SB 2167 / HB 2783 (Or: the TN Legislature is at it again)

Posted on January 20, 2012

The Tennessee State legislature, by way of Senator Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) and Representative Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads), has introduced a new bill which would require the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) to impose hard limits on the quantity of “certain high alcohol content beverages” (5%+ ABW) which can be sold to a consumer, package sales included.  This, as if you needed to hear it, is not a good thing for the craft industry whatsoever.  The bill as written does not specify anywhere *what* these limits would be, they merely mandate that they must be defined for both on-premise consumption as well as package stores, “the public welfare requiring it”.

Just last year the craft community of Tennessee mobilized against the onerous implications of SB1224, which sought to limit the future of the craft beer industry in Tennessee in order to attract a small set of special interest groups.  The amendment which was of greatest issue was removed by the committee and SB1224 became law.  High gravity beer was now more well defined in Tennessee, paving the path for less restrictive laws in the future.  Granted, not all of SB1224 was perfect and some unintended consequences did make their way through, but the absolute chokehold that it promised was avoided.  One part of SB1224 that did make it into law was to impose that no quantity greater than 5 gallons of high-gravity beer can be sold to anyone in a single transaction.  That’s right, no more half-barrels of Celebration in your kegerator, folks.

The question left open now is whether the current legislation is a play to limit the sales on high-gravity beer, or to use the current limitation on high-gravity beer to leverage limits into wine sales.  In the bill summary they specifically state: “This bill does not define the meaning of “certain high alcohol content beverages.”". HB 2782 was introduced at the same time and seeks to impose limitations of exactly the same nature on anything 50% alcohol and up.  I believe that we will be seeing a lot more news on this legislation in the next several days.

Craig Mangum’s Beer Law Blog has a great article on this legislation.

Read the *very* short content of SB 2167

And the likewise short content of HB 2783

The quite spurious summary text of HB 2783

HB 2782, regarding >50% ABV.

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Cherry Chocolate Stout Collaboration

Posted on May 23, 2011

Stone Brewing, Troegs, and a pair of lucky homebrewers got together this April to brew up a batch of Cherry Chocolate Stout.  This one has recently gained label approval and could be hitting stores on the West coast in a few weeks.  Based on the results of previous collaborations by Stone, the Tennessee region may snag a few cases, so be on the look out.

Packaging will be in the form of 12 ounce bottles as well as a limited number of draft kegs.  Knowing our local establishments, it would be likely that either 12 South Taproom or the Flying Saucer could end up with a keg on draft when it comes out.

The beer itself is the result of a competition held by Stone, with the top award being the opportunity to brew a pro batch on the Gargoyle system in Escondido.  Competitions such as this have been gaining in popularity over the past few years, with Samuel Adams’ Longshot completion and Ska Brewing offering up similar opportunities.

Look for this one in mid summer, but start asking around early….I think we’re going to have to create some buzz to get it here at all.

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Avery to withdraw from Tennessee

Posted on April 14, 2011

The rumors are true, Avery is pulling out of the state of Tennessee.  Word had been floating around for more than a week that this was going to be announced, with distributors having already broken the news to their largest accounts.

Avery cites increasing demand as a reason for the pull-out.  You can rest assured that the states with the most onerous beer laws were the first to feel the axe fall.  As far as that goes, TN is one of the worst out there.  No more Sammael for me.

Full article at <TheFullPint.com>

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Sierra Nevada in a can : Tall Boy Torpedos

Posted on April 14, 2011

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Chico, CA) has announced, in an interview with CraftCans.com, that they will be releasing their flagship Pale Ale and Torpedo IPA in can format.  The Pale Ale will be in 12 oz six packs and the Torpedo will arrive in 16 oz four packs.  Just when you thought that all of those PBR coozies couldn’t get any more traction….

The brewery states that they have purchased an 84 head bottling line and will be ramping up to national production soon; delivering to shelves as early as the latter half of this year.  Most, if not all, markets will see the cans arriving for sale next to the standard glass lines, which will not be discontinued.

The reasoning for Sierra is the same as with many other can converters: cans can go where bottles cannot, shipping costs are reduced, and the beer is more well protected.  Sierra Nevada was revitalized after several years of rocky quality control by switching back to pry-off caps; canning looks to be the next step in achieving the highest quality possible.  I can’t wait.

 

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The (Unofficial) Top 50 Breweries of 2010

Posted on April 12, 2011

Care of BeerNews.org

http://beernews.org/2011/04/the-top-50-breweries-of-2010/

Below is the result of weeks of research and communication with breweries about 2010 production. I make no claims to 100% accuracy as there are estimates (both from myself and the breweries themselves) included in the determination of these rankings.
Some caveats and assumptions:

  • Because it is very challenging to get information on a specific brewery/brand basis for the top producers like AB-Inbev, MillerCoors and North American Breweries, these breweries are held out of the small brewery rankings for the most part Genesee and Leinenkugel’s are two glaring omissions that come to mind. Because Magic Hat and Pyramid data was available through 2009, it was easy enough to project 2010 production so I’ve included them.
  • Some breweries in this list contract beer for others. Some of that contract production may be included or excluded depending on the brewery. If I do this again, I will be more conscious of that.
  • I have cut the list off at the top 50 because I question the accuracy/data a bit after that. There are other breweries that produced more than 30,000 barrels that fall below the top 50.
  • Both lists include breweries that are not considered, by definition, “craft” breweries.
  • Where the production of two breweries is close and an estimate is present, I have made it a tie between the two breweries.
  • The top dozen or so beer vendors included in the top list are largely ranked based on Symphony IRI data.

More analysis will come later this week or next week.

    The Top 50 Brewing Companies/Beer Vendors of 2010

  • 1. Anheuser-Busch InBev
  • 2. MillerCoors Brewing
  • 3. Crown Imports (Corona, St. Pauli, etc.)
  • 4. Heineken USA Inc.
  • 5. Pabst Brewing
  • 6. North American Breweries (Genesee, Independent Brewers United, etc.
  • 7. Diageo USA
  • 8. Boston Beer Co.
  • 8. D.G. Yuengling & Son
  • 10. Mark Anthony Brands (Mike’s Hard, Peroni, etc.)
  • 11. Phusion Projects (Four Loko)
  • 12. Sierra Nevada Brewing
  • 13. New Belgium Brewing
  • 14. Craft Brewers Alliance (Redhook, Widmer, Kona)
  • 15. Gambrinus Company (Spoetzl, BridgePort, Pete’s)
  • 16. Minhas Craft Brewery
  • 17. Deschutes Brewery
  • 18. F.X. Matt Brewing
  • 19. Bell’s Brewery
  • 20. Boulevard Brewing
  • 21. Harpoon Brewery
  • 22. Goose Island Beer Company
  • 23. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
  • 24. Alaskan Brewing
  • 24. Long Trail/Otter Creek Brewing
  • 26. August Schell Brewing
  • 27. Stone Brewing
  • 28. Gordon Biersch Brewing
  • 28. Abita Brewing
  • 30. Brooklyn Brewery
  • 31. Lagunitas Brewing
  • 32. Full Sail Brewing
  • 33. Shipyard Brewing
  • 34. Summit Brewing
  • 35. Great Lakes Brewing
  • 35. New Glarus Brewing
  • 37. Anchor Brewers and Distillers
  • 38. CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, Inc. (Rock Bottom, GB Restaurants, etc.)
  • 39. Rogue Ales
  • 40. Firestone Walker Brewing
  • 41. SweetWater Brewing
  • 42. Flying Dog Brewery
  • 43. Mendocino Brewing
  • 44. Victory Brewing
  • 45. Lost Coast Brewery
  • 46. Odell Brewing
  • 47. BridgePort Brewing
  • 48. BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery
  • 49. Straub Brewery
  • 50. Oskar Blues Brewery
    The Top 50 Small Breweries of 2010 (split from parent companies)2,000,000+ barrels

  • 1. Boston Beer Co.
  • 1. D.G. Yuengling & Son

    • 500,000+ barrels

  • 3. Sierra Nevada Brewing
  • 4. New Belgium Brewing

    • 200,000+ barrels

  • 5. Spoetzl Brewery
  • 6. Minhas Craft Brewery
  • 7. Widmer Brothers Brewing
  • 8. Deschutes Brewery

    • 150,000+ barrels

  • 9. Pyramid Breweries
  • 10. Redhook Ale Brewery
  • 11. Magic Hat Brewing
  • 12. F.X. Matt Brewing
  • 13. Bell’s Brewery
  • 14. Boulevard Brewing
  • 15. Harpoon Brewery

    • 100,000+ barrels

  • 16. Kona Brewing
  • 17. Goose Island Beer Company
  • 18. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
  • 19. Alaskan Brewing
  • 20. August Schell Brewing
  • 21. Stone Brewing
  • 22. Gordon Biersch Brewing
  • 22. Abita Brewing
  • 24. Brooklyn Brewery
  • 25. Lagunitas Brewing
  • 26. Full Sail Brewing

    • 75,000+ barrels

  • 27. Shipyard Brewing
  • 28. Summit Brewing
  • 29. Great Lakes Brewing
  • 29. New Glarus Brewing
  • 31. Anchor Brewers and Distillers
  • 31. Long Trail Brewing
  • 33. Rogue Ales
  • 34. Firestone Walker Brewing
  • 35. SweetWater Brewing

    • 30,000+ barrels

  • 36. Flying Dog Brewery
  • 37. Mendocino Brewing
  • 38. Victory Brewing
  • 39. Lost Coast Brewery
  • 40. Odell Brewing
  • 41. BridgePort Brewing
  • 42. BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery
  • 43. Straub Brewery
  • 43. Rock Bottom Restaurants
  • 45. Oskar Blues Brewery
  • 46. Stevens Point Brewery
  • 47. Big Sky Brewing
  • 48. Mac and Jack’s Brewing
  • 49. Saint Louis Brewery (Schlafly)
  • 50. Karl Strauss Brewing
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Sierra Nevada Exportation

Posted on April 11, 2011

No word yet on whether we’ll be seeing this on in Tennessee, but here’s to hoping.  It appears to be a draft only release.

Sierra Nevada Exportation in Red Wine Barrels: Here is another from Sierra Nevada that will be on tap during Philly Beer Week. According to Teresa’s Cafe’s website, “If you liked ExPorter, imagine it aged in Dumol Pinot Noir Barrels at Russian River for nearly a year…” It will be on tap there on the night of Thursday, June 9th.

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Moerlein Lagers and Ales debut in TN market

Posted on April 5, 2011

(Cincinnati, OH) – Christian Moerlein Brewing Company of Cincinnati has announced plans to launch its craft Moerlein Lagers & Ales in Tennessee with craft beer wholesaler BountyBev of Nashville this Saturday April 9th at the East Nashville Beer Festival.

Continue reading →

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Beer Hunter : The Movie

Posted on April 5, 2011

The Original Beer Hunter

Michael Jackson, Beer Hunter and Whiskey Chaser, is commonly regarded as one of the greatest experts in the world regarding fermented beverages.  His 1977 “World Guide to Beer” kickstarted the craft beer movement here in the US as well as the scene for imports to our shores.  A review for Michael was never a “thumbs up, thumbs down, that’s all” affair.  History, environment and culture all played into his descriptions and explanations; with the end result being that he was as much of a teacher as he was a reviewer.  Traveling the world over, he continued writing books and producing copious amounts of work across diverse media outlets.

Among his projects was a television show, dubbed “The Beer Hunter”, which ran for six episodes from 1989-90.  These have managed to attain a cult status with many beer enthusiasts, though the Discovery Channel has declined to ever re-run or re-release the show.  Filmmaker J.R. Richards, a friend and traveling companion of Michael’s, is compiling his older footage along with interviews from leading brewers into a new movie set for release in March of 2011.  The filmmakers have set up a charitable foundation with all proceeds from the film benefiting the National Parkinson’s Foundation.

There’s lots of video and interviews on the site.  Take a look around, I personally can’t wait to see it.

http://www.beerhuntermovie.com

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New Belgium La Terroir Reviewed

Posted on March 30, 2011

The Middle Tennessee region will soon be receiving our supply of the latest New Belgium Lips of Faith series: La Terroir.  The Lips of Faith series is a short run collection of beers, the first being the more widely known La Folie.  All beers in the series exhibit unique styles and/or methods and are often aged in barrels and blended upon bottling.

In the case of the La Terroir, the styles for IPA and lambic have been merged into one and barrel aged, then dry hopped with Amarillo hops.  The result is definitely unique.

The beer pours a rich orange with a moderate level of tight carbonation that lingers much like an good pale ale.  Notes of tropical fruits are immediately in the air with a serious note of sweet and sour and a little bit of barrel oak.

At this point I was worried that the combination of flavors was going to be overwhelming, more of a shouting match than a chorus, but I was pleasantly surprised after the first sip.  Mango and peach were up front and powerful, though immediately followed by a pucker from the sour, all smoothed out by the barrel in the aftertaste.  The choice of the Amarillo hop was obviously intentional; I can think of no other hop that would work as well with the relatively sweet nature of the original ale.  Aged sours can be notoriously dry, leaning more toward Chardonnay than beer, though most American interpretations lean over to the higher end of residual sugars.  In practice this can be cloying, leaving the drinker with a wish that there was a cleaner flavor profile for the sourness.

As the beer warmed in the glass the hop aroma pulled back to a moderate amount and the sour came further forward producing a wonderful, if unexpected, balance.  The mouthfeel was good, with plenty of help from the choices in malts as well as the dry hopping.

If I were forced to pigeon hole this one into a style, I would be at a loss; the closest I can come is to put it into the “don’t miss it” category and leave it at that.

The Details:
ABV – 7.5%
Hops – Target
Malts – Pale, Wheat, Caramel-80, Carapils, Oats
OG – 16.5
Dry-Hop – US Amarillo

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Goose Island to be purchased by AB/InBev

Posted on March 28, 2011

The details are still unfolding on this once, but at the end of the day it appears that the Goose Island Brewing company is selling a controlling stake to Anheuser-Busch/AB InBev.  Whether this means that we’ll be seeing Goose on Tennessee shelves or not is still a question left up for debate, though it has been rumored that we would be seeing them hit Tennessee as early as January 2011 (obviously this didn’t happen).  I, for one, would sure enjoy being able to purchase Matilda, GI Oatmeal Stout, and the rest of their line without needing to travel out of the state.  The full letter from the head of Goose Island follows:
March 28, 2011
Dear Friends,

When I first started Goose Island Clybourn in 1988, drinkers were just beginnning to explore new beer styles and “craft beer” was a term that no one had even thought of. I couldn’t imagine the explosive growth that craft beer has had in the last few years, or the amazing creativity of so many new brewers, and the discovery of the amazing possibilities of beer by a whole generation of drinkers.

I am very proud of Goose Island’s contribution too this craft beer movement, of the many awards won by our brewers, our growing number of employees, our support of the communities and life of Chicago, and the friendship of so many beer lovers in Chicago and elsewhere.

Over the past five years our partnerships with Craft Brewers Alliance and Anheuser-Busch have enabled Goose Island to reach a growing number of beer drinkers. This has fueled our growth to the point that demand for our beers has outgrown the capacity of our brewery. Recently, we’ve even had to limit production of some classic and medal-winning styles. To keep up with growing demand from drinkers we’ve explored a variety of paths too secure new capital to support our growth.

Today’s agreement to consolidate ownership of Goose Island under Anheuser-Busch will provide us with the best resources available to continue along our path of growth and innovation.

I am more excited than ever about Goose Island’s future. With the support and financial backing of our new partner, we will continue to brew our authentic classic styles, develop new amazing beers, and serve our drinkers.

Cheers!
John Hall

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Posted in AB/InBev, Goose Island | 3 Comments

Yazoo’s Linus Hall on the Gerst Amber

Posted on March 25, 2011

We’ve had a lot of questions about our version of Gerst Amber – what is it, what ingredients did we use, is it a lager or an ale (lots of questions on that one), etc. Here are the specs:

Yazoo Gerst Amber

50% Pale malt
31% Vienna malt
12% Cara 20 malt
7% Flaked maize

Bittered with Perle, flavor and aroma with Tettnanger

OG: 11 Plato
FG: 2.5 Plato
IBUs: 11
SRM: 5.0

Fermented on the cool side with our house ale yeast, around 62 F for primary fermentation. The cool temperature restrains our house ale yeast, so that the beer is very clean, with a slight ester that we think pairs up well with the caramel flavors from the Cara 20 malt. So it’s an ALE, but with the clean character of a typical lager, and without the slight sulfury notes some lager yeasts give.

So where did we come up with the recipe? The Chandlers did not have any original recipe information, so we relied on descriptions from the time, plus some information on the recipe that Evansville Brewing used when the Chandlers introduced Gerst Amber back into Nashville in the 1990′s. Most of the beers that the William Gerst Brewing Company would have made would have been lagers, likely in the German style, but they did produce some ales. As far as ingredients, we used mostly German malts, but with a small portion of flaked maize (corn). I can’t be sure, but I would guess that some of these adjunct malts would have been used.

So is it an exact replica? I’m not sure! I never tasted the original. But our MAIN intent was to make a beer to the satisfaction of the Chandler family, who have done the most the past twenty years to keep the Gerst brand alive in Nashville. It was actually a pleasure to go back and forth on the recipe with them over multiple batches, and I realized how much it means to them to get it just right, from the color to the finish to how tight the head on the beer is. So if they are happy, we’re happy! And after a couple of fishbowls of Gerst Amber tomorrow at the Gerst Haus, I predict that there will be a lot of happy people!

Cheers,

Linus

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Ovila Dubbel : It’s Here

Posted on March 24, 2011

The Flying Saucer has tapped kegs of the new goodness from Sierra’s Belgian project.  It certainly won’t last long so get it quick.  Bottles are available at the better stores in town.

I have to say that it tastes great.  There’s a good bit of sweetness to it, but no so much as to call it a real problem.  Process and time will take care of that.  Overall it is very authentic to style and a great first effort, I can’t wait to try it in the bottle.

Get it while it lasts.

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New Belgium – Le Terroir April 1st

Posted on March 22, 2011

Le Terroir is a french term meaning “of the earth”. Used to reference the environmental conditions that affect the brew, we like to think about the terroir of our foeders. These wooden barrels age our sour beer in varying temperatures, humidity, and vibrations. The terroir of New Belgium, so to speak. Add in another variable by dry-hopping with peachy, mango-like Amarillo hops, and we created a beer that changes every time we brew it.

ABV – 7.5%
Calories – 200
Hops – Target
Malts – Pale, Wheat, Caramel-80, Carapils, Oats
OG – 16.5 Plato

I can’t wait to get my hands on this one, expect a review as soon as I get my hands on it.

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Craft Brewing reaches 110 year high

Posted on March 22, 2011

The Brewers Association has released an analysis of the state of craft brewing in America, showing that the number of total breweries has eclipsed numbers not seen since the year 1900.  Craft brewing still only represents 4.9% of total sales quantities and 7.6% of retail dollars, though it is estimated to be a $7.6 billion dollar industry.  Interesting to note is that sum total beer sales have been down consistently for the last three years, with 2 million barrels total less in 2010.  Imports are up by about 5%.

“Beer lovers increased their appreciation for American craft brewers and their beers in 2010,” said Paul Gatza, director, Brewers Association. “Craft brewers’ stories resonate with Americans who are choosing small, independent companies making delicious beers in more than 100 different styles.”

The Association also reported a growth in the number of U.S. breweries, with eight percent more breweries than the previous year. In 2010, there were 1,759 operating breweries. Craft brewers produced 9,951,956 barrels, up from an adjusted3 8,934,446 barrels in 2009.

The full article is certainly worth a read, check it out here

 

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Sierra Nevada – Ovila Abbey Project

Posted on March 21, 2011

Sierra Nevada and the Abbey of New Clairveaux are partnering to produce a line of ales which will be available nationally this spring.

A Dubbel, Saison, and Quadrupel are all slated to be delivered, and all will be produced in the Cistercian/Trappist style.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this project as the beers become closer to availability, in the meantime, check out their site.

http://www.ovila.com/

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