With less than 5% of the beer market, no craft brewery has the funds to pay for Super Bowl advertising time. Instead, look forward to seeing commercials for what can only be described as the opposite of craft beer: Budweiser Select 55!
Budweiser Select 55 is the so-called “lightest beer in the world,” barely beating out almost-porter-like MGD64. Budweiser’s latest swill will be introduced to the World this Sunday with a what’s sure to be a flashy commercial when the Saints take on the Colts in the Super Bowl.
In Episode 2 of Beer Nation, Seth and Mike visit Rattle ‘N’ Hum Bar in New York City and Captain Lawrence Brewery in Pleasantville, New York to figure out . . . “The Definition of Craft Beer.”
Join the hosts of Beer Nation at one of NYC’s best beer bars – Rattle ‘N’ Hum – this Sunday, January 31, for a *SNEAK PREVIEW* of Episode 2. Aside from sneaking-a-peak at our new episode, come and take advantage of DRINK SPECIALS: $4 pints on select beers — including all Captain Lawrence brews (featured in Episode 2!) — and $5 cask beers.
- 2:30 PM (3:30 PM Screening)
- Sunday, January 31, 2010
- Rattle ‘N’ Hum Bar – 14 E. 33rd Street, NYC
- Check out the teaser for Episode 2 here.
As if flavor wasn’t a sufficient indicator, the Wall Street Journal confirmed last week that craft breweries are doing a hell of a lot better than macro breweries. While total beer sale volumes fell 2.2% in 2009 – the highest rate since the 1950s – “[t]he small-batch ‘craft’ beer industry continued to represent an industry bright spot, with the biggest among the craft brewers, Boston Beer Co., showing a 1.7% increase.” (But, is Boston Beer Company still a craft brewery? Maybe not.)
Although 2009’s numbers seem to show that craft beer is recession proof, the jury is still out as to whether craft beer’s rise – as compared to macro beer – is a trend that will continue once the economy picks up (as it seems to be doing). Only time will tell.
No style of beer confounds lay drinkers more than barley wines. So, let me say this upfront: barley wine is very much beer, not wine. Barley wines, however, are typically very alcoholic (8 to 12 % ABV) and — for that reason — age as well as wine.
Although many seminal craft breweries took flight in the 1990s, the 2000s gave birth to some of America’s most highly regarded breweries. Below are Beer Nation’s Top Five New Breweries of the 2000s:
“Beer Bar Battle” is a segment where we pin two cities, neighborhoods, streets, etc. against each other to see which has the most craft beer-cred. This week: Round 2 of “The Heavy Weight Battle of the Boroughs” – Manhattan v. Brooklyn.
Mike visits the first — and only — American craft beer bar in Europe: Beer Temple in Amsterdam.
In early 2009, news outlets were sounding the death knell for Boston Beer Company’s status as a “craft brewery”. These Nostradamus-like predictions were based on the fact that the Brewers Association defines a “craft brewery” as one that produces less than 2 million barrels a year, and many beer pundits believed that Boston Beer Company’s production would rise above that number in 2009.
Something funny happened, however, on the way to macro-land.
- Beer storage caves found in the Bronx, sweet! – NY Times
- Drinking and driving is illegal, but drinking and pedaling is totally fine in Amsterdam -Time Magazine
- A guillotine made out of beer cans? Don’t mess with Freddy’s Bar in Brooklyn – The Gothamist
- Always having trouble finding your bottle opener? Well have no fear, now that Rover is here – MSNBC
