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The BeerNet Power 20

By

harry-schumacher
Harry Schuhmacher’s Beer Business Daily earlier today published the results of their BeerNet Power 20. Essentially they polled his many beer business subscribers and asked them to vote for the most powerful people in the beer business. It’s the beer equivalent of Entertainment Weekly’s annual power issue. They cut off the voting last night at 5:00 p.m. and stayed up late counting ballots. It’s their first Power 20 poll since 2006, and quite a bit has changed since then. For those on the list in both 2006 and the new ranking, I’ve included their older ranking in parenthesis.

The BeerNet Power 20

  1. Jim Koch, Boston Beer Co. (8)
  2. Carlos Brito, Anheuser-Busch Inbev
  3. Leo Kiely, MillerCoors
  4. Reyes Brothers, Reyes Beverage Group (14)
  5. Dave Peacock, Anheuser-Busch
  6. Tom Long, MillerCoors (6)
  7. Dick Yuengling, D.G. Yuengling & Co.
  8. Graham McKay, SABMiller
  9. Kim Jordan, New Belgium Brewing Co.
  10. Bill Hackett, Crown Imports (3)
  11. Pete Coors, Molson Coors
  12. Craig Purser, National Beer Wholesalers Association (1)
  13. Luiz Edmond, Anheuser-Busch
  14. Dolf van den Brink, Heineken USA
  15. Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada
  16. Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head
  17. Dave Casinelli, D.G. Yuengling & Co. (19)
  18. Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway / McLane
  19. Tom Cardella, MillerCoors (12)
  20. Carlos Fernandez, Grupo Modelo
  21. Andy England, MillerCoors

Here’s some observations from Harry about the makeup of this year’s list:

This is the first year that a Busch isn’t on the list. And this is the first year that a craft brewer has achieved the Power 20’s coveted Number 1 poll position: Jim Koch. In fact, in the last Power 20 four years ago, there were only two craft brewers on the list. This year, there are six. And a few Brazilian names have made the list for the first time, and a big investor who is only tangentially in the beer business, Warren Buffet, signaling that readers think he will be a bigger player.

The Top 3 in 2006 were 1) Craig Purser, National Beer Wholesalers Association, 2) August A. Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch Companies, and 3) Bill Hackett, Crown Imports. Curiously, Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian was ranked #13 in 2006, but isn’t on the current list.

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

By

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.

Filling Your Beer From The Bottom

By

bottoms-up-draft
Here’s an odd new innovation (sent in by my friend Mike C.) from GrinOn Industries of Montesano, Washington. They’ve created the Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispensing System. As they claim, “GrinOn’s proprietary Bottoms Up Dispensing System is the fastest dispensing system in the world and fills at a rate of up to nine times that of traditional beer taps.” Take a look at in action below.

GrinOn lists a litany of benefits to their system, though the most obvious is that it “improves speed-of-service increases customer satisfaction and sales.” I don’t know about the “customer satisfaction” but an increase in sales makes sense in the right setting, such as an environment where long lines make speed a real issue, and one where plastics cups are the only option. It seems ideal for a sports stadium or a fair. The homepage features a video showing two people filling 44 cups of beer in one minute, without even breaking a sweat. There are also a number of additional videos on a separate page.

Below is what the dispenser base looks like.
beer-dispenser-close

They also claim that their system “reduces the stress and cost of ‘foamy beer problems.'” Filling the beer from the bottom does seem like it would produce head in a very different way, though in the video it certainly seems adequate for the type of beer being poured. It also must use a proprietary cup, though the website talks about there being a FDA approved MAG™ — a round magnet — at the bottom of the cup which seals the cup. It apparently can also be used after you drink the beer as a refrigerator magnet, and they even can sell you a customized magnet that can be a souvenir after the fact or otherwise used promotionally.

I can’t see it being used by small breweries or brewpubs, or even most beer bars, but where volume of just a couple of different beers — the big macros and high volume micros seem likeliest — is the key to the business, then it seems like it could be viable. What do you think?

Beer In Ads #280: Miss Rheingold’s Snowball Fight

By

ad-billboard
Monday’s ad for is Rheingold beer from 1949, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Pat McElroy. With a broad smile on her face she’s threatening us with a snowball, and with at least one in reserve by her left hand. I’m not sure if her little dog, too, is part of her strategy, but I’m not picking a fight with Pat.

Rheingold-1949

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.”