The publishers of a new online magazine, Modern Farmer, let me know about an interesting article in their latest issue, Meet The Micro-Malts, about the trend of locally grown barley and wheat for brewing. I’ve been hearing more and more from brewers looking for ways to get their ingredients closer to home, and this is certainly one of the first steps in making that more of a reality. We also need more small, regional malting houses, too. I wonder if anybody’s addressing that need?
The Brewers Association has also just announced the top 50 breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2012. This includes all breweries, regardless of size or other parameters. Here is the new list:
Here is this year’s press release.
The Brewers Association just announced the top 50 craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2012, which is listed below here. For the sixth year, they’ve also released a list of the top 50 breweries, which includes all breweries. Here is the new craft brewery list:
Five breweries are new to this year’s Top 50 Craft Breweries list; Cold Spring Brewing/Third Street Brewhouse, Southern Tier Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing, Allagash and Tröegs Brewing. Here is this year’s press release.
I’ll have my annual annotated list shortly.
Nice, the Oregonian is reporting that a bill has been introduced in the state legislature to declare Saccharomyces cerevisiae — a.k.a. brewer’s yeast or ale yeast — the state microbe. If successful, it would be the first time a state has had a state microbe. I sincerely hope it happens. I think that would be pretty fun.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Frankly, I think California should declare Brettanomyces to be our state microbe, though we may get some push back from the wineries.
Brettanomyces.
UPDATE: Oregon may not be first after all, and Delaware may not just be the First State, but also the first one with a state microbe. According to a story from late 2011 in the University of Delaware’s UDaily:
Delaware is the first state to have its own yeast. Gov. Jack Markell signed a proclamation giving a yeast named Kloeckera (apiculata) (strain KA 1) this designation, which is an honorary title because the state legislature is not currently in session to vote on the matter.
In what is the worst brewery accident I can recall hearing about, seven men died while cleaning out a tank in “a confined area” at the Grupo Modelo brewery in Mexico City. Bloomberg is reporting that the seven men died “due to unspecified toxins.”
For the third straight year I missed the Bistro IPA Festival, even with them moving it from its usual August date to today. Happily, owner Vic Kralj was again kind enough to send me the list of the winners. Carlsbad Raceway IPA, from Pizza Port in Carlsbad, near San Diego, was chosen best in show at the 16th annual IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full list of winners is below.
At this year’s Craft Brewers Conference, the keynote address was given by Kim Jordan from New Belgium Brewing. The context of Jordan being asked this year to speak is because ten years ago, when CBC was in New Orleans, she gave an optimistic keynote speech then predicting that craft beer would break the 10% barrier. While we’re not quite there yet — the current estimate is 6.5% of volume — great progress has been made and the future certainly looks rosier than it did in 2003. As someone who was sitting in the audience in New Orleans during that keynote, I was keen to hear what Kim would have to say a decade later. Below is a photo I took of Jordan giving that speech in 2003.
Below is my video of Kim Jordan’s keynote address. Technical difficulties (okay, I was slow on the draw) delayed the start and I missed the first few seconds, probably no more than 30 seconds worth. Also, due to YouTube’s size limitations, I had to break it into two parts in order to upload it. Enjoy.
Part 1:
Part 2:
So yesterday my friend Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew, was in town, on vacation with her family, and we had lunch at Russian River Brewing. Before lunch, we stopped by the production brewery so Maureen could say hello to Vinnie and Natalie, and also so she could take a peek at the brewery. After the tour, I was chatting with Vinnie who told me some big news. Although it’s apparently been in the works for some time, and is not a secret, they’ve been fairly low key about spreading the news.
While we were all in D.C. at CBC, Jennifer Talley, who was with Squatter’s in Utah for eighteen years, and more recently was the brewery production manager at Redhook Brewery in Washington, was in Sonoma County searching for a place to live. That’s because as of May, she’ll be brewing with Vinnie at Russian River Brewing, and eventually will be taking over the brewery’s barrel program. She’ll start out as a shift brewer and once Kevin Robinson leaves Russian River to concentrate on his new venture, Divine Brewing, Jen will become lead brewer. As Vinnie joked with me, “she has more experience than I do.” They’re thrilled to have her, and it’s easy to see why. Jen’s been one of the more important and influential brewers in her more than two decades in the industry. She was the 2011 recipient of the BA’s Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing, is on the technical committee of the MBAA and started her brewing education at the Siebel Institue of Brewing Technology. There’s no doubt her presence will make Russian River even more of a powerhouse brewery than it already is, not to mention freeing Vinnie to concentrate on big picture concerns. Congratulations to both Russian River and Jen for the new gig. I’m certainly glad to have another stellar brewing neighbor here in Sonoma.
Jennifer and Natalie Cilurzo (middle two), both now from Russian River Brewing, along with Carol Stoudt (left) and Teri Fahrendorf (right) after a panel discussion at GABF on women in brewing in 2007.
With Win Bassett about to enter the seminary, this story from Madison, Wisconsin, stood out as something he could do to combine his callings. According to the Cap Times, a couple of local taverns, the Chief’s Tavern and the Fountain, both in Madison, are hosting regular events combining beer and religion.
The Fountain is hosting a group known as Spirituality on Tap, who meets the on the first Sunday or each month “to talk about faith and spirituality in a relaxed, comfortable environment.”
The second group takes over Chief’s Tavern for “Beer & Hymns,” where members of a nearby Lutheran Church meet to drink a few pints and sing a few hymns.
As one attendee quipped. “It’s easier to talk to a pastor standing next to a bar stool.” Another admitted that “a pub or a local bar is a more comfortable space than a church is.” Best of all, another advocate had this to say. “This is about recognizing that many people equate alcohol with alcoholism … those two things, while related, are not the same. We need to be sensitive to those that have struggled, but not demonize alcohol itself.” Amen to that.
That’s how all church should be held, frankly. Win, can you do something about that?
I’m pleased to announce that a number of South Bay, Silicon Valley brewers have banded together to form the Bay Brewers Guild, a new trade group for brewers located “South to Monterey, North to The Northern most point of the SF bay, East to all breweries that call the Bay their home (this can include places such as Livermore, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, etc.), and West to the Pacific Ocean.” The new guild has been brewing for some time now, but it recently became official, and they’re a 501(c)3 non-profit organization as of November 27, 2012.
In a press release announcing their formation, the guild’s stated goals are the following.
They’re just getting started, and will be conducting monthly meetings. ALso, there’s no online presence yet, but I imagine that’s in the works. Executive Director of the new guild is Dan Satterthwaite, who’s a Siebel trained brewer who’s worked for Gordon Biersch and is currently in the process of opening his own brewery in Santa Cruz. If you’re in their geographic area and not currently a member, please contact Dan about becoming involved in the guild. Congratulations to everybody involved.
Founding Members of the Bay Brewers Guild: