Category: Front Page

Written by Tom Law

Show up a little before 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning at West Sixth Brewing Company and the beer garden is already packed and buzzing. Twenty something’s mix and mingle with others in their 30s, 40s and 50s. No, they’re not there for a special early-morning tasting or even a tailgate party in the brewery’s spacious taproom. They’re there for the West Sixth Running Club’s half marathon training team workout, just one of many events at the new brewery on any given day that gives the operation housed in a former bread factory a true community feel.

Other days it’s a yoga class in the beer garden, or perhaps a group of science enthusiasts listening to an informal presentation on topics ranging from fracking to the way wine drinking affects aging. On the sixth of every month the brewery hosts “6th for a Cause,” events where West Sixth donates six percent of its profits to charity, allowing the brewery’s owners to continue to foster their mission and give back to the same community that has helped it become one of the fastest growing and most popular hangouts in town.

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Written by Brandon Jones for embracethefunk.com

About a week ago Shaun Hill of Hill Farmstead Brewery shocked many beer lovers by announcing an upcoming membership sale. The owner of the recently awarded  RateBeer #1 Brewery In The World gave Embrace The Funk a few details about the program and how you can get access to some of the great sour/wild beers in his line-up.

ETF- What is the official name of the membership club?

Shaun- “Hill Farmstead’s Collected Works”

ETF- If you’ve come up with a “Trustee” pick up policy, can you give some info on it?

Shaun- Of course.  Given our location – we absolutely must allow for ‘trustees’ to assist in beer retrieval.  Members can name their trustee, with proper communication, until a few days before the beer needs to be retrieved.  We will hold onto the beer, in a refrigerated storage space, until July 6th and 7th.  After those days… the beer will go up for sale.  Folks shouldn’t sign up if they don’t have a means of on site retrieval.
Continue reading “Hill Farmstead Membership: Some Deets From Shaun”

Written by Anita George for pastemagazine.com

An Alaskan brewery found a creative and green way to dispose of its brewing waste and reduce the overall cost of powering its operations.

A recently installed $1.8 million furnace now burns the Alaskan Brewing Co.’s spent grain, (the waste left over after brewing beer) and converts it into steam, which is then used to power most of the brewery, according to The Associated Press.

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As those of you who read this blog will know I have been talking about a technique called hop bursting recently. I first tried it back in Nov 2009 whilst brewing my Dog Fish Head 90min without really knowing how the technique worked. I came across it again last week when I brewed Northern Brewers 115th Dream Imperial IPA, which shipped with over 1 lb of hops.  How can you add 1 lb of hops to a 5 gallon brew and it not taste disgusting? I was curious and wanted to find out more, especially given how clean the bottom of boil kettle was where the hops had settled while cooling.

First up lets quickly review the big hop post I did a few back. First thing to remember are the Alpha Acids, these cause bittering and are not very water soluble so require an hour of boiling to fully extract. Then there are the Beta Acids, these are water soluble and actually evaporate if left too long in the water. Beta acids provide the hop aroma and flavour.  The more the beta acids evaporate the less the aroma which is why we have flavour additions with 10-15mins of a boil to go and aroma at 0 mins.

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Written by Daniel Fromson for The New York Times

A creature is lurking here in Chad Yakobson’s warehouse, inside the oak barrels where he ages most of his beers. Its name is Brettanomyces, and it’s a cousin of the domesticated yeasts that humans have brewed with for thousands of years. Often called wild yeast — a reference to its natural habitat (fruit skins) and to its volatile temperament — “Brett,” as it is widely known, can lead to unpredictable fermentations and gushing beer bottles, aromas politely described as funky, and fear. Most brewers work hard to keep it out of their tanks by sterilizing every piece of equipment.

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Written by Don Cazentre for syracuse.com

The U.S. Justice Department today filed a lawsuit to block brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev from completing a takeover of Grupo Modelo, the Mexican brewing company that makes Corona among other beers.

Anheuser-Busch InBev already has a 50 percent stake in Modelo. The maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other brands wants to spend $20.1 billion to purchase the remainder.

The Justice Department is concerned the proposed new company would violate anti-trust laws, and could lead to higher beer prices.
Continue reading “U.S. Justice Department Sues to Block Merger That Would Unite Budweiser and Corona”

Written by Jason Morgan for craftbrewingbusiness.com

“Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” as the old saying goes. But for small craft brewers trying to make it in a growing, competitive niche industry, new taxes could mean certain business death. Just ask Linus Hall, who opened Yazoo Brewing in 2003 to booming sales and national acclaim. Though his business continues to grow, Tennessee’s excessive tax policy is choking down the company’s business opportunities, including employment growth.

“I want to hire more people and invest more money in my business, but because of the tax, it makes it more difficult to do so.” — Linus Hall, owner of Yazoo Brewing.

“I want to hire more people and invest more money in my business, but because of the tax, it makes it more difficult to do so,” Hall said. “We’re growing, but just not as fast as we could have to keep up with consumer demand. The margins are just too small because of the 17 percent tax.”
Continue reading “Curing the Beer Tax That Ales Tennessee”

Written by Mark Morales for The New York Daily News

A new documentary is taking Brooklyn back to it’s beer brewing roots.

The 50-minute film “Brewed in Brooklyn” gives beer history buffs a crash course in Brooklyn’s boozy past, from the first brewery that opened in the 1800’s all the way to present day home brews.

“At one time [Brooklyn] was the beer capitol of the United States, if not the world,” said filmmaker John Weber, 55. “It went from having roughly 50 breweries at the turn of the century to zero in 1977. It just seemed like such a great story to tell.”

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