Move over Stoli, BrewDog has brewed a 41% beer called Sink the Bismarck, watch an interesting video about it here – BrewDog.com
- Obama loses beer bet to the Canadian Prime Minister as the Men’s hockey team fought back after being down 2-0, but lost in OT 3-2. What kind of beer does Barack have to send up north? find out here - eCanadaNow
- If you want to really get your hands deep into a pile of hops and malt then visit Woodstock Inn Station and Brewery for their educational weekend of brewing, John Holl from the New York Times did, read about his adventures here – NY Times
- Fun and Games in Vancouver. The Wall Street Journal ranks the best parties during the Winter Olympics – WSJ
- 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
The NY Times is reporting that both AB InBev (producers of Bud) and SAB 
MillerCoors will be raising prices in the United States. While the article discusses whether these concurrent price-hikes might attract the attention of the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division, the first thing I wondered is how this might affect craft breweries.
Upon cursory analysis (that’s the only kind of analysis I do!), it seems this may actually benefit craft breweries. Many of my friends who unabashedly drink macro-brews use cost as an excuse for why they drink macro-brews instead of crafts. Why would you buy a six pack of Dogfish Head for $12 when you can buy a whole 30-can case of Coors Light for $22?
With the price differential between Bud Light and Sierra Nevada shrinking, I wonder if some macro-drinkers might reconsider what they’re giving up in flavor. What do you think? Do most people who choose macro-brews do it because macro-beers are cheaper? Or do these people like the taste of macro-brews better than crafts?
There is no doubt that this country is enjoying a craft beer moment. Lately, however, I’ve found myself contemplating the nature of this moment. Are we living through a craft beer “revolution”? Or, is this simply a craft beer ”renaissance”?
Below are arguments for both classifications. I find each of them fairly convincing (I wrote them for chrissakes!), but it’s gotta be one or the other, right? What do you think? Post your opinions in the comments, and let’s get this debate started!
The “Renaissance”
Before Prohibition, there were 1400 breweries in the United States — 26 in Brooklyn alone — many of which were regionally oriented and produced beers hearkening to European brewing tradition. But, after Prohibition, many of America’s breweries consolidated into what we now call “macro-breweries”, and by 1979 only 44 breweries operated in the United States. Since 1980 — which just happens to coincide with Sierra Nevada’s founding — small breweries using traditional brewing techniques (e.g., brewing all malt beers, as opposed to using adjuncts like rice or corn as the macro-breweries do) began reappearing all over the country. While many of the new craft breweries do make “revolutionary” beers (e.g., double IPAs, almost everything produced by Dogfish Head), nearly all of them pride themselves on brewing traditional beers of superior quality (“traditional” is one of the three elements of a craft brewery — along with “small” and “independent” — according to the Brewer’s Association). In the end, the winds of rebirth and rejuvenation have propelled the craft beer “renaissance” we now enjoy.
The “Revolution“
The single largest impediment to the success of craft breweries is the existence of macro-breweries a/k/a “the man.” Even after three decades of rapid growth, craft breweries only produce 4% of the beer consumed in the United States, mostly because the macro-breweries smother craft breweries with their unlimited marketing budgets and virtual control of beer distribution. The only way to end the reign of these macro-breweries is to create radical new breweries that prioritize quality above quantity. That’s why the founding of breweries like Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and Brooklyn Brewery — followed by Stone Brewery, Dogfish Head, and Bells — were not merely acts of revival; they were acts of defiant rage against the tasteless beers that had taken over our country and the breweries producing them. By fighting against the status quo tooth and nail, craft breweries have altered beer-history forever and fomented (or is it ”fermented”) a revolution that continues to this day.
I’ll believe this story when I see it (and, even then, I might still have lingering doubts until I taste it). According to Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery, a brew is in the works that will combine two of the greatest tasting things on earth: bacon and beer.
Excuse my skepticism, but I have serious concerns about whether Garrett’s concoction will enhance the two flavors, rather than cloud them. Even Garrett isn’t 100% sure about the idea: “Either this will be the most amazingly disgusting thing you’ve ever tasted in your life. Or I shall rule the earth.”
Only time will tell if this is a good move. I hope it works out for him because I have a signed copy of his book (The Brewmaster’s Table), and it would be cool to say that I’ve met the ruler of the earth!
