by Luke on April 29, 2008
By now the news has begun to permeate the Interwebs but in case you missed it – Burlington, Vermont’s Magic Hat
Brewing Co. has declared its intent to buy Seattle’s Pyramid Breweries and merge the two companies. The closing of the proposed transaction is expected to occur not later than August 31, 2008. From the official press release,
The board of directors of Pyramid has approved the transactions contemplated by the Letter of Intent.
“The combination of these two well established, high profile craft breweries will be very complementary given our respective brand portfolios and the geographies in which we predominantly operate. Additionally, there will be a number of important benefits for Pyramid to be part of a private company versus continuing to operate as a stand alone public entity. This consolidation makes both good strategic and financial sense and is well timed, particularly as the beer industry’s competitive dynamics continue to intensify,” said Pyramid CEO Scott Barnum. “The Company will continue to have offices in Seattle, its historical home, and will seek opportunities to capitalize on the enhanced assets and capabilities of the new combined entity,” he added.
Martin Kelly, CEO of Magic Hat said, “We have a great deal of respect for Pyramid’s brand heritage, award-winning beers and its dedicated employees, and look forward to consummating this transaction, which provides both strategic and financial benefits both to Pyramid’s and Magic Hat’s stakeholders.”
Pyramid is reportedly facing some financial troubles so the buy-out/merger should come as no surprise. And my guess is 
that this won’t be the last such merger or buy-out in the craft community (think the Redhook and Widmer merger in ’07 or Shipyard’s purchase of Casco Bay Brewing, for you Mainers, for previous examples), especially with the rising costs of, well, everything.
While its tough to be excited about any craft brewery — especially one as note-worthy as Pyramid — facing financial troubles, the glass half-full view of this venture is those of us on the East Coast will hopefully be able to finally get our hands on all of Pyramid’s famous brews (and vice versa for Magic Hat fans on the left coast) and that’s surely something worth toasting to.
by Luke on April 28, 2008
I finally got around to trying the spring installment of the Smuttynose big beer series — “big beers in big bottles, released seasonally in very limited quantities” — the Maibock, over the weekend. First, some background for people unfamiliar with the style (which included me, before yesterday): according to Wikipedia, a Maibock (or Helles bock),
is a pale version of a traditional bock. It is a fairly recent development compared to other styles of bock beers, frequently associated with springtime and the month of May. Alcohol content ranges from 6.3% to 7.4% by volume. The flavor is typically less malty than a traditional bock, and may be drier, hoppier, and more bitter, but still with a relatively low hop flavor, with a mild spicy or peppery quality from the hops or alcohol content. It is a clear lager, deep gold to light amber in color, with a large, creamy, persistent white head, and moderate to moderately high carbonation. There is some dispute as to whether the Helles (“pale”) bock and the Mai (“May”) bocks are the same style, but they are generally agreed to be the same.
While this didn’t sound all that appealing to me (a pale, peppery bock? I was skeptical), the Smuttynose version quickly changed my mind. According to the side of the 22oz bottle,
Maibocks are traditional Teutonic seasonal specialty. We brew ours to be hugely malty & subtly finished with a variety of continental hops, with an eye-pleasing russet brown color.
The Smuttynose version pours with a pillowy, puffy off-white head which dissipates quickly, leaving behind intricate lacing and a few islands of bubbles. The nose smells of alcohol drenched spices and flowers, while the taste is enormously malty and sweet with a mouth-feel you can chew on (thanks to the nearly 8% ABV). The almost tangy spice notes from the nose come through in the finish, as well. While a TON of malt is used in the brew, the continental hops balance it nicely, lending to a nice round flavor.
The Smuttynose Label
With 127 BeerAdvocate reviews averaging an A- rating it seems like plenty of people agree – this is one great bock. I’m convinced. But if you want to find out for yourself, you better hurry; the next installment of the Smuttynose big Beer series — the Big A IPA — is right around the corner. cheers.
by Luke on April 26, 2008
Al from Hop Talk has created a WordPress plugin which integrates a BrewPoll “vote” button into every blog post. BrewPoll — the latest social networking site to hit the Interwebs — is a digg-like site where users share content from around the web with one another and “vote” on the articles they like the best. The posts and sites with the most votes naturally rise to the top. As you may have guessed from the name BrewPoll, everything on the site has something to do with beer (specially homebrewing and “craft” beer).
Many thanks to Al for putting the plugin together! Click here for download instructions and be sure to “vote” for the post from Hop Talk (and everything you read here, needless to say).
by Luke on April 25, 2008
For anyone who missed it, I wanted to point you in the direction of a wonderful piece which appeared in Wednesday’s Chicago Sun-Times about why beer (not wine!) and cheese make an ideal match; it makes for a great Friday-afternoon-when-you-want-to-be-anywhere-but-the-office read. To quote the article a bit,
It’s a preference borne of passion, but there is a strong scientific basis for arguing beer’s companionship with cheese rather than wine, says Matt Parker, who ran the Lincoln Square cheese shop the Cheese Stands Alone for five years.
And my personal favorite excerpt:
“Wine and cheese are like neighbors, but beer and cheese are like family,” Parker says.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of attending a beer and cheese dinner, do yourself a huge favor and hunt one down (or throw your own). You’ll swear you’ve died and gone to heaven (I did)!
For beer & cheese pairing recommendations, check out this handy PDF, also from the Sun-Times.
by Luke on April 23, 2008
Vermont’s Long-Trail Brewing Co. made one heck of an Earth Day announcement – it appears they have signed a contract to become the largest commercial customer of Cow Power, a program from Central Vermont Public Service Corp. that produces electricity from cow manure. Long Trail’s Brian Walsh told the Burlington Free Press,
“We actively seek ways to reduce the impact Long Trail has on its local surroundings… We believe CVPS Cow Power provides great environmental benefits while creating much needed opportunities for Vermont farm owners.”
Although the program will raise Long Trail’s electric bill by about $10,000 a year, the company says the juice is well worth the squeeze. The Cow Power purchase will have an environmental impact that is the equivalent to taking 106 cars off the road. According to Central Vermont Public Service Corp. President Bob Young,
“Their commitment will be the equivalent to capturing the CO2 emissions from burning 65,834 gallons of gasoline annually.”
For more on Long Trail’s Cow Power Purchase, as well as the other strides the brewery has taken to offset their environmental impact, read this article from the Burlington Free Press or visit the Long Trail website.
[tags]beer, Central Vermont Public Service Corp., Cow Power, Long Trail Brewing, Earth Day[/tags]
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.