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.
Beer Brewed with Brains (Philadelphia, PA) – As much as we appreciate adventurous brewing and apocalyptic TV dramas like AMC’s The Walking Dead, we’re not sure that we’re at all comfortable with this. The Dock Street Brewing Company is brewing a beer for Walking Dead-heads using smoked goat brains! Dock Street Walker is an American Pale Stout with a sinister bloody hue and they’re releasing it at their compound on Sunday, March 30, along with a screening of The Walking Dead season finale.
Onsite Sales at Brewpubs, Microbreweries with Tasting Rooms Smokin’ Last Year (Boulder, CO) – Our friends at the Brewers Association recently reported on last year’s growth numbers and one of the survey’s interesting highlights was the value of onsite sales to a craft brewery’s growth. One of the questions that the BA asked the almost 1,400 breweries that they surveyed was about distribution. They learned that 61% of the nation’s craft brewers had a “significant onsite distribution presence, either as a brewpub or micro with a tap room,” and that “those breweries significantly exceed category growth, growing at a scorching 24% in 2013.”
Rockford Brewing Co. v. Rockford Brewing Co. (Rockford, IL) – “Have a beer and settle it.” That’s the advice given in a legal filing in Rockford Brewing Co. v. Rockford Brewing Co., separate companies in Illinois and Michigan that are fighting over the name, reports the Rockford Register Star. “If there was ever a case in which the parties should sit down over a beer and resolve their disputes, without question, this is that case,” U.S. District for the Northern District of Illinois Magistrate Iain D. Johnston said in a Feb. 26 filing in the trademark case. A wise judgment, we think.
Strange Stays Strange (Denver, CO) – In yet another bit of news involving trademark disputes, Denver’s Strange Brewing will be changing its last name. The Denver Post details the November resolution, noting that “As part of a hard-fought settlement with a Massachusetts homebrew shop, the Denver brewery agreed to change its name to Strange Craft Beer Company.”
New Hop to Debut at Upcoming CBC (Denver, CO) – The only grower-owned supplier in the craft industry, Hopunion LLC will be debuting a new hop variety that they’re psyched about at the CBC next month. This new variety features a high oil content and a complex aroma/flavor profile and as it’s from breeders of Citra® and Mosaic®- we’re looking forward to hearing more about it!
