Craft New York Act Eases Regulations; Port Brewing and Lost Abbey Debut New Line; US Brewers Win at European Beer Star Awards; and Australian Breweries Request Fair Trade Investigation.
The Canadian government has recently updated the country’s “Beer Standards of Identity,” the definition used to determine if a beverage can be labeled and sold as beer.
According to new regulations from the FDA, chain restaurants must now provide further nutritional information for food and drink they serve, including beer.
Of the 836 new breweries that opened between 2010 and 2013, approximately 350 will close by 2016. It’s a shocking number that makes sense after asking the people behind recently shuttered breweries about the challenges they faced.
In 2005, when John Neal opened the Keg and Barrel bar in Hattiesburg, Miss., restrictive laws forbade homebrewing and capped the ABV of every beer brewed and sold in the state at 6.25 percent.
New California law combats keg theft; GABF beer brewed entirely with N.C. ingredients; Hill Farmstead expansion to double production capacity; and Maui Brewing joins in-flight beers from craft breweries.
When Good People first launched in Birmingham, Ala., in 2008, the brewery was somewhat constrained—by Alabama’s legal restrictions on brewing, and by what they thought the market could handle. But things are changing.
Michigan, along with California, Colorado and Oregon, has paved the way for favorable legislation for breweries and has seen tremendous industry growth as a result. But even in growing beer states, the fight isn’t always easy.
Craft breweries in Ecuador can’t keep up with consumer demand and are expanding as quickly as their bank accounts will allow. Only two years old, Andes Brewing Company epitomizes this growth with its expansion from a 1/2-barrel to a 3-barrel system, making it a mid-sized craft brewer for Quito.
The rise (or rumor) of aspiring-professional brewers serving without proper certification will make any state ABC turn a jaundiced eye to the motivations of a homebrewer. So if you’re thinking about serving your homebrew semi-commercially, realize that you’ll be impacting the rest of your community.
A bill widely viewed as a setback for Florida craft brewers died in the state House. After passing the state Senate with a 30–10 vote, Florida Senate Bill 1714 would have prohibited brewers making more than 2,000 kegs per year from selling more than 20 percent of their beer on-site.
In Ohio, the outlook is favorable for a proposed bill that would lift the state’s current alcohol-by-volume cap from 12 percent to 21 percent. A similar bill failed in 2011, but this version has bipartisan support from 21 legislators.
Plenty of beer advocates out there are grateful to the retail Robin Hoods who risk their businesses and gamble their licenses by selling rare beers to loyal customers, or offering illegal beer to attract new beer geeks. But who stands to lose?
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.
Nevada brewery-in-planning works with city government to simplify regulations; BrewNH shines the spotlight on New Hampshire beer; craft beer loses two pioneering spirits; after fire, Minhas Brewery to come back strong; and German breweries fined in price-fixing collusion.
The Alchemist closes cannery to public, promises new retail space soon; analysts believe time is nigh for SABMiller / AB-InBev merger; phony “Brew Dog” beer shop opens in China; and new beer laws on tap for Ohio, Michigan and Georgia.
Oregon State University receives $1.2 million to expand Fermentation Sciences program; Australian researchers test a “hydrating” beer; “stoop drinking” in NYC mayoral debates; and tragic accident takes life of Stone brewer.
Beer can house in Texas receives landmark status; angry neighbors seek to cut down Tree House; California growler-fill law receives new interpretation; and Shipyard founding partner changes roles.
If there’s any blessing that the odd endeavor of homebrewing has enjoyed, it’s been the law’s disinterest in pursuing legal action against such ragged misfits. However, with homebrewing and craft beer’s rise in popularity, the state’s unblinking gaze increasingly falls on our efforts.
