When the craft beer renaissance began in 1977 with New Albion Brewing Co., canned beer was not an option. The main hurdles included the high cost of a canning line, the availability of affordable cans in manageable quantities, plus the perception among consumers that good quality beer could be found in cans.
The 2006 World Cup begins on June 9th, 2006 and runs for one month, through July 9th. Unfortunately, many Americans will find themselves feeling completely left out of this truly worldwide event. Soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, but it does not exert the same drawing power here as it does in the rest of the world. Ah, but the times they are a-changin’ and leading that charge is Beer. When Americans think of football, they think of the Super Bowl and all of those great beer commercials that premiere during each year’s telecast. However, when Europeans and South Americans think of football, they are truly focused on what we call soccer, and brewers in those regions know that if you want to sell beer, soccer is the sport of choice.
Any number of “do-gooder” organizations love to throw stones at the world’s breweries. In its defense, however, the brewing industry as a whole has given billions of dollars to numerous noble causes. Many churches, Turners Clubs, and hundreds of thousands of United Way dollars have grown, thanks to seed monies donated by breweries and their employees. Many great collectables are now available that showcase the many good deeds and civic duties performed by the brewing industry.
During the course of the year, one of the most celebrated and alluring beer styles has got to be bock beer. To a real beer enthusiast, bock beer is truly a brew to seek out and savor (when it can be found).
I’ll never forget it. It was the summer between fourth and fifth grade when I toured my first brewery. My father knew a salesman from the George Wiedemann Brewery in Newport, KY. We met up with him one afternoon and toured the brewery. At the end of the tour, my father sampled a few beers in the rooftop garden and I had a soft drink. My real reward, however, was a collector’s treasure: two of every beer can they were producing. Since this brewery was owned by G. Heileman Brewing of LaCrosse, WI, there were more than 50 cans in this haul. Little did the three of us know what a life-changing experience this would become for me!
A number of columns back I described a license plate advertising Genesee beers. The plate said “Don’t worry Dad we’re drinking Genesee!”
Wed Jul 3rd, 2013
The Young Turks and Old Lions of Breweries
Once a year the whole world of craft brewers, and I do mean the whole world, gathers together for four days of catching up, digesting new ideas, staying up way...
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