Craft beer industry news.
Continuing their tradition of packaging innovation Oskar Blues Brewery is adding four more pinnertrations to the existing PINNER Throwback IPA 12-packs. The new 16-can package will launch in the ColoRADo market just in time for the holiday season while national distribution will follow in early 2017.
There’s a sense of déjà brew when one looks at the trajectory of the cider category: the sweeter stuff has entered a period of weak performance – some even project negative growth – all thanks to the brands on the macro side of the business. It wasn’t always this way. Cider began a steep climb around 2010, when it started posting double-digit volume growth. Sales accelerated for the next few years and increased, on average, nearly 70 percent annually from 2012 to 2014, according to figures provided by the United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM). However, the momentum slowed considerably in 2015 when the volume gain was just over 11 percent.
Maui Brewing Company is proud to announce the return of Kim Brisson-Lutz as its new Brewmaster. Brisson-Lutz’s return is a “coming home” of sorts. She was employed as a Lead Brewer with MBC from January 2008 through Fall 2012.
Shmaltz Brewing Company takes the pairing of craft beer with your favorite foods to the next level with the release of their latest collaboration beer: Pastrami Pils (5.5% ABV). With Chanukah around the corner, what better way to kick off the month of December then with a truly collaborative beer between Shmaltz Brewing and one of the East Coast’s most beloved beer bars Barcade for a never-attempted-before pastrami inspired beer. Pastrami Pils will be available exclusively at Barcade locations with launch events taking place on the following dates: Jersey City, NJ (Dec. 8), Philadelphia, PA (Dec. 10), New Haven, CT (Dec. 15), Brooklyn, NY (Dec. 16), and New York City (Jan. 14, 2017: National Pastrami Day). Pastrami Pils is available on draft only.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in our world, this month. Additional details and photos available upon request. Make note that beginning on December 26, the tap room will be open on Mondays.
Today, the U.S. Senate passed the 21st Century Cures Act, a broad health care bill which dedicates more than $6 billion to implement key priorities for the Administration and Congress and reauthorizes the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on November 30 with broad bipartisan support, and President Obama is expected to sign it into law.
Avery Brewing Company, a Boulder, CO-based craft brewery and maker of White Rascal Belgian-Style White Ale is thrilled to announce the addition of its Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tangerine Quadruple Ale that will add to the wildly popular RaspberrySour and Vanilla Bean Stout that currently make up the “Botanicals& Barrels” series. Tangerine Quad is a full-bodied ale that layers notes of rich dark-fruit, vanilla, and caramel with a burst of tangerine peel.
Small Batch releases have become a weekly event at Catawba Brewing, but their new Small Batch Milk Stout is no ordinary beer. This traditional English-style sweet stout marks the return to the brewhouse of Co-Owner and former brewer, Billy Pyatt, who had taken off his brewing hat for the past five years to focus on Catawba’s rapidly expanding business.
TRVE Brewing Co. is still hard at work at the Acid Temple – their mixed culture production brewery – experimenting with new concepts and blends. They’re happy to announce three new mixed culture beers that will be available in the coming weeks.
After 18 months, 18 pilot batches and dozens of side projects with their pilot system,Teton Range IPA has been added to Grand Teton Brewing’s year-round lineup.
Big Storm Brewing Company is pleased to announce that Kym Poon has been promoted to Director of Sales. Poon joined the team in November of 2015 and has served as the Market Manager for South and Southwest Florida. This promotion will expand Poon’s reach statewide and focus on earning new business and increasing consumer awareness about the Big Storm family of craft beers.
Swift Cider, an urban craft cidery, has grown their distribution by partnering with Kendall’s Pioneer Distributing of Kelso, Washington. After five years of selling cider in Oregon, Swift will now be available in ten southwestern Washington counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum. The new partnership between Swift and Kendall’s Pioneer comes at a time when cider continues a six year boom across the country, but it can still be hard for find a local craft cider outside of the major urban centers like Portland and Seattle.
Swift Cider releases the Portland Pippin into the wild this week, making it the first single-varietal, 100% Brett fermented cider on the market. Swift is an urban craft cidery known for their award-winning line of dry and semi-dry ciders made with minimally processed local ingredients.
Less than one week after BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie announced plans to gamble investors’ money at a roulette table, the Scottish craft beer entrepreneurs appear to have temporarily pulled the plug on the stunt. “The powers that be don’t seem to like gambling as much as we do,” BrewDog wrote in a blog post on the brewery’s website. “We are in discussions regarding the future of BrewDog’s Big Bet. Stay tuned for further updates.”
