Category: Beer in the news

Great articles that you should read.

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Act Better

Many have dived in over the past week with their take on the unsurprising stories that have come to light via Brienne Allan (@ratmagnet) about horrible treatment of women in the beer and beverage world.

I add my voice to the strident calls for this shit to stop. First stop for anyone is to check out Women of the Bevolution. It lays out what is happening with clarity and without rancor (though frankly it would be deserved).

Second, look into your behavior, men. When have you been an ass, when have you not spoken up in defense, when have you treated people poorly based strictly on gender?

Then, third, what are you going to change? The world is tentatively opening up again which means that more interactions will occur. Will you be better the next time you step into a tap room?

Lastly, encourage those with stories to tell them. One of the most frightening aspects of this sorry situation is that men are not only aggressing but then scaring women into silence. The more the stories circulate, the higher the possibility that consequences will arise.

We can do better. Treat people with kindness, it isn’t that hard.

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Boont Branding

This year Anchor Brewing unveiled a re-branding that didn’t pass muster in many people’s opinion and now another heritage NorCal brewery has done it, but I think that most people will be absolutely fine with the Anderson Valley design changes….

I think the antlered bear is playful and Pixar-ish and I like the forested landscape at the bottom of the label. Having chunks of educational material on either side works for me too. The only mid-step (and it is slight) is the font of the brewery name on the blue banner. I think it is a little plain to my eyes.

This refresh along with plans for a destination taproom shows, to me, that this brewery is giving a good effort to change with the times.

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Diverse Resource

Support for minority owned businesses is crucial but figuring where to spend your beer money does require time, thankfully the Beervana Blog has a super handy spreadsheet.

Check it out HERE and if you know of a brewery missed, then add it in the comments section to make this even more helpful of a list.

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A Bigger Lab

A lot of space on this blog is devoted to grand openings and second (third) locations for local breweries but equally important are images like the one above. Long Beach Beer Lab recently unloaded a new Brewhouse into their growing space on Willow Street.

According to the brewery this upgrade means they can brew “at a capacity we’ll beyond what we have been. This will allow for more beer, more variety of beers and an even higher quality product for our drinkers.”

They also explained via social media that, “This expansion project is coupled with further beautification of our 500 block of Willow Street with plans for additional retail and creative social space.”

Congratulations on the growth and for your community support over the last year plus.

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Going Once, Going Twice

Who doesn’t like the activity and drama around an auction? And add beer to the mix as well as charity and health, well, that is a win/win/win. Check HERE for more info on how to bid as well as other fun stuff.

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Sharks

Fun fact – the ABC show Shark Tank has had two pitches that involve beer in back to back episodes. If you are a fan of the show, you know the format. Entrepreneurs hoping to make it big pitch their idea to a panel of investors like Mark Cuban or Mr. Wonderful. (Aka Kevin O’Leary). The hope is to get their expertise to grow their brand. Getting on the show is sometimes enough for at least a short-term boost in sales.

First is the good ol’ boy named Muff Waders. A piece of apparel that makes you into a walking refrigerator. Complete with a bottle opener and a place to rest your beer. No takers on that idea.

The second idea was hammered into the ground. A can and bottle chiller that could hold three smaller format cans or bottles or one wine sized bottle. It didn’t even have a misogynistic name to its credit. Yup, three cans. I guess that 4th IPA from the pack stays home?

Beer has popped up on the show before and products tangential to it will show up again but for those coming up, make sure you have two things. A pure love and passion for beer AND a product that’s actually helpful.

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A Different Madness

I didn’t fill out my 2021 March Madness bracket like usual this year because both the Ducks and Beavers are in and I had to give them some wins. But if you are not a basketball fan, you can upvote your favorites on Untappd.

“From March 18th until April 5th, use Untappd to check-in beers from your favorite participating brewery. During any given round, the brewery in each matchup with the most check-ins will move forward. The winning brewery will get their very own Sponsored Brewery Madness badge for all their triumphant fans to unlock!”

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Raffle Some Whales

Since 2015, Whales for Wishes has raised over $215,000 dollars, enough to grant 34 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Head right HERE between now and April 8th to buy your raffle tickets for the spring giveaway and to see the list of beers that will be given away to make some wishes come true. It is a fun, low cost way to help and to see how lucky you are.

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Newly in Style

The 2021 style guidelines dropped at the end of February and here is the news people are tuning in for, what new styles have been added?

Per the Brewers Association press release…

“Hundreds of revisions, edits, format changes, and additions were made to this year’s guidelines, including updates to existing beer styles and the creation of new categories. New additions to the beer styles include:”

  • Kentucky Common Beer
  • New Zealand-Style Pale Ale and India Pale Ale
  • Belgian-Style Session Ale

I bet local Ten Mile Brewing will be sending their Common, Hidden Hollow on to GABF but this also helps the IPA focused breweries who now have less crowded main categories as the entrants shift to hazy. My interest lies in which of Kentucky Common and Belgian Session have more entries.

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Bone-chutes

Looks like two Bend, Oregon breweries are partnering…

Most SoCal beer fans will have seen and most likely had a few Deschutes beers but Boneyard does not have a footprint down here so will be lesser known. Think of it as the heritage brewer / older sibling getting together with the rough edged / younger sibling. You can read more HERE. But I expect that more neighboring breweries may combine forces. Some will work and some will divorce later depending on how well they can balance the union.