Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Massachusetts Beer

By

massachusetts
Today in 1788, Massachusetts became the 6th state.

Massachusetts
State_Massachusetts

Massachusetts Breweries

Masschusetts Brewery Guides

Guild: Massachusetts Brewers Guild

State Agency: Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission

maps-ma

  • Capital: Boston
  • Largest Cities: Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Cambridge
  • Population: 6,349,097; 13th
  • Area: 10,555 sq.mi., 44th
  • Nickname: The Bay State
  • Statehood: 6th, February 6, 1788

m-massachusetts

  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 40
  • Rank: 15th
  • Beer Production: 4,265,155
  • Production Rank: 14th
  • Beer Per Capita: 20.3 Gallons

massachusetts

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 49.8%
  • Cans: 39.4%
  • Kegs: 10.5%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.11*
  • Per Case: $0.24*
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $3.30*
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $3.30*
    • * plus sales tax (an exemption ended in 2009)

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $507,113,526
  • Direct Impact: $1,951,782,007
  • Supplier Impact: $1,379,865,866
  • Induced Economic Impact: $1,153,744,790
  • Total Impact: $4,485,392,664

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 8:00 a.m.–2:00 a.m. by state law, although individual cities and towns may prohibit sales before 11:00 a.m. and after 11:00 p.m. Not before 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
    Off Premises: 8:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m., or 8:00 a.m.–11:30 p.m. on the day before a holiday. Not before noon on Sunday.
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: No individual, partnership, or corporation may have more than three off-premises licences in the state, nor more than two in any city, nor more than one in any town. No individual, partnership, or corporation not resident or headquartered in Massachusetts may apply for a license, although one may devolve upon such a corporation.

    On-premises regulations: No discounts at specific times (i.e. no “Happy Hour” discounts) or for specific individuals, no fixed-price open bar or all-you-can-drink (except at private functions), no more than two drinks per individual at any one time, no pitchers for fewer than two people, no drinking contests, no drinks as prizes, no free drinks.

    Off-premises sale of alcohol is prohibited on the last Monday in May (Memorial Day), Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas if Christmas falls on a Sunday.[6]
    Sale of alcohol is prohibited during polling hours on election days (subject to local exceptions).[6]
    “Malt beverages” defined as having not more than 12% alcohol by weight.

massachusetts-map

Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.

Pliny the Younger 2011

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russian-river
Yesterday was Pliny the Younger Day at Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California. I arrived a little before eleven, and owner/brewer Vinnie Cilurzo let me in the back of the brewpub. The difference between last year’s release day and this year’s was immediately apparent. There was relative calm in the place, the bar was not three or four deep, with people pushing against the bar clamoring for attention. Perhaps most importantly, both Vinnie and Natalie seemed relaxed, too.

Last year, you may recall, Russian River sold out of of Pliny the Younger, their Triple IPA that’s released just once each year, in just eight short hours. The brewpub was filled to the gills and the staff was understandably stressed and exhausted. The main reason this happened last year was nobody expected so many people to order growlers, and having placed few restrictions on them, they continued to honor orders until the entire supply of beer ran out.

The line outside to get in was long all day

Having learned from last that experience, this year no Pliny the Younger growlers were permitted. They also managed the door and made sure it was never too crowded inside, which made for a much more enjoyable experience. A line of people that stretched down most of the block outside waited patiently for their turn to come inside. As people left, a new customer took their place so there was a steady stream of new patrons.

Pliny the Younger Day bar scene

I actually thought this year’s Pliny the Younger was even better than last year. It seemed more balanced and the hop wallop wasn’t as vegetal or oniony as I remember it being last year. There is nothing quite like having it fresh from the source on the day it’s released. And this year, they’ve allocated enough beer so it will be available for at least two weeks, giving many more people a chance to try get some.

Pliny the Younger in the sunlight

It will also begin appearing in select accounts around the Bay Area, so keep an eye on your favorite water hole. But act fast, last year kegs of Pliny the Younger kicked at some bars in a matter of hours.

Vinnie, me and Joe Tucker, from Rate Beer
Vinnie Cilurzo, me and Joe Tucker (from Rate Beer) enjoying a day at Russian River Brewing.

Below is a slideshow of Pliny the Younger Day. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

Rumors Of An Anheuser-Busch InBev & SABMiller Merger?

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abib sabmiller
Wow. This rumor is just mind-boggling. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But could it be true? According to Harry Schuhmacher at Beer Business Daily, it’s not only being discussed but is considered “likely and lucrative.” Harry’s quoting analysts at Credit Suisse who believe “‘SABMiller selling to ABI would provide SAB management and shareholders an obvious and desirable exit strategy for all involved. The idea of a merger we believe could be sold to both sets of shareholders’ even though ‘this would be a large deal with many moving parts.'” Apparently there’s not much overlap between the two behemoths globally, but in the U.S. it would be more of an issue, with the two companies combining for around 80% of the domestic beer market. That, I imagine, would raise big anti-trust concerns and would loom large in the closing of the deal, which would also most likely lead to massive distributor consolidation. The price being thrown around is somewhere in the $9-10 billion range.

Obviously, there’s a lot more details to be worked out, and many of them are already addressed in the Beer Business Daily piece, which looks at pros and cons for both sides, and likely resolutions of certain issues both companies face. It’s not as far-fetched as you might think on first blush. To read the rest of it, I highly recommend a subscription to Harry’s newsletter.

When Anheuser-Busch and InBev merged, I remember someone joking that eventually there would be just one international beer company and it would just be called “Beer.” I chuckled at the time, but maybe they were on to something. Stay tuned, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Gambrinus Discontinues Pete’s Wicked Ales

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petes
It’s the end of an era. My friend Pete Slosberg was a pioneer in the craft beer world. His Pete’s Wicked Ale, which debuted in 1986, penetrated the country nationwide and helped introduce flavorful beers in places that previously hadn’t known any. He was a beer ambassador who traveled tirelessly in those heady early days. Pete sold the brand to the Gambrinus Company in 1998, and they’ve had mixed results with it ever since.

I learned today that Gambrinus has sent letters to their distributors announcing that as of March 1, 2011 they’ll be discontinuing the Pete’s brand, citing “rapidly declining sales volumes.” Pick some up while you still can, and have your last taste of the iconic brand.

And for a fun trip down memory lane, below are a few television commercials that Pete did around 1994. Enjoy.

Signing Autographs, a TV commercial from 1994.

Here’s a second one, also from 1994, where a police officer ask him for a permit.

Here’s one that never aired, “Pete Goes Clubbing.”

Are You Experienced Enough For Strong Beer Month?

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21st magnolia-new
It’s February, and that means it’s time for the 9th annual Strong Beer Month, once again with six new extreme beers each at 21st Amendment and Magnolia throughout February. Try them all, and you get to keep the commemorative glass. To see a list of the twelve beers, check out the Strong Beer Month website. This year’s theme is the Jimi Hendrix album “Are You Experienced” featuring instead of Jimi and his band, Dave McLean (from Magnolia) and Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico Freccia (both from 21st Amendment). Stop by both brewpubs throughout the month for the “Strong Beer Experience.”

SB11_ReducedPoster_Front_RGB_v09_Flat-1

The United States Of Beer?

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us-outline
This is a weird one. The Houston Press’ Brew Blog did a map showing soft drinks from each state in a post last week called the United States of Soft Drinks. Due to popular demand, they did a new one this week, tackling beer in another post entitled the United States of Beer. After a decidedly unfunny “alcoholics” joke, they apparently “hunkered down all weekend, doing the kind of brutal and difficult work that it takes to determine a fitting beer for every last one of our 50 states.” They’re not all bad choices. I might have chosen Anchor (for its history) or Sierra Nevada (for its size) in California, but Stone Brewing isn’t a bad pick. I imagine many could quibble with the choices of at least some of the other states, too.

map

But a few others are just embarrassing. Four Loko for Nevada? First of all, it’s not much of a beer, though technically a malt-based beverage and taxed as a beer, certainly it’s not marketed as a beer, and it was recently banned anyway. At any rate, Four Loko was made by Phusion Projects of Chicago, Illinois d.b.a. Drink Four Brewing Company. Then there’s the Epic Pale Ale they show for Utah. That Epic is a beer from … New Zealand. There is an Epic Brewing from Salt Lake City, but their Pale Ale is called Capt’n Crompton’s Pale Ale.

While Budweiser is certainly appropriate for Missouri, there’s an Anheuser-Busch family beer for Kentucky, South Dakota and West Virginia. And while ABI does operate a dozen breweries around the country, none are in those three states. Similarly Miller makes sense in Wisconsin, but there are also MillerCoors beers for Alabama, Florida and North Dakota. And again, MillerCoors does have ten breweries in as many states, but none are located in the three states listed on the map. Pabst Blue Ribbon is listed for Virginia. Pabst, of course, owns no breweries and, as far as I know, doesn’t brew their beer in Virginia. Their headquarters are in Illinois, although the Pabst website lists their home at the bottom of the page as Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the contact page takes you to San Antonio, Texas.

The post details some of what they refer to as the “logic” employed for some of their choices, but I’m not entirely certain logic was in fact used. What do you think of their choices?

You can see the map full size here, and it’s easier to read the key on the bigger map.

The Clydesdales in California

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a-b
The iconic Budweiser Clydesdales debuted on April 7, 1933 and have a big promotional part of Anheuser-Busch ever since. Most come from Grant’s Farm in St. Louis. Today there are six teams of Clydesdales. One is headquartered in St. Louis and the other five travel the country. On Saturday, one team — or “hitch” — visited the A-B brewery in Fairfield, which is the smallest of the twelve ABI breweries in the U.S.

Believe it or not, I’d never been to the Fairfield brewery (I have visited at least three others, however). But my six-year old daughter’s love of horses made this weekend the perfect time to finally correct that oversight. So I responded to the press release I got, and arranged to come a little early so I could still make the Brewing Network’s Winter Brews Festival in Berkeley the same day.

But back to the horses. Clydesdales are Scottish in origin. They’re large draft horses, often six-feet high (18 hands) at the shoulder, weighing as much as 2,000 or more pounds, and are thought to be at least 300 years old. After a quick tour of the facilities, Alice and I arrived in the parking lot just in time to watch the horses being taken off their tractor trailers and hitched up to the wagon.

Two at a time they are off-loaded

Each hitch consists of ten Clydesdales that travel in three tractor trailers, along with the ceremonial beer wagon. Horse-drawn wagons were quite common for beer deliveries before the invention of the automobile, and continue to be used for ceremonial purposes throughout the world. The Radeberger brewery near Dresden, Germany still makes local beer deliveries on a horse-drawn wagon. It was a cool sight when I visited the brewery several years ago.

My daughter Alice in front of the wagon
My daughter Alice, with her stuffed Clydesdale, in front of the Budweiser beer wagon.

The first two hitched to the wagon
The first two hitched to the wagon.

Eventually, eight Budweiser Clydesdales were hitched to the wagon. Then, for about an hour, they paraded around the parking lot to the delight of a few hundred people, who showed up even in the drizzling rain. And especially my daughter, who was thrilled to see the horses up close. You can see a short video of the parade’s start below.

Below is a slideshow of the Clydesdales’ visit. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

Kansas Beer

By

kansas
Today in 1861, Kansas became the 34th state.

Kansas
State_Kansas

Kansas Breweries

Kansas Brewery Guides

Guild: Kansas Craft Brewers Guild [no website]

State Agency: Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control

maps-ks

  • Capital: Topeka
  • Largest Cities: Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City, Topeka, Olathe
  • Population: 2,688,418; 32nd
  • Area: 82,282 sq.mi., 15th
  • Nickname: Sunflower State
  • Statehood: 34th, January 29, 1861

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  • Alcohol Legalized: Unknown
  • Number of Breweries: 15
  • Rank: 34th
  • Beer Production: 1,967,234
  • Production Rank: 33rd
  • Beer Per Capita: 21.8 Gallons

kansas

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 32.3%
  • Cans: 57.9%
  • Kegs: 9.6%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.18
  • Per Case: $0.41
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $5.58
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $5.58

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $67,218,011
  • Direct Impact: $556,080,045
  • Supplier Impact: $390,326,463
  • Induced Economic Impact: $317,903,610
  • Total Impact: $1,264,310,118

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 9 a.m. – 2 a.m. (in counties which allow on-premises sales)
    Off Premises: 9 a.m. – 11 p.m. (Mon–Sat) (in counties which allow off-premises sales)
    noon – 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. (Sun) (in communities which allow Sunday off-premises sales)
  • Grocery Store Sales: 3.2 only
  • Notes: Kansas’s alcohol laws are among the strictest in the United States. Kansas prohibited all alcohol from 1881 to 1948, and continued to prohibit on-premises sales of alcohol from 1949 to 1987. Sunday sales only have been allowed since 2005. Today, 29 counties still do not permit the on-premises sale of alcohol. 59 counties require a business to receive at least 30% of revenue from food sales to allow on-premises sale of alcohol. Only 17 counties allow general on-premises sales. Not all communities which allow off-premises sales allow sales on Sunday. Sales are prohibited on Christmas and Easter. The only alcoholic beverage which grocery stores and gas stations may only sell is beer with no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. Other liquor sales only are allowed at state-licensed retail liquor stores. Kansas has comprehensive open container laws for public places and vehicles, public intoxication laws, and requirements for prospective on-premises or off-premises licensees.

kansas-map

Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.

“Brew Your Cask Off” Contest

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all-about-beer
All About Beer magazine, one of the publications I regularly write for, has launched a cool contest, where you could win a trip to the “Brew Your Cask Off” beer festival hosted by Georgia’s SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta, Georgia on March 5, 2011. The festival will include around 80 special one-of-a-kind cask ales created by brewers from around the country, each competing to win the “Best Cask Ale” or be declared the “Biggest Loser.”

You can win a trip for two to the event, courtesy of All About Beer, by telling them — in 300 words or less — what type of cask beer you’d brew. That’s roughly the equivalent of two tweets. Impress them with your beer description and you could win big.

BYCO_title

All the details, along with the form to enter, can be found at the All About Beer’s website. In a nutshell:

Tell us what type of cask you would brew in 300 words or less and you could win a free trip for two (two nights of lodging included) to the Brew Your Cask Off festival. In addition, you and your guest will be celebrity judges helping decide who made the best, and who made the worst cask ale.

Entries will be judged on entertainment value, imagination, artistic abilities, historical accuracies, whatever criteria strikes us at the office when we all sit down to decide the lucky winner of a trip for two to Brew Your Cask Off. You need not be a professional or even an amateur brewer — just someone with a palate for what makes a good cask ale.

Start thinking about your beer, but don’t ponder it too long. All entries must be received by Valentine’s Day, February 14th, and the winner will be announced on February 18.

aab-cask-off

Michigan Beer

By

michigan
Today in 1837, Michigan became the 26th state.

Michigan
State_Michigan

Michigan Breweries

Michigan Brewery Guides

Guild: Michigan Brewers Guild

State Agency: Michigan Liquor Control Commission

maps-mi

  • Capital: Lansing
  • Largest Cities: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Flint, Sterling Heights
  • Population: 9,938,444; 8th
  • Area: 96,810 sq.mi., 11th
  • Nickname: Wolverine State / Great Lakes State
  • Statehood: 26th, January 26, 1837

m-michigan

  • Alcohol Legalized: April 27, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 96
  • Rank: 6th
  • Beer Production: 6,5774,66
  • Production Rank: 8th
  • Beer Per Capita: 20.4 Gallons

michigan

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 38.8%
  • Cans: 48.1%
  • Kegs: 12.8%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.20
  • Per Case: $0.46
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $6.30
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $6.30

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $242,599,259
  • Direct Impact: $2,115,676,429
  • Supplier Impact: $1,547,137,698
  • Induced Economic Impact: $1,268,318,359
  • Total Impact: $4,931,132,486

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 7 a.m.–2 a.m. (Mon-Sat)
    Noon-2 a.m. (Sunday) *sales may begin at 7 a.m. with special license extension
    Off Premises: 7 a.m.–2 a.m. (Mon-Sat)
    Noon-2 a.m. (Sunday) *sales may begin at 7 a.m. with special license extension
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: The Michigan Liquor Control Commission allows the sale of alcoholic beverages until 11:59 p.m. on December 24 and after 12:00 p.m. on December 25. On-premises sales are permitted on January 1 until 4:00 a.m. Local or county ordinance may restrict Sunday or Sunday morning sales.

michigan-map

Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.