Category: Beer Industry

my occasional rants and raves about what is going on in the industry.

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Light at the Top


Light or “lite” depending on your education level, rules the U.S. roost. Not a surprise, except for the fact that it just happened last year. That is one of my golden nuggets from recent 3rd quarter sales figures up at the top of the sales world.

The other takeaway is that Bud is still falling and that the U.S. seems to be the major ache for the beer as a commodity business. Anheuser-Busch InBev – North American revenues were down 5% to $4.3 billion. And Year to date, they’re down almost 4% which means Q3 was worse.

Why do I care about these things? Obviously sales of that magnitude are in the far future for independent beer but it does send a strong signal that the chipping away from the big sellers is still there and growing. Maybe not at the fast clip of the past but that may have been the low hanging fruit.

That fruit may next be plucked by Europe and then the rest of the world, at that point, we may see a drastic course change from the Bud Light – Coors Light – Miller Lite troika. And that change may lead to reactions.

We may well see reactions to Miller Lite taking the #3 spot by not losing as much ground. Will the big three return to fighting each other maybe?

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Where It is Grown


Mikkeller has done a single-hop series in the past but now they are going the route of compare/contrast with Hop Terroir. The educations involved is to spot the taste differences because “A hop variety can taste markedly different depending on the country in which it’s grown and the processes involved in its production”.

Now there will be nine different beers with nine varieties of hops from various locations in the world.

The current line-up of Mikkeller Hop Terroir beers:

Hop variety: Amarillo/Cascade
IPA – Terroir Series Amarillo Idaho
IPA – Terroir Series Amarillo Washington State
IPA – Terroir Series Cascade Australia
IPA – Terroir Series Cascade Germany
IPA – Terroir Series Cascade Washington State

Hop variety: Centennial/Sorachi Ace
IPA – Terroir Series Centennial Washington State
IPA – Terroir Series Centennial Belgium
IPA – Terroir Series Sorachi Ace Belgium
IPA – Terroir Series Sorachi Ace Northwest US

To me the Cascade beers seem to be the best bet for creating truly unique beers with one single hop, though Sorachi Ace is intriguing since it is not seen as much. And hopefully, the L.A. Mikkeller outpost will have a tasting trial.

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Block Grant


The #independent beer community is more than just the people making beer it is also the farmers that grow the raw ingredients which is why it is so important that the Brewers Association is granting, well, grants as part of their Research and Service Grants Program. The program is “designed to further the development of a healthy and sustainable raw materials supply chain.”

17 grants with an attached $432,658 were awarded this year with 12 going to malt and 5 to hops. I selected 2 that I think will be important in the years to come….

Breeding for Barley Contributions to Beer Flavor
· Partner: Oregon State University
· Principal: Pat Hayes

Hop-Derived Dextrin-Reducing Enzymes from Dry-Hopping
· Partner: Oregon State University
· Researcher: Thomas Shellhammer

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The 2017 Hop Report


Governmental crop reports are generally not my jam but the hop report for 2017 is fascinating to pore over.

Here are my bullet points / important data from the PDF….

1. Idaho crept past Oregon for the # 2 slot in production with a two percent lead. Neither state combined can touch Washington with 75% of the production.

2. Overall hop production is up 20%

3. Washington produced more Cascade than any other hop, Idaho had Zeus followed by Cascade and Oregon had Nugget followed by Cascade.

4. Experimental hops are growing in yield in Washington but slowing down in Idaho from this year to last and not even on the list for Oregon

5. Azacca and Palisade were big last year but I don’t see other newcomers on the list to keep an eye on.

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Death and Taxes

While the Republican Tax Cut has been dissected and rightfully dismembered for it’s generosity to those needy wealthy folk and corporations who will soon be charging us more for the interwebs, it did also have a nice bit of help for small brewers tucked inside. (Not that it helps the overall picture)

The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act will “recalibrate” according to the Brewers Association, the federal excise tax.

Here’s the gist:
“Under the bill, the federal excise tax on beer will be reduced to $3.50/barrel (from $7/barrel) on the first 60,000 barrels for domestic brewers producing less than 2 million barrels annually, and reduced to $16/barrel (from $18/barrel) on the first 6 million barrels for all other brewers and all beer importers. The bill maintains the current $18/barrel rate for barrelage over 6 million. In total, this represents more than $142 million in annual savings, which will allow America’s small brewers—who are manufacturers and entrepreneurs—to reinvest in their businesses, expand their operations, and hire more workers.

Additionally, CBMTRA increases collaboration between brewers by permitting transfer of beer between bonded facilities without tax liability.”

How breweries will react to these savings and how they use them will be interesting to watch. Will it go to infrastructure like tanks or more to employee benefits? And will it give an extra boost to those bigger breweries at the expense of the smaller? It will certainly impact the #independent beer world in 2018 but tax cuts don’t have the most predictable outcomes. And with most of these taxes sunset-ting to meet budgetary concerns, will they even have 1/2 the effect that is expected.

To get another deeper dive, check out the numbers HERE at the Beervana Blog.

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An Epic Telegraph

The Baptist is working wonders. Epic Brewing which started in Utah and later expanded to Denver has bought a home in California now, in Santa Barbara’s Telegraph Brewing.

The press release and details have been discussed and dissected since the news came out but now that the news has had time to settle, I want to add my perspective.

1. Epic had been shopping for 18 months and they end up in California. The price must have been right or the perceived market size was too large to pass up. Should we be more bullish on the future?

2. Why is hazy seen as the way forward? Especially for a brewery known much more for Belgian and sour offerings? Bad choice in my eyes, because supply will soon dim the cachet of these brewery only offerings.

3. On the purchase, Telegraph’s founder was quoted thusly, it is a “right fit both strategically and culturally.” Let’s hope so. It can be fun to collaborate on one beer but when you are calling HQ each week, it can be less so.

4. Getting some foeders and new equipment will end up being a great thing for Telegraph and should allow them to take another step with their wild beers. Even more important will be the new access to a larger market that Epic has grown.

This deal makes Telegraph a California brewery to watch in 2018.

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Public Hops


You have heard of wild hops, now there will be public domain hops because The Brewers Association publicized an agreement made with the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). For what purpose? “To fund public hop breeding for the purpose of developing and releasing disease resistant aroma hop cultivars into the public domain… ”

Probably stemming from the recent hold-out of hops by the Captain Hook of beer SABInBev and their South Africa business decision. This combined effort of government and small(er) business looks to be an effort to keep the Hop torpedos full.

According to Chris Swersey, supply chain specialist for the Brewers Association. “Research to develop and release hop cultivars with no intellectual property protection ensures that all growers have access to high quality, disease-resistant cultivars they need to sustain production at levels required by brewers.”

The key takeaway outlined in the press release: “The research will prioritize breeding efforts in four areas: sensory requirements as determined by the Brewers Association through a collaborative and participatory brewer and industry stakeholder program; improved downy mildew resistance; improved powdery mildew resistance; and improved agronomic performance compared to existing aroma cultivars.”

And if you thought the Smithsonian beer historian job got a few applicants well, the USDA will move forward to hire a professional breeder and a facility to begin research. Sounds like a hard but fun job.

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HydroHops

Are year-round hops possible? Maybe with a greenhouse like this….

HopsHouse, has created a hydroponic hops greenhouse.

The HopsHouse is offered in two different sizes: 30’ x 60’, starting at $119,495 and 30’ x 108’ starting at $149,495. Pricing includes necessary systems and equipment. With options to customize, available.

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No Hazy Chit

I know that haze is the cool kid right now but there are still some beers that are bright and clear. And now there might just be a way to create that clarity without isinglass.
Isinglass is not vegan though and the fact that what was once a fish is used in beer is a strange thought to wrap your brain around. Now a company called Plater Bio is pitching the use of chitosan, which is extracted from specially cultured fungi.

According to the company the “initial trials have shown that fungal chitosan is a far more powerful flocculant than crab chitosan for clarifying real ale. We have worked with unclarified samples of beer from Pot Belly Brewery in Kettering and the results have been excellent.”

Depending on the cost, this might become a go-to for those breweries that want to proclaim organic and vegan bona fides.