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We blame the industry for this… It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates – things were pretty much done. But so much is going down lately that all that’s changed. So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer news while you were enjoying your holidays.
Wynkoop’s Got Balls! (Denver, CO) – “It took balls for the Wynkoop Brewing Company to turn an April Fool’s Day joke about a brew made with bull testicles into reality,” writes Jonathan Shikes for Westwood.com. But their fans loved it and demanded more! So now Wynkoop has decided to release their infamous Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout in cans, and they’re shipping it out in specially designed two-packs!
Maui Brewing’s Got Big Plans (Lahaina, HI) – 2013 is going to be a big year for Garrett Marrero and his crew. According to the Maui News, the Maui Brewing Company has “purchased a 2-acre plot of land in Kihei, where it plans to build a brew house and eventually add a second brewpub.” Together with its existing Kahana location and production-and-canning facility in Lahaina town, Maui Brewing Co. expects to increase total production to 150,000 barrels a year.
Hello, Goodbye (Boulder, CO) – Our friends at the Brewers Association have released an update on brewery openings and closings for the period of August 9th through November 28th. There were 161 openings overall, with 103 of those being microbreweries, 50 being brewpubs, and eight being contract-brewed brands. California led the way with 21 openings out of the 153 breweries and brewpubs. Colorado had ten openings and Oregon had nine. Unfortunately nineteen breweries closed – Michigan Brewing Co. being the most notable of those.
Schlafly Does 50k in 2012 (Saint Louis, MO) – It was a good year for Missouri-based Schlafly Beer. They pumped out 50,000 barrels in 2012 and are looking forward to increasing brewing capacity going forward. Co-founder Dan Kopman told St. Louis Dispatch reporter Evan Benn that they are looking at the possibility of opening a small brewhouse, pub and store in Chicago. They will also be canning more of their beers in 2013 and will be working more with sours.
ChurchKey Cans Hit Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY) – West Coast-based ChurchKey Can Company has made its way into the New York Boroughs. The beer, which most associate with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, started selling in stores across Portland and Seattle in early 2012. DNAinfo.com said that it was recently discovered by Camilo Dominguez, a beer expert at The Brooklyn Sandwich Society, who came across it at a distributor tasting.
The Guilded Age (Boulder, CO) – The Brewers Association is also reporting that, with Mississippi in the process of forming a brewer’s guild that will be up and running in early 2013, there will only be four states left in the country without guilds – Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and West Virginia.
Dallas Quadruples Its Breweries in 2012 ( Dallas, TX) – There are now four times as many breweries in the Dallas /Ft. Worth area than there were a year ago according to the Lakeshore Times. And that’s just the beginning! There are several new breweries set to open in the DFW area in 2013.
