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Another Milestone: 3,000 Breweries In America

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ba
I know that many people seem tired of celebrating numerical achievements, preferring to concentrate on the beer itself, or the quality of beers, etc., but I think there is something to be said for the continuing rise of the sheer number of breweries in America. It is, I believe, indicative of greater consumer acceptance and a desire for beer drinkers to want to support local producers. It’s true that the growth of the regional, larger breweries are fueling a lot of the marketshare, but with many of the new small breweries catering to a very local customer base, this growth phase we’re in shouldn’t slow down for a least a little while longer.

Yesterday, the Brewers Association announced that the number of breweries in the United States eclipsed 3,000, as of June 2014 stood at 3,040. Here’s more from the BA’s press release:

The American brewing industry reached another milestone at the end of June, with more than 3,000 breweries operating for all or part of the month (3,040 to be precise). Although precise numbers from the 19th century are difficult to confirm, this is likely the first time the United States has crossed the 3,000 brewery barrier since the 1870s. Wieren (1995) notes that the Internal Revenue Department counted 2,830 “ale and lager breweries in operation” in 1880, down from a high point of 4,131 in 1873.

What does 3,000 breweries mean? For one, it represents a return to the localization of beer production, with almost 99% of the 3,040 breweries being small and independent. The majority of Americans live within 10 miles of a local brewery, and with almost 2,000 planning breweries in the BA database, that percentage is only going to climb in the coming years.

Secondly, it means that competition continues to increase, and that brewers will need to further differentiate and focus on quality if they are going to succeed in a crowded marketplace. While a national brewery number is fairly irrelevant without understanding local marketplaces, 3,040 breweries could not happen without increased competition in many localities.

What it does not mean is that we’ve reached a saturation point. Most of the new entrants continue to be small and local, operating in neighborhoods or towns. What it means to be a brewery is shifting, back toward an era when breweries were largely local, and operated as a neighborhood bar or restaurant. How many neighborhoods in the country could still stand to gain from a high-quality brewpub or micro taproom? While a return to the per capita ratio of 1873 seems unlikely (that would mean more than 30,000 breweries), the resurgence of American brewing is far from over.

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Good Hop Grand Opening This Saturday

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I’m thrilled to announce that Melissa Myers’ new beer bar in Oakland, The Good Hop, will have its grand opening this Saturday, July 12, with the doors opening at the mercifully not-to-early time of 3:00 PM. The Good Hop is located at 2421 Telegraph Avenue in West Oakland, near the intersection of 24th Street, just around the corner from the New Parkway Theater. I won’t even try to be impartial here, Melissa Myers is a longtime friend of mine, and I’m excited for her to finally realize a dream of opening her own place. She’s been a brewer for many years, from Denver to Philadelphia and in the Bay Area brewed at Magnolia, Pyramid and the old Ross Brewery (which is now Iron Springs) but now turns her attention to choosing and serving great beer. Eventually, The Good Hop may serve Melissa’s own beer (fingers crossed), but for now they’ll be featuring a nicely curated tap list of 16 taps, with 2 dedicated sour beer lines, plus 450+ bottled beers. At the grand opening, they plan to have a number of rare and hard-to-find beers available, as well as some special surprises.

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Here’s more information, from the press release:

The Good Hop Bottle Shop and Tasting Room (TGH) is pleased to announce it is opening its doors to the public on July 12, 2014. The 1,900-square-foot shop, at 2421 Telegraph Avenue Suite 102, is a specialty beer bottle shop and tasting room offering 450+ bottled and canned beers that can be purchased for take-away or can be opened and consumed on site in the spacious and comfortable bar. Their ever-rotating 16 taps will serve up California and West Coast craft beers with 2 designated sour beer lines at all times.

TGH will have an enormous beer selection in bottles, cans, and on tap that would please any aficionado; though, Melissa Myers, The Good Hop’s owner and proprietor, wants to draw in the less familiar to beer client as well. “I love beer and I love making people fall in love with beer. Part of my mission in opening this shop is to serve the customer who walks in and says ‘Well, I don’t know that much about beer, so I’m not sure what I should order…’ That’s where it gets fun for us. I love asking them questions and, based on their answers, figuring what they’ll fall in love with!”

TGH will host a number of events for both beginners and experts alike. The shop will host beer style tastings, vertical brewery tastings, meet-the-brewer nights, cheese-and-beer pairing events, chocolate-and-beer pairing events, and a number of other activities that feature beer as the centerpiece. The TGH website, www.thegoodhop.com, will have a calendar of events posted. Its twitter feed will have daily listings of what 16 beers are on tap for the day. TGH’s Facebook page contains additional information.

Myers is excited about the neighborhood: “We chose this spot because it’s right in the heart of what’s happening in Oakland right now,” says Myers. “We love the KONO [Koreatown-Northgate] neighborhood and we’re thrilled to be part of Art Murmur, First Fridays, and the vibrancy of this area. So much is happening here right now, and we’re really excited to be in the middle of it.”

The regular hours of the Good Hop will be from 3-10 PM Wednesday through Monday of each week, closed only on Tuesdays. Bar snacks are currently available while the local menu is being finalized, and then they’ll be serving heartier fare along with the snacks. They’ll be working with “Off the Grid and other pop-up food vendors to offer a variety of beer-friendly food. Food trucks are also being lined up to serve up beer-friendly bites.”

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We Totally Let You Win! Newcastle Brown Ale’s Hilarious Independence Eve Campaign

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newcastle
Happy “Independence Eve” everybody. If you’ve never heard of “Independence Eve,” that’s because Newcastle Brown Ale made it up. But it’s so brilliant, I’m going to start observing it, and maybe even will start a tradition of drinking a British ale every July 3. Perhaps even a Newcastle Brown Ale just to say thanks for this hilarious series of ads.

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There’s maybe fifteen ads on YouTube or at the dedicated website Newcastle set up for the promotion: If We Won. The latest is below, though I’d encourage you to go back and watch them all. Here’s the most recent one, and they keep adding news ones every few hours.

And here’s another favorite one, with Britsh comedian and writer Stephen Merchant. There’s also ones with Elizabeth Hurley and Zachary Quinto. You can check out all fifteen (at last count) at Newcastle’s YouTube channel.

AdWeek has a story about the advertising campaign, Newcastle Ambushes July 4 by Inventing ‘Independence Eve,’ Celebrating British Rule The Redcoats Get Revenge. From the article:

British brands, understandably, don’t have much to say around the Fourth of July—until now. Newcastle Brown Ale, among the cheekiest of U.K. marketers, has turned America’s most patriotic holiday to its advantage by inventing a new, completely made-up holiday: Independence Eve on July 3. The idea of the tongue-in-cheek campaign, created by Droga5, is to “honor all things British that Americans gave up when they signed the Declaration of Independence,” Newcastle says.

“Newcastle is a very British beer, and needless to say, it doesn’t sell that well on July 4. So why not establish it as the beer you drink on July 3?” says Charles van Es, senior director of marketing for Heineken USA portfolio brands. “Unlike the Redcoats in the 18th century, we’re picking our battles a little more wisely. By celebrating Independence Eve, we’re taking liberties with America’s liberty to create a new drinking occasion and ensuring freedom on July 4 tastes sweeter than ever.”

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But not to worry, they’re returning to American beer promptly at the stroke of midnight, when it’s no longer Independence Eve, but officially the Fourth of July, and Independence Day.

Beer In Space: Ninkasi’s Space Program

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nsp
Space … the Final Frontier … for Beer. These are the voyages of the Starship Ninkasi. Its 8-year old mission: to brew strange new beers, to seek out new life and new civilizations to drink beer, to boldly brew where no man has brewed before.
ninkasi-spaceship

Alright, it’s possible I’ve exaggerated a little, but Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Oregon announced their new Ninkasi Space Program, a collaboration with CSXT (Civilian Space eXploration Team), “a team of around 30 civilians interested in private spaceflight.” As a longtime space geek, it’s a pretty cool idea.

Mission One

NSP’s first task is to test the viability of yeast in space. This volatile organism, the living ingredient from which beer is born, requires precise conditions to thrive. Will 16 strains of brewer’s yeast survive Mission One, in which they are jettisoned outside Earth’s atmosphere on a rocket? Once we know, NSP will be one step closer to the ultimate brewery…in space.

Mission one will be launched later this month, around thirteen days from today, according to the countdown clock on the NSP website.

More from the press release:

“NSP is a very serendipitous project,” explains Nikos Ridge, CEO and co-founder of Ninkasi. “I don’t think you could have planned a more perfect pairing of beer and space geekery.”

Introduced through a mutual friend, Ridge met with Bruce Lee, of CSXT, at an amateur rocket launch competition in 2013 where the idea first came about.

“As a result of meeting Nikos, CSXT is pleased to include Ninkasi as a team member for the launch,” says Bruce Lee, principle and range safety officer for CSXT. “Launching brewer’s yeast into space will be an interesting experiment – something we’ve never done before.”

With almost a year of planning, NSP will finally get off the ground this month. Ninkasi’s lab technician, Dana Garves, and RapidMade, a Portland, Ore. company specializing in 3D printing, worked hand-in-hand to design and create a payload container built specifically to safely carry the 16 yeast strains into space and back to Earth for brewing—the first to do so.

“I couldn’t contain my excitement when I first heard of NSP,” says Garves. “We spent hours researching, developing and testing what we think will ensure that the yeast travels safely and returns to us healthy enough to brew with.”

After the launch, CSXT will retrieve the payload and immediately hand off the yeast samples to Garves who will analyze the yeast on-site with a microscope used in conjunction with her smartphone.

“Since we’ll be off-the-grid for the launch, I had to figure out a way to examine the samples remotely,” explains Garves. On-site, Garves will be testing for the viability of the yeast, analyzing the number of dead and live yeast cells.

If successful, the NSP team will return to the brewery with healthy yeast, ready to make its way into a very special beer for craft beer and space aficionados alike.

“Obviously, the fact that we’ve never launched yeast into space presents many challenges in itself even with months of planning,” says Ridge. “While we have confidence in our partners and the process, this is uncharted territory on several fronts and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds on launch day.”

Film History: Old Man Drinking A Beer

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film
Here’s a curious piece of film (and beer) history. I don’t know if it’s the first time someone was filmed drinking a beer, but I imagine it has to be one of the first. The film is from 1898 (or 1897), and is known as Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer, though it’s also sometimes known as Comic Face. Frankly, he doesn’t look that old to me.

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It was made by legendary British filmmaker George Albert Smith and features a close-up of comedian Tom Green drinking a beer and making faces. Green was a local Brighton comedian and was known for his “pantomime harlequinades at the Brighton Aquarium.” He went on to appear in many subsequent films made by Smith.

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This was apparently a groundbreaking development in film, showing the actor close up making changing facial expressions and this type of film became known as a “facial,” defined as “a work showing a variety of facial expressions to the audience.” According to one source, “the ability to get close up to the star was a great advantage that film had over the stage and early filmmakers were keen to exploit it,” and in this one Green is shown in a single shot “drinking a glass of beer whose face and hands become increasingly lively as a result.”

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Here you watch the entire 38-second silent film:

The Best Beers In California: 2014 California State Fair Winners

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Last week, the judging took place for the 19th annual California State Fair Craft Beer Competition in West Sacramento. This year, there were 859 beers entered in 25 categories of beer plus one for hard cider were entered. I judged two of the four days for this year’s competition, but family obligations kept me from being there for the final two days of judging.

This year’s California State Fair will also include a Brewer’s Festival, which will take place on July 19 from 3-6 PM at the Miller Lite Grandstands at Cal Expo in Sacramento, where you’ll have an opportunity to try many of the winning beers. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 the day of the event. Check out the Cal State Expo website for details.

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Below are all of the award winners. 1 is a Gold medal, 2 is Silver, 3 is Bronze, and 4 is an Honorable Mention.

Category 1: Light Lager (16 entries)

  1. Blue Eyed Blonde, Solvang Brewing (1D: Munich Helles)
  2. Helles Lager, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery (1D: Munich Helles)
  3. Buxom Blonde Pilsner, Loomis Basin Brewing (1C: Premium American Lager)

Category 2: Pilsner (22 entries)

  1. Czech Pilsner, Rubicon Brewing (2B: Bohemian Pilsener)
  2. Northern Pilsner, Sudwerk Brewing (2A: German Pilsner (Pils))
  3. Elemental Pilsner, Lightning Brewery (2A: German Pilsner (Pils))

Category 3: European Amber Lager (5 entries)

  1. Zen Amber Lager, Sudwerk Brewing (3B: Oktoberfest/Marzen)
  2. Ballast Point Oktoberfest, Ballast Point Brewing (3B: Oktoberfest/Marzen)
  3. Una Mas, Left Coast Brewing (3A: Vienna Lager)

Category 4: Dark Lager (5 entries)

  1. Terminal Island Black Lager, San Pedro Brewing (4C: Schwarzbier)
  2. Black Lager, Ol’ Republic Brewery (4C: Schwarzbier)
  3. Dunkel Bock, Ol’ Republic Brewery (4B: Munich Dunkel)

Category 5: Bock (13 entries)

  1. Doppel Down Doppelbock, Feather Falls Casino Brewing (5C: Doppelbock)
  2. Wild Bill Winter Bock, Feather Falls Casino Brewing (5B: Traditional Bock)
  3. Ultimator Dopplebock, Sudwerk Brewing (5C: Doppelbock)

Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer (69 entries)

  1. Bruin Blonde, San Pedro Brewing (6B: Blonde Ale)
  2. Castle Beach Kolsch, Santa Cruz Ale Works (6C: Kolsch)
  3. American, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery (6A: Cream Ale)

Category 7: Amber Hybrid Beer (10 entries)

  1. California Common, Ol’ Republic Brewery (7B: California Common Beer)
  2. Anaheim 1888, Anaheim Brewery (7B: California Common Beer)
  3. Sticke Alt, Dust Bowl Brewing (7C: Dusseldorf Altbier)

Category 8: English Pale Ale (19 entries)

  1. DBA, Firestone Walker Brewing (8A: Standard/Ordinary Bitter)
  2. E.S.B., Ol’ Republic Brewery (8C: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale))
  3. What The Fuggle ESB, Anacapa Brewing (8C: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale))

Category 9: Scottish/Irish Ale (22 entries)

  1. Marauder, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery (9E: Strong Scotch Ale)
  2. Maltopia, Hermitage Brewing (9B: Scottish Heavy 70/-)
  3. Clan Ross Scotch Ale, Legacy Brewing (9E: Strong Scotch Ale)

Category 10: American Ale (101 entries)

  1. Woodenhead Amber Ale, River City Brewing (10B: American Amber Ale)
  2. Hoppy Palm Pale Ale, Track 7 Brewing (10A: American Pale Ale)
  3. 1500, Drake’s Brewery (10A: American Pale Ale)

Category 11: English Brown Ale (14 entries)

  1. Ironwood Dark, Tied House Brewing (11C: Northern English Brown Ale)
  2. Barrel Harbor Brown Ale, Barrel Harbor Brewing (11C: Northern English Brown Ale)
  3. Downtown Brown, Lost Coast Brewery (11C: Northern English Brown Ale)

Category 12: Porter (32 entries)

  1. Brown Bear Porter, Feather Falls Casino Brewing (12A: Brown Porter)
  2. Black Robusto Porter, Drake’s Brewery (12B: Robust Porter)
  3. Party Foul Porter, Lazy Daze Brewery at Mary’s Pizza Shack (12B: Robust Porter)

Category 13: Stout (58 entries)

  1. Ale Of The 2 Tun, Hermitage Brewing (13D: Foreign Extra Stout)
  2. Imperial Stout, Mendocino Brewing (13F: Imperial Stout)
  3. Big Bear Black Stout, Bear Republic Brewing (13E: American Stout)

Category 14: India Pale Ale (178 entries)

  1. Panic IPA, Track 7 Brewing (14B: American IPA)
  2. Evil Twin, Heretic Brewing (14D: Other IPA)
  3. Kermit The Hop, Bison Organic Beer (14B: American IPA)
  4. Honorable Mention: Hop Rod Rye, Bear Republic Brewing (14D: Other IPA)

Category 15: German Wheat/Rye Beer (27 entries)

  1. Hefeweizen, Faultline Brewing (15A: Weizen/Weissbier)
  2. Riverbend Hefeweizen, American River Brewing (15A: Weizen/Weissbier)
  3. Windansea Wheat, Karl Strauss Brewing (15A: Weizen/Weissbier)

Category 16: Belgian and French Ale (46 entries)

  1. Rhinoceros, Telegraph Brewing (16E: Belgian Specialty Ale)
  2. Fullsuit Belgian Brown Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing (16E: Belgian Specialty Ale)
  3. Silent Partner Saison, Telegraph Brewing (16C: Saison)

Category 17: Sour Ale (9 entries)

  1. Flander Red, Mraz Brewing (17B: Flanders Red Ale)
  2. Sour Farmhouse, Woodfour Brewing (17E: Gueuze)
  3. Cuvee, Boulder Creek Brewery (17B: Flanders Red Ale)

Category 18: Belgian Strong Ale (30 entries)

  1. Window Of Opportunity, Mraz Brewing (18C: Belgian Tripel)
  2. Axiom, Valiant Brewing (18E: Belgian Dark Strong Ale)
  3. Brother Thelonious, North Coast Brewing (18B: Belgian Dubbel)

Category 19: Strong Ale (30 entries)

  1. Old Diablo, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery (19B: English Barleywine)
  2. Stentorian, Valiant Brewing (19B: English Barleywine)
  3. Old Stock, North Coast Brewing (19A: Old Ale)

Category 20: Fruit Beer (22 entries)

  1. Rosie”s Strawberry Wheat, Six Rivers Brewery (20A: Fruit Beer)
  2. Flatbed Blueberry Cream, Garage Brewing (20A: Fruit Beer)
  3. Tangerine Wheat, Lost Coast Brewery (20A: Fruit Beer)

Category 21: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer (16 entries)

  1. Gourdgeous, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery (21A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer)
  2. Wreck Alley Imperial Stout, Karl Strauss Brewing (21A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer)
  3. Mo’ Tcho Risin’, 21st Amendment Brewery (21A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer)

Category 22: Smoke-Flavored/Wood-Aged Beer (30 entries)

  1. Barrel Aged Great Impression, Dust Bowl Brewing (22C: Wood-Aged Beer)
  2. Barrel-Aged Good Faith, Discretion Brewing (22C: Wood-Aged Beer)
  3. Jacked Again, Loomis Basin Brewing (22C: Wood-Aged Beer)
  4. Honorable Mention: Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Wreck Alley Imperial Stout, Karl Strauss Brewing (22C: Wood-Aged Beer)

Category 23: Specialty Beer (30 entries)

  1. Campfire Stout, High Water Brewing (23A: Specialty Beer)
  2. NightTime Ale, Lagunitas Brewing (23A: Specialty Beer)
  3. 3 Best Friends, Sudwerk Brewing (23A: Specialty Beer)
  4. Honorable Mention: Great Ape Nectar, Monkey Paw Brewing (23A: Specialty Beer)

Category 27: Standard Cider and Perry (8 entries)

  1. None awarded
  2. Pacific Coast Ciders, Hard Apple Cider, Cider Brothers (27A: Common Cider)
  3. None awarded

Category 28: Specialty Cider and Perry (4 entries)

  1. Blood Orange Tangerine, Common Cider Co. (28B: Fruit Cider)
  2. None awarded
  3. Hibiscus Saison, Common Cider Co. (28D: Other Specialty Cider or Perry)

Category 32: Chili Beer (12 entries)

  1. French Mexican War, Highway 1 Brewing (32A: Chili Beer)
  2. Imperial Dragon Kiss, Stumblefoot Brewing (32A: Chili Beer)
  3. Where There’s Smoke, Twisted Manzanita Ales (32A: Chili Beer)

Category 33: Session Beer (31 entries)

  1. Mosaic Session Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing (33A: Session Beer)
  2. MCA Stout, 21st Amendment Brewery (33A: Session Beer)
  3. Easy Jack, Firestone Walker Brewing (33A: Session Beer)

CraftBeerComp

A few statistics: Karl Strauss, Ol’ Republic Brewery and Sudwerk Brewing won the most medals, four apiece. Feather Falls Casino Brewing won three, and 21st Amendment, Drake’s Brewery, Dust Bowl Brewing, Firestone Walker Brewing, Hangar 24 Brewing, Loomis Basin Brewing, Lost Coast Brewery, Mraz Brewing, San Pedro Brewing, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, Telegraph Brewing and Track 7 Brewing all won two medals apiece.

BEST OF SHOW

  1. Panic IPA, Track 7 Brewing (14B: American IPA)
  2. California Common, Ol’ Republic Brewery (7B: California Common Beer)
  3. Bruin Blonde, San Pedro Brewing (6B: Blonde Ale)

Each brewery chose 6 of their entered beers which they felt were their best. After all judging was completed, the brewery whose six beers scored best was awarded the title “Brewery of the Year.” This year, that honor went to the Antioch brewpub Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, and their brewmaster Craig Cauwels. In addition, a panel of media chose their favorite from among the “best of show” beers to receive the “Best of Show — Media Choice,” which was awarded to Ol’ Republic Brewery’s E.S.B.

Congratulations to all the winners.

CAstatefairribbons

Golden Road’s Area Codes

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golden-road
Ah, the numerical beers. First there was Goose Island’s 312. After being acquired by ABI, they proceeded to file trademark applications for many other metropolitan area codes, leaving many to speculate that they’d start doing locally themed area code beers. When the overlooked the San Luis Obispo / Paso Robles area code, Firestone Walker snapped up, almost as a joke, and started producing 805. It may have started out as a humorous idea, but it’s become one of their best-selling beers in their home market. Golden Road, who’s down the road in Los Angeles, named one of their beers 329, not for an area code, but for the average number of days that L.A. gets sunshine each year.

So they threw down about the area code beers in a musical parody entitled (Beers with) Area Codes, a spoof of Ludacris’ Area Codes (feat. Nate Dogg). The video features co-founder Meg Gill, and some of her brewery team, as they call out Matt Brynildson by name, and humorously dis his 805. Golden Road’s brewer Jesse Houck (who used to brew at Drake’s and 21st Amendment) can also seen briefly in a cameo. At the end, they give a shout out to other area codes, which at first sound made up, but they do mention my 707, so maybe not. All in all, a pretty funny music video.

Homebrewers Pick The Best Beers In America 2014

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aha-new
For the 12th straight year, the readers of Zymurgy magazine were asked to send in a list of their 20 favorite commercially available beers. With a record number of votes in the poll’s twelfth year, over 1,600 different breweries were represented in the voting. The results were not exactly shocking, and most of the beers and breweries that got the most votes were what you’d expect, I think, but it’s an interesting list all the same. The results are, as usual, printed in the latest issue, July 2014.
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Top Rated Beers
KEY: T indicates tie / (#) indicates rank last year / No # indicates same rank as last year

Four of the top ten are California beers (there were seven last year), with 24 making the list. This is the sixth year in a row AHA members chose Pliny the Elder as the top beer. This also the fifth consecutive year that Bell’s Two Hearted Ale came in second.

1. Russian River Pliny the Elder
2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
3. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (5)
4. Bell’s Hopslam
5. The Alchemist Heady Topper (16)
6. Lagunitas Sucks (9)
7. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (3)
8. Stone Enjoy By IPA (12)
9. Founders Breakfast Stout (6)
10. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (25)
11. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (17)
12. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (15)
13. Firestone Walker Wookey Jack (20)
14. Three Floyds Zombie Dust (21)
T15. Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ (23)
T15. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (9)
17. Firestone Walker Double Jack
T18. Firestone Walker Union Jack (23)
T18. Arrogant Bastard Ale (7)
20. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (12)
21. Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA (8)
22. Russian River Blind Pig I.P.A. (42)
T23. Deschutes Black Butte Porter (27)
T23. North Coast Old Rasputin (12)
25. Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (32)
26. Stone Ruination IPA (9)
27. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (not on last year’s list)
28. Russian River Pliny the Younger (39)
29. Left Hand Milk Stout (39)
30. Russian River Supplication (32)
31. Green Flash West Coast IPA (27)
32. Surly Furious (26)
33. New Belgium La Folie (32)
T34. Founders All Day IPA (not on last year’s list)
T34. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (30)
36. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale (19)
37. Stone IPA
38. Lagunitas IPA (36)
T39. Russian River Consecration (31)
T39. Troegs Nugget Nectar (27)
41. Deschutes the Abyss (48)
42. Cigar City Jai Alai IPA (not on last year’s list)
43. Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA (21)
44. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy (not on last year’s list)
45. Surly Abrasive IPA (not on last year’s list)
46. New Belgium Ranger IPA (not on last year’s list)
T47. Ommegang Three Philosophers (48)
T47. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (39)
T49. Founders Backwoods Bastard (not on last year’s list)
T49. Odell IPA (38)

Brewery Rankings

Brewery rankings are based on total votes received by each brewery’s beers. This year’s top brewery is Russian River Brewing Co., in Santa Rosa, Calif. Russian River placed five beers in the top 50, including both its Plinys. Bell’s Brewery finished second, while last year’s winner, Stone Brewing Co., came in third this year. Seven California breweries made the list, with six from Colorado, and two from Michigan. Again, (#) indicates their rank last year.

1. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif. (2)
2. Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, Mich. (5)
3. Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Calif. (1)
4. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.
5. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. (3)
6. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. (6)
7. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif. (6)
8. Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, Calif.
9. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore. (10)
10. New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo. (9)
11. Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, Ind. (12)
12. Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, Ill. (18)
13. Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif. (not on last year’s list)
14. Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo. (11)
15. The Boston Beer Co., Boston, Mass. (16)
16. Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, Mo. (17)
17. Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo. (14)
18. New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, Wis. (19)
19. Victory Brewing Co., Downington, Pa. (24)
20. Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo. (13)
21. Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, Minn. (not on last year’s list)
22. Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, Colo. (20)
23. Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio
24. The Bruery, Placentia, Calif. (not on last year’s list)
25. Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo. (not on last year’s list)

Best Portfolio

They also determined which breweries got the most votes for different beers that they produce, and called that list “best portfolio.” The number following their name is how many of their beers got at least one vote. [#] indicates their rank last year.

1. New Belgium Brewing (60 beers) [7]
2. The Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) (53 beers) [1]
3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (49 beers) [5]
4. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (48 beers) [2]
5. Stone Brewing Co. (46 beers) [8]
T6. Bell’s Brewery (41 beers) [6]
T6. Short’s Brewing Co. (41 beers) [not on last year’s list]
8. Deschutes Brewery (40 beers) [10]
9. The Bruery (38 beers) [11]
T10. Avery Brewing Company (37 beers) [3]
T10. Boulevard Brewing Company (37 beers) [9]
T10. Goose Island Beer Company (26 beers) [8]

Top Imports

With a lot of ties, a few imports also received votes as readers’ favorite beers. As in years past, there was a decidedly all-American bent to the voting. Of the top 50 beers in the poll, none were produced by a foreign brewery, although Unibroue’s La Fin du Monde claimed the number one spot among imports. Again, [#] indicates their rank last year.

T1. Unibroue La Fin du Monde (Canada) [4]
T1. Guinness Draught (Ireland) [3]
3. St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Belgium) [6]
4. Westvletern XII (Belgium) [not on last year’s list]
T5. Rodenbach Grand Cru (Belgium) [4]
T5. Duvel (Belgium) [10]

Beer 101 Poster

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This would make a great Father’s Day gift, if only I had found it sooner. This beautiful-looking poster was created by Russell van Kraayenburg for Chasing Delicious. It’s in their Kitchen 101 section, which is a series of educational culinary infographic posters. The Beer 101 poster is available in several sizes, including 8.5 x 11, 12 x 18 and 24 x 36. It’s not perfect. I didn’t look at every single beer on it, but they did call IPAs “Indian Pale Ale.” Given that for each of the 72 beers, they show color, carbonation, head characteristics, suggested glass, food pairing, alcohol range, hoppiness, maltiness, fruity esters and adjuncts, it’s an ambitious job. There’s bound to be things we can quibble with, but overall it seems to be a nice job, and it certainly packs a lot of information into its attractive design.

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Next Session Dives Into Beer’s Role In History

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For our 89th Session, our host is Bill Kostkas, who is the Pittsburgh Beer Snob. For his topic, he’s chosen Beer in History, and he’s suggesting several paths you can take to participate in the July Session:

I love history. There’s just something about it. It’s fun. It’s interesting. It even gives me goosebumps. So, I only saw it to be fitting that I choose the topic of Beer in History.

Even better is the fact that the summer time is the main period of the calendar year that I absolutely delve into history. We just passed the 70th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy (Many of you know it as D-Day or Operation Overlord). The latter portions of June mark the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign which culminates on July 3. The following date is obviously the Fourth of July here in the states.

At many points in history you can look back and find alcohol intertwined. A lot of times that form of alcohol is beer. Beer is something that connects us with the past, our forefathers as well as some of our ancestors. I want this topic to be a really open-ended one. So, it should be fairly easy to come up with something and participate.

Do you want to write about an important beer event with great historical significance? Famous figures that were brewers? Have you visited an establishment that has some awesome historic value? Maybe a historically-themed brewpub? I wouldn’t be surprised to even see a few posts on Prohibition. It doesn’t really matter when it comes to history!

One of my favorite quotes will be my guide for this month’s Session. “History flows forward in rivers of beer.”

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So dive back in your time machine and go back in brewing history to whatever era or event you like. On Friday, July 4, let us know what a long, strange trip it had been, by posting your own link by commenting on his announcement. And tell us: how did you get back to the present, anyway?

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