On Monday, January 12, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company (444 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY) debuted Think Drink: Volume 1, a limited release draft for select Philadelphia area taprooms and bottle shops. The specialty beer is the result of a massive collaboration project (#ThinkDrink) that began on Tuesday, November 18, when 50+ tavern owners and bar managers embarked on a chartered bus trip to the Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, NY.
Two retail advocacy groups and a couple of powerful wholesaler networks in Florida are challenging a state law that allows brewers to operate as vendors, leaving many in the craft industry in fear that their businesses may be at risk. Brewers in the state have been able to operate on-site tasting rooms outside of the framework of the traditional three-tier distribution system thanks to a tourism exemption, originally written to allow Anheuser-Busch to sell beer products at Busch Gardens, a theme park the company owned at the time.
The two largest craft brewers in California are now embroiled in a trademark dispute over craft’s most ubiquitous style — the India Pale Ale. On Jan. 12, Lagunitas Brewing Co. filed a lawsuit against rival Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., the second-largest craft brewery in the country. According to the suit, a new Sierra release, Hop Hunter, infringes on Lagunitas’ trademarked logo designs and packaging for its own Lagunitas IPA — particularly the company’s famous labels that feature the stylized, oversized letters “IPA.”
Live Oak Bank is excited to announce a new lending division offering financing to the Wine and Craft Beverages industry. After extensive industry research, Live Oak assembled a team of lenders and industry experts to address the need for financing to wineries, vineyards, breweries, distilleries and ancillary businesses in this space. Live Oak can provide funding for acquisitions, successions, partner buy-ins/outs, expansions, operating capital, refinances, loan payoffs and real estate.
Hydro Flask—the award-winning leader in high-performance, insulated stainless steel flasks—has announced the addition of two senior directors for product and marketing. Director of Product Joe Smith began on January 5th, and Director of Marketing Leanne Champion started with the company on December 18th. Each brings extensive industry experience and knowledge to the company.
The start of the New Year means that only seven beers remain in Widmer Brothers Brewing’s 30 Beers for 30 Years Series, as the brewery continues its 30th anniversary celebration in the last months of its 30th year in business. Widmer Brothers announced three beers today in the unprecedented series: Rejected Ale, X-114, and Belgian Golden Ale.
If there was an official drink of Portland, it would be a tough call between coffee and craft beer. Fortunately, Laurelwood Brewing Co. makes the decision easy with a brew that brings together the best of both beverage worlds – the Organic Portland Roasting Espresso Stout. When it came to the beer’s creation, Laurelwood turned to the experts of Portland Roasting Coffee for their brains and beans.
Heavy Seas Beer is pleased to introduce a brand-new, draft-only program, the Desert Island Series. This program features “one off” releases of beers designed by individual members of the Heavy Seas brewing team. Each beer in the series will be limited to only 100 barrels available at select locations within Heavy Seas’ 18 state distribution footprint. The first beer will be available in February.
“IPA’s are insanely popular these days. But let’s face it, sometimes it feels like there’s a hops arms race going on. That’s why we came up with Session IPA. It’s a Premium Pale Ale that thinks for itself. Not too hoppy. Not too bitter. Not too malty. Just right…we like to call it Session-ability!” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail Brewing Company’s CEO & Founder.
At Stone Brewing Co., collaboration beers are looked at as an opportunity to get creative, experiment well beyond day-to-day brewing parameters, and utilize unique techniques and ingredients—all while celebrating the spirit of craft beer camaraderie.
New Belgium Brewing knows kicking back and relaxing with a session beer is about as good as it gets and the brewery’s new year-round release, Slow Ride Session IPA, offers the perfect easygoing companion. This IPA satisfies any hop lover’s craving while coming in at a sessionable 4.5 percent ABV and 40 IBUs. Slow Ride is available in bottles and on draft across New Belgium markets and it will debut in cans this March.
The Beer Institute is soon expected to announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation that would, if enacted, reform the federal beer excise tax. While the BI is withholding specific details at the moment, including the name of the bill and its sponsors, Chris Thorne, the organization’s vice president of communications, said it would provide relief for every brewer and beer importer.
White Labs Inc., the California-based fermentation sciences lab, has announced plans to build out an East Coast laboratory in the burgeoning craft beer town of Asheville, North Carolina. The company plans to acquire a 26,000 sq. ft. property from the city, for its new lab, and will invest $8.1 million over the next five years, according to a statement released by the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC). The project is expected to create 65 new jobs.
Later this month, Sierra, craft beer’s second-largest company, will release Hop Hunter IPA, a new, year-round offering that brewery officials are hoping will benefit from the growing attention beer fans are paying to wet hop and fresh hop styles. Sierra is betting that its reputation for a mastery of hops, coupled with an intense focus on innovation, will allow it to consolidate leadership in the evolving subcategory of those wet hop beers.
