[Ryan16]

Recent Headlines: February 18, 2011 (Compiled by the Brewers Association)

Food>>
Beer is for Baking - http://www.sounderatheart.com/2011/2/18/2000823/open-flavor-fridays-beer-is-for-baking - sounderatheart.com
I like to bake with my beer. This fine secondary function not only expands my reasons for purchase, but also when I have a 22oz bottle I can split it in half essentially. One half for the loaf, and the other for the cook. This week, due to a coworkers birthday and the desire to have a loaf at home I tried two different beers. ... Last recommendation for beer breads. Use extra butter along the top prior to cooking.

Events>>
Great Arizona Beer Festival events begin this weekend - http://www.ahwatukee.com/arts_life/article_ab88c3a4-3b8c-11e0-89bd-001cc4c03286.html - ahwatukee.com
There is something big brewing in the Valley this spring; the 23rd annual Great Arizona Beer Festival is on its way and kicking off its celebration this weekend with the inaugural Craft Beer Competition. Organized and conducted by DRAFT Magazine, this nationally sanctioned competition will involve more than 60 brewers with the first round of judging being today, Feb. 18 at Taste of Tops in Tempe. Finalists will compete for the top honor next Friday, Feb. 25 at Sun Devil Liquors.

Lifestyle>>
Beer Birthday: Teri Fahrendorf - http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/beer-birthday-teri-fahrendorf/ - brookstonbeerbulletin.com
Today is brewer Teri Fahrendorf's 29th birthday again. That number is pure conjecture, but it sure seems right for a woman who recently spent a year or so on the road, criss-crossing the United States twice visiting friends and colleagues in the brewing world. Sadly, I was out-of-town when she passed through the Bay Area that year. Teri was the brewmaster for the Steelhead Brewing chain for nearly two decades before leaving last year on her odyssey. She also founded the Pink Boots Society, an organization celebrating women in the brewing industry. You can follow along with her Road Brewer adventures. Join me in wishing Teri a very happy birthday.

'Beer Genius' Helps You Find Your Favorite - http://www.kcci.com/r/26917732/detail.html - kcci.com
El Bait Shop offers close to 300 beer choices, and now offers an easy way to find your favorite with its new "Beer Genius." "It's the most handles on the planet for American micro-brewed beer," said Jeff Bruning, El Bait Shop bar owner. "I always feel bad about the customer who may not have made a choice if they just had a little more knowledge about it." Bruning teamed up with a couple tech-savvy German brothers to help customers make their choices. "We grew up with beer and in Germany it's considered sort of a basic food if you will," said Stefan Hansen, who designed the Beer Genius (See Demo Video). He and his brother run Fresk Interactive.

School of stout: Lifelong Learning offers courses in beer appreciation - http://www.dailycamera.com/food/ci_17405828 - dailycamera.com
While flipping through the Boulder Valley School District`s Lifelong Learning course catalogue a few years ago, Jeff Mendel noted that there were cooking classes, a wine-tasting class and even a cheese-making class among the non-credit course offerings for adult continuing education, but nothing about beer. "I thought 'Here we are in Boulder, a beer mecca, how come nobody is teaching anything about craft beer?" he says. So Mendel, a former director of the Brewers Association Institute for Brewing Studies and a founding partner of Tabernash Brewing Company in Denver, which later merged with Left Hand Brewing Company, worked with Lifelong Learning to develop a beer appreciation class that would give students an intimate look at the craft-beer industry from brew house to glass.

Government Affairs>>
Legislature faces latest brew battle - http://coloradostatesman.com/content/992591-legislature-faces-latest-brew-battle - coloradostatesman.com
Efforts by convenience stores in Colorado to allow them the exclusive franchise to sell low-alcohol beer fell flat this week when the Senate Local Government and Energy Committee voted 4-1 to approve Senate Bill 60. Sponsored by Sens. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood and Jean White, R-Hayden, the bill would allow restaurants, as well as all liquor-license holders, the ability to sell the low alcohol beer for consumption on their premises. The legislation was favored by the Colorado Restaurant Association, which had lobbied committee members extensively. But lobbying against the bill, primarily by owners of convenience stores in the state, was equally as fierce.

Small Brewers Want to Tap Into a Little of the Action - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/us/18ttbeer.html?_r=2 - nytimes.com
If you want to sample Scott Metzger's Old Bat Rastard brew, you will have to travel to San Antonio, sit down at his pub, Freetail Brewing Company, and order a frothy glass from the tap or ask for a half-gallon growler to go. Pub owners like Mr. Metzger would love to sell their brews in retail stores, bars and restaurants, but state law prohibits it. So he and other owners have formed Texas Beer Freedom, a nonprofit lobbying organization, to push for legislation that would allow brewpubs to get their beer out beyond the bar.

Texas small brewers battling odds and big money - http://www.examiner.com/beer-in-national/texas-small-brewers-battling-odds-and-big-money - examiner.com
Earlier today the New York Times (Small Brewers Want to Tap Into a Little of the Action)and The Texas Tribune(Small Texas Brewers Want to Tap Into Bigger Market) both ran the same story about small brewers trying to "overcome some opponents with big names and deep pockets: the powerful beer distribution lobby". The issues were discussed in my last week's post Texas craft brewers fight for self distribution & brewery tour beer.  Texas State Representative Mike Villarreal filed House Bill 660 which has created two opposing sides, one supporting and one opposing.

Alloway Introduces Legislation to Make Tax Credits Available to Small Breweries - http://www.politicspa.com/alloway-introduces-legislation-to-make-tax-credits-available-to-small-breweries/21511/ - politicspa.com
Senator Richard Alloway II (R-33) introduced legislation this week that would make tax credits available for capital improvements at Pennsylvania's small breweries. Senate Bill 275 would create a permanent Malt Beverage Tax Credit of up to $200,000 for small breweries for the purchase of equipment and machinery. The tax credit would only be available to small breweries producing less than 1.5 million barrels of beer per year, and the credit could not exceed the amount of qualifying capital expenditures in a given year. A similar tax credit was created in 1974, but it expired in 2008. "Pennsylvania's small breweries are an important part of our communities and a significant contributor to our state and local economy, and restarting this tax credit program will play an important role in helping these small businesses thrive and grow," Alloway said.

Bill that would extend taproom hours tabled - http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_b48d207e-5885-520e-9e68-443932ead367.html - billingsgazette.com
It's a question of two hours, but  proponents and opponents of Senate Bill 202 say its implications would extend beyond time on the clock. The legislation, which was tabled in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee Thursday, would amend current law to shift the hours that Montana breweries are allowed to serve samples from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to between noon and 10 p.m. It would not alter the amount of beer - 48 ounces - the establishments can legally serve an individual on any given day. People would have until 11 p.m. to finish consuming their beverages.

Despite Initiative Defeat, Costco Still Pushing Liquor Privatization - http://news.opb.org/article/64019-despite-initiative-defeat-costco-still-pushing-liquor-privatization/ - news.opb.org
Washington voters defeated not one, but two liquor privatization measures last fall -- one of them sponsored by Costco. But a key lawmaker says that's not stopping the Issaquah, Washington-based warehouse chain from continuing to push the issue in Olympia. Currently in Washington hard alcohol is sold only through state and contract stores. Costco wants to offer spirits alongside its current beer and wine selection -- as it does in the majority of states where it operates.

Kan. Senate panel to vote next week on liquor bill - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/kan-senate-panel-to-vote-next-week-on-liquor-bill.html - bloomberg.com
The chairman of a Kansas Senate committee expects the panel to vote next week on a bill to let grocery and convenience stores sell full-strength beer, wine and liquor. Salina Republican Pete Brungardt said he's scheduled a debate by the Federal and State Affairs Committee for Tuesday. The measure allows grocery and convenience stores to start selling full-strength beer and wine on Jan. 1. They're now allowed to sell so-called cereal malt beverage, also known as weak or low-point beer. The bill also phases in liquor sales in grocery and convenience stores by 2015.

Bill seeks to tweak Utah liquor law service hours - http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-bill-tweak-utah-liquor-law-service-hours,0,3838426.story - fox13now.com
A proposed overhaul of Utah's liquor laws would reduce the hours for beer service across the state. Republican Sen. John Valentine of Orem unveiled a bill today that emphasizes the Legislature's goal of encouraging eating with alcohol consumption. Senate Bill 314 seeks to allow all liquor service to begin at 11:30 a.m. Current law allows beer sales starting at 10 a.m. but bans wine and liquor service before noon. Under the bill, restaurants with a liquor license would need to have 70 percent of their revenues from food service instead of 50 percent. The bill also bans beer containers larger than two liters. Two Utah microbreweries recently started selling miniature beer kegs with about five liters of beer.

Debate brewing over Mississippi's liquor laws - http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=14052262 - wlox.com
Vendors and beer enthusiasts are busy setting up at the Coast Coliseum Convention Center for Saturday's Top of the Hops Beer Festival. There's also debate brewing about a proposal to update the liquor laws in Mississippi. Many beer lovers and beer makers want the state to increase the allowable alcohol content from the current five percent to eight percent. They say the lower limit restricts residents from purchasing many craft beers, which exceed the alcohol limit. Members of the organization "Raise Your Pints" point out that that means about a third of the world's beer styles, some of them very high quality, are outlawed in Mississippi.

Business>>
How to build a career in beer - http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-18/news/28553834_1_brewers-association-craft-beer-craft-brewing - philly.com
Matt Hall majored in business administration at Bloomsburg University, but even in college, he knew there was only one thing he wanted to do: brew beer. Traditionally, the world of craft brewing has been small and insular - like a hidden pub on a back alley. But in Philadelphia, where the roster of upscale gastropubs is ever growing and Philly Beer Week is fast becoming a civic holiday, opportunities to launch a successful full-time career in beer-making are expanding as quickly as the head of a carelessly poured pint. Which is why Hall, 25, of Richboro, got a job as an assistant brewer at Yards Brewing Co. in Philadelphia this month.

Brewing beer with Oakland's Linden Street Brewery - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/detail?entry_id=83366 - sfgate.com
Perched above a steaming stainless steel cauldron, Adam Lamoreaux rhythmically stirs the contents with a large metal oar. Inside, a thick amber-colored concoction of cracked grains and hot water simmers. As he continues to stir, a sweet malty smell fills the air. Lamoreaux looks down into the vat and studies his mixture, then says, "For the first two years of my daughter's life, she thought I made oatmeal." Lamoreaux is working on the first step of making beer, called mashing--and basically it is just like making oatmeal. "It's grain and hot water," Lamoreaux says as he stirs. "I'm making sure there's no dough balls, making sure it's all mixed up." It's San Francisco Beer Week this week, meaning hundreds of events that showcase Bay Area beer, and as the owner of Linden Street Brewery--the only production brewery in Oakland--Lamoreaux is stretched thin. Between attending tastings, contests and Q&A sessions, Lamoreaux also has to keep brewing beer.

Drinking in a little history - http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_17414817 - ldnews.com
Jennifer Yuengling's great-great-great-grandfather may have brewed your great-great-great-grandfather's beer. Her family has been brewing beer for your family ever since. She is the sixth generation of the Yuengling family to run America's oldest brewery, which was founded in Pottsville in 1829. She'll was in Bethlehem on Wednesday to preside over a Yuengling Beer Dinner at St. James Gate in the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. The daughter of current president Dick Yuengling Jr., Jennifer says she oversees operations and production with the help of her Lord Chesterfield Ale-style personality. She explains, "It's a bit different, can pack a punch and be a little feisty."Although she wasn't born and brewed to spend her life beside the brew kettles, she seems to be a natural. Like a good bartender, she easily taps into her knowledge and experience to talk about the family's beers and where they fit into today's expansive beer market. "We're not your routine mainstream brewers. We're bigger than the craft and microbreweries but we're much smaller than the mega-brewers. Our niche is in the middle. We're not as 'out there' as some craft brews can be. Ours is a regional brewery with a line to appeal to any beer drinker," she says.

Global>>
Toast the Royal Couple With 'Kiss Me Kate' Beer - http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/02/18/toast-the-royal-couple-with-kiss-me-kate-beer/ - newsfeed.time.com
An English brewery is paying tribute to the royal wedding with a beer named in honor of the future princess. Nottingham's Castle Rock Brewery has created a commemorative brew called "Kiss Me Kate," to be released at the end of March. Head brewer Adrian Redgrove says the drink will be "elegant, tasteful and British to the core." Which is fitting, since that's exactly how we'd describe Miss Middleton. Unfortunately, the beer will only be available in Britain. But ladies on this side of the pond can enjoy the male equivalent a little closer to home. "Prince William's Porter" will be sold at Moose's Tooth Pub in Anchorage, Alaska. Bottoms up!