Beer News

LSU Creates Their Own Beer

Louisiana State University (LSU) is creating their own beer.  The future blonde ale will be  a collaboration with Tin Roof Brewing in Baton Rouge.  The brewery is located less than a mile from campus, opening it’s doors in Continue Reading →

A Saranac For Jerry

F.X. Matt Brewing is paying tribute to Jerry Garcia this summer with Saranac Liquid Vibes Lager.  Liquid Vibes will be exclusively served at the Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  The festival was created back in 1996 Continue Reading →

Improvisación Now Just Improv

Cigar City Brewing’s Improvisación got a shorter name and a much longer description.  AND since I took the time to write out the description, I think you should take some time to read it.   Improv is a brown ale, IPA, Continue Reading →

Water Or Beer? Animee Is Clear

Here it is… your clear lager for woman.  “Clear Filtered” and bloat resistant.   The other flavors – including Rose, and Citrus will have a tinge of color…

Molson Coors Press Release

Launching in early Autumn, Animée is part of Molson Coors’ Continue Reading →

Posted in Beer News

LSU Creates Their Own Beer

Louisiana State University (LSU) is creating their own beer.  The future blonde ale will be  a collaboration with Tin Roof Brewing in Baton Rouge.  The brewery is located less than a mile from campus, opening it’s doors in November of last year.

This LSU licensed beer will be a blonde ale, and will actually tie into the food science program at the university.  The topic obviously being fermentation.  Professors and students will help with the brew process & sanitation efforts.  Classes will be held at Tin Roof Brewing.  It’s financially beneficial to both parties. LSU will receive royalty money from the sale of the beer, as will Tin Roof.  A great way to help build a small brewery.

Tin Roof is worried about capacity issues once the beer takes off.  This blonde ale has no name yet, and is expected to be canned.  Tin Roof has already ordered a canning line, that according to a tweet by the brewery – arrives today. [BusinessWeek]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Coming Soon, New Belgium

New Belgium Drops 2 Below, Adds Snow Day

New Belgium Brewing is dropping 2 Below, and adding Snow Day.  This recipe is different from 2 Below, as this beer is dark wheat based.  Snow Day seems to be an experiment of an unexpected snow day in Fort Collins.  Replacing 2° Below? We’ll find out soon enough.

Label:

With 3 feet of powder closing the roads, a brewery is not a bad place to get snowed in.  Given the unanticipated hass pass of a snow day, our brewers decided to experiment.  Hmm… what about this dark caramel roasted Midnight Wheat braced with a serious load of Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade hops? Shovel it in.  What a deliciously unexpected way to spend a SNOW DAY!

Style: American Dark Wheat?

Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft.

6.2% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, F.X. Matt Brewing

A Saranac For Jerry

F.X. Matt Brewing is paying tribute to Jerry Garcia this summer with Saranac Liquid Vibes Lager.  Liquid Vibes will be exclusively served at the Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  The festival was created back in 1996 to celebrate the lead man of The Grateful Dead.

The festival kicks off today, and runs through June 24th, 2011.  20,000-30,000 people attend this festival a day. Headlining acts this year include Elvis Costello, Moe., and Jane’s Addiction.

[GoVibes]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News

Russia Classifies Beer As Alcoholic; Ass, Or A Hole In The Ground Debate Rages On

Yeah, you read that right.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a bill yesterday that classifies beer as alcoholic.  It’s actually not as obvious as it sounds.  Beer that is less than 10% has been classified as a “foodstuff.”  Definition? A substance suitable for consumption as food.  The sale of beer hasn’t been controlled in Russia the same way spirits are.

According to the World Health Organization, Russia’s alcohol consumption rate is a full 2x higher than the critical level set by the organization.  Beer sales have increased 40%, vodka sales down 30% in the past 10 years.  Interestingly, beer has actually been marketed as a healthy alternative to vodka.  Apparently, drinking is so common in Russia, people drink beer on the streets and in parks like it’s soda.   Beer sales are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by any store that wants to sell it.

This bill opens the door for more legislation to restrict sales by unlicensed vendors, time of day, and who can sell beer. [BBCEurope]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Cigar City Brewing

Improvisación Now Just Improv

Cigar City Brewing’s Improvisación got a shorter name and a much longer description.  AND since I took the time to write out the description, I think you should take some time to read it.   Improv is a brown ale, IPA, rye beer, with oatmeal. It’s a hot mess.

Label:
What you have here is an Oatmeal Rye India-style Brown Ale.  Now you might be thinking oatmeal, rye, brown ale, India-style; isn’t that a lot to be going on in just one beer? Well, yes it is. But that is the point.  Layers, Flavor elements building on and playing off of preceding elements, like a building wave; a growing crescendum of taste bud temptation; a wall of sound expressed through flavor a channeled toward your mouth.  This beer isn’t for everyone.  In many ways it is more than a little weird.  It is certainly doesn’t fit into any category.  It isn’t a brown ale, not just a brown ale anyway.  It certainly isn’t a n IPA.  Calling it a rye beer would be selling it shortIn the spirit of great things that are conceived in the moment, but perfected through passionate repetition it started life as an improvisation and grew from there and it might not be for you.  But if the though of big spicy rye notes, a wallop of a hop punch, multitudinous layers of caramel, sweet almost, and a respectable balancing gravity sound intriguing then you might want o wing it and give Improv a try.

Style: American Brown Ale (-ish)
Availability:  750ml bottles.  Seasonal, varying release dates.

9% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Stone Brewing Co.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Stone’s European Venture

Want to know everything you can about Stone Brewing’s interest in building in Europe? Checkout the proposal here [StoneRFP]

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News

Water Or Beer? Animee Is Clear

Here it is… your clear lager for woman.  “Clear Filtered” and bloat resistant.   The other flavors – including Rose, and Citrus will have a tinge of color…

Molson Coors Press Release

Launching in early Autumn, Animée is part of Molson Coors’ ambition to make beer a real choice for women who are vital in growing a shrinking beer market, which currently attributes just 17%** of its sales to females The 4% ABV beer is lightly sparkling and finely filtered with a delicious, fresh taste. Animée will be available in three variants: clear filtered , crisp rosé and zesty lemon.
The new brand positioning aims to dispel the perception among women that all beers look and taste the same and that there is nothing to tell them apart. The positioning is supported by Animée’s unexpectedly sophisticated appearance and delicious, fresh taste.
Kristy McCready, Communications Partner, Molson Coors (UK & Ireland) said: “Women are an essential part of future growth for the beer industry and can no longer be ignored. We need to repair the reputation of beer among women by launching products that meet their needs.

“Driving a growth in beer consumption among women is no mean feat. Currently 79% of women in the UK never or rarely drink beer, only accepting to drink beer on a small number of occasions. At Molson Coors we have put a lot of time into finding out why women aren’t drinking beer, conducting an insight programme with over 30,000 women, and what would make them change their minds. The result is Animée, which we see as an exciting opportunity to break down the barriers between women and beer. The brand plan and the product design are feminine and sophisticated without being patronising.”
Animée is the result of two years of NPD driven by industry and consumer insights from the BitterSweet Partnership, a multi-million pound business set up by Molson Coors in 2009 to remove the gender imbalance that exists around beer consumption and make beer an aspirational choice for women.
Working with VCCP Blue, Molson Coors will launch a £2 million advertising campaign in September to drive awareness of Animée among consumers and the trade.

by Reid Ramsay