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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 clearly all that’s changed. So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were enjoying yourselves.
Christmas before Halloween! (Washington, DC) – Okay, we admit, we’re becoming increasingly immune to seeing pumpkin beers on retail shelves in July…. We’ve heard all the arguments and eventually we might even stop bitching about this trend – but not now and not yet. And we’ve got to ask at what point do these earlier and earlier release dates start to diffuse the meaning (and value) of a seasonal beer altogether? Case in point – one of our readers (who was out shopping for beer to bring to a Halloween party he’d be attending later in the week) alerted us that a Whole Foods in DC was already selling Sierra Nevada’s Special Holiday Beer Celebration Ale… (update: We were just told the same store also has Anchor ‘s Christmas Ale on sale!…Really?)
Major Fire at Yuengling (Tampa, FL) – There was a two-alarm fire Saturday night at Yuengling Brewery’s North Tampa facility that caused an estimated million dollars worth of damage. TBO.com is reporting the good news that “no brewery workers were injured,” and added that the fire was determined to have been accidental although its “cause and origin have yet to be determined.”
ACB’s Portland Correspondent Makes Big-Time Appearance on Brew Dogs (Portland, OR) – Brew Dogs is the Esquire Network’s wildly inventive television series that chronicles the adventures of Scottish brewing bad boys James Watt and Martin Dickie (founders of the UK-based BewDog) as they travel across America visiting different American beer towns and creating their own locally inspired brews as they go. On October 29, they bring their act to Portland and Warren Wills, who covers the Portland craft beer scene for us, makes a dynamic appearance. Unfortunately, he only got on for a meager eight seconds – but we’re proud of him anyway – so be sure to watch!
New Belgium to Double Down on Sours (Fort Collins, CO) – When we first visited with New Belgium’s Sour specialists Lauren and Eric Salazar back in August, they left no doubt that the Fort Collins-based brewery was committed to expanding their popular Sours program. And now Café Society is reporting that this winter, New Belgium will double down on their commitment by doubling their collection of foeders (the massive wooden barrels used for aging sours) from 32 to 64.
Hoosiers Get the Blues (Elkhart, IN) – It appears that the Oskar Blues World Domination Tour is not letting up anytime soon. It will be touching down in Indiana for the first time this week – at least that’s what The Elkhart Truth is reporting. Our friends at Beerpulse add that Indiana is the 32nd state to begin distributing the brand.
