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Whether you like collecting badges on Untappd or you just need an excuse to drink something other than an IPA, International Stout Day (aka TODAY) is here to help. And, of course celebrate the classic beer style, Stout.
Learn more about Stout Day and then head to a craft beer shoppe and try one.
Looks like the next chapter for former Golden Road and current Mohawk Bend and Tony’s Darts Away owner Tony Yanow will be craft beer brewpub space in the Valley.
The latest intel is that Yanow is considering a spot way out in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Boulevard. It is projected as a brewpub. Restaurant focused with a small brewery.
For sure, there will be IPA’s on the menu. Past that things get hazy like the NE.
A cryptic Facebook post from Chris Walowski, formerly of a bumblebee costume at Smog City hinted at a late 2016 opening for a brewery in Burbank.
Verdugo West doesn’t pop-up in Google searches yet but as the opening draws closer, that will probably change and we will learn more about this latest addition to the brewing scene.
I don’t know and really don’t want to know if you pour the espresso in the beer OR you chase the IPA with it.
I still don’t understand this Starbucks at “night” campaign either. Who wants to hang around a bunch of people huddled around glowing screens after they do that at work all day?
Hopefully this is something that is only being tested in a single market.
A second large departure from Stone Brewing will leave an ambassador sized hole as “Dr.” Bill Sysak has left to prepare a new brewery in San Marcos, California.
2017 will see the debut of the Wild Barrel Brewing Company The 15 barrel brewhouse “will be known for its “San Diego Weisse” sours implementing a variety of fruit additions, along with a constantly rotating selection of San Diego style IPA’s to satisfy the most extreme lupo-maniacs. Rounding out the core lineup is an American stout with coffee additions changing seasonally from local roasters, and a “crushable” Belgian Wit.”
A couple of points ring weird to me from that paragraph. One would think with the years at Stone that more marketing panache would have gone into the name and logo. Wild Barrel is a rather pedestrian name in my book. And the certainty in which they declare that they “will be known for” their San Diego Weisse and that their Wit will be “crushable” is a little cart ahead of the horse. Flagships aren’t declared. The people buying will make it so.
Time will tell how Wild Barrel fares in a tough San Diego market.
I have zero idea what a “disruptive growth organization” is or how it relates to making beer but the DGO of SABInBevNoMiller, ZX Ventures is disrupting by purchasing Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply and its sibling Midwest Supplies.
The usual cut-n-paste explanation of the sale offered no clarity as to the future since it was written with enough vagueness to please a lawyer but whereas a beer BUYING community will certainly have members who either don’t know who owns the brewery or don’t care, the people in the home BREWING community are much more likely to know that using Northern Brewer is using the foreign owned company.
Other acquisitions by ZX were much more niche and under the radar.
This ownership change will affect a lot more people who have used products from Northern Brewer for their malt bills and hop torpedoing and I do think many will simply decide to go elsewhere even though it is easier to buy online which is the strong suit of the Midwestern company.
And perhaps that is what the goal is? To irreparably harm a growing company or at least shackle it and deprive home brewers of certain hops or malts or to just make it harder on them.
If the Behemoth from Belgium were truly altruistic, they could make hay with this acquisition but I doubt that is the case.
Would you consider VIP access to next year’s Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest on June 3, 2017 enough of a prize to get excited about?
What if you add in the opportunity to brew at the R&D kettles in Venice? And then add more, blending beer at the Barrelworks in Buellton?
To reiterate, you get to….
Prize 1
“The Firestone Walker Expedition begins at the Propagator pilot brewhouse in Venice, California for a crash course in brewing the types of experimental and R&D beers that will set the pace for what’s next from Firestone Walker. The day concludes with a celebratory meal at the Propagator restaurant.”
Prize 2
“Next up is a visit to Barrelworks in the town of Buellton in Santa Barbara County. Here, Barrelmeister Jeffers Richardson and Master Blender “Sour” Jim Crooks will show the participants how to blend their own unruly brew from a variety of eccentric Barrelworks creations.”
Prize 3
“The journey concludes in Paso Robles in the heart of the Central Coast wine country, where participants will enjoy a private tour of Firestone Walker’s main brewery with Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. On June 3, the group will head out for VIP early-entry to the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest, which has been hailed as one of the nation’s top beer festivals”.
All you have to do is :to nominate their favorite Firestone Walker fanatic by producing and uploading a video explaining what makes that individual worthy of joining the Expedition. Three winners will be selected. The prize for each winner is two all-expenses-paid spots on the Expedition.”
All the rules and FAQ’s can be found HERE. You have until December 11th to create a compelling video.
Kirin buys into Brooklyn Brewery reads the headline. File this under, not super shocking acquisition news. Brooklyn Brewery has been expanding East for a while now. Plus they are looking forward to construction bills for their proposed Navy Yard complex hitting their mailboxes. A new stream of money was probably needed.
And give them credit for being smart about it. Get people amped about a new project and about brewing more in-house and then bring the news of the investment later. Then counter any aggrieved by keeping the investment below the Brewers Association threshold. Plus they went with a corporation but not the evil empire seeing that Lagunitas caught less hell by partnering with Heineken. Craft beer buyers seem to save their precious vitriol for SABInBevMinusMiller and no less about the big players in the foreign scene.
It is pretty clear that the Ottaway’s in charge are paying attention to how the beer fan community perceives announcements as opposed to other breweries who are tone-deaf in both their “breaking news” and responses.
Of course timing helped too. Brooklyn news was soon eclipsed by the layoffs at Stone and now most people, especially on the West Coast will probably never really get the information and thus still think of them as fully independent.
When our craft beer was still in the growing phase, you could find places where you could brew beer, using the equipment and expertise of someone else. They soon faded away though as home brewing shops and clubs blossomed around L.A. But now a new company is testing out the waters.
Zymurgy Brew Works will provide the professional brewing equipment as well as the ingredients and recipes. Then you leave the clean up to them. Once done, you slap your personal labels on the bottles and voila, your own beer. They are promising that brewmasters will lead some sessions so that you can make a copy of beers that you normally buy.
They opened up last weekend and apparently also have a tap room / bar on site too.
One of the annual rites of GABF is the announcement of the Sam Adams Longshot winners. This year the chosen (2) homebrewers and (1) Sam Adams employee who will see their beers brewed on a super larger scale are:
David Cousino of Avon, OH, Saison – “Cousino began homebrewing 25 years ago in college and after a long break started brewing in earnest four years ago. He is a pharmacist and now the attention to detail in his profession shows in his homebrews. Koch says Cousino’s Saison has a soft malt character, delicate floral notes and a hint of pepper.”
Duane Wilson of Horseheads, NY, American Wild Ale – “Wilson and his co-brewer Mike Edwards have been brewing together for eight years and strive to improve on the styles they create. Wilson’s mixed-fermentation American wild ale is fruit forward with apricots and kumquats and finishes with a dry tartness.”
Graham Johnson of Marblehead, MA, Imperial Stout – “Johnson is the Samuel Adams employee home brew winner. The company opened up the competition to its employees because they are so passionate about beer and many of them brew at home. Johnson’s Imperial Stout uses whole coffee beans and chocolate and has decadent flavors of cocoa, espresso and hints of brandy and raisin. The taste finishes with touch of sweetness.”
It will be quite the task for a Wild Ale to be added to a mixed pack.
Now the waiting begins, the six-pack won’t arrive until spring of next year.