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In a Country Where 1 in 4 Beers Sold Is a Bud Light, Microbrews Are Showing Promising Growth

Written by Stephen Wishnia for Alternet

Independent craft brewers have established a significant niche over the last generation in the beer market, in an industry where six companies make 90 percent of the beer.

In a country where one out of every four beers sold is a Bud Light, and more than 80 percent of all beer sold comes from two giant corporations, indie brewing is showing promising signs of growth and staying power.

A few of the many beers from Stone Brewing

Independent craft brewers have established a significant niche over the last generation. Since 1980, the number of commercial breweries has risen from less than 100 to about 1,600, including brewpubs. Independent craft brewers now account for about 7 percent of U.S. beer sales, and the Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams) is now the leading American-owned brewer.

This situation might inspire the corporate majors to colonize the indies, as they did in the music business of the 1990s and more recently, with the corporate acquisition of several leading health-food brands and body-care products such as Burt’s Bees lip balm and Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. Yet so far, that doesn’t seem to have happened. The majors have created a few brands aimed at the craft-beer market, most notably MillerCoors’ Blue Moon, and Anheuser-Busch owns part of four of the top 20 craft-beer brands, according to store-sales figures for the year ending June 13 from SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market-research firm. Beyond that, however, they have not made many inroads–or tried that hard, say several professional observers.
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Club Update: Saratoga Thoroughbrews

Hi All,
First up is a reminder that our club will be meeting at OSB at 7pm this Thursday, August 5th.  We will be judging style category 16, but also feel free to bring whatever you wish to share.

Second, there will be 2 beer-themed events in Old Forge/Beaver River Station; the first will be on the 21st of August, the second on Labor Day.  Accommodations are available for those wishing to spend a night or 2.  Contact Ken Carman for more info:  kencarman@earthlink.net , or go to:  https://professorgoodales.net/archives/6236 for a full rundown of the events and how to get there…which isn’t easy, but should be worth the trip!

The competition/fundraiser previously scheduled for Sept 25th at the Local is being moved/rescheduled due to a scheduling conflict.  Details are (quickly) being worked out, but the tentative date is now Oct 2nd, and the location will possibly be The Madison Brewery in Bennington, VT.  This will be a BJCP/AHA event, involving both homebrewers and commercial breweries.  More info to follow as soon as everything is finalized.  Entries will be EITHER 2 cases OR 1 5 gallon keg due to this also being a fundraiser, and kegs will be returned as quickly as possible to entrants not in attendance.

The 15th annual Knickerbocker Battle of the Brews is almost here!!  I will be making a call for judges and stewards in the next week or 2, but those interested in volunteering in other capacities as well should contact Chris Gersey at:  knickerbockerbattleofthebrews@gmail.com .  There are many jobs that need doing in the weeks and days leading up to the competition, including: pickup of entries from drop-off points, logging in of entries, setting up the morning of the competition, and clean up afterwards.  Also, anyone wishing to assist in the obtaining of prizes for the raffle, as well as steward and judge “goodies”, should contact Steve Breault as soon as possible:  steve.breault@gmail.com .

There is still no word as to the start date for the next judges course.  As soon as I hear from George DePiro, I will pass this on.

Finally, a big thanks to all who participated in the fund raiser at OSB last weekend!  The club raised $940, AFTER all expenses!!  Special thanks to Dan, Kim, and Dave behind the bar for all their help during the event, and for their donations of prizes to the raffle, Chris Gersey for setting up and manning the jockey box to keep the cold beer flowing, Paul and Wendy Krebs for their delicious pizzas (41, I think!), Paul Fetterroll for manning the grill, Rick McCarthy for his help with the 50/50 raffle, Adam Schmichael and the Adirondack Pub and Brewery for the donation of several kegs of beer and assorted shirts and glassware for the raffle,(Rick and Adam also provided homebrew) John Fura for all his help during the event, John Beale,  the Troy Brew Club, and Les Swinton for their donation of beer, Ben Haynes for the pork whick lasted 45 minutes!,and especially to Jim Azotea, who organized the event, coordinated the volunteers, bought the food, brewed the beer, and then played screaming guitar for 2 full sets with The Full Version Band!  The band was rockin’ the house despite the oppressive heat/humidity of about 120 people packing the OSB taproom.  Sorry if I missed anybody…thanks to all!

Cheers,

Greg

I did get a chance to stop by for the fund raiser, and here are some of the pictures I took. Please excuse the quirky camera I have. I’m still figuring it out. And apologies for taking so long. Obviously: no Staples in Beaver River… I rely on those for processing, and once I saw what I had: GACK! Greg’s there and a very hazy pic of a sample being poured. Maybe when I judge in November I can get better pics and do more for the cause. If anyone does make it to the Station for one the beer tastings I’ll obviously be cover that to. I have to: I’m the “server!”

Ken Carman

___________________________________________________________________
Todd Snyder and several western NY clubs are banding together to try to bring the NHC to Niagara Falls in 2014.
Continue reading “Club Update: Saratoga Thoroughbrews”

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Dutch Brewer Claims World’s Strongest Beer Title

Written by Dan Evon for indyposted.com

The battle for the world’s strongest beer continues to rage on, as a Dutch brewer just stole the title from BrewDog. Last week, BrewDog released 7 bottles of a beer called “The End of History,” which for the week, was the World’s Strongest Beer. But Nijboer’s Almere-based brewery, ‘t Koelschip (The Refrigerated Ship), has answered with its “Start the Future” beer.
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Free Beer Tastings!!!

Ready for an adventure in beer tasting? Two chances! August 21st and September 4th: 2010; 2pm

How do I get to Beaver River for the FREE beer tastings???



Important: for further information call Ken at 315 376 6625 or Millie at 615 255 4848. For reservoir transportation/reservations/accommodations: 315 376 6200 and speak with Ginger or Scott, 315 376 7035 and speak with George, or 585 928 2726: Tom

There are NO roads to Beaver River. But you CAN get there for this year’s free beer tastings hosted by two BJCP judges. Millie and Ken Carman’s 6th annual beer tastings are scheduled for August 21st and September 4th: both at 2pm. A special warm invite to the Saratoga Throughbrews this year, with the hope by next year we can have a competition and a homebrew demonstration in the Old Forge/Beaver River area. All those 21 and older are welcome.

How do I get there?


Route 28 to Eagle Bay, NY. Take the Big Moose Road all the way until it turns into dirt. When you reach a “T” in the road, take a right. Stop at BIG lake, unless you have an amphicar. (If you need to ask then you obviously don’t.)

But NOW what do I do?


At Beaver River Station the adventure is getting there. Imagine yourself of a River Boat floating 7 miles down a scenic reservoir, or riding a barge, or traveling by railcar…
You can take the barge (The only way to drive into Beaver River… 315 376 6200), meet the River Boat (same number) or call ahead for a boat taxi. (There are two boat taxis: use the same number or call George at 315 376 7035, or Tom at 585 928 2726: railcar that would pick you up in Big Moose.)

What Kind of Beer?

Stouts, Porters, Barley Wines, Fruit Beer, Wheat, Weird Beer of ALL Kinds, Homebrew and maybe even some wine and some Peycer. (Find out at the tasting!) Ken and Millie gather beer from all over the country all year long.

Just get there by 2!

Where do I stay?


Accommodations are available at Noridgewock (315 376 6200) or The Beaver River Hotel (315 376 3010) And Millie and Ken have limited free room for members of Saratoga Thoroughbrews (315 376 6625 or 615 255 4848). We may be able to make one trip each way to pick up members of Saratoga Thoroughbrews with our boat, if we all come up with a mutual time. It’s quite the trip down Stillwater!

The free tasting on the 21st will be at Norridgewock, the tasting on September 4th will be in front of the hotel.

Don’t forget… 2pm. August 21st, 2010 and September 21st 2010

@12:30pm the Beaver River Riverboat leaves Stillwater, NY and leaves Beaver River @ 3:30. Plenty of time to sample and only $15 for the whole trip!!! A casual, beautiful cruise down Stillwater Reservoir with FREE BEER when you get there. (315 376 6200)

This year’s tastings are sponsored by Professor Good Ales and hosted by Millie and Ken Carman, Beaver River Hotel and Norridgewock. Thanks in advance for another successful year!

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Russia Beer Production Down Nearly 10%


Does not add up to 100% due to rounding. Source: Business Analytica

Written for Businessmonitor.com

Underlining BMI‘s bearish near-medium term view on Russian beer, the Federal Statistics Service (FSS) has reported that headline beer production plummeted by 9.99% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the six months to June 30 2010. We point to two underlining factors behind the decline:

  • Russia has taken a hard line stance on beer – almost trebling the excise rate on beer in 2010. Bearing in mind that the excise rate levied on beer will continue to increase in 2011 and 2012 (with more anti-beer legislation not to be ruled out).
  • Reacting to the looming tax hike, retailers and vendors pursued heavy stock piling to build up their inventories in the run up to 2010. This was evened out by destocking in the Q110 period in particular, which we believed contributed to the decline reported by the FSS.

The near 10% slip came notwithstanding favourable weather and tail-end momentum likely to have been provided by the World Cup (despite Russia not qualifying) in Q210. The excise hike has come as a hammer blow to the industry, compounding what was a dismal 2009.

Our H210 Outlook

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Now for Those Masochists Who Thought the BJCP Test Wasn’t “Tough Enough”

Written by Julia Herz for Caftbeer.com

Ever hear of the Cicerone Certification Program? It’s similar to a wine Sommelier, but is for experts who love and are passionate about beer. Based on everything I’ve seen in the craft beer world, it is the most advanced and difficult beer education program in existence. Specifically, Cicerone is an incredibly difficult series of tests created by a mentor of mine, Ray Daniels.

Continue reading “Now for Those Masochists Who Thought the BJCP Test Wasn’t “Tough Enough””