More ‘10% for KC’ beneficiaries picked

Posted In Breweries at   

Boulevard Brewing announced KC Pet Project was the consumer favorite in its first “10% for KC” voting.

The new program, which donates 10% of the proceeds from KC Pils sales in the Kansas City area, splits the donation among three charities based on online voting. KC Pet Project had 56% of the votes and will receive 60% of the funds raised through the program. The American Jazz Museum and the KC Care Clinic will get 20% each of the total contributions.

Though final dollar figures will not be available until next week, approximately $30,000 will be divided among the organizations.

“Response from the organizations and consumers has been overwhelming,” said Jeremy Ragonese, Boulevard’s director of marketing. “KC Pet Project took the opportunity and ran with it. Their enthusiasm, along with the creativity and passion demonstrated by the other two participants, fulfilled our desire to bring attention to these worthy causes and give back to hometown charities.”

Boulevard will donate to three different groups each quarter. Consumers will be able to vote for First Downs for Down Syndrome, the Midwest Music Foundation, or Synergy Services in the fourth quarter.

A ‘pumpkin beer like no other’

Posted In Beers, Just for fun at   

Once in a very rare while a press release shows up that simply must be run in it’s entirety. Witness:

He Said let’s brew a dark beer with pumpkin and spices and put it in a light colored can. He Said let’s brew a light beer with pumpkin and spices and put it in a dark colored can. So they did both and produced a pumpkin beer collaboration like no other: two black pumpkin beers and two white pumpkin beers, together in one box.

Brewing up a pumpkin collaboration beer should be a piece of cake for Dick Cantwell, the pumpkin king at Elysian Brewing and a slam dunk for Shaun O’Sullivan, the 21st Amendment Brewery brewmaster who brought the world Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer. In truth, brewing up He Said wasn’t that hard. What proved to be more difficult was getting their story about its inception straight.

Here, straight from the mouths of the pumpkin king and one of the watermelon guys, is exactly what He Said:

Shaun: “I met Dick in 2010. He walked into our San Francisco pub, came over to Nico and me and said he’d always wanted to meet the watermelon guys.”

Dick: “I met Shaun in 1999. He walked into my Seattle pub, came over to me and said he’d always wanted to meet the pumpkin king.”

Shaun: “Later on, while I was knocking his block off at Rock’em Sock’em Robots, Dick mentioned his little pumpkin fest and suggested we attend.”

Dick: “Later on, while hatching a plan to colonize a planet entirely devoted to watermelons and pumpkins I invited him to my massive pumpkin fest.”

Shaun: “One year later, Dick asked me again. Then he kicked me in the shins until I said yes.”

Dick: “Ten years later, Shaun asked me if the invitation still stood. I punched him in the ribs and said yes.”

Shaun: “After drinking the pumpkin elixirs, I told Dick we should do a pumpkin collaboration sometime.”

Dick: “After some cajolery, Shaun and Nico begged me to do a pumpkin collaboration as soon as possible. I said we should brew a pumpkin beer like no other. A Baltic Porter with caraway and cinnamon in a light colored can. Courage!”

Shaun: “I said we should brew a pumpkin beer like no other. A Belgian Tripel with spices in a dark colored can. That’s as big time as it gets.”

He Said is a white Belgian-Style Tripel ale brewed with pumpkin, tarragon and galangal. He Said is also a black Baltic-Style Porter lager brewed with pumpkin, Vietnamese cinnamon and ground caraway. Both beers have an ABV of 8.2%.

Try them both. Two 12oz cans of each version of He Said will be packaged together in a pumpkin-colored carrier that features the likenesses of the two brewers, each telling his side of the He Said story.

Shaun O’Sullivan, Brewmaster and Co-Founder of 21st Amendment Brewery, said, “Last year I attended Elysian’s Great Pumpkin Beer Fest – and this is the truth as it happened – I lobbied Nico hard for us to brew a pumpkin ale and release it in a can.”

Nico Freccia, Co-Founder of 21st Amendment Brewery, said, “I agreed to the endeavor, but only if we could collaborate with the pumpkin king, himself: Dick Cantwell of Elysian.”

Dick Cantwell, Founder of Elysian Brewing and the Elysian Great Pumpkin Beer Fest, said, “Well, it went something like that. In the end, we decided that it would be fun to brew two unusual types of pumpkin beers – a dark and a light – and package them together. And that’s how it happened.”

He Said, part of 21st Amendment Brewery’s Insurrection Series of once-in-awhile four packs, will be available in four-packs and on draft starting in late September.

Oregon Brewers Festival impact = $31 million

Posted In Beer culture at   

The economic impact of the 2013 Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) was $31.2 million, according to a study conducted by an Eastern Oregon University class.

Jeff Dense, professor of political science at Eastern Oregon University, and his POLS 316 Politics and Beer class, administered 748 on-site interviews at the event in downtown Portland between July 24 and 27.

Respondents were queried on demographic factors, along with estimates of OBF related expenditures in tourism-related categories, including transportation, lodging, meals, gasoline purchases, non-beer related recreation, beer purchased to take home, and expenditures at OBF.

Findings of the study include:

  • A majority (52.5%) of OBF patrons were out-of-town visitors.
  • Visitors from Washington, California and Canada comprised 27.1% of total OBF patrons.
  • 40% of respondents were attending OBF for the first time
  • 36% of attendees were female, a 10% increase from 2012.
  • 25% of OBF patrons were 50 years or older.
  • The average out-of-town visitor spent $587.
  • Lodging ($11.1 Million) accounted for the largest share of OBF expenditures.
  • State and local government received $1.5 Million in indirect business taxes.
  • Nearly half (45.9%) of OBF patrons utilized mass transit to attend the festival.

    • This was the third year of the study.

    Great American Beer Bars honored

    Posted In Beer culture, Beers at   

    CraftBeer.com — the Brewers Association website for beer lovers — has announced the winners in voting for “Great American Beer Bar.” Readers selected their favorite bars in each of five U.S. geographical regions as well as picking overall winners.

    Great American Beer Bars

    Overall Winners
    First Place: Mekong Restaurant, Richmond, VA
    Second Place: HopCat, Grand Rapids, MI
    Third Place: Cloverleaf Tavern, Caldwell, NJ

    Regional Winners
    South
    First Place: Mekong Restaurant, Richmond, VA
    Second Place: The Thirsty Monk, Asheville, NC
    Third Place: Oak St. Drafthouse, Denton, TX

    Mountain West
    First Place: Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO
    Second Place: Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids, Longmont, CO
    Third Place: Tap & Bottle, Tucson, AZ

    Pacific
    First Place: The Bier Stein, Eugene, OR
    Second Place: Toronado, San Francisco, CA
    Third Place: Prospectors Historic Pizzeria & Alehouse, Denali National Park, AK

    North Central
    First Place: HopCat, Grand Rapids, MI
    Second Place: The Bavarian Lodge, Lisle, IL
    Third Place: Ashley’s, Ann Arbor, MI

    Northeast
    First Place: Cloverleaf Tavern, Caldwell, NJ
    Second Place: ChurchKey, Washington, DC
    Third Place: The Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Burlington, VT

    This is how the winners were chosen: CraftBeer.com asked readers to nominate their favorite craft beer bars in the country, and received over 5,000 nominations. Site visitors than coast their votes (more than 37,000) for the 10 most nominated bars in each of the five regions.

    Saint Arnold to host GABF weddings

    Posted In Just for fun at   

    Weddings aren’t exactly new to the Great American Beer Festival. In one of the better known ones, Dave Keene of the Toronado Pub and Jennifer Smith got married in 2010.

    However, Saint Arnold Brewing in Texas wants to take it to a new level, constructing a chapel at its booth at this year’s GABF and inviting couples to use it. A Saint Arnold employee who has officiated weddings in the past will preside over the nuptials dressed as Saint Arnold of Metz, the patron saint of brewers.

    “One of my favorite toasts is, ‘May your heart always be full and your glass never empty,’ and I expect to hear that toast a lot at the GABF weddings,” said Saint Arnold director of marketing and events, Lennie Ambrose. “Saint Arnold is closely associated with the legend of the miraculous mug that never ran dry, so I expect he will be right at home at GABF.”

    Saint Arnold will also perform civil ceremonies and vow renewals.

    “This will be a lot of fun and we expect there will be no shortage of people taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share the love with thousands of fellow craft beer enthusiasts,” said Ambrose. “While it is a relatively simple process to get married in Colorado, a Colorado marriage license is required, so this will require a little planning for those wishing to wed. Fortunately, the Denver Office of the Clerk and Recorder, which provides marriage licenses, is conveniently located within four blocks of the chapel we’re planning to build at GABF.”

    Alchemy & Science acquires Coney Island brands

    Posted In Breweries, News at   

    Alchemy & Science announced that it has acquired all rights to the Coney Island beer brands.

    Jeremy Cowan, who founded He’brew Beer in 1996, launched the Coney Island brand in 2007. Alan Newman, president of Alchemy & Science, said that as part of the transaction, Cowan will join Alchemy & Science in an advisory capacity. He’brew Beer is not part of the deal and Cowan will continue to operate his own, new, brewery in upstate New York.

    “Jeremy is very excited to join us and be an important part of the future of Coney Island brands,” Newman said for a press release. “We are thrilled to collaborate with him to build on his hard work. He is a talented brewer with a flair for eye-catching branding. And personally, I am thrilled to re-visit my youth spent in Coney Island.”

    Alchemy & Science – located in Burlington, Vt. – describes itself as a craft beer incubator.

    Founder’s daughter resurrecting New Albion brand

    Posted In Breweries, News at   

    Renee DeLuca, daughter of craft brewing icon Jack McAuliffe, plans to resurrect his legendary New Albion Brewing brand.

    DeLuca has a deal with Mendocino Brewing Co., located down the road from where New Albion started in Sonoma, Calif., to make New Albion beers. The will begin with the flagship pale ale. She expects to begin selling the beer before the end of the year.

    McAuliffe constructed much of his brewery — the first purpose-built “microbrewery” — himself, opening it in 1976 and operating it until 1982. Mendocino bought, and still owns, some of that original equipment.

    Earlier this year, Boston Beer Co. produced a one-time run of New Albion Pale Ale, with the profits all going to McAuliffe, who lives in Arkansas. “We … are happy that its legacy will be kept alive with the help of Jack McAuliffe’s daughter,” Boston Beer founder Jim Koch wrote in an email to the Santa Rosa Press Democract. “To see a new generation of craft drinkers enjoy New Albion Ale today pays great tribute to brewing pioneers, like Jack McAuliffe, who sparked the American craft brewing revolution.”

    In “Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer” author Maureen Ogle put the importance of McAuliffe and New Albion Brewing in perspective. “I think what really matters about Jack,” Ogle told the Press Democrat, “is that he showed people, really ordinary people … that it was possible to build a brewery.”

    Arcade games and beer taps, oh my!

    Posted In Just for fun at   

    Kegerator Pro 60The press release from Dream Arcades says “no quarters needed,” but that’s only after you pony up $5,000 for the Kegerator Pro 60. Nonetheless, we couldn’t resist posting a picture of this arcade machine with a 60 inch HD screen, three taps and a built in fridge.

    The unit comes loaded with over 140 classic arcade games, including Ms. Pac Man, Centipede, Galaga, Street Fighter, and, well, to many to list. There are also other add-ons, but really, we’re interested in the taps and the games. Maybe a suggestion about what beers to pair with what games would be nice, but we can figure that out.

    More infomation is available at DreamArcades.com.

    Denver Rare Beer lineup; you may want to look

    Posted In Just for fun at   

    This is not intended to be mean, but the brewery and beer list just showed up for Denver Rare Beer Tasting V. Unfortunately, the fundraiser for the Pints for Prostates campaign Oct. 11, is sold out.

    At total of 41 brewers are scheduled to take part in the event, which will be held at the McNichols Civic Center Building.

    The confirmed brewery list and beers expected to be poured include:

    Alaskan Brewing, Juneau, Alaska, 2002 Smoked Porter
    AleSmith Brewing, San Diego, Calif., Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy
    Avery Brewing, Boulder, Colo., TBD
    Big Sky Brewing, Missoula, Mont., 2012 Ivan The Terrible Imperial Stout
    Boston Beer, Boston, Mass., TBD
    Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City, Mo., Tripel Julep
    Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y., Black Ops LBV 2007 & Cuvee Crochet Rouge Riesling
    The Bruery, Placentia, Calif., Confession
    Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Fla., ll0k + OT Batch #6
    Crooked Stave Artisan Beer, Denver, Colo., WælzBlood
    Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore., Black Butte XXII
    Devils Backbone Brewing, Lexington, Va., Wood-Aged Dark Abbey
    Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del., 2011 120 Minute IPA
    Drake’s Brewing, San Leandro, Calif., Reunion Barleywine
    Elevation Beer, Poncha Springs, Colo., Boom! Brandy Barrel Quadruple
    Fort Collins Brewery, Fort Collins, Colo., Roasted Pumpkin Seed Ale
    Firestone Walker Brewing, Paso Robles, Calif., Bravo & Lil’ Mikkel
    AC Golden Brewing, Golden, Colo., Blueberry Colorambic
    Goose Island Brewing, Chicago, Ill., Napa County Stout
    Great Divide Brewing, Denver, Colo., Barrel-Aged Cuvee Syrah #1
    Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, Ohio, Jabberwocky
    Hardywood Park Brewery, Richmond, Va., TBD
    Laughing Dog Brewing, Sand Point, Idaho, 14 Dogs of the Apocalypse
    The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, Calif., 2008 The Lost Abbey’s Angel’s Share
    Melvin Brewing/Thai Me Up Restaurant, Jackson, Wy., Kirk McHale & Melvin IPA Rum Barrel-Aged
    New Belgium Brewery, Fort Collins, Colo., New Belgium/Avery Sour Collaboration #1 & #2
    NoDa Brewing, Charlotte, N.C., Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Coco Loco & Hot Pistol
    Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, Colo., Foot Print
    Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Charlotte, N.C., Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter
    Perennial Artisan Ales, St. Louis, Mo., Barrel Quad
    Prairie Artisan Ales, Krebs, Ok., Bomb De Balcones
    River North Brewing, Denver, Colo., J. Marie Barreled and Bretted
    Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore., Class of ’88 Barley Wine
    Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, Calif., Barrel-Aged Narwhal
    Smuttynose Brewing, Portsmouth, N.H., Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
    Stone Brewing, Escondido, Calif., 2007 Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Russian Stout & 2004 Old Guardian Barley Wine
    Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, Ind., TBD
    Surly Brewing, Minneapolis, Minn., Misanthrope
    Terrapin Beer, Athens, Ga., Barrel-Aged Moo-Hoo Chocolate Stout
    Weyerbacher Brewing, Easton, Pa., Millennium Falco
    Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, N.C., Black Angel Cherry Sour

    “Thanks to the generosity of the brewers who donate these great beers, we have featured some amazing brews during the first four Denver Rare Beer Tastings. The list this year is impressive by anyone’s standards,” said Rick Lyke, founder of Pints for Prostates. This year the 650 tickets available sold out more than 10 weeks before the event.

    All net proceeds from Denver Rare Beer Tasting go towards the awareness mission of Pints for Prostates and help to fund the education and support programs of the Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network.

    Need GABF tickets? Trying winning a pair

    Posted In Just for fun at   

    Didn’t manage to manage to buy tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in the minutes before they sold out?

    Well, you could try winning a pair.

    Denver’s Ultimate Beer-Cation Giveaway prize includes a trip to Denver as well as tickets to on session. Entries are being accepted at Facebook.com/VISITDENVER through Sept. 2.

    The randomly selected winner will receive:

    * Round-trip airfare for two to Denver on Frontier Airlines (October 11-13).

    * Two nights at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver (October 11-13).

    * Two tickets to the Great American Beer Festival (October 12).

    * Two ‘Hops N’ Honey’ pedicures at The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Denver (October 12).

    * Dinner for two at Ale House at Amato’s (October 11).

    * Two Denver Beer Trail guides.

    West Yorkshire porter champion at GBBF

    Posted In Beers, Breweries, News at   

    CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, announced that Elland 1872 Porter has been crowned the “Best Beer” in Britain at the Great British Beer Festival in London. And for the second year in a row the Champion Winter Beer winner also won Champion Beer of Britain at the GBBF.

    Competition chair Colin Valentine said: “It was a really tough decision but Elland 1872 Porter is a fantastic beer and a well deserved winner.”

    Elland head brewer Michael Wynnyczuk said: “I’m utterly shocked. It’s a great beer but after we won the Winter Ales competition you wonder about it in the summer GBBF competition, as people may prefer different styles of beer in warmer weather. But we know it’s a great beer and we’re really proud to be crowned Champion Beer of Britain.”

    Overall winners
    Gold – Elland – 1872 Porter (West Yorkshire)
    Silver – Buntingford – Twitchell (Hertfordshire)
    Bronze – Fyne Ales – Jarl (Argyll)

    Mild category
    Gold – Great Orme – Welsh Black (Conwy)
    Silver – Cotswold Spring – Old Sodbury Mild (Gloucestershire)
    Bronze – Fernandes – Malt Shovel Mild (West Yorkshire)

    Bitters category
    Gold – Buntingford – Twitchell (Hertfordshire)
    Silver – Moor – Revival (Somerset)
    Bronze – Surrey Hills – Ranmore Ale (Surrey) and Butcombe Bitter (Somerset)

    Best Bitters
    Gold – Mordue – Workie Ticket (North Shields)
    Silver – Surrey Hills – Shere Drop (Surrey)
    Bronze – Purple Moose – Glaslyn (Gwynedd) and Woodfordes – Nelsons Revenge (Norfolk)

    Golden Ales
    Gold – Fyne Ales – Jarl (Argyll)
    Silver – Buntingford – Polar Star (Hertfordshire)
    Bronze – St Austell – Proper Job (Cornwall)

    Strong Bitters
    Gold – Beeston – On the huh (Norfolk)
    Silver –Marble – Dobber (Greater Manchester)
    Bronze – Castle Rock – Screech Owl (Nottingham)

    Speciality Beers
    Gold – Growler Brewery, Nethergate – Umbel Magna (Suffolk)
    Silver – Saltaire – Triple Chocolate (West Yorkshire)
    Bronze – Conwy – Honey Fayre (Conwy)

    Champion Winter Beer of Britain
    Elland – 1872 Porter (West Yorkshire)
    Bartram’s – Comrade Bill Bartram’s EAIS Stout (Suffolk)
    Kelburn – Dark Moor (Old Ale/Strong Mild) (Glasgow)
    Hog’s Back – A over T (Barley Wine/Strong Old Ale) (Surrey)

    Champion Bottled Beer of Britain
    Gold – Molson Coor’s – Worthington White Shield (Burton on Trent)
    Silver – St Austell – Proper Job (Cornwall)
    Bronze – Harvey’s – Imperial Extra Double Stout (East Sussex)

    Beer writing contest launched

    Posted In News at   

    The North American Guild of Beer Writers has announced it will conduct an annual competition for writers, bloggers, broadcasters and authors.

    The NAGBW aims to broaden the conversation about beer and brewing, raise the standards of writing, provide leadership and continuing education for practitioners of our profession while also encouraging and supporting more participation throughout all media channels.

    The NAGBW’s awards will honor the best beer and brewing industry coverage in seven categories. The deadline to enter is Aug. 26, and the fee for each entry is $15 for guild members and $30 for non-members. Participants may submit their entries online.

    For more information about the guild and membership visit the website (www.nagbw.org).

    Post office would like to deliver beer

    Posted In Beers, News at   

    Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says the U.S. postal service would like to get into the business of shipping beer.

    In an interview with The Associated Press, Donahoe said Thursday delivery of alcoholic beverages is on his wish list as the agency considers ways to raise revenue and save money after losing $16 billion last year.

    Donahoe said delivering alcohol has the potential to raise as much as $50 million a year. Donahoe said his agency has looked at the possibility of using special boxes that would hold two, four or six bottles and ship for a flat-rate anywhere in the country.

    “There’s a lot of money to be made in shipping beer, wine and spirits,” Donahoe said. “We’d like to be in that business.”

    Mailing alcoholic beverages is currently restricted by law, but the Senate passed a postal reform bill last year that included a provision allowing the agency to deliver alcohol. The bill required that such shipments would have to comply with any state laws from where the shipment was originated and delivered. The measure also said the recipient had to be at least 21 years old and would need to provide a valid government-issued photo identification upon delivery.

    GABF and craft beer growing pains

    Posted In Beer culture, Breweries, News at   

    The increasing popularity of craft beer hasn’t made life any easier for organizers of the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

    Tickets to the 2013 Great American Beer Festival sold out in 20 minutes Wednesday. The Brewers Association handled the sale in two parts — Tuesday offering tickets only to members of the Brewers Association and American Homebrewers Association. That allotment lasted 90 minutes, with tickets for the Saturday afternoon members only session going first. In 2012, public tickets sold out in 45 minutes, while in 2011 tickets were available for a week.

    Hundreds of tickets were available on StubHub within minutes after they went on sale through Ticketmaster, at much higher prices of course.

    Not surprisingly, a post on the GABF Facebook page was followed by scores of comments from disappointed, and angry, beer fans.

    Hi Everyone. We’re reading your comments, and we hear your frustration about scalpers and the secondary market. We share those concerns and wish there was a feasible fix. Unfortunately, there’s no perfect way to successfully avoid a secondary market for hot tickets—whether for popular concerts, sporting events or festivals like the GABF.

    There are measures in place to decrease access for scalpers, including ticket limits we set for GABF ticket purchases (enforced by Ticketmaster), and Ticketmaster’s anti-bot and other security measures. Does this prevent scalper access? No, but it does decrease it. We will continue to evaluate options and solutions going forward.

    Earlier in July hundreds of breweries that tried to sign up to serve their beer at the festival and have it judged in the related competition were frustrated when space disappeared in less than two hours. That led to changes for both this year’s festival and 2014. GABF director Nancy Johnson outlined those changes in a messages to Brewers Association members:

    Here is a snapshot of where we stand for 2013 and an overview of how we plan to handle registration for GABF 2014.

    Actions taken this year to address the issue include:

    2013 Competition: Our 2013 annual plan called for a 7% increase in competition beers being judged. After registration closed and in recognition of the higher-than-ever demand, we moved quickly to find a way to increase the number of beers (and judges) in the 2013 competition by 200. As a result, 4,875 beers will be judged in 2013, which represents 12% more beers being judged in the competition than in 2012, and five percent more than originally planned for in 2013.

    2013 Festival Hall Booth Space: Once capacity for the competition filled, eligible breweries on the wait list were offered a festival booth space. As of July 30, 616 breweries will pour 3,087 beers in the hall. That’s 11% more beers than in 2012, and note that this number does not include guild or special event beers.

    2014 GABF Brewery Registration Process
    The Brewers Association takes very seriously the “race to enter” registration issue that has resulted from a rapidly growing number of breweries along with increasing interest in the competition and festival. Since registration closed this year, we have been working to address this issue by devising a plan for 2014 that aims to eliminate the “race to enter” problem for future GABFs.

    Based on this work, the BA plans to introduce a different entry method next year. This “all comers” style brewery registration process will achieve a few important goals:

    *Eliminate the race to enter before all slots fill up

    *Increase the number of breweries that can enter the competition

    *Increase the number of beer entries

    The 2014 GABF brewery will remain open for set number of days, and all interested breweries may enter the competition. The number of beer entries allowed per brewery will be based on doing the math of the number of breweries that registered during the sign-up period and the pre-determined capacity of beers that we can successfully judge that year.

    Here is an example to illustrate:

    *Total number of beers that can be judged = 5,000

    *The registration period lasts (is open) for two weeks; no clambering to enter during one short time window

    *Total number of eligible breweries that apply = 1,000

    *5,000 beers / 1000 breweries = 5 entries per brewery

    *Thus in this scenario, the competition would accept the first 5 entries from every brewery that entered

    *Let’s say 2,500 breweries entered instead of 1,000: in that case, every brewery could enter 2 beers in the competition. The math would work like that for whatever number of breweries entered (Max. capacity of beers that can be judged – divided by – number of breweries entering the competition)

    *Festival booth space would be handled separately

    As you can imagine, many important details remain to be worked out, but we believe this 2014 GABF brewery registration plan represents a solid start toward an increasingly fair and accommodating competition for the future.

    The festival will accommodate 49,000 attendees during four sessions (the Saturday afternoon one is smaller), which includes volunteers, brewer representatives and the press.

    Déjà vu: Craft beers sales up 13%

    Posted In Uncategorized at   

    Craft Beer Sales

    Just to be clear, the date on this story is July 29, 2013. The upward march of craft beer (per the Brewers Association definition) sales has been so relentless that some days you feel a little like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.”

    Sales increased 13% in volume in the first half of the year, and 15% in dollars, according the information released today by the BA.

    During the first half of 2013, craft breweries sold approximately 7.3 million barrels of beer, up from 6.4 million barrels over the first half of 2012. Overall, beer sales were down 2% through the first six months of the year.

    “Demand for beer produced by small and independent brewers has never been higher, as evidenced by increased production and the hundreds of new breweries joining the playing field each year,” said Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. “Beer drinkers nationwide are responding positively to high-quality, full-flavored, diverse offerings from American craft brewing companies that continue to innovate and push the envelope.”

    American Brewery Count

    The BA also reported there are 2,538 breweries operating in the U.S. as of June 30, 2013, an increase of 446 breweries since June 2012. The BA lists an additional 1,605 breweries in planning at the year’s midpoint, compared to 1,252 a year ago.