American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
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 with so much going down lately – all that’s changed. So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer news while you were enjoying your weekend.
Any and All in the Name of Serious Craft Beer (Milton, DE) – It appears that there’s no length these guys won’t go to ensure brilliant beer! Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and German glassmaker Spiegelau have created a new standard for IPA glassware that they claim “will change the way you experience hop-forward beers.” Calagione, his wife, Mariah, and Sierra Nevada’s father-son team of Ken and Brian Grossman worked hand-in-hand with Spiegelau to bring this glass to life. Through a series of design and tasting sessions, the team created a glass with:
- Thin, round walls to maintain proper temperature longer.
- A slender, bowed shape to amplify hop aromas.
- Wave-like ridges to aerate beer on its way in and out of the glass.
- A wide mouth, allowing drinkers to comfortably nose the beer.
- A laser-etched logo on the bottom of the bowl to sustain carbonation and head.
Expansion City (Fort Collins, CO) – The New Belgium Brewing World Domination Tour continues as they’ve just inked deals with seven distributors to open the state of Louisiana on April 1. They will also distribute exclusively with the Odom Corporation in Alaska starting March 18. Louisiana will be New Belgium’s 31st state of distribution along with the District of Columbia.
The Lost Abbey Carnevale Returns (San Marcos, CA) – They’re bringing it back and if you missed it last year, you don’t want to make the same mistake twice! The Lost Abbey will be celebrating the end of Carnevale season with their famed Venetian masquerade ball. It all takes place at their legendary compound on February the 23 from 7 pm to 11 pm. Among the 20-plus taps of fine Port Brewing and Lost Abbey beers will be the premiere of the 2013 vintage of the GABF & World Beer Cup gold medal winning Lenten Saison, Carnevale.
“Beerdrinker of the Year” Down to Three (Denver, Colorado) – Wynkoop Brewing Company’s has picked its three finalists for the brewpub’s 2013 Beerdrinker of the Year award celebrating America’s most passionate beer lovers. The finalists will compete in the Beerdrinker of the Year Finals on February 23 at 2 pm at Wynkoop Brewing Company.
The three finalists are:
Jen Schwertman – a New York City bartender and beer evangelist who got her start in beer in 1992 at Wynkoop Brewing Company. Schwertman has worked at the city’s famed Ginger Man and now works at the equally famed Blind Tiger Ale House. She has a consulting business for beer servers and co-hosts an Internet radio show about beer.
Kevin Cox – a Muncie, Indiana beer hunter, homebrewer and beer advocate. Cox has visited over 400 breweries and tasted over 6,000 different beers on 4 continents and in 12 countries.
Warren Monteiro – a New York City freelance writer, beer traveler, homebrewer and beer columnist. He has sampled beers throughout the United States, Europe, Central America, India, Sri Lanka, and other nations. He samples an average of 350 beers each year.
Expansion City II (Portland, ME) – The Allagash Brewing Company is super busy! Last fall, they added a new 75-barrel brewhouse and also installed a new bottling system capable of bottling 10,000 bottles an hour. And now they’ve received several new fermentation tanks this week and will be readying them soon.
