Even though I have been in Florida for well over five years now, December and the Christmas season continues to sneak up on me.  Without the snow that I was used to when growing up in New York the only way I know it is winter is when the Christmas music hits the airwaves.  Then the frantic search for any required gifts begins since I am only left with a short time before I would have to ship anything up north.

It is also the season for me to be thinking of winter seasonals, so that is where the idea for beer news started today.  Below are just a couple stories to assist you when shopping for your friends or family and a few others that I found interesting.

• Some winter beer favorites from a tasting panel in Baltimore.

• A list of gifts for the beer lovers in your life.

• Different approaches to starting (and maintaining success with) your own brewery.  Certainly of personal interest to me!

• Knowing what breweries the “Big 2” control.  There were a few that caught me by surprise.

Some winter beer favorites via The Baltimore Sun

As is becoming increasingly common, I must thank The Wife and Seattle Jeff for passing along a few gems to be included in the rundown this week.  If I could only get one of them to write the whole thing for me I would really be in business.

Now for the week in beer news (some of it anyway) . . .

• There were other options out there that I could have used to convey this story of a new product coming out, put I like the tone used in this one.  Even if it does end up in the United States at some point, I don’t know that I could ever get myself to pay anything to taste it.
• This continues to be good information if I ever decide to vacation in Asheville (which is quite unlikely), but it does me no good when I know that my current location does not even deserve a write in vote.
• Speaking of vacation, this is information that I can certainly use when I do get back to Seattle at some point.
• I really like posts out there that allow me a one-stop-shopping type experience for my beer news.  Why go to many site when I can start with just one for my Eastern US brewery news?
• I always like reading about how breweries came to be, but it is amusing to me that I am left wondering how the hell he ended up with a Sam Adams in Scandinavia in the ‘80s.  Funny that it was distributed that far away at that point.
• It has been a while since I passed along a Sam Calagione centered story here, so this is the one for this week.
• It appears that there will be some new beer commercials out there to be mixed in among the usual players that we sit through.
• Though I would like people to keep visiting this site, this might be another one to keep track of going forward.
• Though I cannot and will not be in Memphis in May for the festival, this was a good article highlighting beer and beer production in Belgium.  it is funny to me that they chose a photo of Stella (over all the other options) to sit atop the piece.

via http://www.commercialappeal.com/

I am quite pleased with the collection of stories today since they cover many different topics.  Then again, the last one also makes me even more excited to get back to Baltimore in a few months to warm up a barstool at Max’s.  On with  the show . . . .

• I like to think that there is so much beer out there now that there has to be at least one to satisfy everyone’s tastes, but apparently I am missing something.
• Maybe this is not the biggest beer news this week . . . unless you live in that town.
• It takes stories like this one to remind me how fortunate I am to be here and have access to the large amount of good beer in this area.  Apparently many are not as lucky.
• I have often said that I will not wait in line for much of anything and this only reminds me of that.  Though it is awesome that there is this much excitement about craft beer, the madness often gets out of hand.  I also think that not sucking it up and having a different beer after waiting in line that long is bizarre.
• After again mentioning my hatred for lines, this beer might be worth a trip to Boulder.  Then again there is quite a lot of beery awesomeness there beyond just Avery.
• Though I do not know exactly what the craft beer movement is like in the UK, I very much enjoyed one of the BrewDog guys taking a shot at one of the big boys of beer in the world.  Keep on speaking the truth James!
• Who knew that an unintentionally released tweet would turn out to benefit both parties involved?  As a bonus related story, here is an opportunity to catch up with what Sam and DFH has been up to (if you did not know already).
• Being in Baltimore during this would be quite excellent, but I will just settle for what is available at Max’s when I am up there in a few months.  Belgian Beer Festival or not, I will feel quite at home there.

Looking into my future. (via http://www.baltimoresun.com/)

Cheers!

After taking last Thursday off  from passing along beer news to celebrate the anniversary of this site, it is time to get back at it.  I might even throw in a few more stories than usual as The Wife and Seattle Jeff (my Pacific Northwest Beer Correspondent) gave me a bunch along the way and I feel a little bad for not providing a venue to showcase that information last week.

Here we go . . .

• Staring off easy I will give a few links that are not as much news as they are interesting uses for beer cans.  This first group seems pretty reasonable for an individual to drink enough beer to create while I am hoping that this guy did not have to drink all of the Bud necessary for his sculpture.
• I suppose plans for brewery expansion change when people catch on to  how great your beer is and fortunately this Colorado brewery is being responsible about the whole process while adding capacity very fast.  Even bars in Colorado are adjusting to keep up with the growing desire for craft beer.
• Apparently we now know what the new television craze is going to be after all of those damn cake and cupcake shows fade away.  After the announcement of Sam Calagione’s show in June, it seems that other networks are jumping in with beer shows as well.  I am just sorry I missed my shot at being one of the hosts.
• Surely this acquisition will only further the already heated discussion of what this means as far as the true definition of craft beer.  I know they all have to do what they have to do, but I hope that the merger bug does not infect the entire craft beer community going forward.
• Knowing that Dogfish Head used this method to create one of their brews, it is interesting to see playing with hot rocks catch on a bit.
• As one of my favorite beer styles that is not actually a recognized style, the Black IPA is certainly gaining momentum everywhere.  More and more breweries are coming out with examples and the article gives some very good options of brews to try if you haven’t yet tried one.
• Lastly is a shout out to a great brewery here in (nearby) Tampa.  I just hope they don’t get too popular right away as it is already difficult to get your hands on their brews sometimes.  Fortunately there is always going straight to the source as an option for me.

West End Tavern in Boulder (via http://www.dailycamera.com)

Cheers!

This week has flown by so fast that I almost forgot that today was Thursday.  It is not uncommon for me to forget or be unsure about what the actual date is, but not knowing the day of the week is another thing entirely.  I suppose realizing today is Thursday is far better than finding out it is Monday when your brain was thinking Tuesday.  Writing this I also realize that my mind rambles no matter what day of the week it is.

Now on to the reading for the week . . .

• Starting off on a positive note (at least in my mind) is a bit of an update of the gain in popularity of canned beer among craft brewers.  It seems I can look for some Hazed and Infused in cans while I continue to wait for what Avery will be bringing sometime this summer.

• As Seattle Beer Week begins today, here are a few other cities launching beer weeks or craft beer celebrations of their own very soon.  The common thread with them all is that, unfortunately, none of the cities are where I live.

Kyoto, Japan

Atlanta, Georgia

Chicago, Illinois

• Though it happened last week, I find this little story about craft beer and the stock market pretty interesting.  What a score that would have been to have been to buy shares during that incredibly short period of time?  Not really possible, but a guy can dream.

• I will let everyone else argue about the validity of the “Wild” portion of the name, but I will just be excited to have another Lagunitas brew to look forward to seeing on the shelves this fall.

• Even though I did not know what the official name for gluten intolerance was until just a short time ago, I am not surprised that beer is among the things that there is an increasing market for with those who have to deal with it.

• As a closing article, this one is here simply because it reminds me that I have yet to see these six-packs on the shelf anywhere yet and also that I have to get practicing more if I ever want to enter this contest in the future.

Sorghum anyone? (via http://www.nydailynews.com/)

Cheers!