Category: Opinion

my humble and correct opinion

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Delayed R.I.P. – Cellador Ales

Most closures spool out over a month or two, but in the case of Cellador Ales, the end date is further on the horizon 12/31/22, but no less sad for the Los Angeles brewing scene.

This will allow everyone to trek out and have a final wild ale ir purchase tickets to their L.A. Beer Week festival.

What struck me about the announcement was this section..

But…something I can’t quite put my finger on has been rippling through the industry in 2022; It has unexpectedly been the toughest year since the pandemic started, for us, and apparently many other small breweries.

Makes one wonder when the other closure pennies are going to drop.

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Thoroughly Modern Maui?

The uncertainty swirling around Modern Times. Closing locations. Receivership sale rumors. All that caffeine from the roaster have led to this point where a potential buyer comes from the island.

Since this is a San Diego story, I direct you to SD Beer News for the full lowdown HERE. With any sale, you hope the new owner will be good stewards going forward. I get to see how that goes with my two favorite sports teams as Chelsea has just been sold and the Trailblazers are in the owner courting phase.

But Modern Times has hit the jackpot with Maui Brewing who are big in the industry and well respected. Now we wait again for news.

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and Chill

From the department of like us cause of causes and not our actual product comes…

Coors Light’s new ad campaign, “Chillboards”. Debuting in Miami it is a  rooftop billboard shown to decrease temperatures in Florida apartments. The “chillboard” is painted with a white roof coating that can reflect 85% of sunlight, but don’t talk to much science or DeSantis will outlaw it.

Is this cool, yes. Does it move the climate change needle, maybe a little. Is it just marketing? Certainly. Maybe they could team up with their family of breweries to paint the roofs of their brewing plants.

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No Trappists in America

Sad brewery closing news…

Business is hard. Business mixed with religious tradition is hard. Transplanting the Trappist model into the U.S. is really hard too. Adding to the sadness is thar their beer was good, maybe leaning to American, but good. Maybe the recipes can live on with some part of the revenue going to the Abbey.

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My Choice

…since, apparently white men can make all their own choices, is to be ready..

You can also help by donating to the Brigid Alliance.

We should be in a world where everyone can choose equally. Think of it this way, if you walked into your favorite brewery and they said that YOU because your YOU could not order three of the ten beers on tap. Would you like that? Now multiply that feeling by, well, a lot!

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Rue the Moonlight

Time for some inside the business of the beer talk, good news, I promise.

Patrick Rue, the founder and former owner of the Bruery and now in St. Helena with his Erosion Wine label along with his family, have acquired the 1/2 share of Moonlight held by Heineken through Lagunitas Brewing. Sounds like an NBA draft trade, right?

Moonlight founder, Brian Hunt, keeps his half of the brewery which has done a few more collaboration beers that we in SoCal have been lucky enough to get because his beer is stellar.

Hopefully, this will be a better strategic partnership.

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Label Insanity

Playing a bit of catch-up here, last month the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild held their Label Insanity contest.

I think that each brewers guild or as many that want to, should do this so that there could be a giant countrywide competition. What makes this competition good is that they have niche’d it to “insane” instead of best. That choice could allow for a best Halloween or Christmas label as well.

Here is this years winner in North Carolina….

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World Beer Cup – Los Angeles medals

The World Beer Cup spent Cinco de Mayo passing out medals.

Beachwood was the big local winner with three medals. Figueroa Mountain picked up a pair which I count as L.A. because of the Westlake Village outpost. Below are the Los Angeles area medalists:

Gold

Highland Park Brewery – Hello, L.A. – International Pale Ale

Silver

Lincoln Beer Co. – Mosaic Pilsner – American-Style Pilsner

Cellador Ales – Akimbo – Fruited Wood and Barrel- Aged Sour

Beachwood – Full Malted Jacket – Scotch Ale

Bronze

San Fernando Brewing Co. – Imperial Death Star – American-Style Imperial Stout

Beachwood Blendery – Funk Yeah – Belgian- Style Sour

Beachwood – Mocha Machine – Coffee Stout

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Learning to be Weathered

Sometimes, I let the press release take the wheel, especially when it is something important, so read on and I will have comments below.

“Rahr Corporation and craft brewing industry leader Marcus Baskerville today announced the launch of a new, first-of-its-kind incubation program aimed at supporting and creating space for underrepresented groups in the craft brewing industry. The Harriet Baskerville Incubation Program will provide structured brewing education, training, professional mentorship, and resources to women and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) brewers.

The program will be housed in Baskerville’s new Weathered Souls Brewing Co. location opening later this year in Charlotte, North Carolina, and targets brewers who are transitioning to professional commercial brewing and planning to either start or own a brewery. Over the course of one year, 12 brewers will be selected to travel to Weathered Souls for a monthlong immersive program. Rahr Corporation has committed $100,000 to fully fund the program’s first year.

“We are proud to support this unique program that is actively taking steps to diversify our industry and broaden its appeal,” said Rahr Corporation President and CEO Willie Rahr. “Our company believes that fostering a more diverse and inclusive industry is not only morally imperative but can also be a driver of growth for craft beer. Through this partnership, we can help build a stronger and more sustainable brewing industry for future generations.”

According to 2020 data from the Brewers Association, there are approximately 8,800 breweries in the U.S., and less than 65 are Black-owned. And while 22% of the country’s breweries have women in ownership, partnership or majority shareholder roles, women represent only 7.5% of actual brewers.

“Even with the unprecedented growth and popularity of the craft beer movement, women and people of color continue to be left out,” said Baskerville, founder and leader of the program. “Named after my grandmother, the Harriet Baskerville Incubation Program will provide opportunities for those who are underrepresented in our industry to gain hands-on training and education in brewing – hopefully jump-starting incredible careers.”

Participants will learn about brewery maintenance and brewing beer on professional equipment; malting and analytical tests related to brewing practices; yeast propagation, cell counting, viability and health; and how to create, finance and market a sustainable brewing program. They will have access to Rahr’s technical experts and premium products.”

This is basic teamwork here. Find and train and then they will push the ball forward with you in the future. And since the mood towards quotas and hiring seems to be negative at the moment, this training probably won’t be pushed overall and needs to be pulled instead. I hope this program works and can seed breweries all across the country.

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This is How to Label

I am very opinionated when it comes to labels. I have hot takes for days and I do prefer to give a tip of the hat rather than a wag of the finger so let’s look at this label from Burgeon…

Instead of hoping to slide IP infringement by, they have used a clever name, a gradation of color and nods to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s homestead. Plus the color has a bit of haze to it to match the beer style.