Beer News

Anheuser-Busch: Brewing Your Area Code?

On May 20, Anheuser-Busch InBev filed for federal trademarks of 14 different area codes as potential beer names. These filings come just a few months after ABI’s acquisition of Chicago-based Goose Island, which produces 312 Urban Wheat Ale, paying tribute to Chicago’s area code.

ABI’s trademark application includes area codes for Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC. ABI would have three years to use these trademarked numbers for a beer; if they don’t use them, the trademark status expires.

If approved, these trademarks could have several possible implications, but two seem to be the most likely. First, ABI could market more localized brews, akin to 312, in specific parts of the country. Additionally, this prevents other breweries from naming any other brew after a local area code. ABI has declined to comment on their exact intentions.

Sunoco Testing Growlers To-Go in Western NY

Fill your car with gas, and then fill a growler with your craft beer of choice—that’s the latest concept being tested in a dozen Sunoco APlus stores throughout the Buffalo, N.Y., area. These stores’ front counters have been converted into 12-line draft systems, where clerks will fill an empty growler with fresh draft beer.

This new program, called the Craft Beer Exchange, lets customers buy a growler and fill it with beer from local favorites like Flying Bison and Ithaca, as well as other popular brands, including Southern Tier and Tröegs.

Sunoco’s community relations specialist, Joe McGinn, tells BA, “Buffalo was chosen to be our test market for a few important reasons. In addition to having lots of store locations, there’s a great beer-loving community and several local breweries that are willing to get on board with us to ensure we deliver the good-quality products we need to be successful.”

In the interest of quality control, local store clerks were specially trained in the sciences of growler cleaning and filling, as well as draft line maintenance, under the watchful eyes of staff at the Flying Bison Brewing Company. McGinn adds, “When we did this, we wanted to do it right.”

McGinn notes that while the first month of the project has gone very well, Sunoco will be analyzing the first three months of data before they decide on any future expansion. Future growth of the Craft Beer Exchange program would likely take place in other parts of New York first, before eventually expanding out of state.

Beloved Friend of Beer, Ray Deter, Passes Away

Ray Deter, beloved publican and founder of multiple craft beer bars throughout New York and New Orleans, passed away on July 3 after a bicycling accident in New York City left him in a coma. He was only 53 years old.

Deter is remembered as a man who loved to strike up a lively conversation—especially if it was about beer. He also co-hosted Beer Sessions, a weekly program on the Heritage Radio Network. In addition to sharing the latest beer news and his best anecdotes, he reminded listeners to “drink good stuff.”

Deter’s first pub, d.b.a., opened in Manhattan’s East Village in 1994, and was lauded for bringing something novel to New York’s beer scene. One of d.b.a.’s pioneering features was openly displaying every keg’s freshness date, and Deter’s personal mission to share his beer knowledge with guests made the pub one of the East Village’s most popular destinations. Years later, Deter’s endeavors led him to open up a second d.b.a. in New Orleans, as well as Mimi’s in the Marigny (also in New Orleans), and another d.b.a. in Brooklyn.

A week after his death, Deter was paid tribute by a few hundred friends with a festive, New Orleans-style second line march throughout the East Village.

Senate Small Brewers’ Caucus Formed

On June 20, the Brewers Association officially announced the formation of the Senate Small Brewers Caucus, a bipartisan initiative spearheaded by Senators Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. Much like the House Small Brewers Caucus, formed in 2007, this assembly of senators will provide small brewers across the nation with improved advocacy and legislative representation.

The arrangement is definitely a benefit for independent brewers across the nation, but Brewers Association chief operating officer Bob Pease tells BA that it was the US senators who came to them with the idea.

“We didn’t suggest it—they came to us and said, ‘Hey, we want to do this, what do you think?’ and we said, ‘That’s great!’” Pease continues, “We take it as a reflection of the interests of the economic impact of small-business brewers throughout the United States.”

Over 1,700 small breweries make up only 5 percent of the beer market, but they account for 50 percent of the brewing industry’s jobs, according to the Brewers Association. These breweries combined provide some 100,000 people with full- and part-time jobs, in addition to supporting hop and grain growers, which gives the agricultural industry a boost.

There are currently eight senators in the caucus, and Pease is confident that number will grow.

Change in Massachusetts Law Threatens Dozens of Small Brewers
By Courtney Cox

The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) caused a stir in the state’s brewing community when it revised the qualifications for a farmer-brewer license on July 20. The ABCC now defines a farmer-brewer as one who grows “at least 50 percent, in the aggregate, of cereal grains and hops needed to produce the anticipated volume of malt beverages.”

The new interpretation of a vague 1982 law, which defines a “farmer-brewer” as “any person who grows cereal grains or hops for the purpose of producing malt beverages and is licensed to operate a farmer-brewery,” originally contained no quantifiable definition of a “farmer-brewer.” The reinterpretation, which applies the new “50 percent” requirement, was prompted by Idle Hands Craft Ales’ application for a renewal of their farmer-brewer license. Idle Hands is a year-old nanobrewery in Everett, Mass.; their application is pending as of print date.

Currently, 26 farmer-brewer licenses are held in Massachusetts by breweries such as Wormtown Brewery, Mayflower Brewing Co. and Cisco Brewers. To date, most of these breweries do not produce enough of their cereal grains and hops to qualify as farmer-brewers under the new ruling, and their applications for renewal are also expected to be denied.

In its written decision, the ABCC suggests that the breweries affected seek a manufacturer license. However, a manufacturer license, besides being more expensive, does not permit breweries to sell their beer at retail or to have tastings on site; some argue that those restrictions force breweries to use wholesale distribution channels.

William Kelley, general counsel for the ABCC, tells BA that the Idle Hands application “raised an eyebrow” because its address is in an industrial area. An investigation confirmed that the brewery was contract-growing 7 to 10 percent of their cereal grains at a local farm. But neither Kelley nor Alethea Harney, press secretary for the state treasurer, who oversees the ABCC, were able to comment on the Commission’s decision-making process that resulted in the new “50 percent” requirement.

However, Harney tells BA that, due to the groundswell in the brewing community, a meeting with brewers for Monday, August 8, has been scheduled so that both sides can reach a “reasonable working solution.”
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