This Week In The News

Monday, April 20, 2009

I figure that we really don't care much here about silly handshakes or the removal of a few inconsequential letters over the President's head at a speech at Georgetown. We'll leave all of that nail-biting and navel-gazing to people worried about handshakes between bitter rivals or Roman letters.

Instead, we'll dive into some news that really matters.

First, Founders Brewing Company has released their long-awaited Cerise Cherry Ale. Each batch, according to Founders, is brewed with as much as 53 gallons of Michigan-grown, Michigan-picked cherries, added at different stages in the brewing process. Says Founders:

More than 9,300 cases of Cerise will be sold this year in Michigan and nearly a dozen other states throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast.

Cerise - which is defined as a "deep, vivid purplish red" color - is one of the most popular taproom beers at Founders. New to the line-up, it replaces the former fruit beer - Rubeus.
Cerise is available in 4-packs or on tap from April through August. 6.5% alc. by vol. 15 IBUs.

Next, a popular Michigan brewer is among the Top 50 in the country! The American Brewers Association announced lists for both Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies (small and independent craft brewers) plus a Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies list. Rankings are based on 2008 sales volume.

Bell's weighed-in at #13 on the Craft Brewer List and #21 on the overall list. When you see the list of competitors for this recognition, you realize just how much beer Bell's sells... The #1 Craft Brewer is the Boston Beer Company, brewer of the Sam Adams line. The #1 Overall Brewer? A-B InBev. No shock.

Bell's did manage to place higher than friendly competitors Great Lakes Brewing Company, Dogfish Head, Rogue and Victory to name just a few. The full list, as well as the criteria the Association uses to determine what is and is not a traditional, independent craft brewer can be found here.

Last week, a small group of us went to go see the documentary Beer Wars. This was a fascinating look at the struggle a small brewer has against the massive brewers, and how current laws and regulations place the small, independent brewers in a stark disadvantage, especially the Three-Tiered distribution system. Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione plays a significant role in the film. No word yet when the DVD will be released, but it can't be far. Take a look at this from CNN:
And finally, Utah legalizes homebrewing! Welcome to the rest of us, Utah. Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. signed into law HB 51, making Utah the 46th state to legalize the world's greatest hobby ever. The only states left where homebrewing is not legal: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma. A quick search of Utah's legislative page showed the bill passed 67 - 2, with 6 absent. Whoever those 2 were suck.

Cheers!

9 comments:

Sopor 10:12 AM  

Awesome news all around.

I had some Cerise last night, found a four-pack at my local decent beer store. Pretty good stuff... though I'm a little disappointed to hear that it's replacing Rubeus in their lineup, I enjoyed Rubeus more than Cerise. But, very cool that Cerise is made with Michigan cherries! I don't remember the package making much of a deal out of that... which is too bad...

The news about Bell's s great, if totally not surprising... not to downplay it at all, they are doing good things!

I hope Beer Wars is on DVD soon, I did not have an opportunity to see it in theaters, and will be happy to purchase a copy!

Rickey 3:36 PM  

It says a lot about the denizens of Utah if their government didn't trust them enough to let em boil liquids on their stoves for all this time.

Bob 3:54 PM  

"It says a lot about the denizens of Utah if their government didn't trust them enough to let em boil liquids on their stoves for all this time."But they trust you to support and care for 6 wives and the resulting kids.

(It wouldn't be a post about Utah until you throw mormonism in their face.)

steves 7:44 PM  

Utah loves big gov't from the Right.

Rickey 7:15 AM  

Heh, Rickey was gravely remiss in not making a mormon joke. Why is it that some of the most beatiful states (montana, utah, alaska) are home to the nation's biggest weirdos?

steves 2:57 PM  

Don't forget Michigan. We are a scenic state and have tons of weirdos.

Noah 2:58 PM  

and have tons of weirdos.Steves lobs the softball...

Mike 5:21 AM  

New York has no weirdos at all.

(Rickey & I not included, of course.)

Bob 9:04 AM  

Open spaces attract the antisocial.

That said, I used to live in Dexter, MI, where one of the leaders of the Michigan militia used to live and hold regular meetings with dozens of freaks. Dexter, while a small town, is only 10 minutes outside Ann Arbor.

Once members of the Michigan militia blew up a building and killed a bunch of Americans, his crowds seemed to be much smaller.

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