Across the board mirroring most industries, alcohol sales were down in 2009, beer being no exception with a drop in sales of about 2%.  Craft beer sales fared well despite the economic slump, with a sharp sales boost of 10.3% and a volume increase of 7.2%, according to the Brewers Association.  That's in influx of 613,992 additional barrels of quality, hand produced craft beer into the beer market.  Mosey on over to their site for more detailed information. In their article, the Brewer's Association states: In 2009, craft brewers represented 4.3 percent of volume and 6.9 percent of retail dollars for the total U.S. beer category. With the total U.S. beer industry representing an estimated retail dollar value of $101 billion, the Brewers Association estimates the actual dollar sales figure from craft brewers in 2009 was $7 billion, up from $6.3 billion in 2008. In the grand scheme of things, craft beer is still the needle in the haystack, but these figures have some profound implications.  First of all, Americans are drinking considerably less beer.  A nationwide drop of two percent is no small margin.  Second, some are clearly transmigrating to different suds.  And thirdly, and most importantly to me, there is room ...

Alcohol laws are a confusing bunch, as they are usually based on pragmatic reactions to social evils and aren't well thought out.  We see this in every sector, not just in the realm of booze.  In fact, just the other day I read an article in which some lobbyist group, while applauding the recent federal concern and proposal to make cell phone usage and texting illegal, said that our reps in Washington weren't going far enough, but needed to impose fierce penalties on folks eating, brushing their teeth, phat sitting, and anything deemed distracting.  The social ill:  accidents caused by distracted driving.  The solution:  Intervention and government micro managing.  Well shoot, why don't we just have the Government drive our cars for us? Extreme interventionism, while well intentioned doesn't always work.  Does anyone remember the prohibition, Al Capone, and Bugs Moran?  The problem:  prevalent drunkenness.  The solution:  Industry interventionism (prohibition)  The result:  Drunkenness (still), organized crime, lost tax funding, and an increase in home brewing (hey, at least SOMETHING positive resulted!) And here I must insert the obligatory disclaimer.  I am not advocating any political/partisan opinion (I try to remain aloof on this site) nor am I advocating anarchy and/or suggesting that ...

Back when I was a kid, my folks always purchased their soda in the bottle.  After all the pop had been guzzled, the six empty bottles were returned to the store, where a refund was given per soda bottle.  Not only did this put some money back in the hands of my cash stricken parents, it helped out the bottler (I've been told bottles are more cheaply made with recycled glass than raw products), and reduced landfills. Does anyone remember this process? While soda bottles, along with 8 tracks and jelly shoes, are but a memory, beer bottles are still thriving.  I would guess that 99.8% of the beer I purchase at the store utilizes the bottle to deliver the sweet malty goodness to my glass.  It sure would be nice to get a deposit back!  I would guess that most beer consumers don't recycle their bottles (I do--mine are reused for to house home brewed beer).  With "going green" all the rage these days, it seems like every brewery is doing something for the environment.  While I see brewers utilizing solar power, wind power, and implementing water conservation methods, I never see any brewery tackling the bottle problem.  So I had ...

I now live about a 40 minute drive away from The Bruery.  Nate told us a while back to keep an eye on these guys, and I heeded that admonition.  Getting into my car, I drove through the Southern California mountains reflecting on all the highs and lows that beer has experienced during this past century, knowing that the mountain top is in sight.  If one brewery is at the peak of the mountains, it is The Bruery. When I arrived, I spoke to Jonas, who deals with distribution and sales, petted the dog who hangs out in the office, and said hello to Tyler (in charge of Brewing Operations/Brew House).  I'd spoken to Tyler and Rachel (the latter is the wife of Patrick Rue, the CEO of the company) on a previous occasion, so I'd already been ingratiated to them through my dashing personality. Tyler told me that he was headed to pick up lunch for everybody.  Almost every aspect of The Bruery feels like the beholder is watching a family experience at work.  Since Tyler was leaving to get lunch and Patrick had run somewhere for a minute, I went a few doors down.  Where did I go? Would you ...

A brief moment of indiscretion, with the slip of a tongue, President Obama catapulted a percolating controversy into an international debacle.  What was the Gates/Crowley affair suddenly, with an unchecked honest opinion, became the Gates/Crowley/Obama affair and the incident, the arrest of the Harvard professor began to rise in import.  When it came out that Obama, whether seriously or flippantly, agreed to set down and have a beer with the two in order to avoid costly lawsuits, the story became a sensation, trumping the health care debate, the Sotomayor hearings, a historical deficit, and wars and rumors of wars. While I think we as a culture may at times pride controversy over cataclysm, but at the same time, our virtuous history pokes through and we hope for unbridled reconciliation, and what better vehicle for healing, than a good brew.  After all, beer is America's favorite beverage, played pivotal roles in the America's formative history, and was brewed in at the hands of our first president. The question now arises:  "What frothy varieties will serve as peace-pipe at the Obama residence?"  It is not only the craft beer community asking this question.  Across the blogosphere political pundits and curious citizens alike are prodding ...

Quite often, reviewers of craft beer, rate a beer a particular way with extreme prejudice.  That is, they read the reviews before drinking and formulate their approval of a particular beer based (subconsciously) on presuppositions.  A five rated beer is destined for another high review and vice versa.  I try not to do this. Which brings me to Founders' Red's Rye... I have sampled many tasty beer from Founders.  In fact, I have probably had a taste of everything they produce, except the Red's Rye.  Before drinking, I skimmed the reviews and saw that this beer typicaly achieves high ratings.  There are a lot of A+ and five start reviews out there.  This is what I was looking forward to, and was a bit excited...I prefer rye IPAs.  Unlike my other reviews, I am going to skip the pour. The aroma of this beer is delightful.  The ordinary hints of grapefruit, lemon, and pine hit the nose.  The malt backing is pronounced, with powerful peppery rye smells.  I am sure this is a huge selling point for this beer.  There is a slight mettalic coppery aroma. The initial dar spiced flavor is fantastic.  The grapefruity hops are a bit of a snoozer, but do ...

Distinction, a necessary quality for the successful brewery, is certainly possessed by the quirky Schmaltz Brewery, creators of the fine line of He'brew beers.  With the uncontested market space of Kosher beer, the brewery is able to run with their imagination in both brewing and marketing, which is being taken to an admirable level as He'brew turns thirteen years old. Thirteen?  While most breweries would opt for celebration in ten year increments, most breweries do not celebrate a Jewish heritage.  Certain numbers/patterns of numbers possess a level of significance in Jewish culture (both authors of this site have dabbled in Jewish studies and the Hebrew language at both the under grad and graduate level).  Thirteen holds special significance in the life of the young Jew as it marks the official transition from child hood to adulthood, in which the thirteen year old is now responsible (as opposed to his/her parent) for observance of Jewish law and tradition. Instead of expecting gifts at their coming of age, the makers of He'brew intend on giving back to the beer community in two ways.  First, a new forthcoming beer will soon be available: Jewbelation 13.  This beer will feature 13 different malts, 13 different hops, ...

At the fault of one momentarily delinquent city (Detroit) Michigan, unfortunately catches the brunt end of way too many jokes, when it in fact has a lot to offer, especially when it comes to beer.  There is rich and vibrant German heritage that speckles mid and northern Michigan.  In fact instead of serving Chicken Cordon Bleu and Champagne at her wedding in Saginaw Michigan, my sister and her German husband proudly served Kielbasa, sauerkraut, and beer, of course. The Bavarian beer tradition is soon to be revived in a little town called, Frankenmuth, affectionately known locally as "Michigan's Little Bavaria."  The Frankenmuth Brewery, opened in 1892, was actually one of Michigan's largest distributing breweries until it ran aground upon a series of bad luck.  In 1996 it was damaged severely by tornado.  After rebuilding, the brewery had to shut it's doors again in 2006 as it fell victim to the credit crisis and was unable to refinance nearly 4 million in loans. Michigan's Little Bavaria is about to have its brewery back, however!  Good news to a town with a love affair with the sudsy beverage.  In fact, the brewery intends on pumping out 2,000 barrels of beer in its first year, ...

It is no secret to those who have drunk the kool-aid (code for beer) and joined the clandestine community of beer lovers that this week (May 11th - 17th) is officially American Craft Beer Week. "Aaaaagggghhhh." That was me breathing a sigh of relief of not being guilted into heading down to the Hallmark shop to buy a card for my secretary (as if I had one) or reproduce a picture of my pooch for my vet simply to belong as a cog in mass consumerism.   Rather, it is a relief to participate in a holiday I believe in (not to be trumped by Christmas, Easter, or my wife';s birthday, mind you!). Yes, there are many holidays.  Too many in fact, but this one resonates, because someday Mike, myself, and many of you (Big Tex, for one) hope to be recognized as one of the 1500 craft brewers in the US, who daily struggle to work to produce a fine bubbly beverage that eases the burdens that have accumulated on the weary shoulders of Americas working class.  I for one, pledge to drink fine craft beer for the duration of this fine holiday, and I suggest you, dear reader, do the same.  ...

You decide! Over at the examiner, Charlie Papazian accurately states: I say rather confidently, there’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker in the United States.  Wave after glorious wave of beer festivals and beer-centric events are sudsing over the American landscape.   You might say the “tide’s in!”  Are you a happy beer enthusiast or what?   With beer enthusiasm on the rise, especially for small, local and craft brewed beer there’s a lot of pent up pride building.  I’ve heard many boast of their favorite beer city. With microbreweries popping up all over the US and older Microbreweries graduating into craft breweries, there is a lot of state-wide competition and talk over which US city can rightly claim the title of "beer city USA." You can read the article, view voting rules, and actually vote on the city of your choice by clicking THIS HYPERLINK. I myself have already voted, although I'll admit, I have traveled little, so my choice was made after considering some of my favorite crafte beers and the locale of their origin. I am encouraged at the growth of the craft industry in the US, the opportuinities it is informing, the pride it is instilling in our nation at ...