Category: Beer Industry

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

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Brew Trail

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Planning craft beer trips requires a certain amount of time. You have to find which breweries are in the area that you are headed.  Visit each of the brewery websites or Facebook pages to find out when they are open and then go to another website to map it all out.

Now you can head to one spot Brew Trail, which as the founders describe it is “the ultimate compilation of brewery information, has gone online and Visiting breweries just got easier.  Brew Trail compiles every brewery and brewpub in the country – over 2,500 – allowing beer lovers to quickly and seamlessly plan their ultimate tasting trip.  Tour schedules, tasting room hours, fees and other info is all available on one site for the first time ever.”

I tried the site out from both a PC and my Mac and it worked pretty well.  It has a pretty comprehensive list of breweries.  It is missing some but maybe some crowdsource help will fill in gaps.  I was impressed to see that Pacific Plate Brewing which recently opened is there.  If you search by state that is the best bet.  I tried the city and zip code function and either got zero results or funky results.  Your mileage may vary with that function.

It does put all the information under one banner which will save you time.  You can print out maps.  Create an account.  All fairly simple.  I suggest giving it a try.

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Review – BrewDog TV (shows 1-3)

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TV shows can take a few episodes to get on their feet.  And due to that, I will split my BrewDog TV reviews into multiple segments.

This review covers the San Diego, San Francisco and Philadelphia episodes.

I first have to address the beer of the week that they brew.  Obviously, it is a novelty brew but I am really on the fence about it.  I know it is the marquee part of the show.  The spine so to speak.  But I really don’t like the whole “Do you like it” moment at the end.  I much prefer the opinions of the people who get to drink it, since I never will and the canned applause tactic rubs me the wrong way.

But that may be because I really love the rest of the show.  Especially the food and beer pairings which were really strong in this section.  With the donuts in Philadelphia being my favorite because it was new and really well explained.  The Craft Beer Virgin bit is good too.  It could be really bad but James and Martin are just so damn lovable that it works.  The lists of breweries and bars is well done and takes the right amount of time.  The format of the show is well thought out and moves at a nice pace.

Of the beers done, I would have the fog beer.  The pepper beer is out of my league and the Declaration of Independence beer seemed a little strange to me.  Not that I wouldn’t have tried all three.

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Review- Feminist from Monkish

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Great to see this Monkish flagship beer in Bruery style bottles. I think that Henry is doing some really creative things in Torrance and I am glad that I have a growler to use at will, or whenever the traffic allows.  Feminist pours a reddish brown color. I first get hibiscus notes. Followed by a dry, antiseptic Belgian yeast strain. Puts cranberries in mind for some reason.  I have found that hibiscus can be way too overpowering but it works here.  It also puts me in mind of Thanksgiving.  I think this would be perfect with turkey and stuffing.

 

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Crafting a Nation

Books and movies are catching up to the creativity of the brewers in documenting the revolution of craft beer and, in my humble opinion, there can’t be too many documents of what is happening so that is why it is important to watch Crafting a Nation…

Then check out their website to see if it will be screening near you.

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De Lambikstoempers

Lambikstoempers

Lambikstoempers are an “association that wants to make known the beer culture in Belgium and support, specifically the beers of our region: the Senne valley and the Pajottenland.”

For some reason, I imagine Stormtroopers heading into a bar and brewery demanding at laser point, that good local craft beer be served.

They started back in 1999 (10 years before I started blogging) and have been putting on events and getting into the news since then.

I am talking about them because I believe that we need more watchdog groups like theirs to keep different elements of the craft beer world honest and to call people out in a constructive way.

And what is a Lambikstoemper?

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It is a pestle  to use in mashing in sugar to a lambic or Gueuze.

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Duvel America

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I wonder what the craft beer folk who hate “big” will think of this.  A large foreign brewery looking into acquiring ‘Merican owned craft breweries.  Does Duvel Moortgat get a pass because of Ommegang and Brasserie d’Achouffe (among other holdings)?  Or will the following quote  “We would like to acquire two or three U.S. craft breweries over the next five years,” that Simon Thorpe, the president and CEO of Duvel USA and Brewery Ommegang gave to Brewbound.com scare the bejesus out of people?

Will the anti-“big” brigade believe the next Thorpe quote, “We view ourselves as a craft brewer that happens to be based in Europe and has a brewery in the U.S.,” ?.

Duvel has a few prerequisites for potential partners:  long term growth, potential for scaling up, geography and type of market the target brewery is targeting.  The last generated this intriguing statement from Thorpe,  “We are not interested in brands where margins and pricing is low,” Thorpe said. “We are only interested in the luxury end of the market. We are looking for premium, high-end, beautiful brands.”

Informal talks have been held but no names released.  But this may be the start of a consolidation phase for craft beer.

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The Goddess of Beer comes to SoCal

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Ninkasi Brewing has been showing up in Los Angeles with their Tricerahops Double IPA.  I first spotted them at the Blue Palms 5th Anniversary party and then on tap lists for the Food GPS Beer Blast.   The craft brewery based in Eugene (Home of lightning yellow football uniforms) signed agreements with independent wholesalers here as well as Orange County and and San Diego County. Flagship and limited release offerings are on the way in 22 oz. bottles and kegs.

 

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Sierra Nevada Collab-a-palooza

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Check out this mega-collaboration……

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is celebrating the opening of its new Mills River, North Carolina, brewery by bringing revered craft brewers to North Carolina via a cross-country festival path in 2014. A dozen craft breweries across the U.S., both up-and-comers and noted names, will join Sierra Nevada in the creation of a variety 12-pack—one partner brewery per beer—to be released in summer 2014. A multi-weekend, west-to-east tour of regional festivals will culminate with the Mills River doors opening.

The specific travel path for festivals is a work in progress, but in spring 2014, these breweries will visit Chico to develop recipes and begin brewing:

Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME
Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI
Cigar City Brewing, LLC, Tampa, FL
Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI
Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, OR
Oskar Blues Brewing Company, Longmont, CO
Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, CA
Three Floyds Brewing, LLC, Munster, IN
Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA
Local brewing community in Asheville, NC”

Holy Hell that is an impressive list of breweries.  From the LA perspective it would have been nice to see Craftsman on the list or Eagle Rock but hey, you can’t win ’em all.  I will be really interested in the New Glarus and Russian River combos.  I know the Firestone Walker one will be a huge hit.

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Brew Hub

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Staying on the  helping those with less cash upfront front.  Brew Hub is a new contract and market penetration brew space for up and coming brewers that is based in Lakeland, Florida. (With more to come across the country, presumably if the idea catches hold.)

As they say on their website, “With our first brewing and packaging facility in Lakeland, Florida, we will become an incubation center for partner-brewers looking to capitalize on the fast-growing craft segment. Our unique, turnkey solution will help craft brewers overcome production and distribution barriers to brand profitability.”

Just like micro-maltsers and crowdfunding, it looks like craft beer is building an infrastructure around itself.

Addendum: Beer Advocate has a nice piece on this new entrant into the craft beer world.