Shmaltz to Host “Books on Tap”

Clifton Park, NYThis summer, Shmaltz Brewing hosts a series of renowned craft beer authors with “Books on Tap — the Craft of Writing About Craft Beer,” which is moderated by Shmaltz owner and Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah author Jeremy Cowan. Kicking off the series this Sunday, July 20, 2014 is John Holl, author of The American Craft Beer Cookbook. Holl serves up plenty of banter and mouthwatering craft beer and food pairings featured in his best-selling cookbook. Chef Rachel of The Ruck in Troy, NY prepares recipes from the book to complement Shmaltz’s line-up of He’brew hand crafted beers. Three consecutive Sundays throughout August 2014 present additional celebrated authors. Each moderated discussion is followed by a book signing and Shmaltz brewery tour. All events run from 2 pm – 3:30 pm in the Shmaltz Tasting Room located at 6 Fairchild Square, Clifton Park, NY, 12065.

Jeremy Cowan notes, “I’m so honored to have these talented writers share their craft with us and the local community. Each writer is an expert in the craft brewing field, with a breadth and depth of experience within the industry and plenty of fun anecdotes to share. From the history of brewing, current brewing trends, beer styles and food pairings, they have experienced and written about everything creative, interesting, and meaningful about these small businesses — breweries. I’m thrilled to have this exciting series take place at our new home in Clifton Park, NY.”

Mark your calendars for the additional events planned for the series continuing in August 2014, including Giancarlo and Sarah Annese, Beer Lover’s New York (Aug. 3), Ben Keene, The Great Northeast Brewery Tour (Aug. 10), and Tom Acitelli, The Audacity of Hops: The History of America’s Craft Beer Revolution (Aug. 17). More information on each author and their respective book is below.


Sunday, July 20, 2014
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
John Holl
The American Craft Beer Cookbook

John Holl is a metro New York based journalist covering beer and the culture of drinking. The author of The American Craft Beer Cookbook, he is also the editor of All About Beer Magazine and the host of the Beer Briefing on iHeartRadio. John has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Beer Connoisseur, Beverage World, and many other publications. He’s judged beer competitions around the globe, regularly lectures on craft beer, and appears often on television.

In his latest book, Holl captures the best of the brewery and brewpub menus by featuring 155 recipes covering breakfast to dessert, with vegetarian and gluten free options along with soups, seafood and more. The recipes were contributed by breweries, brewpubs, and other beer lovers across the United States. The American Craft Beer Cookbook is a celebration of craft beer, food, and the people behind it.

Sunday, August 3, 2014
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Giancarlo & Sarah Annese
Beer Lover’s New York

Establishing a name for themselves from the very popular craft beer blog, Beer Union, Giancarlo and Sarah Annese spent four months traveling across New York State in 2013 to research and write their debut book, Beer Lover’s New York: The Empire State’s Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars. One part of the Beer Lover’s Series, the married couple focuses their love of craft beer on their own stomping ground of New York State. The Beer Lover’s series features regional breweries, brewpubs and beer bars for those looking to seek out and celebrate the best brews–from bitter seasonal IPAs to rich, dark stouts–their cities have to offer. These comprehensive guides cover the entire beer experience for the proud, local enthusiast and the traveling visitor alike.

Sunday, August 10, 2014
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Ben Keene
The Great Northeast Brewery Tour

Ben Keene is the managing editor of BeerAdvocate magazine and the author of The Great Northeast Brewery Tour. He contributed to the Oxford Companion to Beer, winner of the 2011 André Simon Book Award in the Drinks Category, and his articles on craft beer and brewing have appeared in DRAFT, All About Beer, Edible Jersey, USA Today, and Edible Boston. When in the Capital Region, his chosen beer is Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.┬«

As craft brewing becomes increasingly inventive, with new beers demonstrating remarkable complexity, one region of the United States is particularly notable for its fascinating brewing scene: the Northeast. New England and the Mid-Atlantic boast some of America’s most interesting craft breweries–there, beer lovers can discover exceptional brews, lively taprooms, spectacular views, and many other qualities that make the Northeast a must-visit region for anyone interested in craft brewing. In The Great Northeast Brewery Tour, beer expert Ben Keene introduces readers to sixty two of the most incredible breweries in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.

Sunday, August 17, 2014
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Tom Acitelli
The Audacity of Hops: The History of America’s Craft Beer Revolution
Official Website: tomacitelli.com

Discover the underdog story of how America came to dominate beer stylistically in Tom Acitelli’s The Audacity of Hops: The History of America’s Craft Beer Revolution, the first comprehensive history book on American craft beer. Based on extensive archival research as well as interviews with the movement’s key players going back to the 1960s, this acclaimed book is the most comprehensive chronicle yet of one of the most interesting and lucrative culinary trends in the U.S. since World War II.

Acitelli weaves the story of the rise of American craft beer into the tales of trends like Slow Food and the rebirth of America’s urban areas, and paints an unforgettable portrait of plucky entrepreneurial triumph. The backgrounds on all your favorite craft brewers are here, including often forgotten heroes from the movement’s earliest days as well as the history of homebrewing since Prohibition. This is the “book for the craft beer nerd who thinks he or she already knows the story” (Los Angeles Times) as well as for fans of good food and drink in general.

About Shmaltz Brewing Company
Ranked in 2013 as one of the “Top 100 Brewers in the World” by RateBeer.com, Shmaltz won 9 Gold and 5 Silver Medals in the World Beer Championships in 2012. A recipient of the “Distinguished Business Award” by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Shmaltz was also included in the “Top 50 Fastest Growing Bay Area Companies” by San Francisco Business Times.

Founder and owner Jeremy Cowan established the company in San Francisco in 1996 with the first 100 cases of He’brew Beer┬« hand bottled and delivered throughout the Bay Area in his Grandmother’s Volvo. He’brew┬« now sells across 37 states, through 40 wholesalers and nearly 5,000 retailers. In 2007, Shmaltz released a new line of craft brewed lagers under the Coney Island┬« banner. The Coney Island brand was recently acquired by Alchemy and Science, a craft beer incubator, owned by Boston Beer (Sam Adams).

After 17 years of being an outspoken cheerleader for contract brewing, Shmaltz recently broke with tradition and opened its own New York State production brewery in Clifton Park, NY, 10 minutes north of Albany’s capital district. Shmaltz’s new home boasts a 50-barrel brewhouse with 20,000 barrels of annual capacity. The new brewery packages 12 and 22 ounce bottles and kegs of their diverse core and seasonal favorites, and hosts fans and beer tourists in their new tasting room for tours, barrel-aged previews, and special releases.

In 2010/11, Cowan published his small business memoir, Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How It Took 13 Years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to Make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success. A free sampling of Chapter One and suggested beer pairings, can be viewed at www.craftbeerbarmitzvah.com. In 2012, Cowan spearheaded the creation of the non-profit New York City Brewers Guild (which manages NYC Beer Week) and served as its Founding President.

Cowan also has presented at the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference, as well as previous Great American Beer Festivals, BevNet’s Brewbound conference, Beer Advocate’s Extreme Beer Festival, the Atlanta and the St. Louis Jewish Book Fairs, and the San Francisco and New York Jewish Museums.

Shmaltz Brewing beers have appeared in such distinguished media outlets as The New York Times, CNN Headline News, Beer Advocate Magazine, NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” Fox Business News, Men’s Health, San Francisco Chronicle, The Jerusalem Report, New York Jewish Week, and Washington Post.