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This coming week (May 12-18th) is American Craft Beer Week. Changed to a week-long event in 2006 (the inaugural American Craft Beer Week was recognized by the U.S. Congress with House Resolution 753), American Craft Beer Week has continued to grow by leaps & bounds. This year, however, the celebrations will be slightly different - For the first time, breweries and beer makers will also recognize their collective charitable contributions in conjunction with the week’s celebrations. The Brewers Association recently announced U.S. craft breweries’ charitable contributions, and for 2007 they are estimated to be more than $20 million. According to the official press release (PDF file),

“In addition to being recognized for making world-class beer, independent craft brewers are amazing community citizens,” said Julia Herz, a spokesperson for the Brewers Association. “Craft brewers are an integral part of many communities’ charitable efforts. They donate to everything from fire departments, disaster relief efforts, local events, educational fundraisers and so much more.”

There will be celebrations and events across the country in conjunction with American Craft Beer Week but the flagship event will undoubtedly be SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience (May 16-17), in Washington DC. The event will showcase craft beer and food pairings with participation from 48 independent craft brewers. To find American Craft Beer Week events in your state, check out the Brewers’ Association Brewery Events page. And don’t forget to enjoy some of the best beer this country has to offer next week! Cheers.

Technorati Tags: beer, craft beer, American Craft Beer Week, beer & food pairing

Popularity: 4% [?]

Vaune Dillmann, a craft brewer from Weed, California, thought that he had a great marketing gimmick when he labeled the bottle caps for his new Lemurian Lager after the name of his town. They read “Try Legal Weed”. But the Federal alcohol regulators didn’t get the humor: According to Beyondmadisonavenue.com, The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau,

Responded that the message on the caps amounted to a drug reference. In a letter explaining its decision, the agency said the wording could “mislead consumers about the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage.”

Dillmann scoffs at the notion that his label has anything to do with smoking pot.

“I’ve never tried marijuana in my life,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I don’t advocate that. It’s just our town’s name.”

I sort of doubt that last part but in any case, I feel like a bottle cap from a tiny craft brewery in Northern California (from a town called Weed no less!) really shouldn’t be high on the list of offensive marijuana references in pop culture. Then again, maybe the The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau doesn’t have anything better to do.

For more on this case, read this in depth explanation from the San Fransisco Chronicle. And keep on fighting the good fight, Mr. Dillmann!

[photo by Rich Pedroncelli / AP]

Popularity: 6% [?]

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.

Popularity: 11% [?]

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.

Technorati Tags: beer, Central Vermont Public Service Corp., Cow Power, Long Trail Brewing, Earth Day

Popularity: 13% [?]

They’re portable - perfect for tailgating, camping, golf (ball, or Frisbee), the beach or the kid’s lunch box (I kid, I kid); they’re 100% recyclable; and they block sunlight and oxygen better than bottles. I’m talking about cans, of course.

But canned beer carries a very negative stigma with it - when canning beer became a popular option in the 1960s, the cans were poor in quality and the canning technology was certainly not where it is today. The result was beer that tasted more like aluminum than barley & hops.

Ever since, even though the technology has changed for the better, and canned beer no longer tastes like cans, the only beer commonly found in cans has been 30-racks from the “big 3″. So it’s not hard to see why cans have gotten such a bad wrap. But all of that is beginning to change.

A number of well-known American craft breweries have begun to can their beers - Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Co. announced last week that they would release their flagship Fat Tire Amber Ale — one of the most popular craft beers in the country — in cans by summer. The 21st Amendment Brewery in San Fransisco will also soon be canning their beers; test marketing cans of their “Brew Free or Die IPA” and “Hell or High Watermelon” watermelon wheat by the 4th of July. And Uncommon Brewers, a Santa Cruz-based brewery which will open its doors this summer, will open having canned all of its beers. According to The Mercury News, the certified organic brewery had planned “to do Belgian-inspired beers and put them out Belgian-style, in corked bottles” but opted for less expensive, 100% recyclable cans after receiving their organic certification.

The craft beer canning revolution was started by Oskar Blues Brewing Co, who began canning their beers in the fall of 2002 as a joke - but that soon changed. Dale Katechis, founder of Oskar Blues Brewing in Colorado, told realbeer.com in 2003 that,

Right now, our goal is to change the perception in the industry about what you can sell in cans, and with drinkers about what kind of beer is sold in cans.

We went to the Great Arizona Beer Festival and did side-by-side tastes tests — out of bottles and out of cans. A lot of beer geeks went “What is this?” and they were blown away. The first thing they said is, “This is real beer, this isn’t something that was made just to sell in cans.”

All of the breweries listed above get their cans from the same place - Cask Brewing Systems Inc., based in Calgary, Alberta. Cask Brewing offers craft brewers like Oskar Blues small-scale packaging systems, using cans from aluminum can producer Ball Corp. which have a water-based coating, so the beer doesn’t touch aluminum. Today Cask has nearly four dozen customers canning beer in North America, up from one — Oskar Blues — in 2002.

It may be awhile before craft beer drinkers fully embrace craft beer cans around the country, but I can tell you from personal experience that one can from Oskar Blues and they’ll be signing a different tune. Here’s to the canning revolution!

Technorati Tags: beer, canned beer, Cask Brewing Systems, Oskar Blues, Fat Tire Amber Ale, New Belgium Brewing

Popularity: 16% [?]

The Maine Beer news reader is beginning to sound a bit like a broken record - the medals just keep on comin’ for the Shipyard Brewing Co. (and sister brewery Sea Dog). Each brewery took home a medal at the 2008 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) in Melbourne, Australia this past weekend.

To put it in a bit more context for those of us on the other side of the globe: 1,084 entries to the AIBA were received from 42 countries, so for both Shipyard and Sea Dog to take home awards (or for either to, for that matter) is pretty impressive. Shipyard Brewing Company’s Chamberlain Pale Ale won a Silver award in Class 3 – Ale, Packaged - British Style Pale Ale (no Gold was given in this category). Last year, Chamberlain took home a Bronze medal in this same category.

Sea Dog Brewing Company’s Sea Dog Bluepaw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale was awarded a Bronze in Class 17 – Fruit Beer, Packaged (no Silver or Gold was given in this category). Bluepaw received this same award in last year’s competition.

For a complete list of the winners from the Australian International Beer Awards, click here.

Technorati Tags: Maine, Shipyard Brewing, Sea Dog Brewing, beer, the Australian International Beer Awards

Popularity: 15% [?]

Way back in December I wrote about the frustration The Terrapin Beer Co. in Athens Georgia was facing as they waited for a state brewers’ license and the solidarity ’stache movement they started in protest of their wait. Well, almost a full year after they purchased a 45,000-square-foot brewery in Athens, the owners of Terrapin Beer can finally shave off those Fu Manchus. A dream come true for partners John Cochran and Brian “Spike” Buckowski more than a decade in the making, the first barrels of Terrapin Rye — which first burst onto the beer scene after grabbing the Gold Medal for best American-Style Pale Ale at the 2002 — were tapped at the now fully operational brewery at the end of February.

Now the brewery is producing their staple line up, their new “Monster Beer Tour” line — including Rye Squared (out now), All American Imperial Pilsner in the summer, Big Hoppy Monster in the fall, and Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout in the winter — and their series of even more limited beers, dubbed Side Project, which will be released in 22-ounce bottles on a much less regular basis. Ironically, the first one, which was brewed in response to the current worldwide hops shortage, is a hugely hoppy beer named Hop Shortage (look for it in stores in the South East at the end of the month).

If all goes according to plan, Terrapin will brew about 800 barrels a month and up to about 10,000 barrels the first year - great news for a brewery which, despite its enormous popularity, could not produce much more than a fancy handle-bar mustache a mere few months ago.

Source: “For Terrapin Beer Co., happy hour has arrived” [The Journal-Constitution]

Technorati Tags: Terrapin Beer Co, beer, Athens Georgia, craft beer

Popularity: 13% [?]

There were some rumblings (here at BAB) and grumblings (elsewhere) a couple of weeks back about a new brewpub rumored to be opening in Saco, Maine. Well after today - thems ain’t rumors anymore, thanks to the Kennebec Journal. The paper reports that Geoff Houghton, the owner of the Liberal Cup in Hallowell, ME, will have his second brewery open by late spring. The paper reports,

The man who opened “The Liberal Cup Public House & Brewery” in Hallowell in November 2000 wants to expand his business to a second site to be known officially as “The Run of the Mill Public House & Brewery.”

The Run of the Mill Public House & Brewery will be the first commercial entity in Saco Island — a former factory site on the Saco River — near the city’s downtown, and will seat almost 200 people with an outdoor patio that overlooks the rapids in the Saco River.

If the will-be brewing set up looks at all familiar, that’s because the equipment formerly brewed beer for The Sugarloaf Brewing Company at the base of Sugarloaf ski resort in Carrabassett Valley.

Source: “Liberal Cup runneth over: Proprietor of Hallowell pub to expand brewery to Saco” [Kennebec Journal]

Technorati Tags: Saco, Maine, brewpub, beer, The Run of the Mill Public House & Brewery

Popularity: 18% [?]

The Brewers Association has released their 2008 Beer Style Guidelines. Eleven categories were added to the guidelines this year and of the 11 new categories being introduced, five new additions were added just for barrel-aged beers. If my counting isn’t off — which, at this hour on a Sunday evening it very well might be — there are 140 different styles on the list. Everything from “Garden Beer” and “Japanese Sake-Yeast Beer” to “Bamberg-Style Marzen (Smoke) Rauchbier” or just “Ordinary Bitter”. The 11 new styles for 2008 are:

• Fresh Hop Ale
• American-Belgo Styles Ales
• Leipzig-Style Göse
• Belgian-Style Blonde Ale
• Australasian-Style Pale Ale
• Out of Category- Traditionally Brewed Beers
• Wood- and Barrel- Aged Beer
• Wood- and Barrel- Aged Pale to Amber Beer
• Wood- and Barrel- Aged Dark Beer
• Wood- and Barrel- Aged Strong Beer
• Wood- and Barrel- Aged Sour Beer

For the full version of the 2008 Brewers Association Beer Styles Guidelines click here (Warning: very large PDF file).

140 categories sounds like a heck of a challenge to me…

Technorati Tags: beer, Brewers Association, 2008 Beer Style Guidelines

Popularity: 16% [?]

Some of you may remember a few months ago (November, 2007 to be exact) when the story of the The Trappist monks at St. Sixtus monastery and their famous Westvleteren beer vaulted to everyday stardom, thanks to this story in the Wall Street Journal. Well, apparently their mystique has caught the attention of another high profile star - Harry Potter. According to England’s Daily Star, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe will travel to the monastery in Westvleteren, Belgium to purchase some of the monks’ famous beer - beer that is regarded by many as some of the best in the world.

Supposedly one of the monks told the Daily Star,

“[Daniel] appreciates fine wine and beer and is fascinated by Westvleteren. He wanted it to be the first alcoholic beverage he legally drank.”

Radcliffe has reportedly agreed to purchase two cases each of Westvleteren Blonde, Westvleteren 8 and Westvleteren 12, all of which can only be bought at the monastery gate. For more on the the Westvleteren Monks and their “holy grail of beers”, click here (WSJ) and here (wikipedia).

Technorati Tags: Westvleteren, Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, beer, Belgian beer

Popularity: 16% [?]