Time Magazine Asks: Are There Too Many Craft Beers?
What?
Don't the big two or three beer producers in the U.S. have like 90% of the market share?
No, there aren't too many craft breweries as long as they are making a few bucks and there are more Coors drinkers to convert.
On Thursday, May 9, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed homebrew legalization bill HB9 into law, making Alabama the 50th state to legalize homebrewing.Celebrate beer! Read more...
Post-Prohibition, homebrewing was not federally legal until President Jimmy Carter signed H.R. 1337 on October 14, 1978, which officially went into effect on February 1, 1979. Shortly after that bill was signed, the American Homebrewers Association was formed by Charlie Papazian and Charlie Matzen to promote and celebrate homebrewing. Since then, the AHA has taken a leading role in advocating for homebrew rights and supporting the legislative efforts of local homebrew communities.
One of my favorite posts of the year is every October. I get to announce to all 6 of us the winners from the Great American Beer Fest in Boulder, CO. Pro- and home-brewers from all over the country enter their best for a chance at winning one of the most prestigious medals in all of brewing.
The full press release is here, but since we're all really only interested in how brewers from Michigan did, here's the goods:
Perhaps it was public pressure. Perhaps it was our post, one among many, urging the White House take action. Perhaps our President and his staff are just into the finest hobby in the world. Whatever it was, whatever the reason was, the White House has decided to release their beer recipes unto homebrewers the world over!
From the press release:
Another nice touch is that the staff didn't just brew the kit recipe. They sought some advice, engaged other homebrewers who work at the White House and made some recipes they can truthfully call their own.As far as we know the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds. George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson made wine but there's no evidence that any beer has been brewed in the White House. (Although we do know there was some drinking during prohibition…)Since our first batch of White House Honey Brown Ale we've added the Honey Porter and have gone even further to add a Honey Blonde this past summer. Like many home brewers who add secret ingredients to make their beer unique, all of our brews have honey that we tapped from the first ever bee-hive on the South Lawn. The honey gives the beer a rich aroma and a nice finish but it doesn't sweeten it.
News of the Whitehouse supplying POTUS with home-brewed Honey Ale (made with honey from the Whitehouse garden) as he hits the road has been broadly covered by nominal publications like WaPo and important publications like our very own Around The Keg. But now the story gets a step more interesting. When he started in office, Obama created a citizen petition site called We the People. If you have an issue you wish the Whitehouse to address, get enough signatures by a certain date and ostensibly the Whitehouse will pay heed to your issue. I've used this petition site several times on some pretty meaningful petitions (ask me off-line), but I think this newest petition is the most important of all. The petition: Release the recipe for the Honey Ale home brewed at the White House. From the petition:
Following in the footsteps of great men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, Barack Obama has reportedly been enjoying the rewards of home brewed beer. Recent reports from news outlets like the Washington Post (August 15th, 2012) have stated that Obama has been drinking a White House home brew Honey Ale while on the campaign trail. In keeping with the brewing traditions of the founding fathers, homebrewers across America call on the Obama Administration to release the recipe for the White House home brew so that it may be enjoyed by all. "I think it’s time for beer” -Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 12, 1933)The goal is to reach a total of 25,000 signatures by September 17, 2012; as of typing this post, there are 2,838 signators. I hope, as soon as I hit "publish," to be 2,839. Do your patriotic duty, Keggers. Sign the petition. Interestingly, a Reddit user has actually sent a real-life FOIA request to the Whitehouse, asking for the recipe. A copy of the FOIA can be found here. It ends with "Also, if you could send me a copy autographed by the President, you'd be the coolest FOIA officer in the whole federal government, and who could resist that title?" Personally, I hope he gets the autographed copy. Read more...
Here's as full of a story we're going to get on MBC right now.
So, a question I have for the coming months: who will buy the rights to MBC's brand names?
And some follow-ups, if I may: Will they keep the names the same? Will it be resurrected, like Bobby resurrected the Celis name? Will whichever company buys the beer brands improve some of the recipes? Keep some the same?
And the fate of MBC Downtown is unclear. The manager right no is trying to get a Class C liquor license, allowing him to be a beer bar and serve, as is his wont, higher-end craft beer. If the City of Lansing gives him guff, I'll be sure to let all 4 ATK readers know so we can all bitch to city hall.
First, news came that MBC was suddenly evicted from their brewery in Webberville. That was April 25.
But all seemed well, because they had a sweetheart lease deal to move to Fenton to be a part of Fenton's revitalization efforts. That was April 26.
However, that same day, from a different reporter at LSJ, news came that the deal between the City of Fenton and MBC fell through.
The fate of MBC, and its downtown pub, is still unknown to this blogger. The downtown pub is still open for business, and still serving beer (though they now won't do growler refills or sell bottles to go); there's still some stock floating around at distributors.
But what about the City of Fenton and their thirst for a brewery?
It's gotten competitive! Arbor Brewing (Ann Arbor, MI), Royal Oak/Detroit Beer Company (Royal Oak, MI), Clarkston Union (a big high-end like 100-tap beer bar), and Tavern 131 (same kind of thing) have all pitched Fenton for that spot. Fenton officials will weigh several factors, including how well the candidate has revitalized the town in its current location. My money's on Arbor/Corner Brewery!
More as I know it!
Also...today's workout of the day - the Helton.
3 rounds, each round consisting of:
In the wake of "cold indicators/activation systems" from Coors and Miller, which thankfully let us know whether or not our beers are cold enough, craft brewers like Breckenridge Brewery have had to follow suit to remain competitive among people who are challenged as to the coldness of their beer.
Behold: the craft beer industry's new cold activation system!
A beer post by Bob? Yes it happens occasionally.
Drink Michigan, which hosts Smitty’s beer reviews, has posted its top ten Michigan beers of 2011.
Their results:
• Founders Brewing Company – Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)
• Short’s Brewery – Ginger In The Rye
• Old Hat Brewery – Peanut Butter Stout
• Kuhnhenn Brewing – Imperial Creme Brulee Java Stout
• New Holland Brewing – El Mole Ocho
• Founders Brewing Company – Blushing Monk
• Bell’s Brewery – Hopslam Ale
• Kuhnhenn Brewing – Fourth Dementia Olde Ale
• Jolly Pumpkin – La Parcela
• Founders Brewing Company – Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS)
Not all of ATK’s 1.78 million readers are Michiganders, so what are your top ten craft beers from Michigan or elsewhere for 2011?
OK, I can take a hint.
The last several posts I've tried to toss up here of an intellectual nature have fallen flat. Perhaps we're all stressed-out and tired from shennanigans at the national level. Or perhaps the depth of these topics takes along time to research and form an educated opinion.
Or, perhaps, it's way over our heads and we just want to talk about beer.
If we want to be all intellectual, we can go to Streak's place and wax philosophical with a dude like Streak who's qualified to actually be intellectual.
Here, for now, let's stick with our true qualifications and discuss beer.
It's official! The winners of the 2011 Great American Beer Fest Pro-Brewer competition are in! And this year, the Big Winners didn't include a brewery I've heard of (beyond Firestone Walker Brewing Company in CA, which is a damn fine brewery).
I was a bit disappointed this year, in that for the past several years, Michigan has had a very strong showing. Maybe The Man is worried that Michigan's surge in breweries is gonna topple the almightly Californians from their top-of-the-heap roost, or maybe we just didn't bring our A-game this year. But the few Michigan beers that won include:
Fellow beer geeks, beer nerds, beer afficionados, beer swillers and beer advocates: today, August 5, 2011, is International Beer Day!
From the web site: As of this moment, there are 276 known International Beer Day celebrations planned across 138 cities and 23 countries worldwide.
What beers do you plan to enjoy in honor of International Beer Day? I might find my way over to Founders or Dark Horse to grab a few growlers myself.
I am like a kid on the last day of school. I can't concentrate. My mind is in a thousand places right now. I keep checking the clock.
Why?
Today is the Michigan Brewers Guild's Summer Beer Festival! More than 50 breweries. 450 beers to try. FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY. I might explode.
Here's the full list of breweries and the beers they're bringing. It is overwhelming. I am beside myself. Some highlights for me to hit this evening include:
While Wisconsin's new laws may be benefiting super-shitty beer-maker MillerCoors in Wisconisn, the State Government shutdown in Minnesota is screwing them.
CNNMoney reports that because the company was not able to renew their brand registration before the state shutdown, they cannot sell their product.
Ahhhh Karma.
Now here's a rebellion I can totally get behind:
You may recall the Republicans’ budget trick in Wisconsin which was designed to protect MillerCoors from competition from the InBev distribution network. The provision also royally screwed small craft brewers. The great GOP champions of free market competition effectively made it illegal for craft brewers to market their beer wholesale, prevented them from organizing co-ops to distribute their product and limited expanding their individual brewpubs to no more than two restaurants.My favorite line in the whole piece is "The great GOP champions of free market competition effectively made it illegal..." That says it all. They really aren't interested in competition whatsoever; just the biggest corporate payouts and corporate favoritism and cronyism.
Beer drinkers and activists flooded the Statehouse with calls and letters and actually flipped five Republicans, who joined a couple of Dems to request the Governor veto the provision. Walker of course, ignored the request and the corporations won that battle. But craft beer supporters aren’t giving up without a fight. They’re dumping gallons of MillerCoors on the street and have been convincing some traditional taverns to drop MillerCoors products altogether.[H/T Balloon Juice
Welcome, friends, to American Craft Beer Week!
From the Brewers' Assocation:
For a list of events in Michigan, go here and select Michigan.For the first time in its six year history, American Craft Beer Week will see official events hosted in all 50 states, making it the largest-ever celebration of U.S. craft brewers. From May 16-22, new beer lovers and seasoned enthusiasts will raise glasses of their favorite IPA, amber, stout—or anything in-between—to honor the more than 1,700 small and independent craft brewers responsible for the vibrant American craft beer scene.
I would never, ever intentionally read "The Blaze. On its own "About" page, it says right away: "The Blaze is a news, information and opinion site brought to you by Glenn Beck and a dedicated team of writers, journalists & video producers."
So, yeah, that's enough to get me to not read it.
However, my iPad App called Zite, which assembles a web-based daily magazine for me, linked to this gem: FORGET WATER: DRINKING BEER POST-WORKOUT IS BETTER FOR YOU, SCIENTISTS SAY. From the article:
In a rare piece of good news for those who like a pint, Spanish researchers say beer can help someone who is dehydrated retain liquid better than water.
...
Prof Garzon asked a group of students to do strenuous exercise in temperatures of around 40ºC (104ºF). Half were given a pint of beer, while the others received the same volume of water.
Prof Garzon, who announced the results at a press conference in Granada beneath a banner declaring “Beer, Sport, Health”, said the hydration effect in those who drank beer was “slightly better”.
Juan Antonio Corbalan, a cardiologist who worked formerly with Real Madrid football players and Spain’s national basketball team, said beer had the perfect profile for re-hydration after sport.
This settles it.
The royal marriage is doomed.
With their nuptials just days away, reports say Prince William and Kate Middleton have decided no beer or hard liquor will be served at their reception.Need I say more?
...
Reports say palace officials and the couple felt it was inappropriate for guests to be drinking beer and spirits in front of the Queen.
BrewDog Brewery in Scotland has yet again pushed the envelope with their beer. In "honor" of Prince William and Kate's Royal Wedding (these are Scots, remember...no love lost and all), they have brewed up Royal Verility Performance Ale. A beer brewed with viagra.
A limited-edition beer containing Viagra to mark the forthcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29th. Brewed using various well known aphrodisiacs, the limited edition artisanal beer will only be available to buy from the BrewDog.com website.
According to the specially commissioned label, the Royal Virility Performance contains Viagra, chocolate, Horny Goat Weed and ‘a healthy dose of sarcasm’. The beer is a 7.5% ABV India Pale Ale and has been brewed at BrewDog’s brewery in Fraserburgh.
Our source says the Variety Pack will be a 12 pack, featuring the Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA as well as several single-hop editions of the beer. It’s basically a beer-tasting school in a box!Essentially, each case will include 2 bottles of Latitude 48, and 2 bottles of each type of "Deconstructed Latitude 48." EAch hop used in the main beer will have its own beer in this variety pack.
The single-hop versions of the beer (confirmed by recently-approved label variations over at BeerNews.org) will be Hallertau, Simcoe, East Kent Golding, Ahtanum and Zeus.
This day in history, April 7, 1933, Prohibition is repealed for beer!
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| Beer, making people happy, including this lady who's about to down 6. |
Ooh Heaven is a place on Earth:
The 2011 Boston Bacon and Beer Festival will be Saturday, April 30th from 1 PM to 3:30 PM at the The Royale. Restaurants and purveyors from all over will be preparing their tastiest bacon based dishes for you to sample paired with beers from New England's greatest breweries. If that's not a good enough way to spend a Saturday afternoon, you should know that it's all to benefit the local hunger relief organizations Lovin' Spoonfuls, Community Servings, and Share our Strength.Tickets for the 2011 Boston Bacon and Beer Festival will go on sale Friday, April 1 at 1 PM. Keep checking this page for additional festival information.The breweries who are bringing beer:
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