American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
We blame the industry for this… It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates – things were pretty much done. But clearly all that’s changed.
So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourselves.
Amazing Craft Beer Factoids (Boulder, CO) – Our friends at the Brewers Association recently released their 2014 review of the beer industry and it was full of all kinds of amazing info – and here’s some of what caught our attention:
• New breweries open at a rate of 1.5 a day nationwide, while an additional 2,000 breweries are being planned.
• There are more than 3,200 brewers across the country and 4,500 brewery licenses, an all-time high. Thirteen states have at least 100 breweries.
• 38 percent of households bought craft beer in the past year, up from 29 percent in 2010.
Ski New Belgium (Ft. Collins, Co) – Two Colorado-based powerhouses are combining their traditions and brands – and it may be a marriage made in ski heaven. New Belgium Brewing is entering into a partnership with a skiing institution, Winter Park Resort. Under the new agreement, New Belgium’s beers will be served throughout the ski area, and the brewery will craft Mary Jane Ale, a hoppy beer named after Winter Park’s popular back bowl area.
Costa Rican Craft Beer Surges in 2014 (San José, Costa Rica) – The Tico Times has named the emergence of craft in that Central American country as one of the biggest trends of 2014. “Costa Ricans began their slow steady march away from the watery national brews towards stronger, finer-flavored beers in 2009 with the arrival of the Costa Rican Craft Brewing Company. It took a few years to catch on, but in 2014, craft beer grew into a full-blown movement.”
Beer…Is There Anything It Can’t Do? (Everywhere, USA) – Beer might actually be making us smarter according to the Calaveras Enterprise. New research has shown that a chemical compound in beer may be able to improve cognitive function. “The beverage once thought to obliterate brain cells when consumed in abundance may actually have the opposite effect and boost brain power.” As always, the good/bad effects are dose-dependent…
Kona Introduces Local Line (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) – The Kona Brewing Company has announced that it is celebrating its 21st birthday by giving back to those who were with them from the beginning. The brewery will be introducing a special series of small-batch beers that will only be available in its island home. This new island-only series of beers, called the Makana Series, (which means “to give”) is part of the brewery’s campaign to raise money for organizations dedicated to restoring and preserving Hawaii’s natural resources.
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