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I do not envy the people at the CCBA who have to read through the muck of legislative bills and even in California there are those who seem willing to slide bills in that benefit the big corporations over our plucky little band of independent brewers.
Head over to this PAGE to see what is afoot in regards to the brewer and retailer relationship. If you are the kind that calls their local politicians, then you might want to raise your voice here.
Just when you thought it was over, the shuffling begins anew. This time biggest of the craft beer guys (since the Brewers Association keeps raising the cap), Samuel Adams is merging with Dogfish Head.
You can read about the dollar amounts and the shares owned by whom on other sites and you can head to Twitter for the semi-comedic hot takes but I want to focus on questions I have for the combined brewing group in the future.
First, the aforementioned cap raising will need to be raised once again, maybe not this year but even with the smaller amount that Dogfish produces they will more than likely be pushing up to the line sooner rather than later. If the Brewers Association was loathe to kick Boston Beer out of the club, they sure as heck ain’t gonna kick out Boston Beer and beloved icon Sam Calagione in one fell swoop. Each time Boston Beer is snuck in it seems to raise more consternation amongst the members about what and who the Brewers Association stands for, expect it to be a thorny issue again. It probably won’t lead to a rival band of brewers in their own group but you might see an internal split with larger members on one side and smaller in their own group.
The next agenda item is what the mixing of the companies will be. Operated separately just under the same umbrella? Sharing some resources but brewing kept separate? Boston Beer is tilted to the non-beer side just a skosh in recent years with ciders and seltzers and hard this and hard that. How does that affect the brewing philosophy in Rehoboth Beach? The slightest deviations are going to be analyzed by beer fandom.
How does this affect the future of Jim Koch and the Calagiones and how will that affect the street cred of both? More interestingly, what happens when both retire off to a remote island, what do the two brands stand for then? It is not bad to have a CEO from another beverage company in charge but who is the totem for fans to latch onto when the names on the back of jersey change?
I am sure that this merger will be a topic of conversation and re-evaluation for years to come.
One beer that I wished that I could get fresher and more of were the ales of Pretty Things from founders Dann and Martha Paquette. They had unique beers often with a European spin to them like their Jack D’Or Saison as well as some historically researched beers that I found to be fun explorations.
They became embroiled in the distribution hi-jinks on the East Coast and called it out to the media and then in short order they had called it quits. But not entirely. Now the Paquettes are in Sheffield. Spiritual home of the new Doctor and they have a new brewery, Saint Mars of the Desert.
Their reputation has allowed them to create something brand new but with the DNA of Pretty Things but on a smaller and English scale.
Maybe they still have contacts in the U.S. and some of the beer may come to SoCal.
It is a bold marketing plan to say that your product is bad…..
…even if it is, you have to explain why you let your product go to crap and then re-gain the trust of people who have your beer in the ‘fridge already. That is a tough ad line to follow and probably really affects people delivering the beer who have to drop off “not” good beer to customers who are a bit upset.
Add in an environmental push and this becomes a whole re-booted Carlsberg.
In case you missed it on your Facebook feed, this was posted last month…
Almost makes me want to get a barn. I expect to hear about some interesting beers coming from BarrelWorks with this coolship in place.
Yesterday it was reported that Iron Triangle Brewing was looking for a buyer. If I was macabre enough to have a list of Los Angeles breweries that would make such an announcement, Iron Triangle would have been on it from the beginning.
Not that the beers were bad. They were fine. Their Belgian Pale was my favorite due to the relative Hefe shortage in a time of IPA. And that is where I think they stumbled and fell. Mumford has the collabs and the hazy’s. Boomtown has the artist series of IPA’s. Angel City has Sunbather. IT had?
Blame can be laid at the turbulent start. A brewery that encounters roughness out of the gate with the beer nerds will be a step behind but I think that it is very telling that the reason being given for selling is that as told to The Full Pint was, “The owners have decided that their capital would be better invested in their other businesses.” That reads as we thought craft beer would make us money but it is still costing us money three years in and we are getting out while there is still a window of opportunity to sell.
It is a great space on the inside. Foot traffic, nearby condos and location aren’t horrible. They are nowhere near Arts District levels but other breweries have nothing. It is large but with reconfiguring it could be used for multiple events
Let’s hope the next chapter is a longer and fruitful one for this location.
The Derwen Arms sounds like a historic English pub but it is historic in a different way. This bar is inside the Cefn Coed Hospital in Swansea. It is part of an all-male wing called the Derwen Ward for patients suffering from dementia.
Since most of these men would head to pub after work, not having that familiar touchstone can lead to what is called Sundowning. Described basically as patients who without anywhere to go after the sun goes down become cranky and ticked off because they lack access to what they used to be able to do.
Enter the pub. Non-Alcoholic only with darts with plastic tips but otherwise similar to where these men may have gone back in the day. And now they can again without going off the grounds and in a controlled environment.
We need more of this type of thinking because beer culture can be of use when used like this.
The Gruit-y world of strange beers from SoLArc Brewing looks to have found a home. The brewery will be at the Southern end of Eagle Rock Boulevard in a building that other tenants will be joining including a bar and a restaurant. Good news for a brewery that was staying under the radar. No ETA on when to expect an opening date.
Looks like Heineken is using it’s Lagunitas purchase to kick start the traditional brown ale of Newcastle….
I don’t know if with all the mergers and acquisitions if this is still a Flagship but certainly is news for this month.
Dope & Dank are taking a big step. With assistance from BrewDog and the Scottish brewers Development Fund, the duo of Teo Hunter and Beny Ashburn who many of us in Los Angeles have run into at festivals or had their collaboration beers with the likes of El Segundo Brewing, are going into the beer business.
Crowns & Hops will be their new beer brand based in Inglewood but with BrewDog brewing their roster of pilsner, stout and (of course a dank) IPA. The line-up will be produced in both the Columbus, Ohio facility (the closest BrewDog is to LA) and oddly in Scotland as well.
D&D are also going to crowdfund $75,000 with a campaign set to premiere on March 6th. It is an interesting time to enter the brewing game with growth slowed and even more interesting to enter in Inglewood which is experiencing some real real estate problems with the forthcoming NFL stadium project making land expensive and scarce not to mention two breweries already in town, one of which has Canarchy Collective ties to draw on.
Now they just need to make beers as dynamic as they are and I am sure that will draw crowds.
UPDATE: The crowdfunding has started and seems to be more slow and steady climb. Perhaps crowdfunding fatigue is real. Will be interesting to see how this campaign unfolds over the next 31 days.