Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Hoppy St. Lupulin’s Day

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Today, two years ago, Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado released a new seasonal beer, an Extra Pale Ale they called “St. Lupulin.”

From the press release:

A mystical legend in the Odell brewhouse, St. Lupulin (loop-you-lin) was the archetypal hophead. He devoted endless summers to endless rows of hops, tending to the flowers and the beloved resin within — lupulin. Extraordinary oils in this yellow resin provide this dry-hopped extra pale ale with an undeniably pleasing floral aroma. “St. Lupulin is our way of honoring the hop plant,” said brewer Jake O’Mara. “The beer has incredible hop character, but it’s balanced and very drinkable.”

I mention all this because I absolutely love the label artwork they came up with and just the idea of having a St. Lupulin. He looks to me like the Johnny Appleseed of hops. So since June 1st is the release date, I’m declaring that June 1 also be the feast day for St. Lupulin, patron saint of American hops. No reason we can’t have yet another beer saint, even a fictional one. We should come with our own myth for him, a tall tale. Happy St. Lupulin’s Day everyone. Enjoy a hoppy beer to celebrate.

The Street Picks The “10 Best Craft Beer Vacation Destinations”

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travel
The Street is a financial media company that covers the business world. Apparently they noticed that craft beer is doing well and put together a list of the
10 Best Craft Beer Vacation Destinations. Here’s the list below, though it’s not clear to me if the destinations are in any particular order or not.

  1. Full Sail Brewery, Hood River, OR
  2. Stone World Bistro and Gardens, Escondido, CA
  3. Highland Brewery, Asheville, NC
  4. Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
  5. D.G. Yuengling & Sons brewery, Pottsville, PA
  6. Portland, Maine
  7. Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston, MA
  8. Sierra Nevada Brewery, Chico, CA
  9. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton/Rehoboth Beach, DE
  10. Wisconsin

I love Yuengling, and it is a great tour, but it’s hard to lump America’s oldest brewery in with the more recent craft brewers. And the new owners of Anchor Brewery will be surprised to learn that they’re owned by North American Brewing, as incorrectly cited in the article.

Overall, it’s not a bad list. I’ve been to seven of the ten destinations and can attest to those, and I’ve heard great things about the other ones. But it seems weird that Colorado, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon are all noticeably absent. What places do you think are missing?

Tennessee Beer

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tennessee
Today in 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.

Tennessee
State_Tennessee

Tennessee Breweries

Tennessee Brewery Guides

Guild: Tennessee Brewers Guild (TBG)

State Agency: Tennessee Department of Revenue

maps-tn

  • Capital: Nashville
  • Largest Cities: Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville
  • Population: 5,689,283; 16th
  • Area: 42146 sq.mi., 36th
  • Nickname: Volunteer State
  • Statehood: 16th, June 1, 1796

m-tennessee

  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 19
  • Rank: 29th
  • Beer Production: 4,114,564
  • Production Rank: 19th
  • Beer Per Capita: 20.5 Gallons

tennessee

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 38.8%
  • Cans: 55%
  • Kegs: 5.7%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.14
  • Per Case: $0.31
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $4.29
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $4.29
  • 17% wholesale tax for use of the counties and municipalities

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $15,107,865
  • Direct Impact: $1,069,412,196
  • Supplier Impact: $474,906,880
  • Induced Economic Impact: $975,718,114
  • Total Impact: $2,520,037,191

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: Mon-Sat: 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.; Sun: 12 p.m. to 3 a.m. Hours of alcohol sale can be modified by local jurisdictions if approved by the alcohol control commission.
    Off Premises: 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Mon–Sat
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: Wine is only sold in liquor stores. Sales of liquor are limited to on-premises in restaurants on Sundays. Beer above 5% ABW / 6.3% ABV must be sold in liquor stores. Open container law only applies to drivers, not passengers.

tennessee-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.

Kentucky Beer

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kentucky
Today in 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state.

Kentucky
State_Kentucky

Kentucky Breweries

Kentucky Brewery Guides

Guild: None Known

State Agency: Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control

maps-ky

  • Capital: Frankfort
  • Largest Cities: Louisville, Lexington – Fayette, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Covington
  • Population: 4,041,769; 25th
  • Area: 40411 sq.mi., 37th
  • Nickname: Bluegrass State
  • Statehood: 15th, June 1, 1792

m-kentucky

  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 13
  • Rank: 39th
  • Beer Production: 2,625,938
  • Production Rank: 27th
  • Beer Per Capita: 19.1 Gallons

kentucky

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 38.4%
  • Cans: 58.4%
  • Kegs: 6.6%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.08
  • Per Case: $0.18
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $2.50
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $2.50
  • 11% wholesale sales tax; 6% on premise sales tax. Wholesale tax changed in 2005 from 9% to 11%.

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $124,158,766
  • Direct Impact: $769,002,906
  • Supplier Impact: $337,841,508
  • Induced Economic Impact: $433,361,880
  • Total Impact: $1,540,206,295

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 6 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Monday through Saturday
    Off Premises: 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Sundays
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: Local ordinance may vote to permit Sunday sales at restaurants. Sales from 2–4 a.m. only in Louisville. As of 2005 Sunday sales were allowed per state law, but may still be prohibited in some areas by local ordinance (as of early 2006, such a situation existed with smaller cities within Louisville Metro, though these cities have since changed local ordinances).

    Alcohol sale restriction and wet/dry (both by drink and package) allowed by both county and city local option. Approximately 53 counties in the state (mostly eastern and southern counties) are dry, all alcohol sale and possession prohibited; 16 “moist” counties (with “wet” cities allowing package liquor sales in counties otherwise dry); 21 counties that are otherwise dry but have communities with local option that allow sales of liquor by the drink or under special exemptions allowing sales at wineries. Majority of wet counties around major metropolitan areas in state (Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Owensboro, Paducah).

kentucky-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.

The Roman Coliseum In Beer Bottles

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coliseum-roman
I stumbled in this fun little project, a model of the Roman Coliseum made entirely of beer bottles. It was the Telegraph’s Picture of the Day back in May of 2009.

colisuem-heineken-btls
A model of the Colosseum made of 1,500 bottles of Heineken is displayed at Rome’s Termini Station to celebrate the final of the Champion’s League. The sculpture has a diameter of 11.5 feet and a height of 4.6 feet.

Wisconsin Beer

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wisconsin
Today in 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state.

Wisconsin
State_Wisconsin

Wisconsin Breweries

Wisconsin Brewery Guides

Guild: Wisconsin Brewers Guild

State Agency: Wisconsin Department of Revenue

maps-wi

  • Capital: Madison
  • Largest Cities: Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine
  • Population: 5,363,675; 18th
  • Area: 65503 sq.mi., 23rd
  • Nickname: Badger State
  • Statehood: 13th, May29, 1848

m-wisconsin

  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 101
  • Rank: 5th
  • Beer Production: 5,042,825
  • Production Rank: 12th
  • Beer Per Capita: 27.8 Gallons

wisconsin

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 32.9%
  • Cans: 50.7%
  • Kegs: 15.8%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.07
  • Per Case: $0.15
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $2.00
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $2.00

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $1,032,177,290
  • Direct Impact: $2,484,025,728
  • Supplier Impact: $1,877,442,260
  • Induced Economic Impact: $1,724,136,014
  • Total Impact: $6,085,604,002

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 6 a.m-2 a.m. Sunday–Thursday, 2:30 a.m. Friday–Saturday, no closing time on New Year’s Day.
    Off Premises: 8 a.m.–12 midnight for beer (some counties and municipalities only allow sales until 9 p.m. for beer), 8 a.m.–9 p.m. for liquor and wine
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: Wisconsin permits the consumption of alcohol by minors, provided they are being supervised by parents/guardians/spouses. Most municipalities have a uniform 9 p.m. restriction on all alcohol sales. Notable exceptions: La Crosse, Maple Bluff (near Madison), Baraboo (near the Dells). Supermarkets, liquor stores, and gas stations may sell liquor, wine, and beer.

wisconsin-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.