by Luke on December 31, 2007
I just wanted to wish everyone a very safe & happy New Years Eve. I hope it is a fun-and-beer-filled one for all of you. 2007 was a great year (especially since it saw the launch of www.blogaboutbeer.com in August) and I can only hope 2008 is that much better. 
Also, don’t forget that it’s not too late to win free stuff from Blog About Beer and the Shipyard Brewing Co. To celebrate the end of ’07, I’m giving away a huge package, which includes a Shipyard Brewing 2008 wall calendar, a Shipyard t-shirt, and other surprise gifts, all graciously donated from Shipyard. All you need to do to win is comment on either this post or this post. I will select one of the comments at random on Wednesday January 2nd and mail the items off; it’s that easy. Enter to win now and start the New Year with a bang!
Happy Holidays everyone. Cheers!
[tags]Shipyard Brewing Co., Happy New Year, 2008, beer, beer news, free stuff[/tags]
by Luke on December 30, 2007
2007 was certainly a big year for the beer world. Small, independent brewers have experienced tremendous growth across the country (while, thankfully, sales at the “big three” have remained relatively flat); there has been an explosion in the “green” and organic brewing sector; the popularity of homebrewing continues to rise; on a much sadder note – beer lost one of its greats, and much more. So, what will 2008 bring? Here are some predictions:
1. The price of beer will go up
A pretty obvious one for anyone who has been paying attention. The price of both hops & barley have skyrocketed by as much as 400%. The result will be increased prices for the consumer across the board (it’s not just craft breweries, the huge commercial breweries will be affected too); some are reporting increases of $0.50-$1.00 per six-pack. The question at this point isn’t “will the price of beer go up?” but rather “by how much?”
2. There will be more breweries “going green”
It started happening in 2007 – breweries like Sierra Nevada, Stone Brewing, Michigan Brewing Co., Peak Organic, New Belgium, and many more all took strides towards sustainability this year. I’ve already been told to expect the same from Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth, NH some time in 2008. With the current national trend towards “going green” such as it is, it seems rather obvious that more and more breweries will jump on the bandwagon this coming year (which isn’t a bad thing, by any stretch).
3. The giant breweries will mimic the little guys
As craft beer sales continue to rise, and the sales of the major breweries remain stagnant, you will see more “craft beer-style” releases from the major breweries – either under their own name (which Miller is set to do), or psydonyms (as Anheuser Busch already does). In fact,
Miller Brewing Company in early February will begin test-marketing Miller Lite Brewers Collection, a family of three craft-style light beers.
The lineup includes a blonde ale, an amber and a wheat — each with significantly fewer calories and carbs than typical beers of that style.
As the year progresses, the giant breweries will continue to fight for a piece of the growing craft pie and will do so with releases such as the ones from Miller, so keep your eyes peeled.
Where do you see beer going in ought eight?
[tags]beer, going green, hops, craft beer, beer news, 2008[/tags]
by Luke on December 29, 2007
This is part two in my Beer in 2008: A New Years Resolution series. Click here for Part 1.
For me, [tag]2008[/tag] will be the Year Of The [tag]Homebrew[/tag]. Although I don’t think I’ll be going all-grain anytime soon (I simply don’t have the space for it), I want to ramp up my production quite a bit. After a brief hiatus, I returned to brewing my own [tag]beer[/tag] in the Spring of this year and, from June on, made three 5 gallon batches of beer - an award-winning raspberry porter (which I named Pemaquid Porter, after my favorite Maine light house); an autumn maple wheat, which was named World Series Wheat (since it was brewed during the first game of the 2007 World Series); and most recently a chocolate/coffee stout – brewed with lager yeast – which I’ve named Bullwinkle’s Mocha Lager Stout (’cause it’s winter time and Bullwinkle is just a fun word, no matter the season really).
Although they were three very fun brews, three simply isn’t enough. I would like to get on a regular brew schedule, as well as expending my horizons (certainly with two-stage fermentation, as well as expending into some new styles I haven’t made yet); I know my dad and I will be starting the year off with the Witbier kit from Northern Brewer and we’ll see where we go from there. Maybe ’08 will end with some sort of bang, like a kegerator or something; check back in a year.
What are your homebrew plans for the year? What beers will you be making?
by Luke on December 28, 2007
The Shipyard give-away which was announced here yesterday has just gotten a little sweeter. I sent an email last night to the PR director at Shipyard alerting them to the give-away and arrived home on my lunch break this afternoon to the following reply,
Hi Luke, We can donate a t-shirt and a few other small, easy to mail items to you, no problem at all… Thanks for thinking of us!
So - just like that, the BlogAbout[tag]Beer[/tag].com End of Ought Seven give-away is that much sweeter. In addition to the 2008 [tag]Shipyard Brewing[/tag] wall calendar, one lucky winner will recieve a Shipyard Brewing Co. t-shirt and a few small, yet-to-be-named surprises!
The same rules still apply, comment on either this post or yesterday’s original [tag]give-away[/tag] announcement — the comment can be as simple as “count me in” — and you’re officially entered to win. plus, every time you comment on a post between now and New Year’s Day, it counts as another entry (so the more you comment, the greater your chances of winning). On January 2nd, I’ll put all the entries in a hat, randomly select one and put your new, [tag]free[/tag] beer-gifts in the mail. Good luck!
by Luke on December 27, 2007
5 beers I need to try in [tag]2008[/tag]:
1. [tag]St. Bernardus Abt 12[/tag]
I know, it’s a damn shame I haven’t gotten around to trying this brew yet; but that’s why its on the list! This way 2008 won’t end without some progress made… According to the St. Bernardus website, Abt 12 is,
the absolute top quality in the hierarchy of the St. Bernardus beers. It is also the beer with the highest alcohol content (10.50 %). A dark ivory coloured beer with a high fermentation. The show piece of the brewery. Thanks to its soft and unconditionally genuine aroma, the beer can be smoothly tasted. The Abt has a very fruity flavour.
2. [tag]Stone Brewing[/tag] [tag]Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale[/tag]
Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale is, quite simply, Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard Ale aged on a bed of oak chips (available for the first time in 12 oz bottles). It sounds, in a word, delicious. 
And, along the same lines,
3. Stone Brewing [tag]Double Bastard Ale[/tag]
Stone says of its Double Bastard Ale:
This is a lacerative muther of a [tag]beer[/tag]. The evil big brother of [tag]Arrogant Bastard Ale[/tag]. It is strongly suggested you stay far, far away from this beer. Those foolish enough to venture close enough to taste will experience a punishingly unforgiving assault on the palate. ‘Course there’s always the masochists…
4. [tag]Samuel Adams[/tag] [tag]Utopias[/tag]
Utopias is made with caramel, Vienna, Moravian and Bavarian smoked malts, and all four varieties of noble hops:
Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Spalter, and Saaz. The beer is aged in scotch, cognac and port barrels for the better part of a year. It is described as having a “distinctive smell of cinnamon and vanilla with subtle hints of floral, citrus and pine.”
Utopias has an ABV of 27% and, Due to legal restrictions, is not offered in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, or West Virginia. It retails for more than $100 for a 24-oz bottle but hey - a guy can dream, right?
5. [tag]Alaskan Brewing Co[/tag].’s [tag]Alaskan Smoked Porter[/tag]
One of the of the most award-winning beers in the history of the Great American Beer Festival, Alaskan Smoked Porter is another brew that will be really tough for me to get my hands on here on the East Coast but I would love to give it a try. According to the brewery’s website,
The dark, robust body and pronounced smoky flavor of this limited edition beer make it an adventuresome taste experience. Alaskan Smoked porter is produced in limited “vintages” each year and unlike most beers, may be aged in the bottle much like fine wine.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Beer in 2008: A [tag]New Years Resolution[/tag], coming tomorrow!
Hi and welcome to Blog About Beer. My name is Logan and I live just north of Portland, Oregon, a city that has more craft breweries than any other in the US. I'm a full time marketer, blogger, and dad to the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm also a homebrewing and craft beer fanatic.