Category: Beer in the news

Great articles that you should read.

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Beer Laureate


Months back, the quickly unfunny social media joke amongst beer folks was the job opening for the National Museum of American History and the new position in charge of beer history.

Now we have found out that Theresa McCulla has been tasked “as historian to oversee its American Brewing History Initiative. McCulla, a social and cultural historian of food in the U.S. from the early 1800s to today…”

The emphasis of the three-year brewing initiative is “to collect, document and preserve the history of brewing, craft brewers and the beer industry and explore how brewing connects to larger themes in American history. This will expand on the brewing history already stored but which needs updating.

McCulla has Harvard University on her resume as well as a culinary arts diploma from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts’ Professional Chefs Program. She also has food literacy and farmer’s market experience in her background

Where the rubber will meet the road is in the annual public programs….

Smithsonian Food History Weekend, which runs Oct. 26–28 this year, Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America presented by the Brewers Assiciation held in Washington, D.C., April 10–13.

Check out more history of beer HERE and food HERE.

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Guinness in Maryland


Apparently, the East Coast of the U.S. is where it’s at for brewery locations but this time, it is not a brewery from the west that is breaking ground but instead stoic (with hints of change) Guinness that is planting a “Coming Soon” flag.
The oddly named Relay, Maryland will be the site for a U.S. version of Dublin’s popular Guinness Open Gate Brewery, it will be a mid-sized brewery and visitor experience. Just without the huge facility and without any stout which will not be brewed stateside. The Maryland “facility will brew and feature beers created solely for the American market.”
I did not know this but it is a return to the U.S. for Guinness after 63 years.

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To Dust


Mark it down. January is when I proclaimed that Lupulin powder is the NE IPA of 2017. The poster child style of craft beer has been pulled from Cascadian to fruited to Session and sour. Meaning that there are not many other avenues to run down. Obviously until the next “It” hop is bred.

Enter powder. A “purified concentration of the resin compounds and aromatic oils in whole hop flowers…”

Will it become a stand-alone product? Or will it be used in concert with pellets or hop cones? Will the price (someone has to pay to grind the hops down) be justified in the beer?

From what I have read in a few places is that the powder reduces grass and vegetal notes and minimizing trub (hop sediment). In snout to tail usage, the powder is cryogenically removed from the hop leafs. Those leaves can then be used purely for aroma without imparting bitterness.

You can read up about how one brewery uses it HERE

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Simmzy’s House Beer

It is good when a press release can answer two questions in one fell paragraph.

Question 1 – Is the Simmzy’s brewery proceeding?
Question 2 – Which brewery was going to land Brian Herbertson after Wick’s?

Well read on….
“Mike Simms and Simms Restaurants are gearing up to debut the addition of a 7-barrel brewing facility to the Burbank outpost of the popular Simmzy’s craft beer pub and restaurant. Joining Simms as Partner is Greg Bechtel, a former bartender at Simmzy’s turned beer-buyer/manager and certified Cicerone. Together the duo is proud to announce that Brian Herbertson of Riverside’s Wicks Brewing Co. will be joining them as Head Brewer.”

The Brewery at Simmzy’s Burbank (which will hopefully be shortened) will focus on “sessionable house beers aiming to complement the restaurant’s menu…” The new beers will on tap at Simmzy’s Burbank (obviously), Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Venice Beach.

Bechtel brings ideas from El Segundo Brewing to combine with the Wick’s background of Herbertson. But even better, both guys are super cool and are truly part of the L.A. craft beer community.

Look for beer in the 2nd quarter of the year. Check the Simmzy’s Facebook presence for more updates.

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More RR

What you are looking at is not some country-fied mall but the long-awaited and even more anticipated larger Russian River Brewing facility in Windsor, CA.

And big it will be with close to 15 acres of empty land to utilize in the town of Windsor. The new Russian River facility will include: the bigger production brewery with the capacity to brew up to 50,000 barrels, a tasting room, a brewpub that is bigger than the downtown Santa Rosa location plus a gift shop.

I assume a Disneyland style line for PtY will be part of the grounds too.

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Make Some Noise

I may have given up on a good chunk of the U.S. populace. Can’t shake the sense of impending doom. Others, in the brewing world, haven’t though and are making their protest known through brewing a special beer…

Goldspot Brewing joined forces with Lady Justice Brewing, 3 Freaks Brewing and Black Sky Brewing to create Makin Noise: a Pussy Riot Beer, an Imperial Saison. A portion of the beer sale proceeds will be donated to local charities.

You can read more details HERE.

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Are We Getting RickRolled (lager)

Don’t quite know why now is the time that Mikkeller would team up with Rick Astley. Rickrolling is almost as far in the past as his hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”.

But there is a chance that a lager collaboration is in the offing and if you drive by the Mikkeller brewery in San Diego or the upcoming DTLA bar and hear “Together Forever” or “Take Me to Your Heart” coming from inside, then you might want to pull over.

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K-Cup B-Light


Get ready to waste a lot more tiny little plastic cups. SABInBev has joined forces with Keurig, the K-Cup coffee company with the intent of creating an “in-home alcohol drink system”.

Considering that the Keurig for soda aka “KOLD” went the way of the dodo and American democracy, I wonder why the company would leap back into a pool that even wasteful consumers rejected.

If they felt it was too hard to put a plastic cup into a machine when they could buy the same soda pre-mixed, who does SABInBev think will buy a beer or ____-A-Rita cups. And dear Lord on high, the taste of whatever came out would be atrocious (or as people euphemistically say, “consistent”.

But press on they will as they combine to “build on the Keurig KOLD technology and system innovations and AB InBev’s brewing and packaging technology, and evolve them within the realm of the full adult beverage category.” Notice, no mention of flavor in that lawyer-y bit of gobbledegook.

Another fun note, the “KOLD” sold for north of $350.00. I imagine an alcoholic version would have to retail for that, if not more. Who is going to spend that on a machine that will probably gather dust on a counter?

But this is for future selves to ponder. Like the jet pack and hover board, it is not a reality yet.

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Quiet Riot

Looks like yet another brewery is popping up in the outer boroughs, as it were, of Los Angeles.

Valley Riot is based in San Fernando per their Facebook page but no tasting room is open to the public as of yet and not beer list posted on the main website.

So this can be filed under Stay Tuned. (as in wait for the interview on Food GPS)

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B & BT in 2017


Beer release calendars are not as useful to me as they are for others, I suspect. Now if there were a master calendar that incorporated all of them together, that I would be on board with.

That being said, The Bruery and sibling Terreux have announced what 2017 will look like for the Orange County brewery and the key take-aways in my book are the new and retired:

New:
The Bruery Mischief 2017 with Citra & Motueka — new recipe/label

The Bruery The Order — new beer
A brand new, year-round release from The Bruery, The Order summons The Bruery’s characterful house yeast strain, dates, and a touch of coriander spicing for a Belgian-style amber that’s sure to satisfy fans of darker abbey ales ripe with dark fruit notes. This release introduces a new diecut reminiscent of abbey windows to the Famille Rue lineup.

Bruery Terreux Frederick H. – new beer (has been on tap in 2016)
Frederick Hottenroth was a great inventor, and he happened to be Partrick Rue’s grandfather. His namesake carries on in this low-ABV tart wheat beer that is 100% fermented in American-made oak foeders with brettanomyces and lactobacillus. This brand new year-round from Bruery Terreux boasts a bright acidity and a tropical, fruity aroma and flavor. The label art features blueprints of Frederick’s inventions, complete with his signature.

The Bruery Share This™ – two new treatments during 2017
The third and fourth treatments in this collaborative and charitable imperial stout series will once again focus on a specific region as the ingredient source and donation recipient. $1 from every bottle produced is donated to a carefully selected charity partner. The first 2017 release of Share This will feature chocolate and orange for ingredients, and spotlight its first domestic region: California. #sharethisbeer

The Bruery Hoppy Obligations – new limited release, draft only
A new, rotating series of hoppy beers will be popping up in select markets under the “Hoppy Obligations” banner. It may be an imperial lager, a Vermont-style pale, a hoppy red, or another hoppy brew that doesn’t fit an exact style, but you know it will be delicious and consumed quickly

Retired: Humulus Lager, White Oak, Trade Winds, Rueuze, Hottenroth, Tonnellerie series