Professor Good Ales

Written by Dave Kim for brooklynrail.org

Served at President Obama’s Super Bowl party this year was the White House’s own honey ale, which an unnamed White House chef had homebrewed especially for the occasion. While Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes on the big screen, the Obamas and their guests knocked back beers made with fresh grains and a pound of honey from the first lady’s beehive. This was no spur-of-the-moment menu addition: the president had purchased the brewing equipment himself. Each bottle produced even sported a custom label.

The White House Honey Ale, served to a shortlist of government brass and

celebrity guests like J-Lo and Marc Anthony, shows just how high the profile of independent brewing has risen in recent years. Gone are the days when beer enthusiasts, tired of the same old factory lagers in their grocery stores, had to make their own suds out of sheer necessity. One would think the availability of great craft beers throughout the country would make brewers lazier, but it seems to have only ramped up the competition. Estimates for the number of brewing hobbyists in North America now vary between 750,000 and 1.2 million. Here in Brooklyn there has been something of a beermaking explosion since 2009, when brewing supplies suddenly started appearing in flea markets and kitchen-supply shops. There’s even a store in Gowanus devoted solely to beermaking, Brooklyn Homebrew, which opened its doors last year and by the owners’ accounts is doing brisk business.

“We’re playing catch-up to the rest of the country,” said co-owner Benjamin Stutz, regarding the city’s booming homebrewing scene. “New York has been way behind. This was meant to happen years ago.”

Continue reading “Home Is Where the Brew Is”

Written by Rick Leventhal for FOXnews.com

At New York City’s Brooklyn Brewery, where beer output and new hires are on the rise, there is no better example of how the appetite for craft beers pours strong, despite a flat economy.

Based in an old brick warehouse in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, just across the East River from Manhattan, the brewery cooks, ferments and sells more than 110,000 barrels of lager, ale and other craft beers every year. This includes beer the company brews at another facility upstate in Utica. (Most likely Matt Brewing- PGA)

The specialty suds are sold in kegs of all sizes along with bottles and cans — the equivalent of between 1.5 and 2 million cases was poured in 2010. The company says the production will grow far larger when an expansion project is complete.

“I think a lot of people aren’t guzzling beer the way they used to,” says owner Steve Hindy. “They’re looking for something they can savor and think about and talk about — and that’s Brooklyn Lager, or one of our other great beers.”
Continue reading “Thirst for Craft Beer Is Keeping Business Bubbling and Jobs Brewing”

Written by Charlie Papazian for Examiner.com

It’s a sad state of affairs when state legislators have to spend time and fight to get a bill passed that would permit restaurants and bars to sell beer that is less than 4% alcohol. Really? Really!

But that’s the way it is in Colorado, which isn’t the only state in the U.S. of A. that has some pretty convoluted beer laws. It seems like a no brainer, but debate, discussion and logic seems to be prevailing as Colorado Senate Bill 60, sponsored by Sens. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, and Jean White, R-Hayden slowly advances and gains support. According to a Denver Business Journal story Bill allowing low-alcohol beer sales in Colorado bars, restaurants advances, “The bill would reverse a law allowing only establishments with low-alcohol “fermented beverage” licenses, such as convenience and grocery stores, to sell beers less than 4 percent alcohol by volume.”
Continue reading “Beer Below 4% Alcohol Currently Outlawed in Restaurants, Bars in Colorado”

I am leaving for the South Florida & the Keys tomorrow and will not be back till the 15th or so. Jim Martin, Rex and Gary have agreed to be at my shop this Saturday between 11:00am and 1:00pm to dispense grain orders for those that need their grain before I get back. That’s a 2 hour window so don’t be late or you’ll be out of luck. I’ll send out the pricing tomorrow when I get the grain so you can be ready when you pick it up. If you don’t have a check I can’t say if there will be any change available. Checks should be made out to EBH.

Pat Johnson
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Reminder!
St Pats party at Mark Robertsons place on Lakeview is Sat March 12th. Party starts at 2PM. Early Birds are OK. We need a head count for food prep. If you have not already done so, please RSVP to me ASAP. Bring Beer & bring a dish or snack food. Jim
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Gumbo cook off at Seville is March 19th. Club will buy your entry ticket if you sign up. head cooks are Sean & Jim. Please let me know if you can bring beer. We ran out at the chili cookoff. RSVP ASAP. If you RSVP and cannot come, please notify me so that club does not spent money for nothing. More details later. jim
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Continue reading “Club Update: Escambia Bay Brewers”

Written by David Sharp

This version is a variation from news.yahoo.com, another variation was published by Fox News. Origin: AP. Picture: Andrea Henkel, of Germany, poses with a large glass of Erdinger from AP file, 2/12/11.

PORTLAND, Maine – Beer. It’s not just for couch potatoes anymore.

A Bavarian brewmeister is touting its no-alcohol beer as the latest sport drink for athletes, handing it out at the finish line of sporting events and touting its regenerative benefits.

Unlike Gatorade, Erdinger Alkoholfrei is served up with a frothy head. And it comes in one color — a golden hue — unlike conventional sport drinks.

Several top athletes from Europe quaffed the beverage from giant mugs on the podium of the World Cup biathlons held this month in northern Maine.

The company touts the beverage as an isotonic, vitamin-rich, no-additive beverage with natural regenerative powers that help athletes recover from a workout. In other words, it’s carbohydrate-loaded refreshment without the alcoholic buzz of beer or the jitters caused by some energy drinks.
Continue reading “Athletes Quaff No-Alcohol Beer as Sport Drink”