…a Canadian Craft Brewer. A companion to the very cool American version.
Mobile bottling in the UK
Mobile canning is starting to catch on but this is one tricked out rig. Here is what the press release has to offer.
“For small brewers around the world, bottling a beer is something that must typically be done manually on a very small scale or—with commercial help—on a very large one. Enter Tom Wood’s, a British brewer that recently launched a mobile bottling operation in the form of a well-equipped truck that can drive to virtually any UK location.
Tom Wood’s has been brewing beer since 1995 under the Highwood Brewery name. More recently, the company’s versatile operation-in-a-truck has begun offering full bottling service for other brewers as well, including everything from pre-production bottle washing through a range of bottle capping options, labelling and finally shrink-wrapping. With trained staff on-board, the bottling truck was recently showcased on British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s “The F-Word,” where it was used in London to bottle Ramsay’s own home brew.
Whether for local craft brewers, individual enthusiasts or sellsumers with a side brewing business, a mobile bottling alternative that requires no capital investment or travel will be a compelling option indeed. Other large or medium-sized brewers around the world: time to equip a truck of your own for some new mobile services…?”
Snuggie
Finally, you can have a beer and stay warm. You will have to visit the 5th Quadrant in Portland to get one and it’s only in “proletariat” red but finally we beer geeks can be snuggie geeks too.
Breaking News – Angel City Brewing
Seems like there will be a brewing hiatus for Angel City as they sort out and ready a new location.
Check out the following article for the full story.
Angel City Brew
Duvel Triple Hop
Behold the mighty power of Facebook! Thanks to 10,000 fans, Duvel is bringing back the retired Triple Hop.
My question is..Are all 10,000 now required to purchase at least one?
Sean Suggests for May 2010
This month a wheat beer, a double IPA and an espresso stout…
Click May 2010 Beers to see what has been selected.
Last Call
Growth?
The Wall Street Journal interviewed Jim Koch of Sam Adams recently and this one question and answer really struck a chord.
WSJ: Could craft beer ever represent the biggest segment of the industry?
Mr. Koch: No. I hope not. Because that would mean we dumbed the beer down for volume, and I don’t ever want to see that. I used to say I make beer for 5% of beer drinkers. The reality has always been that 95% of beer drinkers don’t like my beer. Now, that number has probably gone down to 90%. Because most people drink beer for refreshment, and that’s fine. And that’s the domain of the big brewers and they’re great at that.
This is something that I have thought about occasionally. The less good beer other people drink the more there is for me. But if demand isn’t there then the beer isn’t. So I need craft beer to grow. But how much. If we are 5% of the overall market, is that enough? Is 10% too much?
I, unlike others, do not hate big companies just because they are big. Stone is large now as is Sierra Nevada and Boston Brewing. The beer can still be flavorful or not depending on how it is made.
What I think the industry needs are enough large micros that are on solid footing, financially, who can mentor younger start-ups but also distribute to and educate the non craft consumer.
I don’t think there is a magic number but we should keep pushing. The enlightened few shouldn’t hoard the good stuff.
for Mother’s Day
Bring Mom Out for a Beer on Mothers Day
May 9, 2010
1:00-4:00pm
Mom’s like beer, right? You like your mom, right? Brewpubs won’t be as crowded as the Sunday brunch houses so it’s a win-win!
Session # 39
Here is the May 2010 topic:
“Who’s brewed some of your favorite collaborations?
Who have been some of your favorite collaborators?
Who would you like to see in a future collaboration?”
For me, the first two are easy so let’s dispense with those right away.
Favorite collaboration is the John-John series. I know technically that both John’s work under the Rogue umbrella. But the brewer meets distiller meets the criteria for me. And the Rogue Hazelnut mixed with rum barrels is one of my favorite beers. I can’t wait to grab a bottle of the Juniper aged in gin barrels.
Favorite collaborators are the geniuses from Stone Brewing. I’m sure I will be joined by many others in voting for them just based on the Maui / Ken Schmidt porter collaboration but working with an all-star dream team of BrewDog, 21st Amendment, Firestone-Walker and Jolly Pumpkin is amazing.
Future collaborations is such a tough one. There are just so many choices. So I had to set some rules.
1. Breweries with different styles but not philosophies.
2. Breweries that haven’t collaborated with each other before.
3. Only three breweries and what beer style I would like to see.
With that groundwork in place, here are the three breweries and why I selected them + what beer should be made….drumroll please…..
Eagle Rock Brewery
Captured by Porches Brewing
Black Star Co-Op
First reason why – All relatively new. No preconceptions of what to do or how to do it.
Second Reason why – The first two are from my hometown (Portland) and adopted hometown (Los Angeles). And Black Star is just cool for doing this Co-Op style.
I would love to see them make a simple style with a twist. Perhaps a rye pale ale or a multi-grain porter.