A new law on the table for review in the Florida state Senate, backed by the lobbying power of the big national distributors would force craft brewery, if they wish to sell their own bottled or canned beer in their taprooms, to first sell it to a distributor and then buy it back at a 30% to 40% markup. This is not capitalism, it’s protectionism at it’s worst, and it’s bad for craft beer, and bad for us consumers.
Read the full story here on Reuters.
The Daily Meal put it to readers (over 11,500 of them) to vote on the best craft breweries in the country. There’s a slideshow of the top 25 along with the article, and not to spoil things too much, the winner is one of my personal favorites, Dogfish Head.
Why not take a beer vacation? Apparently this is a thing, and CNN has taken on the task of finding the very best options for mixing a relaxing time away from home with the most delicious juice of the grain one might desire.
I’ve always known that beer was a health food, but here’s scientific proof.
“Drinking a pint of beer a day could improve the health of your heart, research shows.”
Full story here.
Research scientists in Australia have engineered barley that can be used to brew beer that can’t turn skunky. They’ve managed to remove the enzymes that cause the odors and tastes responsible. We’ll have to wait and see if it has any other effects, positive or negative.
The full article is here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/06/new_barley_strain_keeps_beer_fresh/
Arcade Brewery, a soon-to-open Chicago craft brewery, recently
launched their first Public Brew challenge; a crowdsourced
beer line. The Public Brew series engages Arcade Brewery’s
community to help create aspects of the beer from naming
the beer, label design, and even suggestive aspects of recipe
formulation. The first Public Brew will be a Scotch Ale.
Arcade Brewery recently polled their community for beer names on their Facebook page.
More than 150 submissions were reduced to 7 finalists and over
470 votes determined the Scotch Ale’s future name: William
Wallace Wrestle Fest.
Arcade Brewery is now accepting label design submissions for
the newly named beer through March 15th, 2013. The artist of
the winning design will be awarded $300 and have their design
printed as the beer’s label. More information on the label design
challenge can be found at http://www.arcadebrewery.com/forum/design-challenge/
Arcade Brewery will also be launching 6 Pack Stories (a comic across 6 bottles of beer) this summer.
6 Pack Stories is written by Jason Aaron (Scalped, Thor, Wolverine) and
designed by Tony Moore (The Walking Dead, Venom, Fear Agent, Deadpool)
Please feel free to email info@arcadebrewery.com with questions
or for more details on the challenge.
Cheers!
Do you have an IPA glass? (I don’t!) Do you need an IPA glass? (I do!) Dogfish Head, in collaboration with Sierra Nevada and noted glassware specialists Spiegelau have created the ultimate IPA glass, which you can now purchase with Dogfish Head branding from the Dogfish Head online store, or their brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, DE.
More information here.
You can purchase one here.
IPA Day was created in 2011 to celebrate one of the most popular craft beer styles, and craft beer in general.
The most important bits:
Check your favorite dispensary now to see if they’re stocking 120 Minute IPA. Check this week to see if they’ve gotten any My Antonia, and check back next week to see if they have Red & White. (A review of Red & White will be coming out on this site around the same time.)
Dogfish Head recently announced the publication of the 2012 release schedule. There are some changes…Burton Barton is becoming a year-round brew, they’re bottling 75-Minute IPA which previously has only been available in the brewpub, and for those who don’t want (or can’t have) glutens, there’s a new gluten-free beer coming out. It’s not all good news though; several occasional beers won’t be brewed at all next year.
More details here: http://www.dogfish.com/community/news/press-releases/welcome-to-the-core-burton-baton.htm
And a full-color printable version that I personally enjoy is here: http://www.dogfish.com/files/DFH_2012ReleaseCalendar.pdf (PDF link)
OpenCraftBeer 