Monthly archive for March 2019

When MillerCoors rebranded its Keystone Light beer as “Stone” the ninth largest craft brewer in the country called foul. Stone brewing of California, makers of beers such as ‘Arrogant Bastard’ filed suit for trademark infringement in 2018. On March 26th the court referred the issue to trail, finding that since both brands are marketed nationally “…a consumer is likely to encounter both within close proximity of the other….”. The dispute will now go to jury trail.

Anheuser-Busch sued by Miller-Coors for Superbowl Ad with the Bud Light kingdom attempting to return corn syrup to Miller and Coors. Miller Coors claims this will confuse consumers who will mistake corn syrup with high fructose corn syrup. Anchor Brewing of San Francisco employees voted to unionize on March 13th. By a vote of 31 to 16 workers at the brewery,owned by Japanese brewer Sapporo, voted to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Bridgeport Brewery of Portland Oregon announced it has closed it’s production facility and will cease the

Lawns grow quickly in the heat and humidity of summer, and frequent mowing builds a powerful thirst. Seeking relief from the repetitious and exhausting chore, many American’s find comfort in an ice-cold beer. What beer leaps to the rescue? Conducting a survey presents a task equal to lawn mowing; over and over the answer is the same; nine out of ten beer drinkers favor the light, low-bodied style known as “American Pilsner.” Craft beer enthusiast’s may argue with the accuracy of the name “American Pilsner”, but brewers have a sound

Belgium attracts beer enthusiasts like a magnet. As the ‘true north’ of brewing it draws Americans by the thousands. From Flanders to Brussels they cover the low countryside in search of small craft breweries. Yet, inexplicably, few venture southeast, to the sparsely populated hills of the Ardennes. In fact, on scanning a map of east Belgium, Americans may recognize Bastogne, focal point of the ‘Battle of the Bulge’, but sadly, little else. What a shame, because the pastoral woodlands, meadows and river valleys rival any scenery in the west, and

Everyone drinks beer, or so it seems. It has been a part of the country since it arrived with the first settlers. Since that time it has provided countless Americans with nourishment, comfort, camaraderie, and employment, all the while adding fuel to the nation’s economy. In the 400 years that beer has been in America, consumer demand continually pushed the industry forward with sure and steady progress. Then, in the last 25 years, the introduction of the craft brewing movement created additional opportunity, and the public responded with still further

There’s something about a number with a crowd of zeros behind it that grabs people’s attention. As the calendar approached its version of an odometer rollover, beer magazines, and others, acknowledged time’s passing by compiling lists of “bests”. In General, the tributes focused on notable people, dates, and events, all worthy of recognition, but the most significant contribution to beer in the last century was a simple piece of tin – the bottle cap. When the 1900’s began, most people drank beer in taverns, and seldom at home. Off-premise packaging

Part I. Early colonists of the North American continent had a fairly simple life. The typical immigrant from England had only three things on their mind: where to get food, how to secure shelter, and when would they get their next beer. The most enduring picture of Englishmen coming ashore is the Pilgrims braving freezing surf to land at “Plymouth Rock”. Well documented is their selection of this landfall not by choice, but based upon a dwindling beer supply. They, like those at the other new settlements set their first

The city of Hereford (pronounced Hair’-i-furd not Her’-furd; as our tour guide said, “you Yanks got that bit wrong”) has been in existence since the Romans found it as a convenient place to ford the River Wye in the early 7th century. The city of 50,000 is an eclectic collection of old and new including a thoroughly modern supermarket down the block from a 1000-year-old cathedral. Hereford is the home to the World Hereford Cattle Registry (which we Americans pronounce Her’-furd), and the SAS (Special Air Services – the UKs

Cider styles are hard to pin down because historically, styles had little value to the cider maker. The cider they made was the only cider they had the resources to make. It’s not so different today. But to understand it you have to go back to cider’s roots. Cider is an ancient drink though no one is quite sure when it was first made because of the geography of its main component, the apple. Apples were historically confined to the cooler climes of Western Europe and Britain where civilization was

Breweries in the market for a practical and affordable source of continuing education have no easy shopping trip. Brewing schools focus on the technical aspects of the brewing process, marketing seminars review case studies from other often-unrelated industries and public beer festivals concentrate on product promotion. Only the annual Craft Brewers Conference provides a broad perspective on production and sales strategy for today’s craft beer breweries and brewpubs. Organized and presented by the Association of Brewers (AOB), the three day conference which took place from April 11 through April 13