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my occasional rants and raves about what is going on in the industry.
In a move that might have great potential especially with crowlers, Augusta Label + Packaging now has a patented resealable lid for canned beverages.
It is both leak and tamper proof and can be used with any can line or manual seamer. They are on their second generation lid now. Cost and shelf life extension will be my big questions butI certainly hope it is something that can be perfected, especially if 16oz cans are going to be the dominant craft beer package, even for high ABV beers.
The California Craft Beer Summit will be back at full strength in Sacramento this March.
After temping in Long Beach for one year and then postponing for more, the Summit is back at the state capital.
And I will be too! You will be getting plenty coverage in March on this blog but you might consider joining us because there will probably be some special brewery events around town.
Predictions tend to either clump into educated guesses or a pundit re-wording the same thing they said the year before, and the year before that.
With that latter spirit in mind, let’s trot out some antiques and I will comment…
Pilsners will really be a thing this year – This is the biggest craft beer chestnut. The thing is, most places have a really good pils or a lager on tap. Highland Park Brewery here in Los Angeles has all kinds on tap. We can stop with this prediction because it is low key already proven.
Seltzers will lose steam – This has been the pandemic question each year. I never found one that struck me as anywhere near a beer replacement and have wondered how people thought they were drinkable. I think the category will lose additional steam this year. People will continue to buy them but they are not the song of the summer anymore.
Non-Alcoholic will gain momentum – This is pretty much a gimme as predictions go. More people are entering the market chasing that sweet deal that Athletic got from Keurig / Dr. Pepper. The beers themselves are still near beer in name only but the sober curious will buy them despite flavor flaws.
Mergers and Acquisitions – The era of big deals is on pause. This year, it will be the snatching up of closed breweries by those who need more production room. Perhaps in a different part of town or state to cut down on delivery costs.
Before Christmas, Bart Watson, the economics guru for the Brewers Association talked about craft beer in 2022 as well as a dip into what he thinks maybe in store for 2023.
Here are some of the numbers nuggets from his talk….
It looks like some tough sledding next year but as the world clicks closer to normal, more opportunities might show themselves.
I will let the video do the heavy educational lifting today…
Advancements in hops keep coming and Roadhouse Brewing Co. has tag teamed up with a company called RipeLocker and hop growers at Oasis Farms to put a spin on their hazy IPA, The Walrus.
Per the press release, “RipeLocker has designed specialty containers for storing and shipping freshly harvested whole cone hops. Thanks to revolutionary CO2 technology, the atmosphere inside the containers can be regulated ensuring that the contents remain as fresh as possible. With these containers, craft brewers can extend the season for fresh hopped beers. Additionally, craft brewers located greater distances from hop growers will now have access to harvest fresh hops despite the additional transport time.”
“The Walrus has always utilized some of our favorite hops – Mosaic, Eldorado, Calypso and Amarillo, but for this wet hopped version, we utilized Mosaic and Idaho 7. The Idaho 7 certainly added a new level of tropical fruit and dankness to the beer that we usually don’t see when using pellets and other advanced hop products,” says Roadhouse Brewmaster Max Shafer.
If this technology passes more tests like this and is in the right price range, then it would really expand the definition of fresh hops.
The CIA recently launched a podcast and an even better brewing institution has one too, New Glarus Brewing is streaming.
I listened to the Oktoberfest and wheat beer episodes and found them to be a good dip into Dan Carey’s mind and the mindset at New Glarus. I am glad that the podcast tackles one style per show and secondly that the shows are thirty minutes.
I am not a huge fan of the questions. They ramble a bit and bounce around a bit much but Carey like his brewing can make magic even with not the best questions. It ends up being a good mix of beer talk and stories about the brewery.
The best thing I can say is that I really want a Spotted Cow right now.
Normally, when a politician posts something on social media, I groan and flip past as fast as I can. But in the case of Assembly Bill 2307 and Assemblyman Marc Berman, I paused and read.
2397 increases the number of satellite locations that a brewery can have from six to eight. Of the six, only two of those locations can be a full restaurant kitchen Berman’s bill raises that cap to four.
Kudos to the California Craft Beer Association which keeps pressing for brewers across the state.
Time to re-cap the Los Angeles and LA friends (aka California) winners at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival.
L.A. Gold
Ten Mile – Hooked on Onyx American Black Ale
Ogopogo Brewing Nix International Pale Ale
Highland Park Brewery DDH Pillow Juicy/Hazy Imperial IPA
Beachwood Full Malted Jacket Scotch Ale
L.A. Silver
Lincoln Beer Company Amber/Red Ale
Eureka Brewing Methuselah Imperial Stout
L.A. Bronze
Malibu Brewing Happy Days Honey Ale
Highland Park Brewery DDH Timbo India Pale Lager
Arrow Lodge Chanlaso Cream Ale
other winners include a brace each for Topa Topa, Riip Beer and Figueroa Mountain. Riip bagging Silver with Dankster Squad in the ultra competitive IPA category just ahead of North Park Beer and their Hop-Fu. Colorado’s Comrade Brewing won with More Dodge, Less Ram.
California took home 76 medals overall but Firestone Walker was shut out in the first time that I can remember but stalwarts like Stone, Russian River and Moonlight picked up medals.
Sounding quite ominous, Asahi is looking to the North American beer market for growth. These will include acquiring brands, working with start-up companies, and entering the NA and low ABV niches of the market. You can read more HERE.
Does it mean that they want their Stone like Sapporo does? And follow up question, who would that be?