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2010 REUNION beer Belgian-style Scotch

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2010 REUNION BeerolaREUNION – A Beer for Hope, now in its fourth year, will be a Belgian-style Scotch Ale for 2010. Bison Brewing in California and Terrapin Beer Company in Georgia are the brewing and fundraising partners.

The beer will be released this month in both 22 ounce bottles and draft in 14 states (California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama New Jersey and Pennsylvania). Information about special events later this month is available at the REUNION website.

REUNION Beer is the inspiration and collaboration of Alan Shapiro, president of SBS Imports, Pete Slosberg, creator of Pete’s Wicked AleT, and Virginia MacLean, long time friend and colleague, as a way to raise awareness of and donations for The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research. All met during the early days of Pete’s Brewing Company. Virginia passed away from complications from Multiple Myeloma in June 2007, four months after the initial release of REUNION. To date REUNION has raised in excess of $130,000 for The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research (www.imbcr.org) via profits from beer sales, retailer fundraising events, and private donations.

This year’s beer was developed in concert by brewmasters Spike Buckowski of Terrapin, Dan Del Grande of Bison, and REUNION co-founder Pete Slosberg. It is a Belgian-Style Scotch Ale – a nod to Virginia’s heritage. It is brewed to an original gravity of 1078 using 5 different malts and hopped with East Kent Goldings to 35 IBU. It is fermented with a high gravity Trappist yeast and is 7.0% alcohol by volume.

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‘Brewing the American Dream’ honored (again)

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Boston Beer Co. continues to win accolades for its Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, started in 2008 to aid low to moderate income small business owners in the food and beverage industry.

Last week the the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) presented its Founder’s Award at the 10th Annual Excellence Awards in Corporate Philanthropy to Boston Beer. The Founder’s Award recognizes a corporation with revenues less than $5 billion that has exhibited outstanding leadership in its category, demonstrated a commitment to innovation, and set benchmarks for measuring the outcomes of its partnerships.

Boston Beer created a partnership with ACCION USA, a pioneering nonprofit micro-lending organization, to establish the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program. This program provides small business owners in the food and beverage industry with the tools they need to help them become financially independent, including access to capital. Senior management and employees from Boston Beer host events and share their expertise and insights to provide these entrepreneurs with mentoring and coaching, while ACCION USA provides financial education and manages the loan program funded by Boston Beer.

“When I started The Boston Beer Company I couldn’t get a bank loan or find capital, plus there was so much I didn’t know about starting a small business,” said Boston Beer founder Jim Koch in accepting the award. “As the company grew and became more successful, we naturally identified with other ‘little guys’ who benefited from a leg up to help achieve their dreams. It became important to me to find a way to give back to other start-ups like mine and create opportunities for them to get funding and advice. I know how useful that would have been in starting Samuel Adams 25 years ago.”

Since its inception two years ago, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream has provided loans to more than 40 businesses and has helped create or save nearly 300 jobs in New England.

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Oskar Blues ‘breakout brand of the year’

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Beverage World has announced that Oskar Blues won gold as “breakout brand of the year” in the publication’s analysis of all beverages in the market today. Oskar Blues topped other products such as TY KU Sake, New Leaf Tea, FRS Healthy Energy Drinks, MonaVie açai berry drinks and Guayakí Yerba Mate as the “breakout brand of the year.”

The first craft brewery to can its own beer on premise back in 2002, Oskar Blues has been joined by about 75 other small breweries (so far) in canning their own beer.

“We were the can guys,” Oskar Blues owner Dale Ketchis told Beverage World. “Early on we had an advantage because we weren’t trying to add a canning line to a current bottling line, this was our baby, so we wanted to drive it home. We wanted to educate everyone that it’s a better package, period. In order to do that we truly had to have 110 percent buy-in. The biggest advantage was that we bought in early to the idea and we’re still riding that wave.”

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Harpoon Canning Their Beer

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Another regional brewery is joining the ranks of those who are canning craft beer. Harpoon Brewery is canning two of their beers, the I.P.A. and the Summer Beer.

From the press release:

The Harpoon Brewery is pleased to announce that your backpack will be a little easier to carry on hiking trips this summer; introducing Harpoon IPA and Harpoon Summer Beer in cans. Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the Harpoon Brewery will offer its flagship India Pale Ale and seasonal Summer Beer in 12-ounce aluminum cans. The beer, which was brewed at Harpoon’s Windsor, VT brewery, is being canned at FX Matt in Utica, NY today. The new cans will enable New England craft beer lovers to enjoy Harpoon beers during summer activities and at locales where glass bottles are not convenient.

It’s interesting to see more larger craft breweries turn to cans these days. I’m guessing we’ll see more and more of this size brewery adding cans to their line-up.

harpoon-summer-can harpoon-ipa-can

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Nøgne Ø grand champion in Australia

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American brewers won five major awards at the 2010 Australian International Beer Awards and a boutique Norwegian brewery, Nøgne Ø, captured the biggest prize, the Champion Exhibitor Trophy. Nøgne Ø also took home the Champion Small Brewery Award.

An international panel judged more than 1,170 beers, including 495 international entries. “We were extremely impressed with the entries received at this year’s Awards. Now recognized on a global stage as the pre-eminent showcase for premium beer and brewing excellence in the Asia Pacific region, the international dominance has not come as a surprise, receiving more and more high caliber international entries each year,” Peter Manders, the awards chairman, said for a press release.

Half of the entries came from what organizers call “boutique” breweries and half from large scale breweries and there was a 20 per cent increase in international brewers entering.

The Australian International Beer Awards was first held in 1993 recording 94 entries from 30 exhibitors from Australia and New Zealand.

The major award winners were:

• Champion Lager – Hoss Rye Lager, Great Divide Brewing Company, Colorado, USA
• Champion Ale – The Runt, Feral Brewing Company, Western Australia, Australia
• Champion Porter – Hunter Chocolate Porter, Hunter Beer Company, New South Wales, Australia
• Champion Stout – Beer Geek Brunch Weasel, Mikkeller, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Champion Reduced & Low Alcohol Beer – Redoak Bitter, Redoak Pty Ltd, New South Wales, Australia
• Champion Wheat Beer – Emerson’s Weizenbock, Emerson’s, Dunedin, New Zealand
• Champion Belgian & French Ale – The Sixth Glass, Boulevard Brewing Company, Missouri, USA
• Champion Scotch & Barley Wines – Samuel Adams Longshot Barley Wine, The Boston Beer Company, Massachusetts, USA
• Champion Hybrid Beer – Black Butte XXI, Deschutes Brewing, Oregan USA
• Champion Packaging Award – Scotts Pale Ale – 6 Pack Holder, Scotts Brewing Co, Auckland, New
Zealand
• NEW Champion Gluten Free Beer – No trophy awarded
• Premier’s Trophy – Voodoo, 2 Brothers Brewery, Victoria, Australia
• Gary Sheppard Memorial Trophy (best new exhibitor) – Big Sky Brewing Company, Montana, USA
• Champion Large Brewery – Weihenstephan Brewery, Friesing, Germany
• Champion Small Brewery – Nøgne Ø – Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri, Grimstad, Norway
• Grand Champion Exhibitor Trophy (awarded to the most successful exhibitor) – Nøgne Ø – Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri, Grimstad, Norway

The complete list of medal winners is here (a pdf).

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Saint Arnold backs book drive for Craft Beer Week

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With American Craft Beer Week in full swing from Chicago to Seattle the number of events is dizzying and local. But here’s one worth special mention:

Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Texas’ oldest craft brewery, will open its doors Tuesday evening May 18th for a book drive to benefit nearby Crawford Elementary School.

“I think of every week as American Craft Beer Week, but I appreciate the focus that this week brings to everything we do all year,” said Brock Wagner, founder and brewer of Saint Arnold Brewing. “The book drive is a perfect marriage of great beer and community.”

Saint Arnold will open the doors to those who donate at least two new or gently used books appropriate for children between the ages of five and 10. As a thank you and to celebrate American Craft Beer Week, donors can sample some of Saint Arnold’s tasty beers and root beer. The book drive for Crawford Elementary School will run from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18th at Saint Arnold Brewing Company, 2000 Lyons Avenue in Houston. Bilingual editions are especially appreciated.

The full press release.

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New from Firestone Walker, Alaskan and Zatec

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Firestone Walker Parabola Firestone Walker Brewing has made Parabola Imperial Stout available for the first time in bottles, and the limited one-time release isn’t expected to last long.

Parabola has long been a component of Firestone’s anniversary beer series. The anniversary beers are a blend of barrel-aged beers released one time each year in very limited quantities. The individual components are sometimes sold on draft or poured at beer festivals.

“We brewed our first Parabola 5 years ago as an experiment in barrel aging. This first bottle release show cases what we have learned and what we love about barrel aged beers and amazing flavors and textures that oak can bring to beer,” brewmaster Matt Bryndilson said for a press release.

Only 1000 cases of Parabola, 13% abv, are available in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington by mid-May.

– Alaskan Brewing Co. has announced a new “Pilot Series” of limited edition specialty beers with Alaskan Raspberry Wheat Ale. The Alaskan Pilot Series will feature a rotating collection of beers packaged in 22-ounce bottles and will be available throughout the 10 states where Alaskan beers are sold.

“Each new recipe is first created on our 1-barrel experimental brewhouse, perfected in our 10-barrel pilot brewhouse, then put to the test through our Rough Draft series of draft-only beers distributed in Alaska,” said production manager Dave Wilson. “Alaskan Raspberry Wheat has been one of our favorite Rough Drafts.” It won a silver medal at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival.

Alaskan Raspberry Wheat is an American-style wheat ale highlighting the bright flavors and inviting aroma of more than 3,000 pounds of real raspberries added during fermentation.

– Importer Merchant du Vin expect Zatec Dark Lager (5.7% abv, 25 IBU) will join Zatec Bright Lager on shelves June 1. Made from Moravian two-row barley and local hops, Zatec Dark is produced via a double-decoction mash, open primary fermentation, sand filtering, and 45 days of lagering in cool cellars 80 feet underground. Brewing in the Zatec region — known for Saaz hops — of the Czech Republic dates back to at least 1004 AD. The Society of Privileged Brewers was founded in Zatec in 1261, the cornerstone for the current Zatec Brewery was laid in 1798, and brewing began in 1801.

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Sam Adams suspends brewing in Boston

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Boston Beer will not be brewing any of the Samuel Adams beers at its small Boston brewery for the next few days in an effort to conserve as the greater Boston area deals with a shortage of drinkable water, company spokeswoman Michelle Sullivan told Boston.com.

Most Samuel Adams beer distributed nationally is brewed in Cincinnati and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.

Sullivan said the company got a call asking it to conserve water shortly after a pipe that carries water to the area broke on Saturday. “Today, tomorrow, the next few days, we’re just planning not to brew,” she said. “We want to obviously be a good local business and certainly respect [that request] and wait until the shortage has passed.”

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South Carolina breweries ask for consumer help

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Support Your Local BreweryThis call to action is intended for South Carolina residents.

South Carolina Beer Lovers,

We are asking you to get in touch with your elected officials to support legislation beneficial to SC breweries.

House Bill 3693 will allow a brewery in SC the ability to sample 4 brands and sell up to a case equivalent (288 ounces) per person per day. The case equivalent volume includes sales in any size containers, such as growlers (this is big for us!). While still restricted, the fact that we can now have tours, limited samples and ANY sales direct is a major milestone for South Carolina.

This bill will allow us, the small brewers of South Carolina, to interact with consumers and represent the beer personally, the beer we work so hard to brew. We also hope the resulting increased direct sales will allow for expansion and growth.

Already passed by the House, HB 3693 is currently under consideration by a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, May 4. Because it is possible the full committee will vote the same day the subcommittee votes, we are asking you to call and/or email ALL members of the full Committee IMMEDIATELY and express your support for passage of this legislation.

Let these Senators know that you want them to support you as a beer consumer and the small brewers of the state by passing this bill. Let them know that this is good for businesses, consumers and the state’s economy by making South Carolina breweries more competitive with breweries in neighboring states.

Judiciary Committee (the 4 subcommittee members are starred)

Lee Bright
Paul G. Campbell, Jr.*
George “Chip” E. Campsen, III
Raymond E. Cleary, III*
Creighton B. Coleman
Tom Davis
Robert Ford
Bradley C. Hutto
John “Jake” M. Knotts, Jr.
Joel Lourie
Gerald Malloy
Larry A. Martin
Shane R. Martin
Shane A. Massey
Glenn F. McConnell, Chair
Michael “Mick” J. Mulvaney*
Floyd Nicholson*
Luke A. Rankin
Michael T. Rose
John L. Scott, Jr.
Vincent A. Sheheen
Phillip W. Shoopman
Kent M. Williams*

Thanks and cheers!

South Carolina Brewers Association

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Deschutes, Hair of the Dog collaboration due in 2011

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Oregon breweries Deschutes Brewery and Hair of the Dog Brewing today announced that they are working together on a beer that will be released some time next year.

From the press release:

“When we started talking about collaborating on a project, Alan Sprints at Hair of the Dog was the first person I thought of working with,” said Gary Fish, president of Deschutes Brewery. “We’ve known each other for a long time and partnering on a project like this was the perfect way to be able to do something original and unique together. When you have two creative companies embarking on a creative project together, something fun is bound to result.”

Sprints came over to Bend in early March to brew two of his beers at the Deschutes Brewery brewhouse. Then it was Deschutes Brewery brewmaster Larry Sidor’s turn to brew two of his own beers. These four beers (which will remain unnamed as yet) will be aged in various wood barrels and then blended together sometime in early 2011 in a ratio yet to be determined as part of the creative process. Over the next several months, Hair of the Dog and Deschutes Brewery will be meeting to sample the aging beer and contemplate the blending process.

Sprints said, “This partnership was born in an effort to express the vitality of today’s American brewing community and push the boundaries of what is commonly known as beer. Both of our companies share a pride in Oregon products and I have long admired the level of professionalism that Gary brings to the brewing industry. My idea was to do a blend of beers that we already produced, merging our products and passion for beer, hoping to create a beverage that will be deep, complex, earthy and beguiling.”

This is the first collaborative beer for each of the companies, and everyone is excited to see how the new beer will develop. Fish continued, “We have no idea how these four beers will taste blended together, but we do know that the total will be greater than the sum of its parts.”

It would appear that the blend will not include equal portions of each of the brews. Think anybody would buy the leftovers?

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Griffin Groups Acquires Anchor Brewery

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Big news in the beer world, as I learned today that San Francisco’s Anchor Brewery has been sold. Here’s the press release below.

The Griffin Group, an investment and consulting company focused on beverage alcohol brands, announced its acquisition of Anchor Brewing Company which includes its portfolio of craft beers and artisan spirits, including the award winning Anchor Steam Beer.

The Griffin Group is led by beverage alcohol veterans, Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio, two longtime San Francisco residents who have been working with Anchor Brewing Company’s owner, Fritz Maytag to maintain the iconic brewery and distillery in San Francisco.

“Anchor Brewing Company has a long history in San Francisco and The Griffin Group is ushering in an exciting era while maintaining our proud, time-honored history,” said Fritz Maytag. “Combining Keith and Tony’s passion for the Anchor Brewing Company, their industry experience and expertise only means that Anchor will be enjoyed in San Francisco for generations to come.”

“Since 1896, Anchor Brewing Company has been an icon of San Francisco’s history and culture,” stated Griffin’s Founding Partner, Keith Greggor, “I am honored to bring Anchor Brewing Company into our family of craft beers and artisanal spirits through establishing Anchor Brewers & Distillers, LLC.”

Anchor Brewers & Distillers intends to establish a “Center of Excellence” in San Francisco for craft brewers and artisan distillers from around the world. An epicenter of development, education, entertainment and innovation, all designed to further contribute to the culture and heritage of craft beer and artisan spirits.

“San Francisco is the perfect place to establish this center,” stated Tony Foglio, “Through our extensive portfolio of craft beers and fine spirits our focus will be to educate and satisfy the increasing consumer demand for authentic, quality and natural products that reflect the passion of their creators.”

Continuing the Anchor heritage, Mr. Maytag has been named Chairman Emeritus of Anchor Brewers & Distillers.

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Two breweries on ‘Best Places to Work’ list

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“Outside” magazine put two brewing companies — New Belgium Brewing in Colorado and Alaskan Brewing in Alaska — on its third annual list of “The 50 Best Places to Work.”

New Belgium is second on the list and Alaskan 17th.

“It was such an honor to be a part of the inaugural list of companies in 2008, especially as the only company from Alaska,” Alaskan Brewing CFO Ann Metcalfe said for a press release issued by the brewery. “We are lucky enough to brew award-winning beer in one of the most incredible natural playgrounds on earth. To make the list again this year, affirms that we are fulfilling our mission statement and continuing to have fun while we grow.”

The magazine includes a mini-interview with, and retro picture of, Alaskan founder Geoff and Marcy Larson.

“We whole-heartedly follow the old ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality,” Marcy Larson said for the press release. “We all are passionate about putting out an outstanding and quality product but we also work hard to ensure that we are enjoying all that Alaska has to offer. Around here, we call that . . . living life Alaskan.”

It’s not unusual for employees to schedule their work hours around prime fishing times or ski seasons. Last year, 22 members of the 80 member Brew Crew traveled to Skagway to compete in the Klondike Road Relay — a 110 mile road relay between Skagway and Whitehorse, Canada. At the same time, another group of the Brew Crew was climbing local peaks in preparation for their summit of Mt. Rainier to celebrate a co-workers 50th birthday.

Outside’s “Best Places to Work” list was compiled with the help of the Outdoor Industry Association and Best Companies Group . The year-long selection process began with an outreach effort that identified a wide range of non-profit and for-profit organizations with at least 15 employees working in the United States. Participating companies were then sent confidential employee-satisfaction surveys and employer-questionnaires to collect information about benefits, job satisfaction, environmental initiatives, and community outreach programs. All of the results were analyzed by Best Companies Group experts, who selected the 50 companies that strive to enhance their employees’ enjoyment of active endeavors, and environmental and social involvement.

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Wynkoop begins horse-powered deliveries

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Friday Wynkoop Brewing in Denver begins the first of bi-monthly beer deliveries by wagon.

A wagon pulled by two 2,000-pound Clydesdale horses will roll out from the alley behind Wynkoop Brewing at 7 p.m. and head to a few of the brewery’s downtown beer retailers. The public is invited to watch.

“We’re bringing back a piece of our city’s beer-blessed past,” Marty Jones, cheersleader/Idea Man, said for a press released. “Our local historians tell us it’s been nearly 100 years since beer was delivered in Denver in this fashion.

“It’s a great way for us to shrink our carbon footprint while expanding our hoof print.”

Denver historian Tom “Dr. Colorado” Noel said, “It’ll be a joy to see horse-powered beer wagons rolling down Denver’s streets again. . . . Wynkoop Brewing Company brought back boutique beer in Denver, and now its bringing back horse-drawn thirst aid.”

For this debut run, the horse-drawn wagon will leave Wynkoop and visit Wazee Supper Club at the corner of 15th & Wazee streets.

The wagon’s other stops include Wines off Wynkoop (the brewpub’s first Rail Yard Ale can account), Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret (in the historic D & F Tower on Denver’s 16th Street Mall) and Scruffy Murphy’s Irish Pub at 2030 Larimer St.

Wynkoop will continue horse-powered deliveries on the second and fourth Friday of each month.

Dennis Holzrichter, owner of D & D Featherfoot Clydesdales & Carriages, will provide the retro transportation for these deliveries. He has been offereing horse-drawn carriage rides in downtown for 20 years.

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Danes end strike over beer ration

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The Danish beer strike is over. Details from The National Post:

Employees at a Carlsberg warehouse on the outskirts of Copenhagen returned to work on Monday, ending a five-day strike over a decision to cut their daily ration of free beer, their union said.

Some 200 warehouse workers in Hoeje Taastrup had walked off the job last Wednesday after their daily beer ration was cut from three bottles to one.

Around 50 drivers for the brewery had joined the work action in solidarity with their thirsty colleagues.

“We have agreed with management that we will meet very soon to find a temporary solution while waiting for a legal settlement of the matter,” 3F union delegate Michael Christensen said in a statement on the union’s website.

Carlsberg recently introduced a policy that authorizes drinking beer in the canteen during the lunch hour.

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New Belgium seeks video originals

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New Belgium Brewing is seeking short digital, film and video submissions for the first season of its traveling cLips of Faith Beer & Film Tour. Chosen entries will screen in 14 cities throughout the summer and fall of 2010. From the press release:

The top three winning filmmakers will travel to New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, CO for a private screening and beer dinner extraordinaire.

“The cLips of Faith Beer & Film tour is a celebration of the innate creativity of both brewing and film,” said event director, Meredith Giske. “We’re looking for eclectic and creative short film submissions to complement the beers we are bringing from our Lips of Faith portfolio. These are some of the most creative beers we make, so it will be a one-two combo like you’ve never seen.”

Each stop along the fourteen-city tour will feature an outdoor screening of the collected films, a full tasting of New Belgium’s Lips of Faith beers and food from local vendors. All proceeds will benefit local bike non-profits. The series will run between mid-June and mid-October.

“At this point, we’re looking for you and your friends to create something original and fun for all of us to watch,” said Giske. “We’re looking for stories that touch on beer, whimsy or sustainability in the categories of comedy, drama, adventure, documentary or animation. The slate is completely blank and the possibilities are endless.”

To learn more about New Belgium’s cLips of Faith series or to submit content, go to www.clipsoffaith.com.