Author: Professor Good Ales

This is Allagash’s coolship — an open, spontaneous fermentation tank with wort rushing in. When the Maine breeze passes over the liquid, wild yeast in the air around the brewery will begin to ferment the wort to make beer. ‘

Crack the vast menu at any self-respecting beer bar, and you’re bound to run into a scientific name among the descriptions: Brettanomyces, affectionately known as Brett.

I’ve heard American brewers and beer geeks utter “Brett” in hushed, reverent tones before swooshing aromatic liquids made with it across their tongues. But this mysterious, mythic and increasingly popular strain of wild yeast also strikes fear in the hearts of brewers and microbiologists in the industry.

First, let’s review. Beer at its most basic is made up of four ingredients: water, barley malt, hops and yeast. Each one contributes to the overall taste and character, and they fuel the brewer’s creative palette.

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There are disturbing aspects to Theera Ratarasarn’s home brew.

The name: Activated Sludge. The label: That is a radiation symbol. The ingredients: It’s brewed with purified Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District wastewater plant effluent.

But it tastes great.

To Ratarasarn, making beer with water that hasn’t gone through the final cleaning process was a mission.

“I wanted to get people talking,” he said “There’s a potential use for what we discharge into lakes and streams.”

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Invisible Sentinel Inc., a global molecular solutions company that provides detection tools to advance quality processes, announced the final validation phase of its Veriflow brewPAL. You may remember the initial news of this product being developed in conjunction with Victory Brewing Co. Veriflow brewPAL is the first product that provides same-day detection for the presence of Pediococcus and Lactobacillus species throughout the brewing process. This novel technology provides onsite detection and quantification of these microbes and reduces time-to-results from several days to less than three hours. Timely detection using Veriflow brewPAL can prevent spoilage, preserve integrity and transform brewing quality control processes from reactive to preventive.

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NOTE: Blackberry Farms, apparently, comes from a GEORGIA brewery, not TN.-PGA

There are now over 3,000 breweries in the U.S., which is amazing, considering there were about 44 just thirty years ago (and 1,700 in the middle of 2011). But consider this: there are 990,000 restaurants, a $680B industry. So when icons of the food world pay attention to the brewery scene, it’s real perspective. Some of very best food industry players are working towards lofty ideals, too. As Good Food Awards founder Sarah Weiner announced to the latest winners (at a bash attended by the likes of guest judges Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl, and Mark Bittman), “wed to a vision of a better, more delicious world, all of you have chosen to be creators. Beyond the not trifling feat of making something utterly delicious, what you do and the way you do it creates tighter, stronger, more just societies.” And who can compete for a GFA? Makers of great beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, pickles, preserves, spirits,and even cooking oils and honey—which pass the GFA’s sustainability and social responsibility criteria.

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Albany

New York state’s frothy craft beer market could go flat in the next 10 years if it can’t find a better way to grow malt barley.

Along with water and hops, malted barley is one of the key ingredients used to make beer, and it’s also a key ingredient in making bourbon.

But farmers in the Capital Region and across New York state are finding it difficult to make money on malt barley, which can be easily ruined by moisture, mold and severe weather.

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This shit is getting out of hand. Lagunitas is so paranoid that the words IPA on some packaging are going to cut into their sales of their IPA. How about craft breweries focus on making great beer instead of focusing on frivolous lawsuits against their brethren.

Laguintas does NOT own the words IPA.

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Bad news for small breweries…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida liquor stores and beer distributors are challenging the way the state issues licenses allowing craft breweries to sell their products in tasting rooms, a move that brewers say could put dozens of breweries out of business or, at the very least, halt rapid growth in the industry.

The Florida Retail Federation is suing the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and the associations that represent Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors distributors have asked to intervene in support of the suit. Separately, the Florida Independent Spirits Association filed a challenge with the agency. The association includes ABC Fine Wine & Spirits chain, which is the state’s largest liquor store chain.

The groups said they aren’t trying to shut down the brewery tasting rooms, but rather to clarify the law that allows the brewers to serve draft beer to drink on site and cans and bottles to take home.

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