Jolly Pumpkin Brewing’s biere de garde Oro De Calabaza will see some small bottle treatment soon. Oro has been available previously in 750ml bottles – and will remain available that way, in addition to this smaller bottle format. Both labels Continue Reading →
Okay, here is your Surly Darkness Day 2011 update.
A bunch of people have been lined up since before dawn. They are drinking awesome beers, many already buzzing. The line by 8:45 am was 2x as long as it was last Continue Reading →
Leinenkugel is experimenting with a barrel aging program. The first experiments have been with Big Eddy Imperial Stout. Eddy has spent time in bourbon and rye bourbon barrels. Here’s the kicker, these releases don’t really exist. Well, they Continue Reading →
More Miller news. CEO Tom Long admits that the “Man Up” campaign failed to lift the company from slumping sales. Their ad agency is working on new advertising. What’s to blame? Not rain this time. It’s unemployment among blue collar Continue Reading →
New Belgium Brewing works hard at being “Green.” The but with anything in nature, breaking things down is a stinky job. Some residents of Fort Collins are finding this out the hard way.
Tom Long of Miller Coors made a pretty interesting speech last week at the National Beer Wholesalers Conference in Las Vegas. To sum up his thoughts, the beer industry is slumping. Spirits are up. (To the tune of 1.5% Continue Reading →
Notch Brewing’s Saison has been promoted to year round status. This saison (or Worker’s Beer) is a mere 3.8% ABV. Starting in 22oz bottles was a way to test the demand for a low abv session saison. 6-packscarry Continue Reading →
Jolly Pumpkin Brewing’s biere de garde Oro De Calabaza will see some small bottle treatment soon. Oro has been available previously in 750ml bottles – and will remain available that way, in addition to this smaller bottle format. Both labels just got an artwork refresh.
Aged in large oak casks and refermented in the bottle, Oro de Calabaza is brewed in the Franco-Belgian tradition of special golden ales. Spicy and peppery with a gentle hop bouquet and the beguiling influence of wild yeast.
Okay, here is your Surly Darkness Day 2011 update.
A bunch of people have been lined up since before dawn. They are drinking awesome beers, many already buzzing. The line by 8:45 am was 2x as long as it was last year.
All the wristbands for Darkness, the bell of the ball, have all been given out. No wristband? You can buy up to 4 bottles starting 4pm.
What’s pouring? Check out the sheet above. It’s like you’re really there right? Maybe not. Check out what people are saying.
Leinenkugel is experimenting with a barrel aging program. The first experiments have been with Big Eddy Imperial Stout. Eddy has spent time in bourbon and rye bourbon barrels. Here’s the kicker, these releases don’t really exist. Well, they do – but they don’t. These little 7 oz bottles are just testers. The brewers at Lenie’s took the first release of Big Eddy (2010) and aged it in (2) Heaven Hill for a full year. The flavor of this beer is incredible. (More on that in a minute.)
Also on the way are 2 NEW beers from Leinie’s:
Wee Heavy Scotch Ale. New style for Lenies. 2012 will see the release to 30 key accounts. There will also be a barrel side project for Wee Heavy. More rye bourbon & bourbon.
IPA. The brewery has been itching to release a hoppy offering. April 2012 will see this release.
There are other styles in development, and Leinenkugel’s expands their lineup.
So where does this leave the barrel aging? First public release is about 2 years away. It will take time for the brewery to build up a barrel inventory to move forward with the program.
How does it taste? Lovers of barrel aged beers should already start drooling over this release. Caramel, Raisins, vanilla, molasses, rye & oak. I found myself trying to get the last drops out of the bottle (I had to share 7ozs!) 2 years is too long to wait for more.
More Miller news. CEO Tom Long admits that the “Man Up” campaign failed to lift the company from slumping sales. Their ad agency is working on new advertising. What’s to blame? Not rain this time. It’s unemployment among blue collar workers. The craft beer segment is up 14%, apparently appealing to the “wealthy” drinkers.
A-B just recently cut ties with their ad agency, DDB that was doing work for Bud Light. They are still looking for a suitable agency. The article also mentions how much the spirit industry is taking off due to advertising.
Question remains – will Miller-Coors be happy targeting and winning back the low income drinker [AdAge]
New Belgium’s Biomass Sludge Smell Annoying Neighbors
New Belgium Brewing works hard at being “Green.” The but with anything in nature, breaking things down is a stinky job. Some residents of Fort Collins are finding this out the hard way.
The biomass sludge, bacteria rich material that New Belgium is using to treat wastewater from brewing. The brewery says they are brewing more, and the Bryan Simpson from NB had this to say:
“The best that we’re hoping for, and the presumption is, that we’ve turned the corner on this and it’s only going to get … the smell will be reduced day by day as we go forward,”
“Brussel Sprouts and horse poop” was the best description of the stench. [DenverChannel]
Beer Industry Slumping? It’s How You Look At The Numbers
Tom Long of Miller Coors made a pretty interesting speech last week at the National Beer Wholesalers Conference in Las Vegas. To sum up his thoughts, the beer industry is slumping. Spirits are up. (To the tune of 1.5% down, to 3.5% up.) Some of the impact is due to the spirits sector advertising more. RE: Capt’n Morgan, DisAronno, Jack Daniels. In an interesting statement Long said – “Beer needs to change, and fast.”
This science geek thinks a little differently. The beer industry is (very) roughly 90% big beer, 10% small beer. We pretty much know Big Beer is experiencing major sales losses. Small Beer is booming. Lump the losses of the 90% with the 10%, of course you are going see an overall loss. Can’t make it much simpler than that.
At the end of the day, Tom Long’s remarks at the conference were positive as were the responses. Maybe when Long said – “Beer needs to change, and fast.” Could be amended to say – “Some beer needs to change, and fast.” [MSNMoney]
Notch Brewing’sSaison has been promoted to year round status. This saison (or Worker’s Beer) is a mere 3.8% ABV. Starting in 22oz bottles was a way to test the demand for a low abv session saison. 6-packscarry a higher packaging cost. With such a positive response, the promotion is now official. Saison launched in June, 2011.
Brewed in the traditional Saison style of Belgium, this is the classic farmhouse beer. Originally brewed by farms to slake the thirst of seasonal workers (les saisonniers), this refreshing beer had a lower alcohol content that is not often seen in today’s modern Saison. Notch returns the Saison to its roots, not only in alcohol content, but by using local ingredients much like the Belgian farmers. The wheat used in Notch Saison is malted by Valley Malt in Hadley Massachusetts.
Style: Saison
Hops: Mt Hood, Styrian Goldings Malts: Pils, Red Winter Wheat, Oats, Belgian Yeast: Belgian Saison Yeast
Availability: 22oz bombers, Draft through 2011. 2012 – 12oz bottles.
Jolly Pumpkin Brewing’s biere de garde Oro De Calabaza will see some small bottle treatment soon. Oro has been available previously in 750ml bottles – and will remain available that way, in addition to this smaller bottle format. Both labels just got an artwork refresh.
