Maybe the most useful thing for beer and food

http://www.bcliquorstores.com/images/common/beerfood_large.gif

Finally someone has sat down and laid out a guideline for what beer might taste good with your meal

Maybe now you will know what to drink.

HOPS CURE EVERYTHING! DRINK BEER! SLEEP ON HOPS!

Through the years there have been tons of studies about the health benefits of ingesting hops, even being surrounded by hope. Having a hops pillow, maybe to even to be taken as far as bathing in a hophead IPA!!! Maybe not, but hops are important.

http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer/display.cfm?id=A3FDD6F6-921F-4DD8-A95BCCFA26DA0F1E&method=displayFull

The problem is that 80 percent of the hops in the world come from one valley, Yakima Valley, Washington, and these hops are controlled by a small group of people. So the prices have gone up as the craft brew industry has ballooned. For us in the US the prices have swelled even further because of the premium that European brewers can now pay for hops because of the week dollar, thanks FED. The worst part is these guys aren’t even doing a good job protecting the stuff. Four percent of the Hops burned.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2006/10/beer_disaster_in_yakima_washington_/

Wow, so smart. So now its not even certain that there will be enough hops for the demand of the ladder half of the year and who knows how this will affect price, definitely not positively. So what do we need, we need farmers to start growing hops, because its not just good for the beer environment in the US but the whole world, and it won’t just lower costs for the brewers but for the consumers. So grow hops for your health!

Interview with Bayhawk Ale’s Manager Karl Zappa:

Now that I have moved back to Los Angeles I was privileged to meet with Bayhawk Ales’s General Manager and Brewmaster Karl Zappa. The brewery is located at 2000 Main Street in Irvine; the facilities are shared with a McCormick and Schmick’s restaurant. It is a showcase brewery with limited production.

Interview with Bayhawk Ale’s Manager Karl Zappa:

OH: What have been the biggest difficulties with production and costs?
KZ:  Raw materials increases. The restaurant business is pretty flat right now and they are our biggest customers, Outback, Claim Jumper, and such. This is a showcase brewery and to grow our volume we need more production space we are running nearly at capacity of ten thousand barrels. Also, if we want to grow any sort of bottle business that will require more space.  3-6 percent of our business is currently in bottles, to grow more we have to produce larger than that.

OH: How do you sell the product?
KZ:  We work mostly with large restaurant chains because distributors are not interested in selling one barrel a month to bars.

OH: What are your goals for the brewery?
KZ: We are following the hundred-year plan, I want this brewery to be here in a hundred year and so that’s how I look at my relationships and the company. I am not here to grow super fast and then flip for a big paycheck. This brewery will continue to work on its craft and its way of life for its employees, customers, and consumers.

OH: Who are the stakeholders in the company?
KZ: This is a public company, it is one of the breweries that was owned and operated by Jim Bernau.

OH: How is the distributor environment?
KZ: We have used several different distributors in different states, including Wine Warehouse, Glazer’s, Authentic Beverage, and some others.

OH: How do the different states compare as far as ease to function as a brewery and do business?
KZ: Texas was the hardest to deal with and we have actually decided to pull out of Texas. The license is around four thousand just to run in the state while the licenses for other states such as Nevada are as low as fifty.  Also, Texas has a provision in their budgeting laws where if the state has a deficit they can raise permit fees on any of the businesses deemed “sin” business, which includes brewing. It is definitely one of the tougher beer markets and the regulations aren’t making it any easier. We currently operate in seven states, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and Illinois, of those Nevada and California have the best laws to support smaller breweries. California actually allows smaller brewers to act as their own distributors.

Karl and I spent a good two hours talking about his business and the industry environment in different states. The brewery is fully integrated into the “Pilsner Room” of McCormick and Schmick’s adding a great feel to the restaurant and bar. However, to grow the brewery is going to have to look into new facilities or contract brewing through another brewer. Many thanks to Karl and Bayhawk Ales to spending time with me and brewing great beer.

AB to sell to InBev

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Brewery+rumors+unsettle+Merrimack&articleId=92d4b939-1fee-411a-b147-6770d4bc6a66

The idea of AB becoming a European brand is very real. Because the company is a strong value based company that has been doing great things in securing its presence in the Microbrewery environment, the future cash flows look great. However InBev has been very pleased with the dropping value of the dollar, combined with the future dollar’s return to strength, buying up value based US firms using the current exchange rate to offer a premium makes this a good deal for the investors on both sides.

The question is what would this mean to the American beer market, the world beer market, and the jobs associated with AB?

BEER IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

Studies show that beer is not empty calories. The sugar found in beer in turned into alcohol and whats left is protein, antioxidants, fiber and other great stuff like vitamin B. In fact beer has even more good for you juice than a glass of red wine. For girls one a day, everyday, for guys two a day everyday, drink to your health!

http://www.amjmedsci.com/pt/re/ajms/abstract.00000441-200011000-00004.htm;jsessionid=LyLKL7JTnLQy7bvchyqVnTWQPqQZvGgg3cmn2G1n5McdB6GyGpWq!-636670425!181195628!8091!-1

Alabama homebrewers can use our help

http://www.realbeer.com/blog/?p=785

Yet another reason why it sucks to live in the South. Remnants of prohibition and the religious conservatism of the bible belt still marks the South. Why in a free nation should we not be able to brew our own beer? Part of freedom is responsibility, the government needs to allow people to have the weight on their shoulders to make decisions about alcohol and other stuff…

Save the World, Drink Beer

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/swerve/story.html?id=d2026205-7df7-4c04-808b-0d2e7a64bd2a

THIS IS SO AWESOME!!! By far the best thing to happen to the green movement. The sad part is it is also the best thing to come of green bottles. It is widely known that green bottles left in sunlight can become skunky, AKA the nasty Heineken in the truck stop by the motel eight you decided to sleep at.

There is hope for craft even in the bible belt!

http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/478200.html

North Carolina has changed the law making it illegal to make or distribute beer above 6 percent alcohol. This story reports the smart man in the state who jumped on the opportunity to make a wonderful craft distribution company. Business is booming after only a year at work. He is fighting the good fight to bring better beer to the masses, and he’s making a profit. Congratulations to him, seems like a dream job to me.

Craft breweries push the envelope

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS01/804080329/1002/CUSTOMERSERVICE02

I am happy to say that the craft brewers of America are growing in volume and product width. They are successfully competing with the likes of Anheuser Busch and Coors even from the production standpoint. My hope is that time goes on more and more individuals who did not think themselves beer drinkers are able to find a brew to enjoy. Thank you microbrewers for pushing our understanding of beer taste and quality!

Asahi Super Dry Lager

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2008/03/07/edray107.xml

While I am not usually up for American style lagers Asahi Super Dry is something else. While I was in Japan last May appreciating the local flair, the city and the great transportation system I had this beer out of vending machines and at sushi bars. It is a crisp refreshing beverage. It does not leave the same gross taste on your mouth that American beer leaves after a while. The best thing about the beer is that its a great substitute for water while wandering through Tokyo and the clean flavor does not disturb the sweet flavors of sushi and other Japanese delicacies. The beer is 21 this month, happy birthday!