Posts Tagged “beer news”

Recently there has been quite a buzz in the craft beer world concerning Fedex and UPS discontinuing relationships with online beer retailers.  I never really had a dog in that race, seeing as how shipping always outpriced the beer I was ordering, I never clicked past the total screen that gave me the shipping cost.  I just couldn’t justify it in my mind…even for Pliny the Elder.  <gasp>

All the Fedex and UPS stuff has done for me is further bring my hatred of the distribution model of beer in America to the surface.  If you are not familiar with this system (even tho you really are), visit Wikipedia here.  It is essentially an archaic set of rules born out of prohibition that regulate how beer is distributed.  Wonder why you can order wine online and shipping companies will send it right along…but with beer, if you tell them what you are sending, they will not?  This is why.  You cannot ship across state lines into a state that obeys the 3 tier system rules because you are circumventing the middle man.  I could drive over to Asheville, NC, buy up some Pisgah Brewing beer and ship it to someone in another state….as long as I never labeled it as beer.  However, because that would leave the distributor out of the loop (thus the cash), I would be breaking laws.

Does this stop people?  No.  Does it suck?  Yes.

I have always felt like we didn’t get the beers we should get in my area.  I live at the cross roads of NC, VA and TN. I have to visit all 3 in a day to get the selection I really want to have.  Is it my fault because I am a demanding consumer?  I wouldn’t think so.  Where is the fault?

A good way to see some of the fault placed squarely where it should be is to rent or buy the movie Beer Wars.  It is not an overwhelmingly rapturous movie, however, it clearly states the issues facing smaller breweries and consumers in a world run by giant organizations.  Because of the movie I now know that:

1.  Budweiser spills more beer on their bottling line in one day than Sam Adam’s makes in a day.

2.  Budweiser either owns or has a majority of the distributors under contract in America and typically will not deliver beer that is not under their umbrella.

3.  MillerCoors and Budweiser HAVE seen losses over the last few years in market share, but still own enough of it to get eye level real estate in the cooler aisle…and where do most people find the beer they buy?  Eye level.

So it is because of this wonderful system that brewers I would love to have cross the mountain from NC to TN cannot afford to do so.  I can get what I can get and travel to get the rest.  I am not complaining, BTW, about my selection so much as just venting about a system that hinders an even greater selection.  I know now that beers I have heard hyped repeatedly online like Russian River’s Pliney the Elder, the Younger and others will never get to me unless something amazing happens to get them here.  I am constantly surprised to see things get to my area and it just should not be that way.

We are clinging onto Prohibition era laws like a baptist to the KJV.  These old laws make us feel safe because capitalism is “working”.  In this case, however, it is not.  Smaller breweries struggle to get their feet on the ground and we the consumers are making back alley trades via the intertubes to wet our appetites with new brews.

Watch Beer Wars and enjoy it.  I did.  Even for someone to whom all of this information is old hat, the movie is a good representation of the sentiment of a generation right now.

And we return to regular business!  I essentially took a break  from blogging for the most part, with a few here and there on quadrantrush.com just to keep the status quo.  I decided I didn’t really want a direction anymore for my blogs other than to keep with the main theme as often as possible.  Beer-centric is and always will be a beer blog.  No worries my loyal minion.  I would have said minionS, but who knows if there are more than one of you out there! 

Samuel Adams Longshot Beers Are Here! – I love this release every year when I can actually get my greedy paws on some of it.  This is the homebrewer winners on the yearly Sam Adams contest.  I may have to pitstop in Asheville on my way back from the Hickory Hops Festival next week.

Hickory Hops is Next Week – We here at beer-centric attempt to go to the yearly beer festival in Hickory, NC.  Last year was the inaugural trip with a trip every year from then till eternity.  I always look forward through the winter until mid-April when Hickory opens its wooden gates and welcomes teams of people to drink beer in their town square.  Spring is here and I know cause the beer is in the air!

Wine On Tap? -  I have never seen this, but would definitely be willing to try it.  Given that we all know draft beer is better than bottled beer, it could very well be the same with wine…and why not?  The same things about bottles that ruin beer can also have a profound effect on wine.

Evil Comes in Threes – Sara Lee, Miller and Coors…this has to be one of the signs of the anti-christ.  Right?

Another week and a little more beer related news.  I am even including a link back to a previous post so that I can give you the new recipe I am using for my Frisky Valley Honey Amber when I brew it later this week.  Here you have it…

Samuel Adams Imperial Series to be Released In February – I have been looking forward to this for about a month since I found the original story about this.  I am a HUGE fan of the Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner, mainly because I could eat hops for breakfast.  In February, they are releasing an Imperal Stout, White and a Double Bock.  I loves me some Imperial Stout and I know that Sam Adams will do a great job with it.

This Old Kegerator – A good guide to turning an old fridge into your very own kegerator.  Every guy wants one.  Rich and I discuss it from time to time.  We know we can build it…and if we build it, the beer will come.  Right?

Mighty Arrow Fetches Coveted Spot as New Belgium’s Spring Seasonal – This is good news…provided that East Tennessee actually gets to see more than 1554, Mothership Wit and Fat Tire.  I am not complaining by any means at all…but you know what happens when you give a fancy beer drinker a taste of one brand.  We want to taste all the brand has to offer.

Epicurean Outpost – This is a place I didn’t know existed until a fortunate trip to a McDonalds in Johnson City.  The owner is a good guy who genuinely likes to brew beer and mead.  Stock is low as far as hardware, but you can’t carry a lot of stuff in that business anyway…I got a brand new brewing kit from them yesterday.  They definitely carry enough supplies like malts, hops and yeast to get anyone going.  He was also very helpful with the beer I am getting ready to brew.

My Next Brewing Project - I am updating this after rethinking (with the help of the previous link).  Here is the new recipe:

5 gallon batch
4 lbs of Amber DME
1 lb of Gambrinus Honey Malt
44 oz of local honey
1 oz Mt Hood Hops for 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade Hops for 30 minutes
1 oz Centennial Hops for 10 minutes
11g of Windsor brewing yeast

Thoughs?

I hope this becomes a weekly thing.  I want to share some links and news from other places on the web.  If you find this useful, PLEASE comment and let me know!

12 Most Common Beer Myths Exploded – Great blog post explaining away all those things we have heard about for years.  Let’s call them Beer Wive’s Tales.

Sierra Nevada Introduces Year Round Extra IPA – Now if the local distributor will just bring it to me!

Cooking with beer: Bite into your favorite brew – Borrowed this from Bruisin Ales.  One of the owners weighs in on our favorite ingredient.

Beer Blog of the Week
BetterBeerBlog – Found this in my travels around the intertubes.  Good homebrew posts here.