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Keeping family breweries going

Posted in Breweries on   

The BBC profiles Bateman’s Brewery, one of the UK’s (relatively) few remaining independent family brewers.

George Bateman, 78, the grandson of the brewery’s founder, gets right to the point.

So why was it so important to keep the brewery as a family concern?

“This is back to the intangible of being a community,” he says.

“In a small town – you might say village – there was a consciousness through the years that I and my father before me and my grandfather before that had depended on the strength of local people.”

The good news is that his grandchildren are already getting involved in the brewery.

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Bud TV due after Super Bowl

Posted in Breweries, Trends on   

When we wrote a couple of weeks back about Anheuser-Buisch’s push into providing program content the headline More ‘Bud TV’ seems likely was mostly meant to be flip.

But not according to today’s New York Times (registration required; free), which reports:

. . . as in Bud TV, an online entertainment network that Anheuser-Busch, the nation’s biggest brewer, is preparing to introduce the day after Super Bowl XLI is played in early February.

The network will be on a Web site that will have the bud.tv address.

This would be no small project. Just a few of the highlights:

– Bud TV would offer six channels of comedy, reality, sports and talk programming created for and by Anheuser-Busch. The tentative names for the channels include Comedy, Happy Hour and Reality.

– A-B in discussions with Joe Buck, the sportscaster, to develop a talk show.

– A seventh channel on Bud TV, tentatively named Bud Tube, will be styled after the popular Web site YouTube , giving consumers a chance to “generate their own Anheuser-Busch ads, comedic in nature,” which can be shared with other computer users.

That’s just the start.

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Vote for a national hop

Posted in Just for fun on   

First California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a measure that would have designated zinfandel the historic wine of California. He said the state produces many fine wines from different grape varietals and that it would be “inappropriate” to single out one for special recognition.

That was followed by this post in the blog called Shiraz:

Breaking News: Late yesterday Australia’s Prime Minister John Howhard announced that his government had passed legislation making Shiraz the national grape. “This decision is not about choosing one variety over another. It recognises Shiraz in its historical role in laying the foundation for the Australian wine industry,” he said.

It was a joke, but maybe there is something in this for the beer industry.

Why not name a national hop?

What would it be? Cascade, which played such an important role in the rise in craft beer? Maybe the fabulously versatile Centennial.

How about Cluster, long the stalwart? Maybe a frsiky newcomer like Simcoe or Summit.

What would you pick?

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Brewing boss suggests winter GBBF

Posted in Beer culture on   

Caledonian brewery chief Stephen Crawley said the Great British Beer Festival should be moved to winter.

Crawley also suggested that brewers need to be involved more directly in organizing the event. The Campaign for Real Ale runs GBBF and CAMRA chief Mike Benner was quick to replay to Crawley.

“The question is irrelevant because we had 66,000 people attend this year – 20,000 more than last year,” Benner said. “By holding the festival in August we attract alot of tourists and we have no problems keeping the beer cool.”

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A list of lists

Posted in Just for fun on   

– Stephen Beaumont celebrates 10 years of World of Beer by offering lists of the best and worst of the last ten years in beer. “Extreme Beers” make both lists.

– The October issue of Men’s Journal hits the newstands with its list of the “25 Greatest American Beers.” A solid list but the best 25?

– Here’s the way a list should be done. Bryan at Brew Lounge lists his favorite beers of the past 4 months. It’s a snapshot in time.

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Lunch with Garrett Oliver

Posted in Trends on   

Jaye Beele of the Grand Rapids Press has lunch with Garrett Oliver, master of brewing at Brooklyn Brewery and author of “The Brewmaster’s Table.”

Beele reports they had “mild Bavarian brat weisswurst with sweet Bavarian mustard and knockwurst served with Senf (German deli mustard), reubens, German potato salad and sauerkraut,” but doesn’t mentioned what they had to drink!

He does, however, repeat much of the discussion about beer, including Oliver’s theory that the resurgence in sales of beer with flavor isn’t an anomoly, but a matter of “getting back to normal.”

“When I was growing up, we had this weird period when we had one kind of beer. It was that same period when we had supermarket white bread, American cheese slices, instant coffee crystals and canned vegetables. And that was it.

“As the food culture moved on, people decided they wanted fresh vegetables, some good olive oil, real maple syrup, real bread and real beer – people wanted a better food life.”

And beer is food.

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Abita still ‘Louisiana True’

Posted in Breweries on   

2theadvocate.com has a solid feature on Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Co.

News includes the fact that Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale has so far raised $400,000 for hurricane relief.

Abita Purple HazeAs already reported, business thrives despite the fact that New Orleans’ population has been cut in half. Although Abita sells its beer in 32 states, New Orleans is still its most important market.

Most of its beers are designed to be paired with local cuisine, to keep Abita “Louisiana True,” president David Blossman said in the story.

“From the beginning, we made a concerted effort to be a part of our (Louisiana’s) lifestyle,” Blossman said. “If we were just trying to make money, we would be just making our amber beer.”

These days that’s another reason for people outside Louisiana to buy the beer.

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Day in the life of a brewery worker

Posted in Breweries, Just for fun on   

“So You Think You Could Be . . .” is an occasional series that gives LaCrosse Tribune reporters a new and interesting job for a day. Some jobs will be dirty. Some will be fun. And others will be just plain weird.

That’s why Joan Kent found herself inside City Brewery, which is hardly a quaint little startup. City Brewery used to be a Heileman plant, cranking out Old Style when that beer was the best seller in Chicago (take that, Miller and Bud).

The story begins:

I would have done more work during my day at City Brewery, but nothing weighed less than 50 pounds.

Everything inside the old brick walls is big. Tubs with capacities like 1,970 barrels. Pipes that seem to run for miles in a maze among the several buildings. Freight cars full of grain. Tanker trucks full of corn syrup.

The brewery is a weird mixture of tradition and modern manufacturing.

The tasting part, however, required only light lifting.

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Stone auction: Beer and dinner for 8

Posted in Beer & Food, Breweries on   

The latest in Stone Brewing’s series of charity auctions to celebrate its 10th anniversary closes Friday, but bids are already apporaching $1,000.

The dinner for eight with Stone founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner features six courses and six vintage Stone beers. The package also includes an invitation for one person to be a guest at a tasting of Stone 02.02.02 Epic Vertical Ale.

The charity auctions have already raised $20,371.

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AleSmith Numbskull and other new beers

Posted in Beers on   

– AleSmith Brewing in San Diego is ready to release Barrel-Aged Old Numbskull 2004. Individually numbered bottles will be available for purchase only from the brewery Sept. 1 (next Friday), beginning at 3 p.m. Due to the rare nature of this beer, purchases will be limited to two bottles per person. A release party will follow in the back of the brewery [AleSmith is located at 9368 Cabot Drive, 858-549-9888]

– Saint Arnold Brewing in Houston will celebrate Oktoberfest in the brewery Oct. 13-14, but its Oktoberfest beer will be ready Sept. 1. Saint Arnold Oktoberfest was introduced into the brewery’s rotation of seasonal offerings in 1997 and has been judged among America’s best. It was recognized with the Bronze Medal in the Scottish Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival in both 2001 and 2000.

Headlining this year’s fifth Oktoberfest celebration will be two-time Grammy Award winner and highly danceable Brave Combo, which boasts a repertoire that includes polka, waltz, mambo, two-step, merengue, ska, stroll, foxtrot, Muzak, twist, ondo, tango, bossa nova, zydeco and rock. Only 200 tickets to Saint Arnold Oktoberfest will be available each night, so making reservations are needed. Call 713-686-9494 and ask for Ann.

– Spoetzl Brewery, also in Texas, continues the countdown toward its 100th anniversary in 2009 with the release of Shiner 97, a Bohemian Black Lager that Shiner 96, a Marzen-style ale that debuted during last year’s Oktoberfest. “This is the second year of our anniversary beer concept and we want to showcase our brewing heritage, our German and Czech pedigree and our history of brewing in Texas,” said Gambrinus CMO Shamus Hanlon.

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Lagunitas Freak Out!

Posted in Beer culture, Beers, Breweries on   

Freak Out!First Thelonious Monk, now Frank Zappa.

Compared to the heat Miller Brewing has drawn for using famous rock ‘n’ roll artists on a series of cans, it looks like small breweries – in this case both from Northern California – are on to something.

Lagnunitas Brewing Co. began shipping Freak Out! Ale in 22-ounce bottles earlier this month “in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the release of the first album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.”

Lagunitas founder Tony Magee obtained the permission of the Zappa Family Trust to use the original album art as the bottle label. He plans to do an entire series commemorating the release of Zappa albums. So look for “Absolutely Free” next summer.

Freak Out! Ale is a beer of substance (7.3% abv) but – thank goodness – is not as demanding as Zappas’ double album. It has plenty of hop character – citrusy, resiny, gritty flavors and solid bitterness – to balance hefty malt sweetness (fruit and caramel).

Lagunitas also announced that its Imperial Red Ale (also not for sissies), previously sold only in 22-ounce bottles, is available in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles.