BrewHound's Blog

Bill Bramanti poses with a coffin he had specially made designed to look like a can of his favorite beer. For now, he's using it as a cooler.
(Photo by Mary Compton, Southtown Star)


05/05/2008 -- SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) -- Glenwood, Illinois, village administrator Bill Bramanti's favorite beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon.

He loves it.

So he's he's had his coffin specially made, and it's designed to look like a can of the brew.

Bramanti isn't sick, so he doesn't plan on needing the coffin just yet.

For now the 67-year-old man says he'll use the coffin -- as a cooler.

Bramanti threw a party Saturday for friends, featuring his coffin filled with ice and, what else, Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Pabst is headquartered in San Antonio.

Bramanti ordered the casket from Panozzo Brothers Funeral Home in Chicago Heights.

Scott Sign of Chicago Heights designed the beer can. The silver coffin is red, white and blue -- just like a Pabst can.

Including information on the new (512) Brewing Company set to open soon here in Austin.

Here's the article

(512) Brewing Company

Props to TheFullPint.com 4/29/08 (http://thefullpint.com/)

Rogue XS Family Gives Birth to Twins!!

Rogue gave birth to two new Ales in the award-winning XS Family: Imperial Younger’s Special Bitter and Imperial Porter.

Imperial YSB and Imperial Porter join Old Crustacean Barleywine, Imperial India Pale Ale, Russian Imperial Stout, and Imperial Red Ale in the XS line which has been awarded 59 medals for taste and packaging. All XS products will be available July 1st in 750ml ceramic swing top bottles and in draft.

Imperial Younger’s Special Bitter was originally brewed in 2006 to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Horse Brass Pub in Portland, Oregon. The Horse Brass Pub, owned by the legendary Don Younger, was Rogue’s first account in Portland in 1989 and Younger’s Special Bitter was developed by Rogue brewmaster John Maier as the house beer for the Horse Brass. Younger’s Special Bitter was named in honor of William Younger, the brother of Don Younger, who passed in 1994. Younger’s Special Bitter has garnered 24 awards for taste and excellence, and Imperial YSB received a Gold medal at the 2007 World Beer Championships.

Imperial Porter was first brewed in July 2007 as a special product for the Oregon Brewer’s Festival and is an Imperial version of Rogue’s award-winning Mocha Porter. Mocha Porter has garnered 39 awards for taste and excellence.

Celebrating its second century, Rogue Ales is an Artisan Varietal Brewery founded in Oregon in 1988, as one of America’s first 50 microbreweries. Rogue has 550+ awards for taste and quality and is distributed nationally and in 10 other countries.

I recently joined Austin's local homebrew club - The Austin Zealots. If you are a homebrewer serious about having a good time with other homebrewers, getting feedback on your beers and enjoying the beer culture of Austin, look into the group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/austin_zealots/

They meet every second Saturday of the month on the back porch of The Ginger Man. This weekend I went to my first meeting - after the Live Oak Anniversary Party (at which I had 2 of their new IPA, which I found very delicious!) The Zealots meeting is basically this - you bring a few bottles of your beer and sample from everyone else's beers. Very simple, but big fun to be sure. I tried to keep a list, but - uh.... lost track eventually. It went something like minus members' names involved: Belgium Pale Ale, Saison, Spring Saison, Double D, ESB, my own O'Rojo Spiced Irish Red, APA/IPA, American Wheat, Amber, Ahtanum Ale, Hefeweizen, Rauchschwarz, Belgium Dark.... so you see, there is no lack of diversity. You get the full spectrum of beer.

In the wise words of homebrew guru Charlie Papazian: "Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew."

Check out these pictures and video......

Beer-sipping clients have taxes done in a bar Thu Apr 10, 2008 12:26pm EDT
By Marcy Nicholson

HOBOKEN, New Jersey (Reuters) - The sounds of the Rolling Stones pour from the speakers while beer glasses are filled and a jovial game of darts takes place 10 feet away.

It's just another night at the office for Carmine Sodora, certified public accountant.

Sodora founded Tavern Tax in 2005. For 10 weeks leading up to the April 15 deadline to submit U.S. income tax returns, he brings his tax-filing services to bars on weekday nights and weekend afternoons. He didn't know of anyone else offering such a service.

"I always say to people, 'Where's your beer? I can't have one but you can,'" Sodora said.

Although this year he has focused on Hoboken -- a small New Jersey city across the Hudson River from Manhattan, and home to 53 bars and a young population -- he has worked out of New York City bars in the past.

"I was looking to expand my personal tax business. It's primarily to go after a demographic -- yuppies," the 30-year-old said, referring to young urban professionals. "I've seen a 75 percent repeat, year after year."

At an Irish pub on Wednesday night, Sodora set up shop under a "Tavern Tax" sign with a fold-up table covered with a framed photo of laughing friends, his laptop and a lamp.

One by one, clients relaxed in the chair across from him, handing over documents and sipping on beer.

"It's more relaxed. Everyone hates to do their taxes," said Hoboken resident Juliet Murphy, 32. "If you can combine it with something you like, it numbs the tax pain."

(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Bill Trott)

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

WA Farmers Trade Crops for Hops
Associated Press

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - Few people can remember a situation anything close to this.

Some Yakima Valley hop growers are pulling other crops to plant the beer-flavoring ingredient and planting new acreage in response to a worldwide shortage that caught everyone - brewers, dealers and growers - by surprise.

A decade of oversupply and low prices that sent acreage plummeting by more than a third is over, at least for now.

In response to that limited supply, by the end of last year some prices jumped to 10 times historic levels, $20 per pound and more on the "spot" market. "Spot" hops are those not committed under long-term contracts.

That's where the industry stands this spring in Washington, the nation's largest supplier of hops, and the two other Northwest states that comprise all national production.

Washington, Oregon and Idaho grew hops on 30,911 acres last year, according to industry figures.

Growers are feverishly reconditioning yards and adding new land at an unheard-of pace. Growers are receiving multiple-year contracts with prices front-loaded to help them shoulder the estimated $6,000-per-acre cost to plant yards and also upgrade equipment.

Growers couldn't make investments like that when prices were depressed.

"It's basic economics," observed Ann George, administrator of the Moxee-based Washington Hop Commission. "When everyone started making orders, we found we had a shortage. The price went crazy. People are willing to spend large sums."

Northwest hop acreage, which expanded by about 2,000 acres last year as the lack of supply became apparent, could grow by another 5,000 acres this year.

Ralph Olson, general manager of grower-owned HopUnion of Yakima, a buyer who deals primarily with smaller craft brewers, thinks the figure may be closer to 8,000 acres by the time all is said and done. That would be a jump of nearly 25 percent in acreage in one year.

"The expansion is being driven by demand," Olson said. "Part of it stems from this being an international market. You have a lot of Eastern Europeans who have the Euro, a strong currency now. They are short and have a huge demand for hops from anywhere. They will pay whatever.

"It's brought the whole market up," he added.

George said most observers believe the higher prices are temporary until supply again catches up with demand.

"All estimates are this will be a short-term run-up. The big challenge is to pinpoint what acreage is necessary to supply demand without overshooting demand," George said.

For the time being, growers are responding.

Longtime Toppenish grower Joe Champoux pulled out 30 acres of producing Granny Smith apples to plant hops last fall. He said he has heard growers also withdrew Concord grapes to plant hops.

He will harvest 330 acres of hops this year.

The past few years have been tough ones for the industry. Average prices dipped to $1.60 in 1997 and rebounded only slightly, according to industry figures.

Despite the end-of-the-year price jump for a small amount of uncontracted hops, average prices for 2007 were $2.75 per pound in Washington.

"Prices have been below the cost of production," Champoux said. "We have been working on efficiencies and margins for so many years. It didn't allow for expanding equipment. Now we are able to do some things."

The oversupply began a decade ago with a switch to different varieties of hops that produced more alpha acid, the ingredient that gives beer its distinctive flavor.

These super alpha varieties produce up to 18 percent alpha acid, compared with up to 15 percent for high alpha varieties. Another group of varieties, aroma, average up to 8 percent alpha.

Meanwhile, other hop-producing countries were planting their own super alpha hops. The result was a market that had more hops than it could use. Plus, processed hops have a long shelf life that made it even more difficult to work off the surplus, George said.

The Northwest produces as many as 30 different varieties of hops.

As acreage declined, weather problems and below-average yields brought an end to the oversupply.

"When we got to the 2007 harvest, the yields for a number of individual varieties were at or below average and some growers couldn't fill their contracts," George said. "There were not a lot of spot hops around, which is what drove the price up."

Growers who had been holding uncontracted hops from prior years were able to move them last winter at good prices.

Rapid growth in the craft brewing industry also contributed to an increase in demand for hops. Craft brewers are growing in numbers and now account for about 10 percent of the overall crop.

David Mickelson, president of Redhook Ale Brewery, said the Woodinville-based brewery had difficulty obtaining sufficient supplies of hops last year. This is despite Redhook, with a production of about 315,000 barrels a year, being the state's largest brewer and committed to advance contracting to assure availability of hops.

"We had to really search around more so than ever before," Mickelson said.

He said Redhook is paying prices ranging up to $12.50 to $15 per pound for some of the hops it uses in its recipe. Previously, prices for those varieties were around $2.50 to $5 a pound.

While others have been able to get what they need with ease on the spot market, brewers are now having to think in terms of locking up supplies with more long-term contracting.

Champoux, who has been growing hops for 30 years, said growers are now seeing a chance to upgrade and build up some reserves from the down years.

George said the big question is how long will the current situation last.

"The big challenge is finding the perfect balance. How do we hit that and keep the brewers happy and not go into oversupply?" she said.

Live Oak Brewing Company Anniversary Party
12p - 6p at the brewery grounds @ 3301 E 5th St # B, Austin, TX
Beer, music & food

Austin Zealots homebrew club monthly meeting
Homebrewers bring at least 24 oz. of your beer to sample and a glass

Free Brats
while they last, as always, at The Draught House starting at 5pm.

Wis. authorities search for 3 men who stole $24,000 in beer from trucking company

   MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. (AP) -- Talk about a beer binge: Authorities are searching for three men who stole about $24,000 worth of beer from a trucking company south of Milwaukee.
   The suspects pulled up to the Hribar Trucking site at about 2 a.m. Monday in stolen semi tractors, Mount Pleasant police said.
   They were trying to hook a trailer full of Miller Brewing Co. beer to the tractors when they were interrupted. The men then fled, taking a different tractor-trailer rig full of Miller beer, and a semi tractor with no load.
   Officials from Schneider National, who own the rig, declined to comment on the theft and ongoing investigation.
   Police are looking for a white semitrailer with blue lettering reading "Great Taste of a True Pilsner Beer" and a white Freightliner semi tractor.
   The village of Mount Pleasant is about 30 miles south of Milwaukee.
   
   (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
 

BOSTON - APRIL 7, 2008 - The Boston Beer Company (BBC) today announced a voluntary recall of select 12 oz glass bottles of its Samuel Adams beer which may contain small grains or bits of glass. The precautionary recall comes after routine quality control inspections at the Company’s Cincinnati brewery detected defects in certain beer bottles, manufactured by a third-party glass bottle supplier that might cause small bits of glass to break off and possibly fall into the bottle.

The affected bottles come from only one of the five glass plants that supply the Company with bottles. This plant supplies about 25% of BBC bottles. While the Company believes that the number of bottles from this plant that actually contain glass is significantly less than 1%, it took this measure to protect the safety of its drinkers.

The affected products are embossed on the base of the bottles with the following marking: The letter “N” followed by the number “35? followed by the letters “OI”.

The following products are NOT being recalled:

Samuel Adams draft beer
24oz bottles of Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams Utopias
Samuel Adams Triple Bock
Bottles with embossed code N08 followed by the letters “OI”
Bottles with embossed code N17 followed by the letters “OI”
Bottles with embossed code N26 followed by the letters “OI”
Bottles with embossed code N31 followed by the letters “OI”
Consumers who have purchased beer in the defective bottles are advised not to drink it and dispose of the product. The Company will issue a full refund on potentially affected product.

The Company has had no reports of any consumer injury but the presence of small bits of glass in the bottle could pose a health risk under certain circumstances. While the possibility of injury to an individual consumer is very low, people who bite or swallow a fragment could possibly be injured. Anyone who has consumed beer from an affected bottle and becomes ill, or shows signs of complications, should see a physician immediately.

Boston Beer has stopped distributing all products in the defective bottles. Additionally, the Company’s direction to its wholesalers is to hold all of the affected products in their warehouses, and to remove it from retail shelves immediately.

For additional information, consumers are encouraged to contact The Boston Beer Company at 1-888-674-5159 or access the company’s recall Web site at http://consumerinfo.samadams.com

“We are disappointed and disturbed by this development, and we are doing everything we can to address the situation,” said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of the Boston Beer Company. “Since our founding, we have never issued a product recall for any reason, and are deeply disappointed that these bottles did not meet our quality standards. Brewing great beer is not enough. Because of these bottles supplied to us from an outside vendor, we didn’t live up to our drinker’s expectations. Our brewers, management, and all employees remain committed to doing everything possible to resolve this situation quickly, and to ensure the safety of our drinkers and the quality of our beer.”

For more information, please visit http://www.samueladams.com

From Brewers Association
www.beertown.org

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume
(Based on 2007 sales)
Rank Business Name City State
1 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA
2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA
3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc. Fort Collins CO
4 Spoetzl Brewery Shiner TX
5 Pyramid Breweries Inc. Seattle WA
6 Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
7 Deschutes Brewery, Inc. Bend OR
8 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
9 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
10 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
11 Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. Juneau AK
12 Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts Center South Burlington VT
13 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
14 Bell's Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
15 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME
16 Summit Brewing Co. St. Paul MN
17 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA
18 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA
19 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
20 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA
21 Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Newport OR
22 Long Trail Brewing Co. Bridgewater Corners VT
23 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
24 Kona Brewing Co. Kailua-Kona HI
25 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
26 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
27 Great Lakes Brewing Co./Ohio Cleveland OH
28 The Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
29 Flying Dog Brewery Denver CO
30 Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
31 Bridgeport Brewing Co. Portland OR
32 Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants Louisville CO
33 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
34 BJ's Restaurant & Brewery Huntington Beach CA
35 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA
36 Mac and Jack's Brewery Redmond WA
37 Lost Coast Brewery and Café Eureka CA
38 Big Sky Brewing Co. Missoula MT
39 Pete's Brewing Co. San Antonio TX
40 Otter Creek Brewing Co. Middlebury VT
41 Karl Strauss Breweries San Diego CA
42 Breckenridge Brewery Denver CO
43 Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Chattanooga TN
44 Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Boonville CA
45 Boulder Beer Co. Boulder CO
46 North Coast Brewing Co. Inc. Fort Bragg CA
47 McMenamins Portland OR
48 Utah Brewers Cooperative Salt Lake City UT
49 Capital Brewing Co. Middleton WI
50 Blue Point Brewing Co. Patchogue NY

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume (2007 sales)
Rank Business Name City State
1 Anheuser-Busch Inc. St. Louis MO
2 Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee WI
3 Coors Brewing Co. Golden CO
4 Pabst Brewing Co. Woodridge IL
5 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA
6 D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc. Pottsville PA
7 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA
8 New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc. Fort Collins CO
9 High Falls Brewing Co. Rochester NY
10 Spoetzl Brewery Shiner TX
11 Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. Portland OR
12 Redhook Ale Brewery Woodinville WA
13 Pyramid Breweries Inc. Seattle WA
14 Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
15 Minhas Craft Brewery Monroe WI
16 Deschutes Brewery, Inc. Bend OR
17 Iron City Brewing Co. Pittsburgh PA
18 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
19 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
20 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
21 Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. Juneau AK
22 Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts Center South Burlington VT
23 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
24 Bell's Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
25 Goose Island Beer Co. Chicago IL
26 August Schell Brewing Co. New Ulm MN
27 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME
28 Summit Brewing Co. St. Paul MN
29 Mendocino Brewing Co. Ukiah CA
30 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA
31 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA
32 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
33 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA
34 Rogue Ales / Oregon Brewing Newport OR
35 Long Trail Brewing Co. Bridgewater Corners VT
36 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
37 Kona Brewing Co. Kailua-Kona HI
38 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
39 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
40 Great Lakes Brewing Co./Ohio Cleveland OH
41 The Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
42 Flying Dog Brewery Denver CO
43 Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
44 Bridgeport Brewing Co. Portland OR
45 Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants Louisville CO
46 Gluek Brewing Co. Cold Spring MN
47 Straub Brewery St. Mary's PA
48 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
49 BJ's Restaurant & Brewery Huntington Beach CA
50 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA

For more statistics visit the updated 2007 Craft Beer Industry Statistics Web page. A more extensive analysis of statistics on the craft beer segment in 2007 will be released April 17 during the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, California. The Association's full 2007 industry analysis, which shows regional trends and sales by individual breweries, is published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer.

¹ The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.