Beer News

BrewDog Announces US Location in Columbus, Ohio

In June, Scottish brewery BrewDog announced plans to open a facility on 42 acres in Columbus, Ohio. The site will include a 100-barrel system to produce the company’s full lineup of core beers as well as small-batch releases. It will also  house their US offices, a visitor center and a taproom. With the announcement, BrewDog revealed additional plans to open five taprooms across the US.

Minnesota Allows Sunday Growler Sales

On May 2, Minnesota passed a law allowing taprooms and brewpubs to sell 64-ounce growlers, as well as 750-milliliter bottles, on Sundays. Individual cities must also approve the practice before breweries can begin Sunday sales. St. Paul, Minneapolis, and several other cities have already approved the practice. Sunday liquor store sales remain illegal.

Two US Breweries Win at Australian International Beer Awards

Two US breweries won trophies in May at the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria’s Australian International Beer Awards in Melbourne. Utah’s Red Rock Brewing won best specialty beer for Paardebloem, a Belgian-style ale brewed with peaches and dandelions. Oregon’s Pelican Brewing Co. won Champion Medium International Brewery. There were more than 1,700 entries from 35 countries.

AB InBev Trademark Application Suspended

Five days after Budweiser’s provocative Super Bowl commercial aired, AB InBev filed a trademark application for the phrase “Brewed the Hard Way.” The day before, Kansas City brewpub Martin City filed an application to trademark its “Hard Way IPA.” AB InBev’s application was suspended in May, pending the outcome of the Martin City application.

Alabama Craft Beer Law Limits Brewery Expansion

A bill that would allow Alabama breweries to sell beer to go died without a vote in legislature in June. The decision affects Huntsville’s Straight to Ale brewery, which had based its plans to expand partly on the expected new revenue stream. Alabama is now the only state without some form of to go sales at breweries.

New and Under Development:
Breweries and brewpubs now open or coming soon

• After opening their doors in early May with food and numerous guest taps, Grist Iron Brewing Co. in Burdett, N.Y., poured its own beers for the first time on May 30.
• In Ashburn, Va., Lost Rhino Brewing Co. officially opened its new brewpub, Lost Rhino Retreat, on June 5.
• Departed Soles in Jersey City, N.J., welcomed the first visitors to its taproom on July 3.
• Following the debut of their Farm House restaurant in late May, Breckenridge Brewery hosted its first public tours at its new facility in Littleton, Colo., on June 21.
• Pelican Brewing Company announced plans to open a new pub and brewery in Cannon Beach, Ore. Construction will begin in the fall for a spring 2016 launch.
• Brooklyn Brewery will expand its reach in Scandinavia in the summer of 2016 when it unveils the new E.C. Dahls Brewery in Trondheim, Norway, its second partnership with Carlsberg. ■