Limited, higher alcohol, American-style IPAs, Stouts, and Sours from a select group of American brewers apparently dominated palates and discussions on BeerAdvocate in 2019.
Determined to connect farmers and brewers, third-generation hops farmer John Segal rebuilt his family’s business—the first to commercially cultivate Cascades.
Taking cues from the pub and taproom model used by smaller breweries, big players in the beer industry, from 10 Barrel to Blue Moon and Lagunitas, attempt to cash in on the convenience and sense of community of urban outposts.
As many of the largest craft breweries open additional locations in new markets, they’re up against a difficult task: making sure their famed flagships taste the same everywhere.
A look at the beer industry post-2015, the year that Big Beer acquired successful craft breweries left and right and infused mind-boggling amounts of money into the business. Their plan? Buy more shelf space.
Is the link between the growth of recreational marijuana and craft breweries just a bit of cosmic, double-hopped coincidence? Cultural and economic factors could explain the evolving connection.
Buyouts and ownership restructurings in 2014 and 2015 have removed some of the bigger players—and their bigger production numbers—from the “craft market share” calculation publicized by the Brewers Association.
While green lawns go brown, farms go fallow, and everyone is asked to cut their water usage at every turn, beer drinkers are forced to consider whether their favorite drink is worth such a reservoir-sucking impact.
No beer school program, no matter how rigorous, should be considered complete, in and of itself. One course, certificate or degree does not an expert make. They are but a starting point.
The shift to seeing a bottle of Lagunitas Pils in a John Mayer music video or Woody Allen movie (both of which have recently happened) is as organic a move as the industry’s growth itself.
Once seen as the ultimate expression of beer geekery, India Pale Ales have been at the vanguard of a communal palate shift, resulting in the wholesale embrace of all things hop.
Droughts force California brewers to reevaluate water sources; Southeastern politicians seek to reinforce three-tier system; Shanghai beer festival spotlights China’s growing craft scene; and Cigar City’s Joey Redner on Hunahpu’s snafu.
A story of entrepreneurial spirit, this irreverent narrative is told in the voice of Tony Magee, founder of Lagunitas Brewing and one of craft beer’s most vibrant personalities.
Churchkey Can Company ressurrects the flat-top steel can; interstate brewery expansions loom; study finds two drinks a day could be a life saver; Heineken bans branding of local brews during London 2012 Olympics; and new beer laws passed in Indiana and Georgia.
In the mad scramble to secure hops, some enterprising brewers have begun looking at their supply chains and wondering if things can be done differently.
Both musicians and brewers express themselves as artists by putting a lot of themselves into their craft; be it a new Stout or a new song. It’s no huge surprise then, given these fundamental similarities, that many brewers are also musicians and many breweries have their own bands.
