Category: Beer Industry

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

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Eco Holders

That connective tissue that holds six cans together is getting an eco-upgrade. Now, I generally prefer the boxes for holding cans since it can be made of recycled material and can eventually compost away and not last forever like plastic.

But this solution born from a collaboration between Saltwater Brewery in Florida and We Believers—an advertising agency in New York might be even better. The pair have created rings using spent grain from the brewing process. Basically a bio-degradable ring that is also edible unless fish are gluten-intolerant. Cost and manufacturing might be an issue but since there is a ton of spent grain out there and only so many cows, this could be another avenue if a certain scale can be achieved.

Saltwater Brewery "Edible Six Pack Rings" from We Believers on Vimeo.

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A Bigger Yard

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Brooklyn Brewery has made brewing moves in foreign countries but is now looking in its own backyard for its next big project. They will be building a 50,000 barrel brewery at the Brooklyn Navy Yard by 2018. It will be the primary destination for beer fans with the new brewery, corporate offices and a rooftop beer garden that looks out onto the waterfront.

The plans for Navy Yard’s newly-renovated Building 77 will add to their presence since they barrel age in Building 269. The original location will stay in the fold as well plus there is development of a new production facility in State Island as well.

Maybe a precursor to L.A. getting some of their beers?

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The Rebel Alliance

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There seems to be a clustering effect when it comes to breweries in the Los Angeles area. Be it in Westlake Village or Torrance or Downtown L.A., breweries seem to set-up shop within walking distance of another.

Even closer and wide ranging is the The Bridgeworks Beverage Alliance in Pennsylvania. A trio of craft beverage manufacturers are right next to each other in a renovated Mack Truck Factory.

It is part of a manufacturing incubator program, and it includes three different types of alcoholic beverages Colony Meadery – County Seat Spirits – HiJinx Brewing Co..

Incubators seem to be on the downswing, at least, from a news perspective. There was a time, years back, when you would hear about one or the other in the tech world but maybe it is something that should be re-examined when it comes to beer. Because of equipment costs, rental costs and permits and dealing with the various cities, might encourage investor groups to pool money and knowledge.

I have heard brewers speak about how other brewers helped them out with a permit here or how-to deal with the city. So there always seemed to be an informal type of mentoring but there is a need for starter space. Somewhere to legally brew and sell your beer in that in-between space of home brewing to running your own brewery. That happened out in Riverside where Polymath Brewing, Delicious Science and Seven Brothers were working co-op style.

The hunt for the “just right” location could be undertaken at a less fevered pace if a brewer could be making and fine tuning beer and building a brand in the meantime. Maybe L.A. could have a sake house, next to a brewery, next to an artisanal food court?

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On Point

Target and craft beer aren’t usually mentioned in the same sentence often but since they pushed into the grocery aisle they have added beer, wine and spirits. To this point, I have not purchased craft beer at a Target since the selection seems just a tiny bit sku’d to the SABInBevMiller distribution side of life with only four or five bombers and some bigger often seen like Sierra Nevada Pale.
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But now, they seem to be changing things up. Starting with a location in Denver, Target has moved the beer to the front of the store and put it in a walk-in cooler. It is the first of possibly more “beer caves” as the Minnesota company calls them.
Other Target locations in Illinois seem to stock not only the widely available Goose Island but also Two Brothers and Revolution. How deep the stock is and who is doing the buying probably dictate what we see on shelves.

You probably won’t walk out with a rare beer but if they can start stocking local flagship beers it could be a great place to stock up for larger gatherings.

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This Land is Belgium

So this came about last week but I wanted to read the insta-responses before posting my own. But I recommend also reading THIS and THAT to get a rounded picture.

If you base your beer buying choice based on the word America and all the emotions that it evokes. Well then foreign owned Budweiser may have you covered. They have applied for and received special dispensation for a summer season label that swaps out the Budweiser and replaces it with America. As well as whatever other flag draped patriotic words they could find.
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And they are truly banking on people buying for that reason only. Maybe Americans will. It has been a weird and wild primary season and I suspect that many a political after-party will have buckets of “America” chilling on ice for the sheer easy-ness of the image that it will send. The flag lapel pin of beer, as it were.

I have my doubts though. Barring cans being emblazoned with first names or photos of Trump or Clinton, what percentage of consumer who already buys this type of beer is basing it on the label? Has there been a study done on it? My gut tells me that the average purchaser will pick on A) price or B) ingrained love/hatred of one brand over another. There might be a group of “undecideds” out there but of them, I again ask, what percentage will pass by reason A on the way to C) that label has America written on it.

I have grown accustomed to the avoidance of the beer inside the container but I also understand that mountains turning blue or a vortex neck might sway people for novelty in ways that a few word choices simply cannot. The cans will be made in far too great a quantity to be collectible though collecting is preferable to drinking them.

Or is this just some psychological experiment from the advertising world? The knowledge that they are a foreign owned company has probably seeped into their customer base and this may just be a way to stop the spread of the pernicious fact based rumor that they are run from Belgium/Brazil. What does it hurt them to slap a few patriotic words on a new label? Probably a drop in the marketing budget. All in exchange for forestalling their sales slide. Blatant misdirection has worked for the Tangerine Terror this political season (see Trump in his own version of 11 22 63). So, why not for America-wiser.

I fully expect to see a Point the Way USA IPA this summer in red, white and blue striped cans. Or perhaps a Patriot’s Peachy Pumpkin from Elysian.

I also fully expect craft brewers to answer this call with patriotic and hoppy puns combined.

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Hop Forecast

Hoppy, with a chance of bitterness. All kidding aside since you should not trust any LA based weather prediction, here is the news from the hop bines….
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The latest report from the Hop Growers of America points to a sunnier future for this IPA crazed drinking nation.

Hop inventories in the U.S. have increased by 10 percent in the last 12 months compared to last year. That doesn’t mean your local brewer will be able to brew up an exotic SMaSH beer because only a portion of that 10% will go to what is called the Spot Market (the not already pre-ordered part of the market). The rest will fulfill contracts that are purchased years in advance.

This year will mark the fourth year in a row that the acres of hop fields have grown here in the U.S.. In addition, it is the third year internationally with Germany expected to increase its acreage of hops by 10%.

Part of me sorta hoped that the supply would stay tighter as it would force brewers into different styles or be more creative with their personal hop supply. That is the same part of me that wishes that George Lucas always had to work on a shoestring budget for his Star Wars and not rely on the old green screen so much.

This will certainly help logistically for many breweries who had to really plan out their brewing schedules and will hopefully trickle down to the new brewers who don’t have the access to hops that the established brewers do.

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Misfits United

True Craft (check in around the 16 minute mark, though you should watch the build-up)….

Greg Koch today revealed plans that are bigger and more ambitious than even building an American brewery in Berlin. True Craft will launch a $100 million fund for investing in “real” food and beverage companies with the goal of creating a stable and ongoing environment for “craft” conscious companies so that selling out doesn’t have to be an only option.

This fund which has garnered a not unsizeable starting bankroll of $100 million will acquire minority positions in craft breweries. Per Koch, “They can make their own decisions about their future,” he said. “They can stay independent. They can get financing and flexibility that they need to flourish, while keeping their soul and control.”

I almost think it is too late to the game but a welcome addition to the brewery succession plan cupboard of ideas. ESOP’s and partial sales to investors or merging with bigger craft brands are all well and good but without a place to go that can guide brewery once the initial founder is done is what is needed more. SABInBevMiller may think they were smart to buy up formerly craft breweries but their eternal short-sight syndrome may have led them to buy when breweries would have gone “poof” and vanished. Innovative financing ideas like this and micro-loans are what are truly needed to keep innovative ideas bubbling for years.

I know the Pollyanna card will be played in my direction. Thinking that whatever breweries join must fall into lockstep with Stone could be a worry but the main reaction so far seems to be to the name, True Craft, alone.

Financing is tricky. So are succession plans. Just like a thriving craft beer culture needs breweries of all sizes. All types of plans should be available. True Craft may not affect more than a few breweries but it could be a lifeline for those few and to piss on the whole endeavor instead of finding where it could help seems counterproductive.

More on this endeavor will be posted here as it develops. (And I hope it catches on with coffee, cheese, wine and other “crafted” foods and drinks)

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Learn in Milwaukie

Setting aside that I am a Linfield grad, the chance to work with Breakside Brewery would make me sign-up for this Lewis & Clark class…
This is from Brewbound.com, “For the past 3 years, Breakside Brewery and Lewis & Clark College have partnered to offer a course in brewing and the business of beer for students interested in the craft beer industry. Sponsored by Lewis & Clark’s Center for Entrepreneurship, the course is instructed by Breakside brewmaster Ben Edmunds and R&D brewer Will Jaquiss.

The course is a comprehensive introduction to the beer industry, designed to prepare students with a practical understanding of how beer is designed, developed, produced and sold. The course focuses on three intertwined elements of brewing: fermentation science, beer as a business, and beer as an artisan craft, and students develop a broad understanding of the skills and theory needed to understand and/or join the beer industry.

In the capstone project of the course students split into small groups and each brew a beer of their own design on Breakside’s 3 barrel pilot system. The students work closely with Breakside’s brewing staff to select raw materials, develop a recipe, and create a sales plan for the beer. In the final class of the semester, the beers are evaluated by brewers from other breweries in Portland, so the students get real-time feedback from sources other than their day-to-day instructors. Unlike other brewing seminars for students, these beers are actually sold to the public and marketed just like any of Breakside’s other beers.”

I would love to take this class if I was still back in my hometown of Milwaukie. Not for the brewing part as much as the marketing at the end. How to sell a beer that you have had a hand in crafting must be a fascinating exercise and would put me squarely in the shoes of the people that I usually buy from.

Here is the list of the 2016 student beers and all three have aspects that draw me in…

Going Golden – American Summer Ale 5.3% ABV 22 IBUs
“This hoppy golden ale is equally refreshing and complex. it features the new Enigma hop, which has notes of apricot and peach, as well as touch of Mosaic and Cascade hops.”

Sunny Day Wit – Hoppy Belgian Wheat 4.1% ABV 15 IBU
“This is an interpretation of a Belgian witbier with the addition of more flavoring and aroma hops than would be found in a classic version. The hard-to-find Huell Melon hop, featured here, provides beautiful notes of honeydew and grass.”

Royal Baby – American ESB 5.8% ABV 35 IBU
“An American take on the classic English-style ESB, with a spicy, citrus aroma from both English and American hops, and a rounded mouthfeel from the addition of Torrified Wheat.”
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Draw the Label

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I have never been a huge fan of the painted on bottle look from AleSmith (I would describe it as plain and utilitarian) and now if I had any (I mean any) art skills I could do something about it. But maybe someone out in craft beer land will and enter the Evil Dead Red Ale Bottle Art Contest.

Evil Dead Red Ale is an iconic beer on shelves and conjures up all sorts of Halloween imagery and I will be hoping to see not only the winning choice but also the runners-up too to see if I agree with which art makes it on the label.

Artists may submit as many entries as they like to creative@alesmith.com from April 8 to May 9. Check out the AleSmith website for all the rules and regulations.

Submission Period: April 8-May 9, 2016
Winner Announcement: During American Craft Beer Week, May 16-22, 2016

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Untappd Tapping Data

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Pulling people to your website, be it a beer website or blog is much harder than pushing information to a set list of people. With the added benefit of having said names and information to possibly sell to others who might covet it.

The user base of Untappd is a niche group that might act on pushed information and that’s probably the reasoning behind the fact that they announced the launch of Untappd for Business. “Verified venues” that sign up and fork over the cash will have the ability to share tap lists plus event info to the 3 million users of the app.

Users (like me) can “friend” one of these venues to get the tap list and event info plus receive notifications when your favorited beers are tapped at one of your “friends” within a 15-mile radius of their location.

Expect more updates and additions to Untappd now that the founders are part of Next Glass and have more time to devote to the app.