Monday Morning Dump: February 24, 2014

NYC Beer Week

It is all happening now.  Want a list of events still to come?  Here you go.

The opening night bash really jumped things off this past Friday.  And the Village Voice has you covered on that.  Take a look at when your favorite brewery may be doing a tap takeover.  Pretty nice set up.

The closing “ceremonies” will be a beer brunch, and taking part would be one of our favorite breweries in the area, Bronx Brewery.  Check it.

As for the main event in our eyes, The NYC Craft Beer Fest by Handcrafted Tasting.  Tickets are flying.  One session completely sold out, and the other two are close.  Get in on it.

More details found HERE.  And we will have the entire thing covered for you in full.  You know where.

Get on it.

Week in Review/Preview

All you need to know about last week can be found  in the FRIDAY BEER WRAP

As for this week, the last winter beer of the season in tomorrows #NewBrewTues, another NYC Beer Week report in the Beer News section, Friday a wrap up, and Friday night, live coverage of the NYC Beer Fest here–>  Twitter | Instagram | Untappd | Vine all @BeerBrosBlog.

On to the DUMP

• You can also follow NYC Beer Week on twitter for the up to the minute latest every day.
• Yelp has even more on the events covered right here. 
• One of our top local brewers, Sixpoint, is getting very involved too. 
• And even though this happened yesterday, Founders Beer Brunch, it looks like we all missed one hell of a time. 

Non Beer Clip of the Week

The Double.  Jesse Eisenberg.

I’m in.

That is all.

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Beer News Special Report

NYC Craft Beer Week

Starting Friday the 21st at the Vanderbilt Hall and ending on Sunday March 2nd with a closing brunch at Houston Hall, NYC is about to enter a 10 day celebration of everything craft beer in the 5 boroughs.

Sound intriguing?  Of course it does.

But we are here to focus on one event in particular.  The NYC Craft Beer Spring Seasonal Festival at the Lexington Armory.

What’s it all about Beer Bros?  I know that is what your asking.  Let us answer it for you.

In three sessions, Friday the 28th 7pm-10:30pm & Saturday the 1st 1pm-4:30pm as well as 6pm-9:30pm you will get to indulge in a bit of the following:

Sampling of 150 beers from 75 of the most renowned craft brewers in the the 5 boroughs and beyond.  What types are you going to find?  “For the spring show we are looking to put together a diverse list of brews that show off the range of craft beer, especially from breweries in the region around NYC.  In particular we are looking for fresh beers that have bright flavors,” said Giancarlo Annese, festival curator and seminar leader.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?  Add this.

Giancarlo, and cofounder of BeerUnion.com, Sarah Annese, will host a seminar discussing their new book, “Beer Lovers New York”, exploring the taste of what New York beers are all about.  Beer trends and how each region of the state is exploring what could be on the horizon for craft brew lovers.

Want more?

Step up your price point to score one of the 150 connoisseur tickets available per session, and sample 12-15 rare beers not found on the main tasting floor by the rest of the masses.  Where?  In a private lounge environment, drenched with live blues/folk music, and accompanied by free finger foods for your tasting pleasure.

We will be there.  We want you to be too.  If you can’t, you know what the next best thing would be, right? Follow us on Twitter | Instagram | Untappd | Vine all @BeerBrosBlog, for absolutely up to the second coverage.

More concerning this event will be found on this site between now and then, so stay tuned.

Never a purveyor of Spring Seasonals before because I always saw it as the “untapped season, ripe for a money grab”.  But that has all changed right now.  It is a symbol.  This may have been the worst winter ever in the NYC area history.  At least in my lifetime.  Buried under snow every other day.  A mountain of ice boulders has grown and grown right outside my apartment until it is taller than me.  The temps have barely gotten into the 20s.  It is time.  Roll in the Spring.  In the best way possible… with beer.

That is all.

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Friday Beer Wrap

What Did You Miss This Week?
January 27 to 31

This weeks DUMP took a look at the Influx of the IPA… they are EVERYWHERE.  Included also was your weekly dose of hits and clips.  Plus a news anchor asking for “Pussy to get out of those pants…”  Yeah.

The Beer News Special Report looked at just another reason to call Mississippi, that Backwards Ass State.

Also, in our 1st edition of the READER FORUM, reader John E sounded off on the greedy pockets of today’s craft brewers.

As for the #NewBrewTues this week, it went a bit like this:

Ommegang Gnomegang – Score: 3.8/4 

“Ommegang never disappoints.  And this one is no exception.  Think of it as a super strong spiced wheat, like a Hoegaarden.  It even resembles a nice American Farmhouse Saison.  A bit rough on the CO2, but with the aggressive yeasts, that is going to happen.  Everything else about it, is top notch.  And we wouldn’t expect any less.”

Busy week indeed.

ReminisceBlog

Here are all 381 beer reviews we have posted, in the ever growing ARCHIVES

Add in all 111 editions of the MONDAY MORNING DUMP

SuggestionBlog

WATCH:  Seth McFarlane is golden.  In the way that he can do whatever he wants.  Make a movie about a profanity laden drug overdosing teddy bear?  Check.  Put on a show where he sings old Sinatra standards at Carnegie Hall of all places?  Check.  So when he went to the studio and said he wants to make a western era, violent, profanity laden (of course), comedy, the studio said, “Do it”.  Just watch the trailer.  Here you go.

That is all.

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Beer News Special Report

Mississippi: The Backwards Ass State

Coming from the Northeast of the US, it is fair to say that we tend to be on the side of what others might call – “Elitists”.  While it sounds like a nice title, it basically means that we judge other regions of the country to not be as good as us, simply because of where they are on a map.

While this may seem unfair and unjust, it can be considered 100% accurate when it comes to looking down (literally) at a state called Mississippi.

And as if the state that didn’t officially abolish slavery until 1 YEAR AGO (Mississippi Officially Abolishes Slavery – February 2013) needed yet another reason to be judged poorly, we have it. 

The state has only 8 craft breweries that call it home.  And if you feel bad enough for them just based on that, there is more.  These breweries can not make money directly.  They can’t bottle, fill growlers, hell, even sell pints on site.  They can only offer tastings.  Why?

It is state law that breweries can only sell their product to restaurants or retail stores.  Because what sense would it make for a brewery to offer a sample to some one, they like it, and then they can buy it?  None… obviously.  It makes a ton more sense for that interaction to go something like this:

Customer:  “May I try the Pale Ale?”
Brewery:  “Sure, here you go.”
Customer:  “Man that is good.  Can I buy some?”
Brewery:  “Of course!  There is a store about a half hour up the road, tell em we said hi?”
Customer:  “Can’t I just buy some from you?  I’m already here.  I love your product.  I would like to give you the money.”
Brewery:  “That’s against the law sir.”

Now of course the language used in our dramatization may be a bit too advanced for what actual residents of Mississippi would use, the rest of us can understand plain English, so we get it.

Why is this such a big deal?

In 2012, the craft beer boom contributed $34 Billion to the US economy.  Don’t you think that the state that ranks absolute dead last 50th in our country in wealth could use all the help it could get?

Probably not.  Otherwise who would we pick on then?

I’m sure we could find someone…

That is all.

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Monday Morning Dump: January 27

The Influx of the IPA

The IPA may be the most popular beer style amongst Hop Heads, so with that, it makes sense that most brewers, when releasing a new beer varietal, over 90% of the time it is an IPA.  Now that number was not come about by any type of research, but when read, it certainly does seem accurate, doesn’t it?

Example:  Sierra Nevada replaces their popular Fall Seasonal, Tumbler, which is a nice Autumn inspired brown ale, with Flipside.  An all new Red IPA.

Example:  Brooklyn Brewery announces their new project that has been in the works for quite a bit, Brooklyn BLAST!  Guess what the BLAST is, IPA hop punch.

Example:  Just below in the DUMP section, we reveal Bear Republic’s new seasonal, APEX.  APEX Special IPA that is.

Example:  Sixpoint replaces their past popular spiced winter stout Diesel with Global Warmer, an amber IPA.  

So what gives?  Is there any hope for people looking for something different?  Probably not.

Don’t get us wrong, we love these new styles.  They are all fantastic beers.  But it would be nice to try a new offering from someone that didn’t have that IPA moniker on it.  Just for the sake of mixing it up.

Deal with it.

Week in Review/Preview

All you need to know about last week can be found in the FRIDAY BEER WRAP

As for this week, another winter brew for #NewBrewTues, an all new Beer News Special Report looks into the Craft Brew scene in Mississippi, and on Thursday, a special op ed piece from reader John Elliot.

On to the DUMP

• BridgePort Brewing celebrates their 30 anniversary with Trilogy 1.  To be honest, I never even heard of them, and they are right across the Long Island Sound.  Nuts.  Here’s a VIDEO.
• Bear Republic has the fine distinction of making 1 of the top IPAs in the world with Racer No 5.  Now available is a special version with APEX.  Part of a seasonal pack.   Sure to be awesome.
• Woodchuck riding the recent surge in popularity in hard ciders, and merging them with the recent popularity of 16 oz cans.  By putting the hard cider in 16 oz cans… get it? 
• Craft Breweries boost US economy by $33 Billion… $33 Billion in Beer sales…  Who says drinking is a bad thing?

Non Beer Clip of the Week

Pussy, get out of my pants.

Oh grow up…

That is all.

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Beer News Special Report

It’s Time for a Movement

The Craft Beer Movement has already happened.  Like it or not, the uptick that has been the trend of the craft beer is plateauing.  How do we figure?

In the late 1970s there were only 44 breweries in the US.  By the early 80s, that number would remain the same, but the companies running them would dwindle to 4.  4.  There are now over 2,500.  Going by the 44 number of the late 70s, that is just an increase of 5588%…

There are TV shows about it. They make soap out of it. Shampoo too. Beer gift baskets. Beer Judge Certification programs.  Bars built to serve nothing but the top crafts, with no sign of the St. Louis giants.

No one can read these facts I have just laid out in front of you, and say that the peak is still coming.  Whatever increase in breweries, whatever crazy beer inspired product, whatever type of beer class that is right around the corner, it will all seem like less of a shock or surprise seeing as how all of this stuff is already here.

So the movement has happened.  But now there needs to be a new movement.  In a different direction.  With the increase in popularity and the shift to the mainstream, the prices have been directly related to the growth.  Evidenced by the purchase of a recent 4 pack of River Horse for $15.  Even though it is a short drive across the Hudson river, they have the audacity to charge foreign import prices.  And you know what?  They have every right if people continue to pay it.

But that’s not what I am talking about either.  I am talking about an anti Hipster movement.  You know the people I am talking about.

Yeah, those types.  They make drinking good beer obnoxious.  Snobby?  Sure.  Can anyone just be a snob?  Sure.  But if only wanting to drink good beer makes me a snob, then so be it.  But at least I am not one of these guys.

You know the type.  The ones that order a beer only because you’ve never heard of it, douchey sounding ones.  Oh, and of course those people who order a PBR “ironically“.

Here’s a tip:  Ordering a PBR, and laughing to your friends about it, makes you a dick for spending money on a shitty beverage where the only sufferer is you, but it is also commitment to a joke so I have to respect that.  Ordering it multiple times, and laughing about it each time, just plain makes you a dick.  When you do something “ironically” all the time, there is nothing ironic about it anymore.

Of course it may sound like I am soapboxing here, and I am.  It may sound like I have no real basis to start a movement, and you’re right.  It may also sound like I am just venting… Bingo.

No real slogan, no real protest, no real fight to fight.  So what then?

What can be done?

Hanging out with friends, ordering good beers, and not being one of these guys about it.

Oh, and stay away from the PBR.  It’s terrible.

That is all.

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Monday Morning Dump: January 20, 2013

Ohio, Get Ready to Drink

“A lot of Ohio brewers find themselves at a competitive disadvantage,” Dem Rep Dan Ramos said.

He of course was referring to the state wide restrictions on highest ABV that can be produced in Ohio beers.  It was 12%.  It will jump to 21%.  “It’s about leveling the playing field,” Ramos went on.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (seriously… that’s his name) is worried what this might do for drunk driving numbers.

To which I can only say, “Hey, you do realize that any other booze on that shelf back there is at least, AT LEAST, twice the 21% you will see on beer?  Do I have to be the one to point it out!?”

I swear, sometimes you see the ones in power, hear what they have to say when they open their mouths, and just wonder how that could ever have happened.  That someone was dumb enough, to put a dumb dumb like this in charge… It goes all the way to the top I’m sure.

Dumb.
O
READER REVIEWS

Get these in to me.  Have a beer you feel is misrepresented?  Or not represented at all?  Get us that review.  Send it to BeerBrosBlog@gmail.com, and it will slide right into that Thursday slot.  Make it happen.

I will be very disappointed if I don’t see a single one.

 Week in Review/Preview

All you need to know about last week can be found in the FRIDAY BEER WRAP

As for this week, an all new winter beer heads up #NewBrewTues, an all new Beer News Special Report as we look into a movement that has yet to happen, but has to happen.

Anything else?  Maybe.  Probably not.

On to the DUMP

• Seattle Brewery scores big w/ the Seattle Seahawks run.  Also it is depressing to live in Seattle, so that would lead to more drinking as well. 
• Colorado brewer receives a C&D letter from the NFL to stop using “Broncos” name in their beer.  If nothing else, that alone will boost biz. 
• On the topic, sports teams are realizing there is more bank to be made when serving craft brews over domestic giants… because they can’t keep getting away with $10 for a Bud Light…
• Beer Gifts for Valentines day?  Why not… I guess. 

Non Beer Clip of the Week

Attack of the Demon Baby

Love shit like this.

That is all.

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Beer News Special Report

Yo-Ho Brewing and Japanese Craft Beer

Here’s one of those ‘Did you know…” lines that we all love so much.

Did you know, that until 1994, Japanese tax laws kept the big guys foot on the little guys head so much, that Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, and Suntory made up 99% of all beer sold in Japan?

Anyone who has eaten in a Sushi joint has seen these

Now we’ve all heard of those brands if we’ve ever eaten at a sushi restaurant, or watched “Lost in Translation”, but you are probably still thinking, “So what?  How much beer they got there anyway?”

Japan, despite being a country the size of California, is the worlds 7th largest beer producer.  And even though they may not appear to be a big beer consuming culture, out of their 9 billion gallons of alcohol related drinks sold annually, roughly 6 billion gallons are beer!

It is kind of gross when you put those kind of numbers on it.

But what does all this mean for Japan, and the burgeoning craft beer scene?  When sales of local big boys started dipping, once the locals got a taste for what beer is supposed to taste like, the tax laws were loosened, and opened the door for more beer entrepreneurs.

Enter: Keiji Hoshino.  An exchange student in the US in the mid 90s.  He drank his 1st actual craft beer here.  And instantly knew how bad Japanese beer really is.

His goal on returning home, start an Americanized version of a brewery, and kick ass at doing it.

In 1996, Yo-Ho Brewing was born.  

Since the 1st batch was brewed, their focus has been on perfecting the ale.  Now their focus is maintaining the ultimate quality control while expanding and meeting demands.

Having their head brewer, Toshi Ishii, hone his craft at Stone Brewing of California, will go a long way to doing that.

The current boom has also enabled them to try new recipes. 

Their lineup now consists of:

Belgian White – Suiyoubi no Neko (Translation: Wednesday Cat)

American Pale Ale – Yona Yona (Translation: Every Day)

English IPA – Aooni (Translation: Blue Demon of India)

Porter – Tokyo Black

While the beer is certainly expanding production, keeping quality control, and taking advantage of the new found ultra popularity with their own brew pub in the Akasaka district of Tokyo, you will be hard pressed to find one elsewhere.

They currently only export to Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, and the Pacific Northwest of the US.  So send us some, if you got any.  Now.

That is all.

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