Beer

Sponsored Post: We are back this week with another Craftshack post. This time, the shop has prepared a list of its current top ten best sellers. 1. AleSmith Speedway Stout 2. Port Older Viscosity 3. Ballast Point Victory at Sea 4. Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale 5. Stone 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale 6. 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend 7. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA 8. Ballast Point Homework Series Batch 1 9. Firestone Walker Double Jack Double IPA 10. BrewDog Three Floyds Bitch Please Bonus. BrewDog Tactical Nuclear Penguin – 1 left in stock! Buy them here! Craftshack weekly email newsletter signup (some issues of which will contain exclusive coupon codes). Follow Craftshack social media updates: .ig-b- { display: inline-block; } .ig-b- img { visibility: hidden; } .ig-b-:hover { background-position: 0 -60px; } .ig-b-:active { background-position: 0 -120px; } .ig-b-v-24 { width: 137px; height: 24px; background: url(//badges.instagram.com/static/images/ig-badge-view-sprite-24.png) no-repeat 0 0; } @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (-o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2 / 1), only screen and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and (min-resolution: 2dppx) { .ig-b-v-24 { background-image: url(//badges.instagram.com/static/images/ig-badge-view-sprite-24@2x.png); background-size: 160px 178px; } } Follow @craftshackbeer Follow @windycityliquor Obligatory disclaimer: BeerPulse only acts as a conduit of information and carries no responsibility in the fulfillment of the order. You must be at least 21 years of age to order alcohol in the U.S.. Supporting stores like Craftshack helps support BeerPulse as well so we would encourage you to do business with them.

Join us this Thursday for what’s shaping up to be a fun evening of Hops and History at the former U.S. Mint building in San Francisco. The event is being put on by Flipside, a San Francisco History Events Group, in conjunction with the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. The Society is currently “undertaking [...]

Join us this Thursday for what’s shaping up to be a fun evening of Hops and History at the former U.S. Mint building in San Francisco. The event is being put on by Flipside, a San Francisco History Events Group, in conjunction with the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. The Society is currently “undertaking the restoration of San Francisco’s landmark Old Mint to house the future San Francisco Museum at the Mint,” and in the meantime is using the space to hold local history-themed events. Flipside worked with the San Francisco Brewers Guild — and I helped a little bit — but especially SF Brewers Guild executive director Brian Stechschulte to create an evening that includes a program of talks about the history of beer in the city, and also includes a gallery showing of San Francisco breweriana on loan from my friend Ken Harootunian, along with some pieces from Anchor Brewing. Here’s what will be going on during the event, which takes place from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30: John Freeman: The Curious 150 Year Cycle of Brewing Beer in San Francisco Dave Burkhart, Anchor historian: History of California Lager A History of Yeast: Man’s Oldest Industrial Organism San Francisco Brewers Guild Panel Discussion (led by yours truly) Screening of Brewers by the Bay film Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at eventbrite. Here’s what your ticket includes: Unlimited tasting of all breweries. Participating breweries include 21st Amendment, Magnolia, Triple Voodoo, Beach Chalet, ThirstyBear Brewing Company, Cerveceria de MateVeza, Speakeasy, Pine Street Brewery, Anchor and Pacific Brewing Laboratory. Presentation on brewing history Interactive yeast exhibit Historical brewing memorabilia exhibit by Ken Harootunian & Anchor Food available for purchase from by Off The Grid Docent led tours of the historic 1874 Old Mint Souvenir sampling mug included Photobooth sponsored by UpOutSF Music by DJ Jacob Join us Thursday for Hops & History. See you then.

This is pretty funny (the comments too).  I love this city.

Today is the 68th birthday of Nick Matt, chairman and CEO of F.X. Matt Brewing in Utica, by the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The brewery was originally founded in 1888, and their main brand today is Saranac. Nick is an active member of the beer industry, and especially through the brewers Association, and a big supporter of the community as a whole. Join me in wishing Nick a very happy birthday. Nick and Fred Matt at the Rare Beer Tasting at Wynkoop during GABF. A promo shot at the brewery, Nick with his nephew, and company president, Fred Matt.

Press Release: (Long Beach, CA) – Beachwood Brewing is excited to release Still Life, a Smoked Double Stout on June 7. Still Life is brewed with golden naked oats, which contribute to the smooth creamy feel. “Still Life is made with malt that is smoked in-house, taking the same wood blend used to smoke Beachwood’s famous BBQ,” says Brewmaster Julian Shrago. “It provides a subtle smokiness that comes through in the finished beer.” The stouts label features an original design by Beachwood regular and Still Life Tattoo owner, Tim Shelton. “Tim is an amazing artist with a penchant for stouts. He’s been coming to Beachwood since our doors opened,” says Beachwood BBQ Co-Founder Gabe Gordon. The bold, silky, complex stout–originally brewed to commemorate the one year anniversary of Still Life Tattoo in Seal Beach, CA on September 22, 2011–truly embodies the friendship between Still Life Tattoo and Beachwood BBQ & Brewing. “We were thrilled when Tim asked us to brew a beer to celebrate the opening of his shop in Seal Beach; we are even more excited to release it in bottled form,” concludes Gordon. In celebration of the Still Life release, Beachwood will be hosting an art show curated by Tim Shelton. The show, featuring the work of local artists, will be held at the downtown Long Beach brewpub on June 7 at 6pm. “This collaboration marries Beachwood’s creative spirit with Still Life’s artistry,” explains Shelton. “We are both extremely dedicated to our craft.” Still Life will be sold in 22 oz. bottles at finer craft beer retailers throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The stout will also be available on draft at both Beachwood BBQ locations. STILL LIFE – SMOKED DOUBLE STOUT Brewed & bottled by Beachwood Brewing, Long Beach, CA 8.8% ABV Retail Price: $9/22oz bottle

#bbpBox_336921749272817664 a { text-decoration:none; color:#D0001E; }#bbpBox_336921749272817664 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } @beerpulse BeerPulse MT @foundersbrewing hoping to have initial shipments head out at end of June. Likely July for on shelves & on draft at this point. #FLbeer 16 minutes agoReplyRetweetFavorite

The sixth year release of Papa Paul's Pilsner celebrates more than just one of the Lab's most popular beers, it's a toast to namesake, Paul Selle,

Press Release: [BeerPulse note: we asked GuestMetrics to share YTD comparisons for 2011 & 2012 which you can see in the chart above.] According to GuestMetrics, the shifts in consumer preferences that took place in the beer category in full service restaurants and bars during 2012 continued during the first four months of 2013. “Similar to what we saw take place in 2012, during the first four months of 2013, Craft, Premium Plus, and Ciders continued to take share from Premium Light, Imports, and Premium Regular beers,” said Bill Pecoriello, CEO of GuestMetrics LLC. Based on data from GuestMetrics, the unit share trends of the main beer segments during 2011, 2012, and the first 16 weeks of the year through 4/21/13 were as follows: Craft share of beers purchased increased from 13.7% in 2011 to 15.0% in 2012 to 15.6% in 2013 YTD; Premium Plus increased from 11.1% to 11.6% to 12.1%; Ciders/FMB/PAB increased from 0.5% to 0.6% to 0.8%; Premium Light decreased from 32.1% to 31.0% to 30.4%; Import decreased from 25.6% to 24.8% to 24.4%; and Premium Regular decreased from 6.8% in 2011 to 6.5% in 2012, and has remained at 6.5% in 2013 YTD. “To account for any type of seasonality that might take place in the category, especially during the January through April period, we also looked at the unit share trends with respect to year-over-year changes for 2012 vs. 2011, and for the first 16 weeks of 2013 vs. the first 16 weeks of 2012, which told a very similar story,” said Peter Reidhead, VP of Strategy and Insights at GuestMetrics. Based on data from GuestMetrics, in terms of the y/y change in unit share: Craft’s gain was +1.3 points both in 2012 and 2013 YTD (we note that in the last 4 weeks Craft share was actually up 1.6% vs year ago April); Premium Plus saw a slight acceleration from +0.6 points to +0.7 points; Cider/FMB/PAB also saw a slight acceleration from +0.2 points to +0.3 points (as we’ve noted before Cider is growing at around a 70% clip in on-premise this year); Premium Light’s share loss accelerated from -1.1 points to -1.5 points; Import saw a slight improvement from -0.8 points to -0.7 points; and Premium Regular was at -0.3 points in both periods. “Looking at the nearly 30 different beer styles we track, the largest share gainers continued to be India Pale Ale, Belgian Wit Ale, and Bitter Pale Ale, coming at the expense of Pale Lagers,” said Pecoriello. “I.P.A. in particular continues to register robust unit growth, which accelerated from 40% in 1Q13 to about 43% during the most recent 4 weeks, so there’s no sign of I.P.A. losing steam.” “As we are seeing across all the alcohol categories, consumer tastes are rapidly evolving, so we believe it is critical for restaurant operators to have detailed knowledge of these trends in order to carry the optimal menu offerings at the right prices,” said Brian Barrett, President of GuestMetrics. About GuestMetrics LLC GuestMetrics, LLC is revolutionizing how the hospitality industry operates. Despite the dawn of the Digital Age having begun more than three decades ago, the hospitality industry essentially functions the same way it did centuries before. GuestMetrics has cracked the code by collecting billion dollars in sales from tens of thousands of restaurants, and turning billions of raw transactions into intelligible data that is fundamentally transforming the business operations of everyone from the independently-owned bar/restaurant on the corner, to multi-national chains, to the food & beverage companies that supply them. Please visit www.GuestMetrics.com for more information and to arrange for a free demonstration.

Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination… About 2 weeks ago, I become hell-bent on getting my hands on New Glarus Apple Ale.  I got the opportunity to try the two most recent releases of the New Glarus Thumbprint Series and I will admit I am slowly coming around to New Glarus brews.  I recalled seeing Apple Ale, which was an early winter release, sitting on shelves within the last month, so I figured this mission would not be too difficult.  For those of you outside of Wisconsin, most New Glarus beers will hang around for a few months after release due to the volume in which they are produced and lack of distribution outside of the state. The first week of the mission included stops at 7 liquor stores with no avail.  The second phase of the mission, I started targeting grocery stores, since they typically carry large stocks of New Glarus beers, but without the selection, few craft beer drinkers buy beer here.  Again I came up empty.  I pondered through the weekend, trying to decide whether to continue my pursuit or just move on.  I would not be deterred and the following week I entered the third phase of the mission.  Another 7 or 8 stores were visited as I began to grow quite weary.  For my last ditch effort, I got on the phone and called every liquor store within a 10 mile radius of my home and it appeared there was no Apple Ale left in the Madison, WI area.  I was defeated.  It was Friday night and I had to make a run to the local grocery store in Cottage Grove to pick up a few things for the weekend.  I hadn’t stopped or called there so I quick swung in around 8PM.  Another crippling blow.  I picked up my groceries and headed for home.  I was about to pull out of the parking lot, when I thought about swinging in to the one liquor store in Cottage Grove, Village Liquor.  I had already called, but I figured I would stop in since I had never visited the store before.  I walked in and straight back I saw the New Glarus section.  On my way back I checked out the fairly modest bomber section.  I arrived and they were right, no Apple Ale here.  I was about to walk out, but I decided to swing through the Macro section in case there were more bombers elsewhere that I had missed. I got to the last row of coolers, which was the cider section and there sitting on the shelves was one lonely 4 pack of Apple Ale!  I got to the counter where the cashier saw what I had brought before grimly saying “Oh someone called looking for this earlier and we just found it 10 minutes ago”.  A smile spread across my face before explaining to her it was me who had called just hours before. The Review The nose many New Glarus beers is really lacking.  More of the same with Apple Ale, some faint apple notes, but really most of what you get is a lagery type scent.  The first taste of the beer is unmistakable, it tastes like apple cider.  It is definitely subdued and not overly spicy like apple ciders can be, but it tastes almost exactly like it.  The flavor gives way to the apple’s sweetness, comparable to many of their fruit beers.  As the beer warmed (or my taste buds finally gave in), the sweetness dulled down and gave way to some very slight tart notes.  I will say this beer is lacking one more dimension at the end of the mouth that would really make it more enjoyable.  I think it would be almost perfect if they could cut it with tartness similar to that of their Berliner Weiss.  But after the long hard road, I couldn’t have been more excited to try this beer. My Take: 3.5 out of 5 Stars Original article: The Sacred Apple: My Hunt for New Glarus Apple Ale©2013 HereForTheBeer.com. All Rights Reserved.