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2015 is off to a tumultuous start and Rumor Mill is on the case, making sure that you are always plugged in to all the craft beer news that matters. We’ve got great news for our tree-hugging beer drinkers, Austin gets even cooler, Ninkasi is creating a zombie apocalypse, and the Florida craft beer scene is a roller coaster, literally and figuratively. So strap yourselves in, it’s Rumor Mill time!
Carlsberg Bottles Get Even Greener (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Carlsberg is developing the world’s first fully biodegradable bottle for its beer. The “Green Fiber Bottle” will be made from sustainably sourced wood fiber or paper pulp and will be much lighter than glass bottles. What sets this apart from US innovations, such as the bottles used by Sonoma County-based PaperBoy Wines, is that there is no plastic component to the bottles and preliminary testing is showing that the beer may stay colder longer than in aluminum cans. So now, the craft beer can haters will have something to really hate.
Florida Retail Federation Drops Lawsuit (Tallahassee, FL) – The Florida Retail Federation, a statewide lobbying group, along with the Florida Independent Spirits Association, are now backing away from their legal challenge to a loophole in alcoholic beverage law that benefits the state’s craft beer makers. But before anyone starts doing a happy dance, it is being dropped because regulators have voluntarily agreed to revisit the issue, which is what they wanted in the first place. So it’s a step in a direction; if it is in the right direction remains to be seen. If anything good has come of this, we can all look forward to riding roller coasters and chomping down on beer brats at the world’s first craft brewery theme park, Intuition Ale World.
Untapping into Austin (Austin, TX) – The success of the Untapped Festival, one of the largest indie music and craft beer festivals in the South, is growing again and adding Austin to its list this year. The event, slated for April 18 at Carson Creek Ranch, promises 65 breweries serving samples of more than 200 beers. Tickets for the Austin festival can be found here. And if San Antonio is feeling left out, you’re next in line for a date in 2015. We’ll keep you tapped in.
Ninkasi’s New Flagship (Eugene, OR) – Ninkasi Brewing Company has announced that they are adding to their Flagship Series with the addition of Dawn of the Red, an India Red Ale. Originally released as a Rare & Delicious Series beer, Dawn of the Red was first brewed out of a want to offer an IPA using new hop varieties, including El Dorado and Mosaic hops, and will now be available across the brewery’s distribution footprint. To kick off the festivities, Ninkasi is hosting zombie pub crawls in 18 West Coast cities on February 13 and 14. Information on the cities to succumb to the zombie invasion can be found here.
Deflated Customers vs. Deflated Balls (Seattle, WA and Boston, MA) – In anticipation of Super Bowl XLIX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, craft beer’s latest scandal Elysian Brewing Co. and Boston’s Harpoon Brewery, representing the NFL’s latest scandal, have placed a bet on the game.
The bet involves three kegs of beer from each brewery crossing the country in opposite directions, to be poured in the breweries’ taprooms the week after the game. The loser (are there really winners here?) will be required to fly the flag of the opposing, winning team until the beer is gone. We’re calling this one just too painful to call.
