disadvantages to both paper and digital formats. Personally, I do enjoy "flipping through" a magazine at times, but I don't enjoy the clutter and upkeep. It's really just a lot of nostalgia, as a kid having the excitement of getting a flier in the mail or newspaper. I'd gander many who feel that way are older than 30. But, in the end, I'd rather be able to have searchable information, easily at my fingertips at all times. I think an issue is that we've been so accustomed to "free" information on many topics, brewing included, via digital outlets that paying for something like this seems like a hard sell. The OP and many others here are HBT paid supporters, where by you find value in the information & discussion (& community) and want it to stay alive. Yet, if these magazines may also provide valuable information and other supporting services to you, enough so that you had a subscription. If it's not (valuable), move along. But if so, think on how you already consume information daily. What medium is it? Just my two pennies.

 

[kevin58]

I've already abandonded AHA because of the content of Zymurgy magazine. I'd hate to dump BYO too but if it goes digital only then I'm gone. I'm retired and don't have a lot of income for non essentials so it doesn't take much to get me to trim expenses.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I tend to follow authors (mostly from the 2010s) where ever they are published. Over the last year, some of them have been writing for either or CB&B - but that seems to be dropping off. If the publishers can't attract advertisers, it's possible that the rates for writing articles are no longer attractive.

There have been a couple of good books published in the last couple of years. Zainasheff co-authored a new book (published in UK, currently just ebook in USA). Mosher was on a recent BeerSmith podcast which included some information on his publishing plans.

My guess is that my current magazine subscription(s) will go on hiatus in 2025 for a couple of years.

 

[bwible]

Its kind of the same reason I still buy cds and dvds. I like to have a hard copy of something instead of feeling like I’m paying for vapor. I know the younger generation streams everything now. I’ve never had that subscription service mentality. I have 3 or 4 bookcases of movies and tv shows on dvd I can watch whenever I want and probably over 1000 music cds that will always be there if a hard drive crashes or something. My generation, I guess.

 

[bwible]

Oh, and my membership just renewed last month. I paid them in November for another year. You can’t tell me this decision was made on the fly and they didn’t know last month when I renewed. They said nothing.

 

[sibelman]

paying for vapor

I read news on my phone, mostly. Still subscribe to a couple of printed journals, and rarely read their content on a screen. Streaming is the only practical way to get new video content at this point, but, like @bwible, I've got hundreds (nowhere near 1000) of CDs, and vinyl disks, some DVDs, and even some VHS tapes and audio cassettes. Most of my book reading is actual books, though I have read some eBooks. I don't tolerate audio books -- I read faster than I can hear -- but I know they're popular, especially with folks who drive a lot.

On a related note, I haven't used a typewriter for a very long time. No disrespect for writers who feel attached to the physical process of pen(cil) or typewriter keys on paper. Paper has powerful advantages, but for me, computers are simply superior for creating written content. And the searchability of "vapor" is a real super power. Ever done legal research the pre-computer way? Totally blows compared to digital methods.

So, for me, "vapor" is AOK in some contexts, better than physical in terms of storage limitations, and unavoidable in some contexts. I'm not too rigid about this, aided perhaps by a career in computers and tech.

 

[rallenhall]

Oddly enough, before reading this thread I was thumbing through the Jan./Feb., 1996, edition of Brewing Techniques. I understand the plight of print media, but I find print more spontaneous and enjoyable than depending on electricity and screen time .... I also admit that I do keep some things a long time.

 

[Willy]

Whoa! At 150-ish°F I gotta believe anyone dry humping a mash tun will only try that once

@day_trippr - Is there a special extra large triclamp with a thermal wall for using this unique mash paddle?

 

[bwible]

Its true things are changing. My stepson has a Nintendo Switch. Many of the games you buy are not even on little cartridges anymore. They give you a code now to download the game. And it costs the same whether you get the little cartridge or just the code. Again not a fan of download codes - what happens when they stop supporting the game?

Notice that when you buy a laptop today it doesn’t come with a cd drive built in anymore, most don’t have a floppy drive anymore either. They sell those as seperate external devices now. Like they don’t expect you to own anything on any kind of disk or hard copy. For those of us who have had computers since the 1980s and been through so many different models and software this is hard to accept.

 

[sibelman]

what happens when they stop supporting the game?

This is the true "vapor," waiting to happen: Features of internet-attached devices that disappear or become subscription items. Cloud providers that evaporate. Data you thought would always be there, but no; aka bit-rot. A streaming show that disappears before you finish it. Physical media (often magnetic tape) that can't be read because the device that reads it is no longer made. Who burned the library?

 

[bwible]

I read news on my phone, mostly. Still subscribe to a couple of printed journals, and rarely read their content on a screen. Streaming is the only practical way to get new video content at this point, but, like @bwible, I've got hundreds (nowhere near 1000) of CDs, and vinyl disks, some DVDs, and even some VHS tapes and audio cassettes.

I used to listen to music on my phone more.
I have an old iphone 8 plus, last one with the button, I made sure to get the 256G model back then, since these things are not expandable. I have almost 5,000 songs on my iphone, a seperate library for Christmas music, and this is not everything I have. Previous IOS versions used to tell you how many weeks/days/hours of music you had.

 

[sibelman]

I have almost 5,000 songs on my iphone

And, IIRC, all those song files are "permanently" backed up in the Applecloud (iTunes?) in case you're phone dies, is lost/stolen, or upgraded. So, less vaporous than some things.

Unless you stop paying Apple?

 

[bwible]

Nope

And, IIRC, all those song files are "permanently" backed up in the Applecloud (iTunes?) in case you're phone dies, is lost/stolen, or upgraded. So, less vaporous than some things.

Unless you stop paying Apple?

Nope. They’re almost all from cds I own. There might be 15-20 purchased songs.

The iphone backup is on my laptop. In case I ever need to restore the phone. It has happened once. The phone has 256G of storage so I’m not paying Apple for anything.

 

[stamandster]

I think the cost of the BYO/Zymurgy subscription should be adjusted if it goes fully digital the overhead is reduced. If the cost to entry were different would those opposed still be adverse to it? Or does the money not matter?

 

[Cameronl]

I've tried, but I can not read online magazines. I end up never reading them. At least my print 'zines I can see the pile and pull one out and finally get around to reading it. I've sent an email requesting a refund on my remaining subscription (almost two years).

 

[MaxStout]

Magazines like Zymurgy and BYO are made to be read cover to cover, at least for me. All facets of brewing are of interest to me, even if I don't do it all. I like to keep up with gear, methods and recipes. It's not easy for me to scroll through a pdf in a smartphone, keep zooming in and out, etc. The dead-tree version is nice to read while relaxing and I look forward to each issue. However, I have downloaded some back issues of Zymurgy, just because those have topics I want to keep as references.

Other pubs are more conducive to digital, particularly if it's something where I just need to search. I get Consumer Reports digital only. I don't need or want a paper version. I don't need to read reviews of baby formula or floor mats. It's not a magazine I want to read through, as only a portion is relevant to me. If I plan to buy an electric range or a truck I look up the reviews.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I think the cost of the BYO/Zymurgy subscription should be adjusted if it goes fully digital the overhead is reduced.

A BYO+ subscription was $50 in Apr 2024. Currently $40.

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BYO+ does include magazine articles in HTML format. Occasionally I'll browse them on my (small form factor) iPhone SE (2nd gen) and haven't had issues.

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I find that PDFs are very readable on my iPad. Viewing PDFs on my Windows 10 laptop (1920x1080, 10+ years old) works OK - the last time I did some serious 'research' with PDFs, I added a 2nd monitor with more height.

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As an aside, CB&B's iPadOS app also worked well for me for displaying the magazine.

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

This news sucks, I dont have an on line account, and do not want one, I hate the fact that I cant take my magazine and sit in a chair and read weather in my front porch, in the boat or on. Vacation..
Not everything is better on line.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Whoa! At 150-ish°F I gotta believe anyone dry humping a mash tun will only try that once

Better than the cinnamon challenge or eating Tide pods!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

This is a "planting a seed" idea ...

The guest on The Brew Files #170 podcast talks about holding a one day local in person conference that they held in late summer (August?) 2024. Sounds like they will do it again next year. The guest offered to provide insights for those considering doing the same. Details are in the podcast.

... so the 'reboot' of conferences may have begun.

If one were to restart a monthly printed home brewing related magazine, what would you expect from it? Is black ink on white paper acceptable? Would embedded QR codes be useful? Authors and publishers want to get paid - so how would the publisher do that? Would some level of product sponsored articles be better than 'pure' advertising?

 

[Brew_Dude41]

I let my subscription lapse shortly after the boys were born and my free time got allocated to keeping up with them. They are more self-sufficient and I have been able to start brewing again. I was actually was looking at a few old copies last night and thinking of renewing.

Personally digital only doesn't do it for me and it will save me the trouble of trying to renew. There is a drive at work to digitalize all documents now. I see the value, but when my job is to audit and control our documents and processes, hard copies are preferable for me. The ability to spread things out and put different documents next to each other to compare and mark up is far easier that trying to get 3 window open in a tablet at a size I can read.

Call me old fashioned but I want the print copy in my hands.

 

[Yesfan]

........Notice that when you buy a laptop today it doesn’t come with a cd drive built in anymore, most don’t have a floppy drive anymore either. They sell those as separate external devices now. Like they don’t expect you to own anything on any kind of disk or hard copy. For those of us who have had computers since the 1980s and been through so many different models and software this is hard to accept.

Or no headphone jack or removable battery on some cell phones. I'm still using my Galaxy S10 for that reason. Don't get me started on Logitech discontinuing and killing support for the Squeezebox.


- typed from a 12 year old Lenovo laptop with a CD/DVD drive.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

- typed from a 12 year old Lenovo laptop with a CD/DVD drive.

+1 from my 12 year old Samsung laptop (also with a CD/DVD drive).

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Or no headphone jack or removable battery on some cell phones. I'm still using my Galaxy S10 for that reason. Don't get me started on Logitech discontinuing and killing support for the Squeezebox.

Squeezebox! I had 4 of those, those were just so damned cool back in the day, before Logitech ruined them...