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 clearly all that’s changed. So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were enjoying yourselves.
Craft Beer Companies Turning 30 (Boston, MA & Portland, OR) – There are not many craft beer companies successful enough to turn 30 – but two will next year! According to DailyFinance, bothBoston Beer and Portland, Oregon’s Widmer Brothers will be celebrating that milestone in 2014.
Best Beer Name of The Week Awarded! (Bellaire, MI) – This week’s American Craft Beer Name of the Week goes to Short’s Brewing Company for their diabolically named Belgian Dark Strong Ale – Evil Urges. This is the second win in a row for the Michigan-based brewery, so we’ve got to think that they’re beyond psyched!
Thieves Steal 84 Cases of So-So Beer (Staten Island, NY) -Two residents from Staten Island were arrested late last week and accused of stealing 84 cases of Heineken from their Brooklyn-based employer Phoenix Beverages. According to SILive.com, the two suspects “loaded 84 extra cases of beer onto their delivery truck on October 24th” and that those cases disappeared. And although they have been charged with grand larceny, stolen-property possession, and conspiracy, they both escaped the more serious charge of stealing so-so beer.
New Tasting Room and Bigger Barrel Program at Wynkoop (Denver, CO) – The Mile High City’s Wynkoop Brewing Co. is planning to renovate basement space. According to the Denver Post, it’s “making room for an expanded barrel-aging program and a tasting room to show off its recent move toward more experimental beers.”
How Do You Say Smuttynose in Swedish? (Portsmouth, NH) – JT Thompson, self-described Minister of Propaganda for New Hampshire-based Smuttynose Brewing Company, is hinting that the company has big expansion plans in the works. According to Seacoastonline, JT hinted that soon after the company opens up distribution channels in California and Michigan, they will start exporting their beers to Sweden (already the Brooklyn Brewery’s second biggest market.)
AB InBev Gets Screws (Saint Louis, MO) – Bloomberg is reporting that the world’s biggest brewer AB InBev has invested $150 million in new packaging, and are rolling out Bud Light in new screw-top aluminum bottles in an effort to stabilize the waning brand in the states. ACB can’t help but wonder if it might not be smarter to forgo the new packaging and invest that $150 million in simply brewing better beer.
A Strange Agreement (Denver, CO) – After more than a year of heated exchanges, Café Society is reporting that “Denver’s Strange Brewing Company has settled its contentious federal trademark battle with Strange Brew Beer & Wine Making, a Massachusetts homebrewing store. Neither company would disclose the details of the settlement until the paperwork has been signed.”
