Beer News

31 Hours Left To Fund Rogness

UPDATE 11/23: They made it! Congrats!

Rogness Brewing Company is looking to expand the craft beer selection in Texas. (They need more beer!)  Using Kickstarter, the future brewery has raised over $10,000 of $12,000 goal.  31 hours left.  Here’s their story:

Rogness Brewing Continue Reading →

Sadly, No Alchemist Rebuild

I’ve been following the story of The Alchemist Brewpub & Brewery in Waterbury, Vermont.  They suffered catastrophic damage to the brewpub when flood waters from Hurricane Irene attacked the town.  The Kimmichs, founders of The Alchemist were very Continue Reading →

Magic Hat Makes Run To The Great White North

Brick Brewing (Waterloo, ON) is teaming up with North American Breweries to expand craft offerings in Canada. 

Magic Hat will be the newest offerings through Brick’s network.

Canada’s specialty beer market is growing even as beer drinking overall has declined in favor of other Continue Reading →

Weyerbacher Says Sorry

It’s great that breweries release beers that everyone wants a taste of. By nature, they are brewers, not event coordinators. Sometimes it’s not as organized as they’d like. Weyerbacher took a moment today to apologize for those that might have Continue Reading →

Posted in Beer News, Rogness Brewing

31 Hours Left To Fund Rogness

UPDATE 11/23: They made it! Congrats!

Rogness Brewing Company is looking to expand the craft beer selection in Texas. (They need more beer!)  Using Kickstarter, the future brewery has raised over $10,000 of $12,000 goal.  31 hours left.  Here’s their story:

Rogness Brewing Company will specialize in creating small, handcrafted batches of beer. As decade long owners of a successful homebrew supply shop in Austin, TX, Forrest & Diane Rogness have experimented with many special hops and exotic ingredients. They are ready to share some of their more unique recipes with the world. So how far along are they?

Sexy logo? Check.
A spacious location in north Austin? Check.
A team of brewers, experts and handymen? Check.
Brewhouse and fermenting tanks on the way? Check.

There is still much to be done, however, such as procuring the very expensive cold storage room, a steam generator, more kegs, and a bottling line. And that’s why we’re here asking for help and offering fun incentives! – – – – – – – >

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There is a craft beer revolution going on in central TX and the timing has never been better to open a brewery. Several breweries here have needed to double their capacity within 9 months of opening!!! Bars are featuring more and more TX beers as well as beer pairing dinners due to high demand and overall curiosity in this growing hotbed of epicurean enthusiasm. Rogness Brewing Company is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this expanding trend.

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Methodology

While there will be a regular rotation of kegs, we will feature very limited runs of really unique beers every 3 to 6 months. If there is a rare spice or a new hop that comes out, we may feature it in one of these beers and possibly never again. It is that kind of freedom that will help Rogness Brewing Company stand out in a growing market of craft beer. In addition, we plan to offer food pairing suggestions on each bottle. It has taken so long for craft beer to “catch up” to wine’s status as an enjoyable yet sophisticated adult beverage that can be paired with a number of foods to enhance and complement each other. More education remains, however, and we accept this challenge.

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The Brewers –

Mark Tovar, Daron White, David Heath and Dan Wheeler make up the team of brewers, experts and general handymen. Including Forrest, they have a combined 61 years of brewing experience.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, The Alchemist Pub & Brewery

Sadly, No Alchemist Rebuild

I’ve been following the story of The Alchemist Brewpub & Brewery in Waterbury, Vermont.  They suffered catastrophic damage to the brewpub when flood waters from Hurricane Irene attacked the town.  The Kimmichs, founders of The Alchemist were very positive in the wake of tragedy, vowing to rebuild.  The cannery was out of the flood zone, things were looking up. That is – until the insurance company informed them that the basement- where the brewery/brewpub resided was NOT covered.

That is has proved to be the nail in the coffin for the rebuild.   In a letter soon  published on their website:

Hello friends and fellow business owners.

First and foremost, thank you for all of your assistance and encouragement in the months following the flood. This experience was a challenge made easier by your outpouring of support.

We have made the very difficult decision not to re-open The Alchemist Pub and Brewery. While it is extremely difficult to walk away from the business we have spent our last 10 years building, this is the best option for us moving forward. There were many factors that helped us come to this decision. Primarily, we have recently learned that none of the contents in our basement were covered by flood insurance. Unfortunately, our basement was the lifeblood of our business — our brewery, our beer, all of our food and our offices were in the basement. Moving forward, we have come to the realization that re-building our basement brewery is not a viable option.

At this time, we are focused on reconstructing our building at 23 South Main Street. Zoning has been approved to re-build a 60-seat pub. John and I are determined to re-build as fast as possible to contribute to the vitality of downtown Waterbury. We are in talks with a few different restaurateurs to take over the space. We will find the best fit for Waterbury — someone who can continue to run the pub in a warm, friendly and accessible manner, and provide employment opportunities to our staff.

The Alchemist will continue to be involved in the village of Waterbury. As property owners, we will continue to put our best foot forward with the aesthetics of the building. It is our belief that without the day-to-day operations of the pub and brewery, we will be able to spend more time on community focused special events. Moreover, and probably most important, we will move our 7-barrel brewery to our new production brewery at 35 Crossroad. Once we have installed the brewery, John will be hard at work to supply the community with his creative and tasty small production beers.

If anyone has any questions or concerns about the future of our building or The Alchemist, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Warm Regards,

Jennifer & John Kimmich

The Alchemist 

Luckily, there will be more Heady Topper and other tasty canned delights coming from The Alchemist, as they focus on their production brewery.  Sadly, the local watering hole seems to be gone for good.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News

VID: Schneider’s Mein Nelson “Bavarian Weizen”

This is Schneider’s newest American offering: Mein Nelson Sauvin, a wheat bock brewed using the nelson sauvin hop.  This beer was a completely new approach by the brewery, which brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler says a beer evolution. Tap-X is a series, next year the beer and style will be different.

Introducing TAP X: Nelson Sauvin from Schneider USA on Vimeo.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Dogfish Head

Dogfish Alehouse Could Still Liable In Deadly Crash

JMGM Group LLC who runs Dogfish Ale House in Virginia,could still be held liable for a patron’s deadly crash.

In 2008, Michael D. Eaton who was 35 time, reportedly drank 17 beers and a couple of lemon drop shots, and drove home.  Eaton crashed into the back of another car on the road killing  a 10 year old.   He fled the scene and checked into a hotel for 12 hours prior to turning himself  in.  Eaton had priors for reckless driving, DUI, and weed possession.  He received 8 years in prison for the crash.

Why some states have laws against over serving patrons, Virginia does not.  However, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Eric M. Johnson will decide for a second time whether to send this case to trial (and set a precedent.)  The civil suit against the alehouse is to the tune of $3.5 million dollars.  Also, looking over previous articles, Eaton reportedly drank 17 coronas, 2 lemon drop shots, a tequila shot, and an appetizer over a number of hours.  No Dogfish Head beer. [Gazette]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Brick Brewing, Distribution Expansion, Magic Hat Brewing

Magic Hat Makes Run To The Great White North

Brick Brewing (Waterloo, ON) is teaming up with North American Breweries to expand craft offerings in Canada. 

Magic Hat will be the newest offerings through Brick’s network.

Canada’s specialty beer market is growing even as beer drinking overall has declined in favor of other drinks such as wine. The premium and craft end of the market has been able to maintain its prices and grow their market share at the expense of the mass-market brewers.

“Not unlike the recent growth we’ve observed with our own U.S. craft brewed beers, we’ve also witnessed tremendous growth within the Canadian craft beer market,” said Rich Lozyniak, chief executive of North American Breweries. “So naturally we’re excited to give Canadians an opportunity to try our U.S. craft beers”

Brick Brewing is known for offerings like Laker Lager, Red Baron, Red Cap  & more.  Brick Brewing also imports Palm.  They are Canada’s fifth largest brewer.  [Canoe.ca]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News

California: 245 Breweries, Lowest Consumption Per Person

Who has the highest brewery to person ratio in the country?  If you think about state population, this probably doesn’t come as a surprise.  The Street did a little research, here’s what they came up with:

Vermont: 16 breweries produced 1.4 million barrels last year.  That’s 1 brewery for every 82,000 people.  Consumption: 32.7 gallons a year per person.  Highest in U.S.

Montana:  27 breweries produced 1 million barrels last year.  The ratio of brewery to person is one of the highest – 1 for every 37,000 people.  Consumption: 30.5 gallons a year per person.

Vermont: 21 breweries produced just over a half a million a year.  That’s a 1 brewery for every 30,000 people.

California: This is interesting.  245 breweries produced 22 million barrels a year.  Consumption? The lowest in the U.S. per person, at just 18.5 gallons a year.  There is A LOT of Cali beer sold everywhere in the U.S.

They also name the Top 10 Winter/Christmas/Holiday ales.  GO MAD ELF! [TheStreet]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Weyerbacher

Weyerbacher Says Sorry

Weyerbacher Idiots DroolIt’s great that breweries release beers that everyone wants a taste of. By nature, they are brewers, not event coordinators. Sometimes it’s not as organized as they’d like. Weyerbacher took a moment today to apologize for those that might have been frustrated by last nights Idiot’s Drool event:

We want to apologize to our beer fans for not having better planning and organization for last nights event. We had no idea we were going to have such a huge crowd! And we are grateful for that, its just that this was the first time a release event had been this well attended. We’ve already had a meeting this morning with everyone involved in the planning and organization and we will make certain the next special event is handled in an organized way to provide enjoyment and opportunity for all who make the trek to Easton.

Judging from the online feedback posted here, many of you had a fantastic time at the event anyway. You loved the Idiot’s Drool as well as Tango, our latest one-off, a strong belgian ale with cherries, 9.6%. We do have another 30 cs of Tango available on Saturday at normal Visitor Center hours, but since they were not labeled yet we couldn’t bring them out at the event.

Mostly, we want to thank everyone for coming out and showing the love for Weyerbacher last night. We truly appreciate your patience with our mis-steps, and we’re just blown away to know how much you love our brews! What we as brewers enjoy the most is created new beers and new experiences, pushing the envelope or abandoning style in general, to boldly brew where no one has brewed before! That’s what makes it fun for us, and we’re thrilled that you see it the same way.

Thanks again everyone!We truly appreciate it.

Dan Weyerbacher, Chris Wilson, Chris Lampe, Bill Bragg and the rest of the hardworking excellent team at Weyerbacher.

 

by Reid Ramsay