Breweries

Hair of the Dog to close after 29 years

Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog Brewing, one of America’s oldest craft breweries will close sometime this summer. Founder Alan Sprints announced this week he will retire from the industry. The brewery opened in 1993. 

Sprints gave the brewery fans a Continue Reading →

SweetWater acquires Green Flash & Alpine Beer

Atlanta, Georgia-based SweetWater Brewing has acquired the Mira Mesa, California-based Green Flash Brewing, and Alpine Beer brands. 

SweetWater is not acquiring the facility or brewing equipment, that will apparently remain with current owners to be put up for sale or other Continue Reading →

Hi-Wire Gingerbread 10W-40 Imperial Stout

Hi-Wire Gingerbread 10W-40 drops today, the latest in a creative line of imperial stouts from the Asheville, North Carolina brewery. 

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Ginger. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Lactose.) 
Availability: 16oz Cans. 
Debut: 11/12/21

8% ABV

Posted in Hair Of The Dog Brewing, Headlines

Hair of the Dog to close after 29 years

Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog Brewing, one of America’s oldest craft breweries will close sometime this summer. Founder Alan Sprints announced this week he will retire from the industry. The brewery opened in 1993. 

Sprints gave the brewery fans a bitter Valentine’s Day gift when he posted his retirement video to the brewery’s Facebook group page on Monday. 

Hair of the Dog has long been known for barrel-aged and strong ale offerings. Sprints went the strong beer route because he never liked feeling full on beer, saying on numerous occasions he wanted to drink two beers that make you feel like you’ve had six. His success is hard to argue, as some of  Sprint’s creations e sold for hundreds, and in rare cases- 1000’s of dollars in the secondary market over the years. “I was making barrel-aged beer when folks thought it was weird to do so,” Sprints once told Beer Street Journal. 

The brewery was originally built near the Brooklyn rail yards in 1993. In 2010, the brewery moved to Portland’s southeast industrial warehouse district, making Hair of the Dog more accessible to visitors and residents alike. 

Even as the brewery winds down operations near the 3-decade mark, Hair of the Dog still only produces just shy of 600 barrels (18,600 gallons) annually in a 4-barrel brewhouse. Sprits is still one of the smallest craft brewers in America.

“Beer has been very very good to me, I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend over half my life doing something I love so much,” Sprints said in his announcement video. A specific closing date was not announced, other than summer 2022. 

Additionally, Sprints said he is open to collaborating with other breweries in the future. Hair of the Dog itself will not be sold. 

Signing off, Sprints invites the public to come through before the taproom closes. “Please plan on coming down in the next few months, and help us celebrate the diverse world of beer that exists today.”

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in NoDa Brewing, Seasonal Return

NoDa Brewing Hop Cakes is back in cans this weekend

Noda Brewing Hop Cakes, the maple syrup heavy imperial India pale ale will resurface again this weekend.

Each batch of Hop Cakes is brewed with 110 pounds of maple syrup from Vermont. Cans of this sweet, hoppy dream were first released in February of 2015.

Pour yourself a stack of Imperial IPA goodness soaked in lots and lots of delicious Vermont maple syrup. Then put down your axe, loosen your suspenders and enjoy sweet, citrus, hops and resin flavors in this special release treat. Enjoy immediately (do not cellar). And feel free to come back for seconds!

Hop Cakes will be available in 16-ounce cans and draft at the brewery on January 27th, 2022.

Style: Imperial IPA (w/ Maple Syrup)
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.
Latest Return: 1/27/22

10.2% ABV

Image via NoDa Brewing

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Terrapin Beer Company, New Beers

Terrapin 615 Live Lager

Terrapin 615 Live Lager

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Brewery Acquisitions, Cigar City Brewing, Headlines, Oskar Blues Brewing, Perrin Brewing Company

Monster acquires CANarchy, which includes Cigar City & Oskar Blues

If you think the beer industry has cycled through every weird style trend or odd business acquisition, think again. Monster Beverage Corp, makers of Monster Energy Drinks has acquired CANarchy, the craft beer collective. CANarchy includes Oskar Blues, Cigar City Brewing, Perrin Brewing, Deep Ellum, and Squatters and Wasatch Brewing. 

It had been heavily rumored that Monster Beverage had intended to enter the alcoholic beverage industry as early as pre-pandemic 2019. 

The $330 million all-cash deal sees Monster gaining the 6th largest craft brewing company in the United States, with an annual beer volume of nearly 500,000 barrels. In addition, the beverage company gains instant access to all brewery infrastructure, employee expertise, and distribution channels. 

In a press release, vice chairman and co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg of Monster stated,  “The acquisition will provide us with a fully in-place infrastructure, including people, distribution, and licenses, along with alcoholic beverage development expertise and manufacturing capabilities in this industry.”

In 2020 it was also rumored that Monster wanted to make their mark in the hard seltzer market, competing with Coca-Cola’s Topo Chico, and Pepsi’s Hard Mtn Dew, a collaboration with Boston Beer that debuts in the spring. Additionally, Monster was in talks with Constellation about a potential merger as well last year. 

With the purchase of CANarchy, Monster Beverage picks up nationally distributed Wild Basin Hard Seltzer, Cigar City Limeade Seltzer, Ellum Ranch Hard Seltzer, and Rewired Hard Seltzer by Perrin Brewing.

Monster plans to roll out new beverages later this year, testing them regionally before ramping up to national distribution. 

CANarchy will continue to operate independently of Monster Beverage Corp.  

UPDATE:  The Brewer’s Association, the not-for-profit trade organization representing the craft brewing industry, has issued a statement surrounding the purchase of CANarchy this afternoon.

The Brewers Association (BA) is aware of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective’s pending sale to Monster Beverage. Based on our current information, CANarchy meets the Brewers Association’s craft brewer definition under the ownership of Monster Energy as presently constituted. In this instance, Monster is not a beverage alcohol industry member, so this new ownership structure does not affect CANarchy’s independence in regard to the beverage alcohol industry. The Brewers Association defines small and independent craft brewers as:

  • Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to rules of alternating proprietorships.
  • Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.
  • Brewer: Has a TTB Brewer’s Notice and makes beer.
by Reid Ramsay
Posted in SweetWater Brewing, Green Flash Brewing, Headlines

SweetWater acquires Green Flash & Alpine Beer

Atlanta, Georgia-based SweetWater Brewing has acquired the Mira Mesa, California-based Green Flash Brewing, and Alpine Beer brands. 

SweetWater is not acquiring the facility or brewing equipment, that will apparently remain with current owners to be put up for sale or other entrepreneurship opportunities. 

Green Flash and Alpine beer production will move to SweetWater’s newly opened Fort Collins, Colorado facility. 

Just over a year ago, SweetWater Brewery was acquired for $300 million dollars by Aphria, a Canadian-based cannabis company. The deal in part due to the brewery’s successfully ‘420 Strain’ of beers created using cannabis terpenes (organic smell compounds). 

Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed. 

SweetWater Brewery is ranked 11th overall in annual production according to the Brewer’s Association. 

Developing story. Check back for more details.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Hi Wire Brewing, Brewery Expansions, Don't Miss This

Hi-Wire Brewing begins building new taproom in Cincinnati

Asheville, North Carolina’s Hi-Wire Brewing will soon have a new home in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

The brewery has selected a 20-acre redevelopment on the former site of the US Playing Card factory in Norwood dubbed Factory 52. The 5800 square foot taproom will be the first of its kind for Hi-Wire, spanning three different floors. The first floor will be home to a 24 tap bar and large patio, the 2nd floor will have a secondary 12-tap bar, with a third-floor rooftop deck. Family-friendly games including soccer pool, table tennis, and foosball will be found throughout. 

In addition to Hi-Wire Brewing, the Factory 52 campus will house a food hall, boutique retail shops, residences, a dog park, the newly-announced Aces Pickleball complex, and a large public courtyard.

Construction on Hi-Wire Cincinnati has already started, with a target opening date of Fall 2022. 

Hi-Wire currently has taprooms across North Carolina (Asheville, Durham, Wilmington, Charlotte) as well as Knoxville, Tennesee, and Louisville, Kentucky. 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Hi Wire Brewing, New Releases

Hi-Wire Gingerbread 10W-40 Imperial Stout

Hi-Wire Gingerbread 10W-40 drops today, the latest in a creative line of imperial stouts from the Asheville, North Carolina brewery. 

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Ginger. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Lactose.) 
Availability: 16oz Cans. 
Debut: 11/12/21

8% ABV

by Reid Ramsay