Beer in the news

[BobbyOK]

So many things wrong here as Sean suggests but this:

NB Liquor is unable to track how much individual breweries have sold through the program.

...is mind boggling. That InBev gets its own dedicated tap anywhere is up there too.

[mcgster]

I found that to be a terribly written article..

The real story is that ANBL made a piss poor choice in buying 40,000 growlers. The actual program has been a huge hit and every where i go people are talking about it. They clearly need to tweak the system and i'm sure they will make changes as they go, they definitely need to roll it out to more stores as well. When you consider that approximately 66,000 bottles of "craft" beer have been sold out of only a few stores the actual program is doing quite well.

Personally i love the program, i find it ironic that Picaroons would be complaining. They have a great deal with ANBL and their relationship with ANBL has been key to the success of Picaroons across the province. I wouldn't buy a growler of Yipee IPA when i can get it by the bottle anywhere, i do love being able to get flying monkey and hammond river products that i can't normally buy.

[jeffsmith]

They're so desperate to unload growlers that they were giving them away to the first 100 customers this past Saturday at the Sackville ANBL.

[dean2k]

lol ... I filled up with my fancy-shmancy Brewnosers growler.

[jeffsmith]

lol ... I filled up with my fancy-shmancy Brewnosers growler.

Same here. Buddy was super disappointed that I wouldn't take an ANBL growler off his hands.

[canuck]

I found that to be a terribly written article..

The real story is that ANBL made a piss poor choice in buying 40,000 growlers. The actual program has been a huge hit and every where i go people are talking about it. They clearly need to tweak the system and i'm sure they will make changes as they go, they definitely need to roll it out to more stores as well. When you consider that approximately 66,000 bottles of "craft" beer have been sold out of only a few stores the actual program is doing quite well.

Personally i love the program, i find it ironic that Picaroons would be complaining. They have a great deal with ANBL and their relationship with ANBL has been key to the success of Picaroons across the province. I wouldn't buy a growler of Yipee IPA when i can get it by the bottle anywhere, i do love being able to get flying monkey and hammond river products that i can't normally buy.

Agreed Mark. The program, IMHO, has been quite successful and I believe that it's a win win for both consumers and breweries (an ultimately of course, ANBL). I think it's ridiculous that they'd purchase 40,000 growlers right off the hop. Order 5000 or so, see how they sell, and order more if necessary. It's not rocket science. I agree that the program needs some serious tweaking as well. Do away with ALL dedicated tap. There is NOT ONE brewery that should have a dedicated tap at ANY of the stores. And for f sake, get rid of anything inBev, Molson, and Labatts. I personally don't think large Macros should be involved with this program whatsoever. I also with Moosehead would showcase some of their new batches of Black IPA, ESB, Winter Warmer, etc at the growler program. Here at the KV store it's a constant rotation of Boundary, HopBot, and Barking Squirrel. Boundary (which I think is a decent beer) is available in cans, bottles, singles, six packs, and cases. Why the heck does it need to be in growler format as well?

The program is up for review in March and they'll decide at the time if they will go forward with it or axe it. I really hope they continue it, and with some tweaking I think it can be excellent.

[the-mailman]

Barley shortage in Canada and US may cause a decline in the quality of beer due lack of malt.

http://www.producer.com/2014/09/malting ... age-looms/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jason.loxton]

Robot Gandhi IPA? Not a real scandal, but a really bad marketing decision: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gandhi-bot ... -1.2890088" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[canuck]

Interesting read.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restauran ... dams-beer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[McGruff]

Boston Lager is okay. I had some of his beers when on vacation in the US. Nothing jumped out as great.

[LiverDance]

Interesting read.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restauran ... dams-beer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

also interesting

https://antiherobrewing.wordpress.com/2 ... -hipsters/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikeorr]

The Beer Store blinked first.. wonder if this is enough...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/be ... -1.2892251

Beer Store opens ownership to all Ontario-based brewers

The foreign-owned Beer Store consortium says it is opening up ownership to all Ontario-based brewers.

The group says the move is effective immediately and that both large and small-sized brewers will be allowed to participate.

Ontario's beer retail operations have come under scrutiny recently after a Toronto newspaper published details of an agreement signed in 2000 between the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Beer Store.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press that the relationship between the Beer Store consortium and the LCBO looked unfair and would "absolutely" be changed.

An advisory panel chaired by former TD Bank CEO Ed Clark had already recommended the province charge the Beer Store for its virtual monopoly on beer sales, saying there was a clear value that could be auctioned off if the brewers won't pay up.

The Beer Store's current owners — three major brewing companies — say opening up ownership makes sense for Ontario brewers and consumers.

Measures give more space to small brewers

The Beer Store also announced a number of measures to make it easier for small brewers to get their product on their shelves.

Small Ontario brewers — defined as those who sell fewer than 1 million litres/year at the Beer Store — will pay no listing fee when stocking two of their products at the five Beer Store locations closest to their brewery.

Beyond those five stores, small brewers will also be able to list the same two products at any other Beer Store location at reduced listing fees, paying only the per-store fee. Small brewers will also be able to swap out a new or existing brand listing and replace it with a seasonal brand twice a year at no additional cost.

[McGruff]

Mixed reviews so far about the Beer Store. Ontario Craft Brewers are supposed to comment on it today, Jan. 7.

[RossBee]

CRAFT BREWERS RUNNING OUT OF NAMES
8th January, 2015 by Rupert Millar
US craft brewers are increasingly finding themselves in legal disputes as the huge variety and volume of craft beers means many are using similar names and designs.

craft beer designs

As has been reported frequently over the course of the year, US craft beer is in the middle of a huge surge in growth and there are now 3,200 craft breweries in operation all over the country with another 2,000 in the planning stages.

Yet, as reported by The Salt, all these craft beers means that there are increasingly clashes over names and imagery.

The problem is particularly acute when using beer-themed puns and names such as “Bitter End” or “Hopscotch” exist for beers in all corners of the US.

Candace Moon, a lawyer who has made settling trademark disputes between brewers something of a speciality, told The Salt that it was almost never intentional but: “There are only so many words and names that make sense with beer, so it’s not surprising that many people will come up with the same ideas.”

Sometimes beers from opposite ends of the country may co-exist in happy ignorance of the other or without the brewers caring too much.

When the distances are shorter disputes are often settled amicably, such as the owners of Avery in Colorado and Russian River in California who both had beers called ‘Salvation”.

Meeting at the Colorado Beer Festival they came to an agreement and decided to blend their beers together and create a new brew called “Collaboration Not Litigation”.

The clash between Californian craft brewing power Lagunitas and Atlanta-based SweetWater over the marijuana code “420” that both use was settled without resort to law courts but was a bad-tempered affair.

Meanwhile, Port Brewing sued Moylan Brewing over the latter’s use of a Celtic cross on its labels that Port Brewing had trademarked many years before.

Moylan, furthermore, is in legal battles with an Arizona brewery, Four Peaks, over the name “Kilt Lifter” and associated imagery.

With the craft beer craze showing no signs of slowing down, new entrants to the business may need to do some extra legwork in the name-check department in future to avoid unnecessary legal troubles.

[gm-]

http://www.visir.is/icelandic-seasonal- ... 5150109150

Icelandic seasonal beer from whales' testicles

Brewery Steðja introduces a Thorri beer, Hvalur 2, the replacement of Hvalur Thorri beer of Steðji in the year of 2014. Due to the great popularity last year, the brewers of Steðji decided to introduce a new whale beer. There was a lot of preparation for Hvalur 2 and according to the producers it will be evident in its quality.

"We want to create a true Thorri atmosphere and therefore we decided to use smoked testicles from fin whales for flavoring the beer," Dagbjartur Arilíusson says, one of the owners of the brewery Steðji in Borgarfjörður, about the Thorri beer Hvalur 2 that the company has produced.

"The testicles are cured according to an old, Icelandic tradition, lightly salted and then smoked. We put a lot of effort into this and it's a long process," Dagbjartur says, adding that each brewing had contained one testicle.

Sold out a week last year
According to Dagbjartur, the Beer will be introduced as a special replacement of the Thorri beer that Steðji sold in January last year, containing whale flour.
Vesturland Public Health Safety prohibited the sale of the beer, but the flour contained among other things the viscera and intestines of whales.

A few days later, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, the minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, decided to allow the sale of the product. A week later, it was sold out when five thousand liters had gone through the liquor stores of the State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland.

"The beer was sold out almost immediately and therefore we decided to produce a similar product for Thorri," Dagbjartur says.

A great number of challenges, asking for whale beer
The decision of Vesturland Public Health Safety was confirmed in last October by the Ministry of Industries and Innovation. Therefore, the sale of beer from whale meal is not authorized.

"However, we had a great number of challenges where we were asked to have the whale beer available again. This was decided, but we have got all necessary licenses for manufacturing and selling of the beer, " Dagbjartur says.

Helgi Helgason, the director of Vesturland Public Health Safety, confirms that the company is authorized to sell beer containing whale testicles.

"Whale testicles and blubber are removed by the relevant control authority on behalf of the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority. However, the content intended for whale flour is a by-product not meant for human nutrition and has not been certified as such."

The sales start January 23rd
The beer is 5.1% in alc., with a true, Icelandic smoke taste. A whole testicle is used in every brewing and then the beer is filtered and pasteurized.

"Everyone will be happy with the quality and the pertaining Þorri atmosphere."

This is a limited quantity as the raw material is limited, making this beer unique in the world. The liquor stores start selling Hvalur 2 from the Husband's Day, January 23rd.

[hogie]

Wow. This is awful.

56 dead in Mozambique after drinking beer poisoned with bile
Victims were attending a funeral in a northeastern province

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/world/56-dead- ... -1.2897074" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - new and degraded

[dexter]

http://www.visir.is/icelandic-seasonal- ... 5150109150

Icelandic seasonal beer from whales' testicles

Brewery Steðja introduces a Thorri beer, Hvalur 2, the replacement of Hvalur Thorri beer of Steðji in the year of 2014. Due to the great popularity last year, the brewers of Steðji decided to introduce a new whale beer. There was a lot of preparation for Hvalur 2 and according to the producers it will be evident in its quality.

"We want to create a true Thorri atmosphere and therefore we decided to use smoked testicles from fin whales for flavoring the beer," Dagbjartur Arilíusson says, one of the owners of the brewery Steðji in Borgarfjörður, about the Thorri beer Hvalur 2 that the company has produced.

"The testicles are cured according to an old, Icelandic tradition, lightly salted and then smoked. We put a lot of effort into this and it's a long process," Dagbjartur says, adding that each brewing had contained one testicle.

Sold out a week last year
According to Dagbjartur, the Beer will be introduced as a special replacement of the Thorri beer that Steðji sold in January last year, containing whale flour.
Vesturland Public Health Safety prohibited the sale of the beer, but the flour contained among other things the viscera and intestines of whales.

A few days later, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, the minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, decided to allow the sale of the product. A week later, it was sold out when five thousand liters had gone through the liquor stores of the State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland.

"The beer was sold out almost immediately and therefore we decided to produce a similar product for Thorri," Dagbjartur says.

A great number of challenges, asking for whale beer
The decision of Vesturland Public Health Safety was confirmed in last October by the Ministry of Industries and Innovation. Therefore, the sale of beer from whale meal is not authorized.

"However, we had a great number of challenges where we were asked to have the whale beer available again. This was decided, but we have got all necessary licenses for manufacturing and selling of the beer, " Dagbjartur says.

Helgi Helgason, the director of Vesturland Public Health Safety, confirms that the company is authorized to sell beer containing whale testicles.

"Whale testicles and blubber are removed by the relevant control authority on behalf of the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority. However, the content intended for whale flour is a by-product not meant for human nutrition and has not been certified as such."

The sales start January 23rd
The beer is 5.1% in alc., with a true, Icelandic smoke taste. A whole testicle is used in every brewing and then the beer is filtered and pasteurized.

"Everyone will be happy with the quality and the pertaining Þorri atmosphere."

This is a limited quantity as the raw material is limited, making this beer unique in the world. The liquor stores start selling Hvalur 2 from the Husband's Day, January 23rd.

Think it gives it a nutty flavor?

[gm-]

http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/features/ ... testicles/

More on the ballbeer here

[jason.loxton]

Some sources are questioning the crocodile bile angle: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... -to-blame/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And snopes.com rates it as 'false': http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/crocodilebile.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jeffsmith]

Anheuser-Busch Buys Seattle-Based Elysian Brewing

[toddthebeerdude]

can you say irony http://www.elysianbrewing.com/elysian-b ... -pale-ale/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anheuser-Busch Buys Seattle-Based Elysian Brewing

[jeffsmith]

Yes, they mention that near the end of the article.

[Celiacbrew]

Hammond River is on the CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-bruns ... 58?cmp=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GAM]

Nice interview Shane. Thank's Mike for sharing.

Sandy

[canuck]

Thanks Sandy, just getting around to reading it now. I'm finding a few of the comments rather amusing.