Rumor Mill – Starbucks Bails On Beer, Craft Brewers Conference Gossip And More!

American Craft Beer|January 11th, 2017|

Yikes, 2017 already…and clearly the craft beer biz isn’t slowing down anytime soon. But no worries, Rumor Mill is always on the case, keeping you plugged in into all the beer news and lifestyle that matters. Plus we’ve an all-important update on what we’ve been drinking lately and you don’t want to miss that!

The 2017 CBC Returns To The Nation’s Capital (Washington, DC) – The 2017 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America^® is returning to ”Power City” on April 10^th -13^th. And if you work in the industry (or are planning to in the future) – you absolutely need to be there. Registration is open so you don’t want to wait on this – and acting now will ensure that you can lock-in a more reasonable hotel and airfare rate. Again, if you’re in the biz, this is the one event you MUST attend…and yes, you can thank us later.

Keynote Speakers Announced For The 2017 Craft Brewers Conference (Boulder, CO) –Leadership Expert Alison Levine and brewing industry legend, Dick Cantwell will be the keynoters at this year’s CBC which is returning to Washington, DC in April. A former Wall Street executive, avid explorer and mountaineer Levine has climbed some the world’s highest peaks, skied across the Arctic Circle and in 2008 made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse from west Antarctica to the South Pole.

Dick Cantwell, on the other hand, hasn’t done any of those things, but he remains our friend, a noted author and an industry voice to be reckoned with. And as we know from experience, he can still “power-pound” beers with the best of them.

Words To Drink By (Seattle, Washington) – “Success can be very shallow if it doesn’t have emotional meaning.” Howard Shultz – Executive Chairman Starbucks

Starbucks Bails On Beer (Planet Earth) – In 2010 Starbucks introduced an evening menu concept in hopes of building their “after-dark” clientele who might be transitioning from a caffeine high to something more soothing. The emphasis was on small-bite comfort foods beer and wine, and we predicted at the time that Starbucks initiative would prove successful. But we’ve once again been proven WRONG because as of January 10^th that program is but a misguided memory and its fans left to crawl back to restaurants and bars for their evening enjoyments.

Turns out Beer was not the fit we assumed it would be (maybe it’s us?), but we have to admit that they could have been more thoughtful about the beers that they offered. On a visit last December to check out what our Neighborhood Starbucks was offering in the way of beer we were surprised at how generic the offerings were. It’s not wrong to feature a lager as an evening selection but shouldn’t it be something crafty? And no coffee stouts? At a Starbucks? In the winter?

We gotta admit to being surprised that a company with such great artisan instincts didn’t get the beer right.

What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (Washington, DC) – Starr Hill Brewing just sent us one of their newest seasonals for 2017 and because we’ve no restraint, we hit it up immediately. The latest addition to their Heavy Rotation Series Starr Hill Warm Up Ale a rich 6.1 % dark ale toned with cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg and vanilla spices.