Press Releases

Irvine, Calif. (April 24, 2013) — After putting together a panel of beer experts, Kip Snider, beverage director for Yard House Restaurants which helped to spawn the craft beer revolution when it opened its flagship restaurant in Long Beach, California, in 1996 with 250 tap handles, has completed the company’s annual Beer Review resulting in the addition of new brands, emerging styles and individual menus for each of the company’s 44 locations.

“People think I have the best job in the world, and I do,” says Kip Snider, who, for the past 14 years, has been instrumental in the creation and development of the Yard House beverage program.  “But conducting our annual beer review is a major process.   I compare it to being a CPA at tax time — it’s intense and all consuming.”
Snider assembles a team of Yard House beer experts to both taste and rate the current beer offerings, as well as potential new labels and styles to possibly add to the menu.  The group gathers for a few hours daily over a four week period to partake in blind beer tastings and individually rating each beer on a 1 to 5 scale — anything that scores a 3 or below does not move forward in the process.  Next the ratings are entered into a spread sheet, which then returns an individual score for each beer.  A low score doesn’t necessarily result in a beer’s removal, while a high score doesn’t necessarily guarantee a tap at the Yard House’s signature oval bar.

“If it was purely about taste, the process would be much simpler,” added Snider.  “But we need to look at how well a beer is performing along with what are guests are telling us.  If we have a barrel of a particular beer just sitting in our Keg Room and it’s consistently not moving–for whatever reason guests just aren’t gravitating to that brand or style–then we need to consider removing it from our list.  We’re all about offering a fresh product, from our food to our beer, and those that just don’t perform well, no matter how good they taste, are likely to be removed.”
After the most recent review, which took place at the company’s Home Office in Orange County, California, Yard House now offers more than 950 domestic, craft and imported beer brands company-wide with 6,300 tap handles shared by its 44 locations.  While each restaurant has its own individual beer list and between 100 and 250 taps, depending on the location, they all share  a core list of about 25 of the most popular brands.

Snider added that Yard House used to create regional beer lists, but he discovered that beers that perform well in Boston might not be as well received in nearby Dedham — a suburb of Boston.   While each location shares a core list, the more well-known brands and styles with nationwide distribution, that’s where the similarities end.  After that, each restaurant’s beer list is purely its own.
“You might have two Yard House restaurants that are geographically close,” added Snider.   “And you would think that they would share the same beer list because the demographics are likely similar, too.  However, what sells well at Fashion Island in Newport Beach doesn’t necessarily resonate with guests who frequent The Triangle in nearby Costa Mesa.  Both restaurants are located in Orange County, California, and located less than five miles apart.  Still, they each have their own individual beer lists and offerings.”
Yard House, which offers six-pack samplers featuring six different styles that rotate every Tuesday, allows beer enthusiasts to try different brands and flavors.  The beer menu also includes a six-pack of Belgian-style samplers as well as a new IPA six-pack sampler.

“IPAs have been trending for quite a while,” stated Snider. “They are by far the most popular style at the moment.  Our guests have been asking us, both in-person and through social media, to add a six-pack sampler of IPAs, so we did and they’re selling extremely well.”

Guests can also create their own flights with the popular Yard House Shorty, a glass containing just 9-ounces of beer instead of 16 ounces found in a traditional pint.    In addition to IPAs, Snider said that session beer, full flavor beer with an alcohol content of 5% or less, are also becoming extremely popular.   Yard House also recently introduced its Chalkboard Beer Series, which features a selection of small, limited releases from mostly craft brewers that rotate frequently keeping the selection both innovative and fresh.  These featured beers are listed on a digital chalkboard prominently displayed above the island bar.  Guests can check what is available in real time by visiting the Yard House website (www.yardhouse.com) and selecting the location of their choice.

Beer enthusiasts can also join myyardhouse.com, which serves as a virtual “file cabinet” that only the user can access. Within this site guests can keep track and rate the various beers they’ve tried at Yard House, leave tasting notes and even see what music is currently playing in real time at the Yard House of their choice.

Yard House team members, from the bar manager and bartenders to the servers, recently participated in beer education courses to better assist guests with selections and recommendations.  The new individual beer menus are now available at each of the 44 Yard House locations, from Southern California to southern Florida.
As for the best strategy for making a beer selection, Snider says everyone approaches it differently.
“There are no hard and fast rules for selecting a beer, lager or ale,” he said.  “I’ve seen guests study the beer list intensely for several minutes before making their selection.  I’ve met guests who have been loyal to a brand and style for decades and they’re going to stick with what works for them.  And I’ve seen people walk around the entire bar and make their selection based on the design of the tap handle — the brewers can get rather creative to make their brand standout.  It’s all good.  My advice:  Do what works best for you, and enjoy!”
For hours, directions and information on the Yard House nearest you, call 800.336.5336 or visit online at www.yardhouse.com.

A new economic impact study shows America’s beer industry, made up of brewers, beer importers, beer distributors, brewer suppliers and retailers, contributes $14.2 billion annually to Florida’s economy and is linked to 139,190 local jobs.

Jointly commissioned by the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and the Beer Institute, the study shows that the industry generates nearly 139,190 jobs in Florida–accounting for $5.1 billion in wages and benefits. The industry also contributed $2.4 billion in the form of business, personal and consumption taxes in 2012.

“America’s beer industry continues to play a significant role in supporting the economy in each and every state, includingFlorida,” said CEO of MillerCoors and Beer Institute chairman, Tom Long . “From the 72 brewers employing 1,330 people, to the roughly 42,463 licensed retailers, like supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, bars and stadiums, the beer industry is vital to local economies.”

Brewers across the country remain an integral part of their communities as well, promoting alcohol responsibility programs for local retailers, schools and families in Florida.

“As independent businesses, America’s licensed beer distributors are proud to provide more than 130,000 quality jobs with solid wages and great benefits to employees in every state and congressional district across the country,” said Bob Archer , president of Blue Ridge Beverage Co., Inc. in Salem, Virginia, and chairman of NBWA.

According to the study, the beer industry directly employs nearly 1.1 million people nationwide, paying nearly $31.8 billion in wages and benefits, among brewers, distributors and retailers, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, bars and stadiums. Indirectly, the industry generates nearly $153.2 billion in economic activity in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation and other sectors.

“In addition to providing quality jobs with solid wages, the independent, three-tier beer distribution system provides transparency and accountability and works to ensure alcoholic beverages are sold only to licensed retailers who in turn are responsible for selling only to adults of legal drinking age,” added NBWA President Craig Purser . “This time-tested system, in which America’s beer distributors play a critical role, ensures that brewers of all sizes can reach a wide network of retailers and American consumers can enjoy tremendous choice and variety — 13,000 different labels of beer — at a great value.”

“These numbers demonstrate that our industry continues to create solid, middle class jobs and generate important domestic revenue in an otherwise struggling economy,” said Joe McClain , president of the Beer Institute. “For this reason, it is important that state and federal officials consider equitable tax policies and avoid harming an industry that is so effectively aiding economic growth.”

The Beer Serves America Economic Impact study was conducted by John Dunham & Associates based in New York City and covers data compiled in 2010. The complete study, including state-by-state and congressional district breakdowns of economic contributions, is available at Beer Serves America: www.BeerServesAmerica.org.

The Beer Institute, established in 1986, is the national trade association for the brewing industry, representing both large and small brewers, as well as importers and industry suppliers. The Institute is committed to the development of sound public policy and to the values of civic duty and personal responsibility: www.beerinstitute.org.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) represents the interests of 3,300 licensed, independent beer distributor operations in every state, congressional district and media market across the country. Beer distributors are committed to ensuring alcohol is provided safely and responsibly to consumers of legal drinking age through the three-tier, state-based system of alcohol regulation and distribution. To learn more about America’s Beer Distributors, visit http://www.nbwa.org.

(Denver, CO) — Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado announces the debut of a new collaboration beer this Friday, March 22nd, in select Virginia locations. The coming together of WORK Labs, Champion Brewing, and Breckenridge Brewery was deliberate and rewarding. The end result is WORK Collaboration Brew, a refreshing, medium-bodied Dunkel Weiss with classic Bavarian characteristics and aromas of peach and tropical fruit.

The original WORK Beer dates back to 1999, when nationally recognized WORK Labs branding agency created the concept and partnered with Main Street Brewing in Richmond, VA, to produce it. The beer invited the thirsty masses of Richmond to reward themselves “for a job well done.” After a more than a decade, WORK Beer is back with the WORK Collaboration Brew.

WORK Labs prompted brewers Todd Usry (Breckenridge Brewery) and Hunter Smith (Champion Brewing Company) to put their heads together to craft a beautifully full-flavored Dunkel Weiss brewed with Galaxy Hops. “Todd mentioned that he wanted to produce a Dunkel Weiss — a dark-colored German wheat ale — that used feature hops, but had never had an opportunity. I thought that sounded cool, and we started bouncing off ideas and percentages of ingredients,” said Smith.

Usry adds, “The whole planning process was exciting and mutually creative. The best part for me was the chance to fly back to my home state of Virginia to brew in Charlottesville with Hunter. I just wish I could get back there now to taste our beer!”

Todd and Hunter brewed the beer in early February at Champion Brewery in Charlottesville, VA. A small batch of 10 kegs was produced, and will be available at select establishments in Richmond and Charlottesville starting on March 22nd. The launch party for the WORK Beer Collaboration Brew will be at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA from 6:00-8:00 on Friday, March 22. It will be available on draft at: Gallery 5, Joe’s Inn, Comfort, Commercial Taphouse, Sedona Taphouse, Whole Foods (Short Pump), Beer Run, and of course the Champion Taproom.

About Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery was founded in 1990 in Breckenridge, Colorado. In the past two decades Breckenridge Brewery has grown from a small 1,000-barrel-a-year brewpub to one of the most successful craft beer and restaurant companies in the nation. It now handcrafts over 52,000 barrels of fresh beer annually and owns and operates five brewpubs and ale houses in Colorado. Visit www.breckbrew.com for more information.