Category: Beer Industry

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

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Keg Return

Count me as a fan of the Brewer’s Association. And add this to my list of reasons why, now they are helping return kegs back to their proper homes via this website.
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Here is what the plan is, “KegReturn.com was established to help make sure lost kegs are more easily returned to their brewery owners.

By using this database to search for key markings and symbols on a lost keg, we hope to help reunite kegs with their rightful owners.

Kegs are expensive—your efforts will help decrease the cost of great beer.”

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One too many Degrees

 

A few days ago, I received this e-mail.images
” Two days ago it was brought to my attention via Twitter and The Patch Carlsbad that 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill was opening in Carlsbad Village at the former “The Catch” location.  This is in no way affiliated with my company.  I had “The Patch” change this info as soon as I was aware.  I am very concerned with the unauthorized use of my brand 38 Degrees as I have put all my passion, blood, sweat and tears into developing what I believe as one of Southern California’s top craft beer bars and New American restaurants.  The owner Mayur Pavagadhi has built the façade with an almost identical logo using Orange color as I and Tan/Brown signs stating Craft Beer & American food.  My brand 38 Degrees has symbolized and represents an enormous amount of good will in craft beer culture and our community since 2009.  Confusion of the proposed Carlsbad location and mine is inevitable as folks were already mislead and commenting on “our arrival” into Carlsbad Village on internet sites.  We have made personal contact with Mayur Pavagadhi and he was not accommodating in wishes for him to change name and look in Carlsbad and in fact stated he would seek legal action to up hold his rights to open as a craft beer focused restaurant using 38 Degrees Carlsbad as the DBA.  I am writing all of you to consider helping me persuade Mr. Pavagadhi to dis continue this route of business.  I do not have an e mail address yet for him but the 38 Degrees website now under “The Catch” Carlsbad will soon be live.  If anyone personally knows this person, I strongly urge you to reach out ASAP.  I will reach out to many of you via phone as I am very concerned.  Let me know if you can have comments or disagree with me in any way.”

I know and repect Clay Harding who wrote this and I totally agree.  It appears the whole “name” and “brand” issue is rearing it’s ugly head again.  Coronado sues for the name Idiot IPA, not cool.  The name Shift is being grabbed and re-used, not cool.  Anyone with a grasp of recent craft beer history knows that the bandwagoners fall by the wayside when the boom and growth falter.  LIFO in accounting terms.  Last in, First out.

Here is the deal.  If you are in the same market or same state.  Don’t re-use names.  If you do and it is an accident, apologize and then collaborate with the person who you wronged (that is called good PR).  If you are a nano in California and won’t compete with a similarly named project in Georgia or Mississippi, then ask first (again, good PR, sense a trend?).  Maybe it won’t matter and again, you should  collaborate.  There are many, many, many beer terms that you can use to name your bar, brewery or gastropub.  Check out the Oxford Companion to Beer and you can probably find a cool brewery name or two.  Due some diligence and don’t be a Mayur.

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Beck’s Sapphire

Not to be outdone by the Black Crown and “Taste Makes and Entrance” from Budweiser, Beck’s is now going the night club design route with their Sapphire.
becks-sapphire
As the website describes it, “…our new pilsner brewed with rare German Sapphire (Saphir) hops for a distinctively smooth taste and brewed to 6 percent ABV. Beck’s Sapphire represents a new standard for beer.

To serve this uniquely smooth pilsner, our engineers spent over two years developing an exclusive, sleek black glass bottle. This bottle not only protects our beer from light better than common brown bottles, it also provides a distinguishing image for Beck’s Sapphire.

As with all Beck’s beers, Beck’s Sapphire is brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516 and uses only four natural ingredients.”

I, for one, hope it tastes better but I am curious that they are just now reading up on which glass color protects beer more when they have been green bottled for a large chunk of their existence. Maybe the marketing folks didn’t read up on the other Beck’s products.

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An Incubator for Craft Beer

One of the reasons why I am fascinated by the craft beer movement is that new stuff keeps popping up that makes me wonder, “Why didn’t I think of this?”

Add this to the file: A brewery business incubator. One of my beer spotters, Steve found this article on Fast Company and I was kicking myself that I hadn’t written about it until now. Check it out HERE.

Considering the start-up costs and equipment scarcity and permitting and all of the rigamarole that you have to go through in Los Angeles. One place where up and comers can test out their craft seems like a no-brainer.

Check out the (fully funded +) Kickstarter video and I think you will agree:

If I win the lottery tomorrow (or the day after) this is something that I would love to pursue.

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It is beyond not cool

I have been a victim of the frosted glass on numerous occasions. Most recently at California Pizza Kitchen that tried to ruin Eagle Rock’s XPA, Revolution by putting it into an ice cold glass.

Usually, I just let the glass warm and/or put my hands on the glass and passively-aggressively let the waitress see that something is wrong. But from now on, I will just send it back and teach a lesson.

Now watch the video and have your facts ready for the next time you get handed an ice glass….

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SCR 66

California-Flag-570x380
BILL NUMBER: SCR 66 AMENDED

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 6, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 21, 2012

INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Principal coauthor: Senator La Malfa)
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Chesbro)
(Coauthor: Senator Evans)

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Relative to California Craft Brewery Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 66, as amended, Corbett. California Craft Brewery Month.
This measure would proclaim the month of February 2012 as California Craft Brewery Month.

WHEREAS, California is the birthplace of the craft brewing movement, when Fritz Maytag acquired the Anchor Brewing Company in 1965 and began brewing authentic handcrafted beers; and

WHEREAS, California is the home of the first microbrewery, beginning with Jack McAuliffe who built a small brewery in Sonoma from scratch, and began selling New Albion ales in 1977; and

WHEREAS, The second largest craft brewer in the country, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, was founded in Chico, California, in 1979, and spurred the craft brewery movement around the country; and

WHEREAS, In 1977 1982 , Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 3610 to amend the state’s tied-house laws to remove the restriction on on-premises sales of craft beer. Following this change in law, California became home to three of the first five brewpubs in America; and

WHEREAS, The second brewpub in America was opened by the Mendocino Brewery in Hopland, California; the third brewpub, opened in September 1984, was Buffalo Bill’s in Hayward, California; and the
fifth, opened by John Martin in March 1986, was Triple Rock Brewery in Berkeley, California; and

WHEREAS, The California craft brewery industry has an annual impact of $500 million on the state’s economy in direct wages and benefits; and

WHEREAS, The California craft brewery industry creates more than 17,000 jobs, which in turn creates billions of dollars in positive economic impact; and

WHEREAS, The California craft brewery industry creates more revenue for the state and federal governments than many other industries, generating more than $36 million in taxes in 2010; and

WHEREAS, California now has more breweries than any other state in the country, including over 280 small, independently owned craftbreweries; and

WHEREAS, California is now known and recognized internationally for the quality of its craft breweries. Year after year, Californian breweries win more medals at the World Beer Cup, the largest international beer competition in the world, and the Great American Beer Festival, the largest beer competition in the United States, than breweries found in other states; and

WHEREAS, Brewery tourism is increasingly popular and contributes to the economic impact of the state’s tourism industry; and

WHEREAS, The California craft brewery industry is a leader in the stewardship of natural resources and the environment and has made a major commitment to implement sustainable practices that are
environmentally sound, including some of the largest solar arrays in the private sector, and the use of fuel cells and other innovative conservation techniques and processes; and

WHEREAS, Despite the challenges of intense global competition, the state’s craft brewery industry is strong and growing, and is a major contributor to the economic vitality of California; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of February 2012 as California Craft Brewery Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

How will you celebrate this momentous beer month?

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Swag Brewery

So this is not an actual brewery. But the swag part is correct. Do you want some classy and cool craft beer items. Then Swag is a good interwebs stop.
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You can get some hop candy. (Weird and interesting)
You can buy some cool art prints with beer themes
and they even sell beer soap too.

Perfect for the beer geek in your life.

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Craft Beer Connect

It appears that the buying craft beer from the internet thing is also taking off. I just ran across a California centric site that offers a new spin on buying by the name of Craft Beer Connect.
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Instead of buying single beers or six-packs, you select a tier that either A) fits your price range and B) gives you access to the beers you want. This way you can gift to various types of people on your craft beer list and not over or underwhelm people.

They have a good selection of California brewers. Hangar 24, Figueroa Mountain and other stalwarts but nothing from L.A. producers like Eagle Rock or Golden Road yet. But if you have friends somewhere else and you want to turn them on to Golden State brews. This is a good selection including Rough Draft and Manzanita which I have not even tried (yet).

From looking over the list, the beer geek would get a bit of deal depending on shipping with the tier 2 if you could find 6 noteworthy beers. Tier 3 is a little better selection but the price per bottle goes up into the $8 a bottle range versus $6 for the Tier 2.

An interesting concept but I will still prefer Let’s Pour and Beer Jobber for sheer national selection.

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Breathe into the App

breathometer-launch
If you use your phone for everything then maybe you will be in line to try the Breathometer app.

Basically, you get a small device that plugs into your phone, talks to the app and makes presto, you can breathe into it and get an alcohol reading. A reading that will be kept in a history of every time you blow into the device.

It will cost $20 which could get you a crappy, low-end breathalyzer test since most are in the $100 range.

Truth be told, I have seen people do weirder stuff with their phones.

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First Brewer in born in America*

I am slowly but surely working my way through the entire Oxford Companion to Beer. All 986+ pages of entries alone and every once in a while, I come across little gems…
“The first non-native American is born in New Amsterdam, (perhaps the first non-native American male born in the New World) in Block & Christiansen’s brewhouse. Jean Vigne grows up to become the first brewer horn in the New World.” (this quote from Fulkerson.org)

*granted this may seem inconsequential considering that the America’s were already populated and beer was being brewed (though in less quantity than Europe) but until such time as we (mostly me) learn more about Native American brewers and techniques, it is a nice nugget of beer history to know and I pass it on to you.