Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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New Mexico Beer

By

new_mexico
Today in 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state.

New Mexico
State_NewMexico

New Mexico Breweries

New Mexico Brewery Guides

Guild: New Mexico Association of Small Brewers

State Agency: New Mexico Alcohol and Gaming Division

maps-nm

  • Capital: Santa Fe
  • Largest Cities: Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Roswell
  • Population: 1,819,046; 36th
  • Area: 121593 sq.mi., 5th
  • Nickname: Land of Enchantment
  • Statehood: 47th, January 6, 1912

m-new-mexico

  • Alcohol Legalized: June 9, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 21
  • Rank: 24th
  • Beer Production: 1,584,745
  • Production Rank: 35th
  • Beer Per Capita: 30.9 Gallons

new-mexico

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 38.4%
  • Cans: 56.6%
  • Kegs: 4.9%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.41
  • Per Case: $0.92
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $12.71
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $12.71

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $38,934,311
  • Direct Impact: $359,750,948
  • Supplier Impact: $252,384,829
  • Induced Economic Impact: $219,847,060
  • Total Impact: $831,982,837

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 7 a.m.–2 a.m., except Sundays, for establishments with full dispenser license. / 7 a.m.–11 p.m., except Sundays, for restaurants with beer and wine license.
    Off Premises: 7 a.m.–12 a.m. except Sundays
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: New Mexico issues two types of license for consumption on-premise: a full dispenser license allowing sale of all types of alcohol, or a restaurant license permitting sale of beer and wine only. An additional Sunday permit is available which allows sale (on and/or off premise) on Sundays from noon until midnight. Exceptions are the prohibition of alcohol sale on Christmas, regardless of the day it falls on, and a Sunday permit allowing of sale (on and/or off premise) until 2:00 a.m. January 1, if December 31 falls on a Sunday. Sunday permits are only available where approved by voters within a local option district. Selling, serving and giving alcohol to a minor is a class 4 felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison.

new-mexico-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.

Utah Beer

By

utah
Today in 1890, Utah became the 45th state.

Utah
State_Utah

Utah Breweries

Utah Brewery Guides

Guilds: None Known

State Agency: Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

maps-ut

  • Capital: Salt Lake City
  • Largest Cities: Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo
  • Population: 2,233,169; 34th
  • Area: 84904 sq.mi., 13th
  • Nickname: The Beehive State
  • Statehood: 45th, January 4, 1890

m-utah

  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 15
  • Rank: 36th
  • Beer Production: 1,114,008
  • Production Rank: 39th
  • Beer Per Capita: 12.4 Gallons

utah

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 32.3%
  • Cans: 59.6%
  • Kegs: 8%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.41
  • Per Case: $0.93
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $12.80
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $12.80

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $47,793,674
  • Direct Impact: $237,261,674
  • Supplier Impact: $211,360,795
  • Induced Economic Impact: $124,753,226
  • Total Impact: $573,375,695

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: Yes
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: Restaurants: Noon to midnight for liquor, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. for beer. Bars may serve liquor from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Off Premises: Varies by state liquor store hours.
  • Grocery Store Sales: 4.0% (3.2% a.b.w.) or below only
  • Notes: ABV > 4.0+% sold in state-controlled stores only. State-controlled stores close on Sundays and cease operations no later than 10 p.m. the rest of the week. Restaurants must buy from the state-controlled store (no delivery) at retail prices. No alcohol may be served on Election Day until 8 p.m. No alcohol is served in restaurants without purchase of food. A ban on 4.0% or below beer available on tap was repealed in March 2009. Sales of kegs prohibited.

utah-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.

New San Diego Brewery In Development

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san-diego
I just heard about a new brewery being planned for San Diego, the Societe Brewing Co. The new venture is a partnership between two brewers, one of whom is Travis Smith. If you haven’t heard of Travis, you will. He brewed at Russian River Brewing for a number of years, before moving south, where he brewed at both The Bruery and the La Jolla Brewhouse.

As of today, he’s just getting started, and when I wrote to ask how far along, here’s what he had to say.

Basically still working on everything. We have money to start but are still raising more capital. We have the concepts done, and are now in the phase were I just need to do it all. I feel like there is so much to do I don’t know where to start.

No estimated opening date yet, but I’ll continue to update Societe’s progress. Join me in wishing Travis the best of luck. Hopefully, we’ll be drinking his beer soon.

rrfleuret-08
Travis “MacGyver” Smith showing off the cork gun he made with spare brewing parts lying around the Russian River brewery. It shot a beer cork a pretty fair distance and would pierce cardboard at 100 feet.

Alaska Beer

By

alaska
Today in 1959, Alaska became the 49th state.

Alaska
State_Alaska

Alaska Breweries

Alaska Brewery Guides

Guild: Brewers Guild of Alaska

State Agency: Alcoholic Beverage Control Board

maps-ak

  • Capital: Juneau
  • Largest Cities: Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Sitka, Ketchikan
  • Population: 626,932; 48th
  • Area: 656,425 sq.mi., 1st
  • Nickname: The Last Frontier
  • Statehood: 49th, January 3, 1959

m1-alaska

  • Alcohol Legalized: August 24, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 17
  • Rank: 31st
  • Beer Production: 424,712
  • Production Rank: 50th
  • Beer Per Capita: 865.9 Gallons

alaska

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 39.4%
  • Cans: 52.8%
  • Kegs: 7.5%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $1.07
  • Per Case: $2.41
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $33.17
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $33.17

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $52,164,509
  • Direct Impact: $170,869,901
  • Supplier Impact: $65,295,912
  • Induced Economic Impact: $53,629,253
  • Total Impact: $289,795,066

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: 8 a.m.–5 a.m., except election days (liquor stores may not open until polls close)
  • Grocery Store Sales: No (although many grocery stores have separate areas that sell all forms of alcoholic beverages and many bars sell packaged liquor as well.)
  • Notes: Most communities have more restrictive laws, ranging from restrictions on operating hours to bans on sale and possession. Sellers/servers may not, for any reason, give a person alcohol for free or sell it for less than its cost. Sellers/servers may drink while on duty, but no intoxicated person may remain on the premises, so an impaired server could be arrested.

alaska-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.

BA Revises Craft Brewery Definition

By

ba
Surprising no one who’s been paying attention, the Brewers Association today announced the revision of the definition of what it means to be a craft brewery, at least as far as the trade organization is concerned. In order to advocate for any specific group, it’s useful to know who is eligible to be a member. In 1976, Congress arbitrarily chose 2 million barrels for a tax differential and ever since the part of the definition that denoted a “small” brewery has been one making less than 2 million barrels annually.

From the BA press release:

In the BA’s craft brewer definition, the term “small” now refers to any independent brewery that produces up to 6 million barrels of traditional beer. The previous definition capped production at 2 million barrels.

The association cited several reasons for the change, including the recognition that “small” is a descriptive term relative to the overall size of the industry.

“Thirty-four years have passed since the original small brewers tax differential defined small brewers as producing less than 2 million barrels,” said Nick Matt, chair of the Brewers Association board of directors and chairman and CEO of F.X. Matt Brewing Company. “A lot has changed since 1976. The largest brewer in the U.S. has grown from 45 million barrels to 300 million barrels of global beer production.”

Matt added, “The craft brewer definition and bylaws now more accurately reflect and align with our government affairs efforts.” On the legislative front in 2010, the Brewers Association supported H.R. 4278/S. 3339, which sought to update the cap on an excise tax differential for small brewers to 6 million barrels per year in production for their first 2 million barrels.

Retaining Market Share for Craft Brewers

The industry’s largest craft brewer, The Boston Beer Company, is poised to become the first craft brewer to surpass 2 million barrels of traditional beer within the next few years. Loss of The Boston Beer Company’s production in craft brewing industry statistics would inaccurately reflect on the craft brewing industry’s market share.

In addition to Boston Beer, the current growth trajectory of other sizable BA member breweries places them on a course approaching the 2 million barrel threshold in the coming years.

“With this change to the craft brewer definition and BA bylaws, statistics will continue to accurately reflect the 30-year growth of market share for craft brewed beer,” said Matt. “Brewers Association statistics on craft brewers will continue to keep pace with the growth of the industry.”

Craft brewed beer market share is now approximately five percent of the U.S. beer industry, and growing. The BA has a stated mission of helping America’s craft brewers achieve more than five percent market share by 2013.

Matt added, “Rather than removing members due to their success, the craft brewing industry should be celebrating our growth.”

Georgia Beer

By

ga
Today in 1788, Georgia became the 4th state.

Georgia

State_Georgia

Georgia Breweries

Georgia Brewery Guides

Guild: Georgia Brewers Guild [No website.]

State Agency: Georgia Alcohol and Tobacco Division

maps-ga

  • Capital: Atlanta
  • Largest Cities: Atlanta, August, Columbus, Savannah, Athens
  • Population: 8,186,453; 10th
  • Area: 59441 sq.mi., 24th
  • Nickname: The Peach State
  • Statehood: 4th, January 2, 1788

m-georgia

  • Alcohol Legalized: May 23, 1935
  • Number of Breweries: 22
  • Rank: 23rd
  • Beer Production: 5,596,058
  • Production Rank: 10th
  • Beer Per Capita: 16.4 Gallons

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 37.8%
  • Cans: 55.6%
  • Kegs: 6.5%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.48
  • Per Case: $1.08
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $14.88
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $10.00

georgia

Economic Impact (2008):

  • From Brewing: $1,300,853,614
  • Direct Impact: $2,699,329,013
  • Supplier Impact: $2,293,594,311
  • Induced Economic Impact: $1,398,800,452
  • Total Impact: $6,391,723,776

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: Hours of sale determined by county. No alcohol sales on Sunday (although restaurant/bar sales allowed). No alcohol sales on Christmas Day.
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: ABV > 14% ABV cap on beer
    No Sunday off-premises sales

    In general, one may not be drunk in public. Though there is no state law prohibiting drinking in public, most municipal corporations and political subdivisions limit the possession of open containers of alcohol to private property, with one notable exception being Savannah. Public drunkenness is only warranted when one is drunk in public and his acts are either loud or disorderly.

georgia-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.

Rochefort Brewery Damaged By Fire

By

rochefort
I just woke up to the news that the brewery at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, better known to the beer world as Brasserie de Rochefort, was damaged last night by a fire that swept through the abbey. Pete Slosberg forwarded me the e-mail he received from Belgian beer writer Christian Deglas, which outlined the damage.

Bad news from the Belgian beer world. Yesterday evening there [was] a great fire in the abbey of Rochefort which [was] a big disaster. The church was saved as [well as] the Bibliothèque and the rooms of the monks, but the brewery and stables are completely destroyed. The fire started in the warm reserve places. All the new material is destroyed. There are no victims or injured persons.

Normally, the production should start again in a few weeks, but I’m afraid that [at the] moment there will be a rupture of the stock.

The BBC also has the story up now, too, and they’re reporting the following:

The Trappist (Cistercian) monks were dining when fire broke out at the abbey at St Remy-Rochefort, famous for its Rochefort beer.

The building was evacuated and it took 70 firefighters to put out the blaze. It seems the blaze began near a generator being used temporarily after problems with the power supply.

Francois Bellot, mayor of Rochefort, said he was confident that it would be possible to resume beer production within a few days.

The BBC Piece, Fire damages Rochefort Trappist beer abbey in Belgium, also has a short video of the fire.

Sapporo’s Legendary Biru

By

sapporo
My friend and colleague, Tom Dalldorf, sent me the link to this cool video by Sapporo beer for the Canadian market. Entitled Legendary Biru, it’s almost Rube Goldberg-esque. The original music is pretty addictive, too, but it’s the inventive way in which they re-imagine the brewing process that I find interesting. You can also see more about it at Sapporo’s Canadian website. I think there may be a contest of some kind, too, but I didn’t look closely at that aspect of it.

Ken Grossman Presents The Sierra Nevada Story

By

sierra-nevada
Our last day at Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp last Friday, we were invited to their last quarterly beer dinner at the Big Room at the Brewery. Executive Chef Micheal Iles created an impressive five-course dinner, which each course mimicking one meal of the day, so that in essence we ate a day’s worth in one meal. You can see a photo gallery of the beer dinner below.

And as cool as the dinner was, the real treat was a presentation given by Sierra Nevada co-founder Ken Grossman. Throughout the dinner, in between courses, he told the story of how Sierra Nevada Brewery began, complete with slides. By complete happenstance, I happened to be sitting on a riser directly in front of the presentation, so I set up my Flip camera and taped most of it. The talk is separated into 8 parts, since that’s how the presentation was given. It’s just over an hour, and part one is below.

To see the rest of Ken Grossman’s presentation, I set up a page with all 8 videos embedded, The Sierra Nevada Story. Enjoy.

Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner Photo Galley

Sierra Nevada’s Hoptimum

By

sierra-nevada
One of the first beers of the New Year will be a new Imperial IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing, whose Hoptimum will be officially released January 1, 2011. If you’re fortunate enough to be in Chico, it was released there locally on Monday, but the rest of us will have to wait until 2011.

The Hoptimum was created during on of Sierra Nevada’s “Beer Camps,” a new program where people — usually beer distributors, retailers and others — spend two days at the brewery’s pilot brewhouse learning about the brewery and making their own small batch of beer. I was fortunate enough to attend Beer Camp last week, but more about that later.

After the success of the single batch, beer camp Hoptimum, Sierra Nevada tweaked the formula for a commercial release, which they describe as follows:

Hops, hops, and more hops are the stars of this big, whole-cone Imperial IPA. Resinous “new-school” and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit — all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

And the label is one of the coolest I’ve seen from any brewery, featuring a true “hop head” in fancy clothes. According to the label, it’s a “Whole-Cone Imperial IPA” for “the Ultimate Whole-Cone Hop Experience.” That’s a nod to Sierra Nevada’s philosophy of using whole-cone hops rather than pellets.

sn-hoptimum

And here’s how the original “beer camp” beer — made for last year’s SF Beer Week — was described:

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put- Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped and torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

And here are few of the particulars for the commercial version:

  • Alcohol-by-Volume: 10.4%
  • Bitterness Units: 100 IBUs
  • Bittering Hops: German Magnum
  • Aroma Hops: Simcoe & New Proprietary Variety
  • Dry Hops: Simcoe & New Proprietary Variety
  • Topedo Hops: Citra & Chinook
  • Malts: Two-row Pale, Golden Promise, Munich & Wheat

By pure happenstance, I was in Sierra Nevada’s sensory lab last Friday when random sample bottles of Hoptimum came in for analysis, in this case tasting, before being released locally on Monday, and the rest of the world on January 1.

P1020387

I had the beer camp version last year, but too long ago for any meaningful comparison. The commercial version, though, is quite wonderful. Despite being a big, hoppy beer, it’s well-balanced and almost mild for an Imperial IPA. I mean that only in the sense that the hops, while enveloping and intense, are not over-powering, harsh or astringent and meld nicely with the malt character. The beer has great conditioning. It doesn’t taste like a 10.4% beer, either. It’s not hot, but warming. You could drink a lot of it. I plan to. It comes in 24 oz. bottles making it an ideal beer to share with a friend or loved one. If this is how 2011 will begin, perhaps it will be a great year. I’d certainly toast to that. But forget the champagne, give me a Hoptimum.