Where's that beer from?

For Goose, there should be a code on the bottle showing military time and a plant code next to it, same with Kona

 

The packaging "SHOULD" read with the right city and state where it was brewed and bottled regardless of the home base.

 

Yes indeed, this can get a bit confusing, right?

There are many brewers who contract out some or all of their production to other locations.....the laws on what they are required to put on the actual beer labels / packaging does not really tell the whole story....

Your Kona Fire Rock, for example.....from wiki....hope this helps....a little.....

Craft Brew Alliance is a beer brewing company that is composed of five beer and cider brands:[1]

• Redhook Ale Brewery founded by Gordon Bowker and Paul Shipman in 1981 in Seattle, Washington;
• Widmer Brothers Brewery founded by brothers Kurt and Rob Widmer in 1984 in Portland, Oregon;
• Kona Brewing Company founded by father and son team Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa in 1994 in Kona, Hawaii;
• Omission Beer developed internally in 2012 in Portland, Oregon; and
• Square Mile Cider, launched in 2013

According to the Brewers Association, it is the 9th largest beer brewing company in the United States, based on 2012 sales volume of 724,900 and an annual working capacity of approximately 1,075,000 barrels.

 

Another example.....Sixpoint, based out of Brooklyn NY, contracts with City Brewing in Memphis. TN (City is headquartered in Lacrosse, WI, and operates out of 3 locations), but nowhere on the SP packaging is City Brewing mentioned.....other brands brewed @ City Brewing.....

Other brands brewed by City Brewing
A number of other breweries and beverage companies contract out to City Brewing Company. Among the other brands:

• Arizona Tea
• Schneider's Tea
• Sam Adam's Octoberfest
• Shaq Soda
• Angry Orchard
• Iron City
• IC Light
• Atwater IPA
• Founding Fathers Lager & Light
• Milwaukee Lager & Light
• Narragansett
• Mike's Hard Lemonade
• Lucky Number 7 Malt Liquor
• Potosi Light
• Kronik Energy Drink
• Smirnoff Ice
• Sam Adams
• Drink Four Brewing Company
• Blue Point Brewing
• Game Day Beer
• Duquesne Pilsner
• City Light
• Milwaukee Premium Classic Lager and Light
• Kül Lite
• Red Stripe
• Crazy Stallion
• The Bronx Brewery
• Sapporo
• William K Busch Brewing Co

 

Take a look at Evil Twin or Mikkeler bottles some time. They brew all over the place, yet for ticking purposes, they count as Danish.

 

Drop an e-mail to the brewery or post them on FaceBook. Can't hurt to ask. Or go old school and give 'em a call. Worse they can do is not provide an answer. For foods (business I work in) we have to state where it's made somehow whether we own the plant or co-pack - we add it to the code date, but it isn't truly meaningful to the consumer. I don't know if it is "required" for breweries.

 

No where to find out the fact that every Sixpoint can is brewed in Tennessee, but this is the truth.

IMHO every beer contract brewed should have the exact location where on every container, or posted clearly on tap handle or keg for those beers not bottled/canned. Just found out one of "New York's best" new breweries, Third Rail, for instance, brews in Rhode Island.

 

The TTB allows brewing companies with multiple breweries, as well as contract brewers who both brew at a "home" headquarter brewery and contract out, to not list the specific brewery on the label. As noted above, some list the headquarter brewery, other might list all the breweries, etc. BUT, the TTB requires that the actual brewing site is somehow noted on the package with the warning "EACH CONTAINER MUST BE CODED TO INDICATE ACTUAL PLACE OF BOTTLING" on every COLA - and it is usually done by have a letter/digit in the bottling/date code that represents a particular brewery.

For instance:

Anheuser Busch's (top) brewery codes are the first letter after the bottling date and MillerCoors' (bottom) are the second and third digits on the second line of their code:

Boston Beer's were easy A=Allentown, PA, B=Boston, C=Cincinnati but IIRC they dropped "A" for "P"- Pennsylvania (or maybe the other way around?).

 

When I visited St. Louis, some fine folks at Schlafly openly told me that the Schlafly beer I buy and drink in Tennessee is brewed at Blackstone Brewery in Nashville. Then, I stumbled on this. So, it's no secret with some breweries it appears. http://schlafly.com/blog/2011/06/22/schlafly-beer-to-be-brewed-in-nashville/

 

Have to say I was quite surprised to learn how many surfer dudes there were in New Hamster brewing Kona. Not bad for a state with only 15 miles of coastline.

 

Where is this New Hamster? Sounds like somewhere cool to visit. Is the town just overrun with them or do they co-mingle well?

 

It's kinda wedged in between Maine, Vermont and Mastatwoshits. The 15 miles I mentioned in my earlier post is between Kittery, Maine and the MA border, along I-95. Just enough space for an inescapable toll plaza and two liquor stores.

Only in NH would they have exits specifically for state liquor stores, one on the NB side, one on the SB side, each on the far side of the toll plaza. This is how the state generates money for its budget. "Live free of income taxes or die!" indeed.