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 for considerable growth in the craft community, and people are ready for it.

The beauty of capitalism (sorry Michael Moore…I do know it has its flaws) is that it is very responsive to market conditions:  A struggling giant inadvertently opens the door for the little guy.  An investor who reads these figures will be less inclined than before to get in bed with a company like inBev and more interested in getting in on the ground level with a micro brewery start up…perhaps the start up that Mike and I dream of every night.

Case in point, us beer geeks aren’t the only ones to take notice of our small victory:

The 2009 growth and popularity of beer from small and independent breweries did not go unnoticed by industry observers. The National Restaurant Association Chef Survey (see results), for example, cited “locally-produced wine and beer” among its top five overall trends to watch for in 2010. In the alcohol and cocktails category, the organization ranked “locally-produced wine and beer” as its top trend, while “food-beer pairings” came in at number five on the list.

Little by little, people are tiring of conglomorate.    Herd mentality is waning.   The same capitalistic system that grew some of the beer giants to their inflated sizes is now the force that is humbling them. This gives me hope.

In my opinion, craft beer will never completely overtake big beer as long as American’s continue to bow before the one eyed monster in our living room that boasts of the macro brewers marketing budget.  Besides this, the magnanimous nature of the craft brewer has little to no room for contested market space, dollar motivated mergers/takeovers, and all around consumerism.

At this point, while I rejoice over craft beer’s growth and will continue to do so in subsequent years, I don’t mind that it is still a part of the minority/margin (and not just because my arrogance craves the esoteric).  Should the big boys completely fail and we were to wake up tomorrow with InBev, Molson-Coors, etc. a thing of the past, I would hope that marginal mom & pop diversified nature of craft beer continued on.

Here’s to all the micro and craft brewers out there eking out a living for our sake!  Cheers!

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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 all government programs are a blight on the map of human history.

I say all that to bring to light some recent faulty thinking in ye old land of Scotland.  A quite fantastic and respectable craft brewery, Brewdog, released a mammoth beer: Tokyo.  This beer, that I unfortunately have not sampled, boasts and ABV of 18.2%, and has drawn some unfortunate social reactionary criticism.  In fact, Scotland Parliament filed a motion condemning the brewery.  One politician, Robert Brown, said of the ABV: “reprehensible in a society where the medical evidence shows that, across all age groups and socio-economic categories, individuals are drinking too much alcohol.”  In isolation his statement may well be correct, but to imply a high quality and complex beer is intrinsically responsible for the statement is affirming the consequent and scapegoating, and is false.

Parliament, in their motion, blames Brewdog for not being an instrument of change in curbing nationwide alcoholism, and for instigating it.  Hold on here.  This is craft beer.  It’s expensive.  When is the last time you saw a drunk transient walking through your downtown holding a bottle of Grey Goose vodka?  Never, of course.  How about that binge drinking frat dude?  Is he toting a high end bottle of Brewdog’s Tokyo?  Or do you spy  a $3.00 forty ounce bottle of Miller High Life duct taped to each hand as he plays “Edward Forty Hands.”

My point is, if parliament–or any other governing body–wanted to discourage alcoholism by imposing legislation on brewers, they would file motions against brewers that put out horrific swill that even a hobo could afford.  They wouldn’t slap the wrists of a company making a beer that is geared toward and consumed by a beer enthusiast willing to forfeit more for better and spend more money for a higher quality beer, that in all reality will be share amongst friends.  This wouldn’t force the poor into not drinking alcohol at all, but it would make thrift necessary. Or they could impose tougher laws on drunk driving and obscene displays of drunkenness.  Or reaffirm a general sense of civil morality and self control…and so on and so on.

Brewdog knows this.  They understand the reactionary interventionist ill logic.  So what do they do?  They bite back and produce the extreme opposite of the 18.2% Tokyo; a 1.1% brew that is apparently hopped beyond belief (malt/hop ratio).  The producer of the UK’s “biggest beer” reacted by making the UK’s “littlest beer,” and they have affectionately named it Nanny State. The name doesn’t suggest the ABV to be a token of penance; rather, it seems to be a passive aggressive attack on the floundering reasoning of the critics…the Nanny-Statists.

It is brilliant, clever, humorous, and sad that a brewery that prides itself on quality should have to so defend itself.  I believe the effect of the controversy may have the opposite effect that Scotland’s Parliament intended as brew dog is rocketed up in recognition from the free publicity.

Thank Heaven for Beer tips its hat to you, Brewdog, and all the other responsibly minded brewers worldwide, who find themselves the scapegoat at the whimsy of legislatures.  A problem exists, yes, but interventionism has yet to prove itself a worthy method.

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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 to hand it to Boulevard Brewing Company when I discovered their latest venture, Ripple Glass.

Boulevard Brewing Company, realizing that their bottles (10 million per year!) were ending up in landfills, decided to create a company that would eliminate the waste.  Kansas City businesses use over 100 million pounds of recycled glass every year, but all that glass comes from outside the KC metro area.  Setting up recycling stations throughout the city, Ripple Glass now saves bottles from an eternity in local landfills and sells them to local fiberglass producers.

I applaud their efforts (and their beer)…I wouldn’t mind sampling and reviewing a few bottles of their new Smokestack Series, but unfortunately it doesn’t distribute to Northwest Ohio. (hint, hint).

But let me backtrack to earlier in this article.  Why not bring back the whole “deposit/refund” idea?  Granted, many grocery store beer consumers will be hard pressed to bring their bottles back to the store, but for those nerds who are in their local beer store two or three times a week, returning the bottles would be preferred, especially if a small refund were in order.

The bottle simply would been to be washed, label removed, and sanitized, and could then be reused by the brewery.  I am sure this could be done for less than the price of a new bottle?  This is what most home brewers, myself included do.  I have never bought a new empty bottles for my homebrew, and know of none who have.

Perhaps I am pragmatist who lacks the foresight to see the major hiccups in the system, but if it once worked for soda bottles, it at least seems plausible.  Regardless, a tip of the hat to you, Boulevard Brewing Company, for your green entrepreneurial mindset and moxy!

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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 believe that The Bruery has a home brew shop set up just a couple doors down from their office and brewing operations?  The prices are very good and the selection is excellent.  I encourage you to check out the Bruery Provisions if you get a chance.  I was able to get ingredients for a brew that I planned on doing later in the week.  Kevin, who is in charge of the provisions side, is always helpful and is quick to help you get what you need.  At any rate, Tyler came through with the burritos that he was picking up, dropped off Kevin’s, and we meandered a few doors down to the office.  I wanted to give everyone time to eat, so I spoke to Jonas and asked him a few questions about what states The Bruery has reached and where it is heading. He sent me an e-mail with the following list:

Current: CA, OR, WA, AZ, NV, CO, MA, NJ, NY, PA, VA, MD, DC, WA
Planned in near future (some as soon as October): IN, OH, WI, NC, SC, IL, FL, KY

• Tradewinds Tripel
• Autumn Maple: a seasonal with a lot of yams, maple syrup, and spices; a very nice beer with restrained spices
• Mischef 2: Mischef 1 without being dry hopped and with a couple other changes
• White Oak: one of their beers mixed with wheat wine blend (aged in bourbon)–I loved this beer,
• Imperial Pale Lager: Which has more hops than Pliny dry-hopped twice.  Why an Imperial Pale Lager? Tyler said that they promised themselves not to ever make an IPA.  This is good since these are currently ubiquitous.
• Sour Rye: (Really nice sours)  This was a beautiful beer with plenty of sours, and it was simply terrific.
• Zin beer:  This was a Zinfandel blended beer.  Very nice.
• Hottenroth Beliner Weisse:  A nice, refreshing, and lactic beer.
• Black Tuesday:  This beer is the reason I brought Dark Lord.  We did a side-by-side tasting of the two.  By this time, Patrick had come in.  As you can see, we had a few beers to try (and they weren’t exactly sips). By the time that I got to Black Tuesday, my palate wasn’t at its cleanest.  Let me tell you this: it is an exceptional beer.  I really want to score a bottle of it when it comes out at the Bruery.  It will be difficult because a lot of it has already been reserved, and I don’t know whether or not I can get up there the day of the release to purchase a bottle.  I’d like to do a formal review but don’t know if and when I’ll taste it again. Fortunately, next year’s batch (one of them) is in the barrel already and may be even stronger than this years version.  Who knows.  There are no promises.

As we sat and sipped our beers, it was time to start the formal interview (of course, it was anything but formal–I love the relaxed atmosphere of the beer world).  Patrick and Tyler were the participants in the interview.

The first question was admittedly one of ego-stroking. I had Patrick read an April article that Nate had written about the Bruery and asked, “What do you think of this?” He thank us for the kind words, and I asked him if he agreed with Nate’s assessment, which essentially claimed that the Bruery’s beers stood out for a unique and nice spin on traditional versions.  Patrick addressed the article by responding that the Bruery was explicitly trying to be different but at the same time approachable; unapproachability simply doesn’t get one’s beer out there.  The goal appears to be to push boundaries, but not too far.  Patrick and Tyler, it seemed to me, learned to strike a really nice balance between pragmatism and idealism.

Question 2:  How did you get started and how big was the Bruery originally?

Both Patrick and Tyler were home brewers starting out.  Patrick has brewed about 6 years total and Tyler for 7-8.  I followed up by asking them if they still home brewed.  Tyler said yes and that he had quite a few batches going right now. He is brewing 4 lambics, an organic barley wine, coffee choc imperial stout and a Flemish sour. Patrick said that his outlet for home brewing was sort of going to work.  As for the second part of the question, I got my answer from Patrick.  The Bruery started out on a 15 barrel system and expanded to their current volume in April, adding a new bottling line in June.  Not too shabby for being barely over a year old.

Question 3:   Why did you chose to focus on Belgian Styles specifically?

First, Patrick was careful to note that they did not want to be rigidly locked into Belgian beer, which is was part of the logic behind brewing Black Tuesday, their massive Imperial Stout.  However, he did concede that they had a lot of Belgian-styled beers for the simple reason that they are versatile beers that can really be played with quite a bit; the beers are inherently theme-oriented being since they are within the Belgian category.  Also, it is simply a matter of enjoyment.  They love Belgian beers.  (Me, too!)

Question 4:   I noticed you had no 6 packs of beer…why not?

Presentation was Patrick’s first response to the question.  His second was one of practical consideration. He was able to purchase a wine filler for $1,500 dollars, which was a steal, so things sort of panned out for single bottle sales.  His third statement was also of a practical nature.  Simply put, volume considerations played a role.  If there was quite a bit more volume, then six packs could then be considered.  The fourth statement he made was one that I expected all along; namely, consideration was being made for the beer connoisseur. The look of the bottle and what’s inside are more appealing to the discriminating beer drinker.

Question 5:  What advice do you have to aspiring brewers?

This question was driven by the fact that Nate and I want to open our own brewery, so I asked it because it was of special interest to me.  Patrick responded by telling me to save a lot of money, prepare to be poor, and also prepare to pursue your dreams.  Isn’t this a revealing statement?  I think I could support The Bruery simply on the basis of that.  It’s not about the money…it’s about the beer.  When you see these guys in your state, buy some of their beer and help them keep pursuing those dreams.  In  a world of bottom dollar blues, this is a most refreshing thought.

Question 6:  What is on the horizon for the Bruery?

The Bruery is in 13 states and should be in 22 by October/November, according to Patrick. He also added that they have several brewery-only releases that they keep planning to do.  The brewery-only releases are both practical and rewarding.  The reason they don’t release everything in stores is simply a matter of the associated financial constraints.  The rewarding side of the brewery only-releases is that they are a nod to those tried and true locals, both the people and market.  In addition, the brewery is able to make the money back by selling a limited amount at the location itself.  But the prospect of their expansion is still very exciting.

Question 7:  Where do you personally see thee craft brewing market heading?

I asked Patrick (as a sub question) if he thought there was an over-saturation in the market.  Tyler chimed in by saying that small breweries were finally back over the pre-prohibition levels.  Patrick’s outlook is that the market is not saturated (I’m not implying that Tyler believes it is), and there is a lot of room for movement.  In addition, he recognizes an ever expanding customer base as more and more people grow in appreciation for craft beer.  In sort, his outlook seems fairly optimistic.

Question 8:  What are your goals as a brewers? How big do you want to become?

Patrick and Tyler both hold to the same goal as brewers: unique beers and quality.  It’s that simple…quality is key.  This thought ties into the second part of the question.  How big do they want to get?  They want to get a big as they can without changing their brewing philosophy.  Does that sound easy?  Consider that they might make cheaper, less flavorful, and less unique beer in order to make a ton of money (this is certainly possible).  However, they have philosophical convictions as brewers that they refuse to compromise.  I personally admire that.  On a numbers level, Patrick indicated that 15,000 to 20,000 barrels a year would be a comfortable level for them, although not in their current location.  I bet we’ll see an expansion of this brewery within a couple years.  ***This is my prediction…nobody said this except me***

Question 9:  Many Americans hate going to work, how do you feel about the daily grind?

Tyler responded with no waffling or equivocation.  ”I love it.”  Patrick has the same attitude.  In fact, he looks forward to Mondays.  Who among us can say that?  He stated that he gets bored on the weekends and looks forward to coming in.  He further indicated that he is lucky that there haven’t been too many weekends he hasn’t been at work lately.  Is he insane to say that?  No!  He’s just insane about The Bruery.

Question 10:  What’s your favorite brew that you make? What other brewers do you like?

Tyler spoke on a personal home brew level when he said lambic is the favorite thing that he makes.  Both agreed that the newest and most exciting thing they are making is their favorite beer.  What they are doing now is their favorite.  This is also very cool.  I suppose this means that they are always looking to make something new and are genuinely excited about their products.  This attitude, I think, is more likely to keep producing new, good, and exciting beers.  Other breweries that Patrick likes include Russian River, Allagash, and Cigar City out of Tampa, FL.  Tyler enjoys Sierra Nevada (partly because he can find it so many places) and Lost Abbey.

Question 11:  Is their anything special, like a top secret brew that I can tell our readers about?

The answer that I got to this question was surprising.  Tyler and Patrick gave each other a knowing look and proceeded to “spill the beans” on a new brew.  They are planning to do collaboration brew with with Cigar City.  Nothing is definite right now, but they are leaning toward a big Flemish Brown.  We’ll keep you posted. There are some other interesting things on the horizon, but I’ve agreed that I will keep silent until the proper time, so I’ll have more to tell you later on…I hope a lot more.

Let me tell our readers that it was a real pleasure to visit The Bruery.  I will be frequenting this wonderful brewery.  I fully intend to keep going to their Provisions for my home brewing needs.  I will certainly make it a point to stop in, say hello, and try the new stuff that they will undoubtedly keep making.  If you come within a few hours of this craft brewer and don’t stop by it would be an absolute shame.  Look for them and look for me to be there, too.  Show your support by purchasing some beer, stopping by, or planning a trip and stopping by.  You won’t be disappointed.  Cheers!  Below are some other pics for your enjoyment.

Mike’s Review:

Overall Satisfaction with product line-up and brewery: ★★★★★ 

I only gave a 5 because that’s our highest rating.  6 out of 5 is more like it.  By the way, sorry I forgot to take a picture of Patrick for the article…I thought I had one.

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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 the oval office for clues, demonstrating that we the people are aware that a man’s beer of choice can reveal much about his character.

While unconfirmed, it appears that Crowley, Gates, and Obama have let on as to what they will be drinking.  The word on the street is (ABC news):

Obama:  Budweiser

Gates:  Red Stripe

Crowley:  Blue Moon

As these choices are yet unconfirmed, I do hope one of the three read this post before settling on these choices.  First of all, while beer is the perfect companion to camaraderie, I do wish that the three could all feast upon the same brew.  I think any lover of the malt will agree that sharing the same brew is bonding experience.  Second, each of the three suspect brews is foreign.  With an imploding economy, a falling dollar, and an unhealthy unemployment rate, I really am convinced that the president needs to throw his weight behind a more patriotic, American owned, choice.  The US craft beer industry is, after all, a thing to be beheld and supported, has achieved world class status in a relatively short time, and unlike other industries, held its head above water in tough times.

So, assuming the President, or Gates and Crowley were to read this article, I ask your opinion…what do you think should be served at Obama’s first presidential beer party?  Were the voice of this blog to reach the right ears, I know that the writers of this blog would volunteer some of their homebrew!

***photo credit

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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 balance the sweet peppery malt.  There is an interesting yeast note, that slightly reminds me of begian ale strains.  If I stopped now, you would finish an A+ review…but, unfortunately, there is overwhelming oxidization, and a peculiar mouthfeel which I attribute to overcarbonation.  The beer felt extremely dry in my mouth, and the irony flavor did not bode well with the rye flavor.

At times, I find this affect of oxidization pleasant, particularly in Belgian beers, but in this case it was off putting.  If you go ga-ga over this beer, feel free to disagree…that’s the beauty of beer:  subjective interpretation.  BUt this beer reviewer must break with trend and give a heart-felt review.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★½☆☆ 

Among other Rye IPAs: ★★☆☆☆ 

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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, and an ABV of 13%.  Unfortunately for me, 13% ABV beer cannot be sold in the state of Ohio.  I hope someone is up for trading in the near future!

Secondly, the brewery is hosting a photo contest.  Photos can be sent to the brewery via email to the brewery (info HERE) in the following categories:

• Best Hair
• Best Family Photo
• Most Awkward Moment
• Youngest looking “Adult”
• Funniest Shot
• Best Dressed
• Best Braces
• Best Dance Moves

Winners will receive a He’Brew Bar Mitzvah Gift Set and a prominent spot on the brewery’s website.  My photo is picked out, and now I’m just banking on lucky 13 to win!

L’Chaim!

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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, a lofty but attainable goal that just might land some beer in bottle shop near you.  Such good news is often bittersweet, though, as the historic brewery will be under new management:  Steward Capital Management Inc.

For those who life in the area, a trip to Frankenmuth just might be worth your time, especially if you are craving a little international rendevous with Bavaria but have a budget the size of a few tanks of gas.  You may have already missed Frankenmuth’s World Expo of Beer, but you still might be able to make Bavarian Fest, or Frankenmuth’s Oktoberfest.

Regardless of where you might be reading from, the opening or reopening of a brewery brings a little cheer in any economic climate!  Cheers!

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“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.  Pouring a handcrafted, cool brew night after night for six consecutive days will be tough work, but gentlemen (and ladies?), we owe it to the beer.

This holiday is even more special, as I recently learned (via the Brookston Bulletin) that my favorite right-of-center political funny man took special note of our favorite week.  No, it wasn’t “The Sky Is Falling Glenn Beck” (he’s on the wagon, right?)…it was the most honorable, Stephen Colbert!  For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy the clip below with a cool glass of patriotic craft brew in hand! Cheers!

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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 a critical point in history, and the innate statement that is made to conglomorate brewing and business practice.  Case in point:  When the hop shortage hit recently, the large conglomorate breweries with larger cash reserves bought up more than was necessary quantities of hops.  While this may have been done in the name of self preservation, it put microbreweries in a pinch…an expensive pinch.  Sam Adams, on the other hand, made a generous and brotherly hop donation to microbreweries. Thus said, I can tell you I did not vote for St. Louis.

If you get a chance, after participating in beer democracy, let us know who you voted for and why.  I hope in the future to found my own city, reign as mayor, and name it “Beer City” to avoid confusion in the future.  Just kidding.

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