Massachusetts is backing of the farmer-brewery enforcement from the time being. The state treasurer Steven Grossman said Monday that he will eliminate the rules change, and hold a public forum for comments from brewers, breweries and the general public.
A beer to taste like Pho. Named after Mekong’s Restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. Brian was eating a big bowl of Pho at Mekongs when the challenge was thrown down to make a beer that that takes like this Continue Reading →
Brewdog Brewing is bottling Hello My Name Is Ingrid this afternoon. Cloudberries are popular throughout Scandinavia, used in jams, jellies and ice cream. It’s also used in liquors. The end of July/August is their peak season. Raw, unripe berries are tart Continue Reading →
O-I is the glass manufacturer for Schlafly Brewing (St. Louis, MO). The brewery – born in 1991, is celebrating 20 years by embossing the shoulders of their bottles for the first time.
Last summer the brewery was looking a glass contract, Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Larry Bell got to throw out the first pitch at the Chicago Cubs game. Bell’s has seen great success in the windy city, but apparently this wasn’t full motivation for the pitch.
Left Hand Brewing has a new draft offering on the way, Biere De Garde. This “beer to keep” is a draft only offering. It was the winning entry in a Colorado Home Brew competition. The winning entry gets Continue Reading →
Massachusetts is backing of the farmer-brewery enforcement from the time being. The state treasurer Steven Grossman said Monday that he will eliminate the rules change, and hold a public forum for comments from brewers, breweries and the general public.
The rule would have forced breweries in the state of Massachusetts to grow at least 50% of the grain they will use in brewing, or apply for a more expensive (and prohibitive) license. Idle Hands Brewingmade an appeal to the public last week after the Massachusetts Alcohol Board denied their farmer-brewery status. [BostonHerald via @NotchSession]
A beer to taste like Pho. Named after Mekong’s Restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. Brian was eating a big bowl of Pho at Mekongs when the challenge was thrown down to make a beer that that takes like this Vietnamese dish. Of course he answered with Mekong Phoson. A pho-saison crossover.
Brewdog Brewing is bottling Hello My Name Is Ingrid this afternoon. Cloudberries are popular throughout Scandinavia, used in jams, jellies and ice cream. It’s also used in liquors. The end of July/August is their peak season. Raw, unripe berries are tart & sour.
Ingrid will be made available around Scandinavia first, soon hit the Brewdog store.
O-I is the glass manufacturer for Schlafly Brewing (St. Louis, MO). The brewery – born in 1991, is celebrating 20 years by embossing the shoulders of their bottles for the first time.
Last summer the brewery was looking a glass contract, and opted to add to the bottle design a bit. The sheer amount of bottles is produced with the new letters in 3 days by O-I in Lapel, Indiana is staggering – 1.4 million. Mind boggling.
Dan Kopman, C0-Founder:
This is a subtle and simple addition, we did not want to change the label designs or overall appearance in a dramatic way. Knowing that we were entering our 20th year we decided it would be groovy to add “EST 1991” to the bottle. We also found room to add an arc of the “SCHLAFLY” letters to the design.
New bottles will appear a little laster this year. Check out the video below taken from the 3-day production at O-I
Craft beer alive and well in the United States in 2011…
Dollar growth up 15% in first six months of 2011; U.S. sees rapid growth in breweries in planning
Boulder, CO – August 8, 2011 – The Brewers Association, the trade association representing the majority of U.S. brewing companies, has released strong mid-year numbers for America’s small and independent craft brewers¹. Dollar sales were up 15 percent in the first half of 2011, excluding brewers who left the craft segment in 2010². Volume of craft brewed beer sold grew 14 percent for the first six months in 2011, compared to 9 percent growth in the first half of 2010.
Barrels sold by craft brewers for the first half of the year are an estimated 5.1 million barrels. Despite many challenges, the mid-year numbers show signs of continued growth for craft breweries. The industry currently provides an estimated 100,000 jobs, contributing significantly to the U.S. economy.
“Craft brewers continue to innovate and brew beers of excellent quality,” noted Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. “America’s beer drinkers are rapidly switching to craft because of the variety of flavors they are discovering. And they are connecting with small and independent craft brewers as companies they choose to support.”
The U.S. now boasts 1,790 breweries–an increase of 165 additional breweries since June 2010. The Brewers Association also tracks breweries in planning as an indicator of potential new entrants into the craft category, and lists 725 breweries in planning today compared to 389 a year ago. Additionally, the count of craft brewers was at 1,740 as of June 30, 2011.
“There is a growing interest in establishing new breweries,” Gatza added. “It seems like every day we are hearing about a brewery in planning. Will they all make it? No, but many will if they produce high-quality, interesting craft beers and can get them to market through self-distribution and beer wholesalers and beer retailers.”
¹ The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of beer less than 6 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.
2 Three former craft brewing companies left the segment in the second half of 2010 when transitions led them to no longer meet the Brewers Association’s definition of independence
Yesterday, Larry Bell got to throw out the first pitch at the Chicago Cubs game. Bell’s has seen great success in the windy city, but apparently this wasn’t full motivation for the pitch.
Larry Bell’s girlfriend is a huge supporter of the Chicago’s Children’s Museum, and a huge Cubs fan herself. [MLive]
Left Hand Brewing has a new draft offering on the way, Biere De Garde. This “beer to keep” is a draft only offering. It was the winning entry in a Colorado Home Brew competition. The winning entry gets to brew the recipe on a professional system.
Hops: Proprietary Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Dark Munich, CaraVienne, Aromatic, Biscuit Yeast: French Ale Yeast
Tasting notes (Per LH): Pours with an off white dense head capping amber liquid with orange highlights. Warm malt notes of toffee, caramel and graham cracker. Tropical fruity aromas appear with further sniffing. First taste is of rich maltiness segueing to candied fruit and a dry, slightly bitter finish. Alcohol warmth tries to poke through the sweetness.
