News
New Glarus Staghorn Octoberfest returns for fall season
(New Glarus, WI) – Preparation for the changing season begins. Fall cleaning, leaves changing, and of course, Octoberfest. Whether you plan to ring in the fall or celebrate the end of a hard summer’s work, New Glarus Brewing Company is proud to offer their Octoberfest to herald the change in season.
True to style, New Glarus Brewing Company’s ‘Staghorn Octoberfest’ is brewed using the time honored methods and an extra slow lager to release the smooth flavor of roasted malts. You will find absolutely no additives, preservatives, or artificial agents of any kind in this bier, and over 1,100 lbs. of malted barley in every handcrafted batch. 100% natural, great Midwest barleys, the world’s most expensive hops, fresh yeast from Germany, and clear Wisconsin water make Staghorn an authentic Octoberfest. Expect this bier to pour with a rich head of foam that will enhance its incredible spice bouquet. ‘Staghorn Octoberfest’ combines a smooth amber body with a clean crisp finish. Be sure to hold this one up to the light of the harvest moon and enjoy.
The first Octoberfest beer was brewed to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig of Bavaria during the last two weeks of September. The Village of New Glarus honors this traditional celebration with their own Octoberfest September 24 and 25th. New Glarus Brewing Company will kick off this spirited event by tapping a wooden keg Friday night in Downtown New Glarus. Everyone is invited to join in the festivities. The merriment will continue with live music at the brewery Saturday. The Jimmys (a Grammy nominated Blues and R & B band) will play at the Hilltop brewery, with plenty of Octoberfest to toast good friends, music and memories in the making. We hope to see you there! Cheers! You can find more information on this event at http://swisstown.com/oktoberfest.shtml).
New Glarus Staghorn Octoberfest returns for fall season
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
The Grace Kelly of Wines
Mad About Mooncakes
Soul Food à la Française
The Tipping Point: Part I
Copyright Chris (ooaona) at Picasaweb
The first in a two-part stream of consciousness thought on the state of craft beer.
James Watson of HSBC: “Question for you on shelf space: I read in the last couple months statements from a few retailers saying they were either maintaining or expanding shelf space for craft beers. I was wondering what you guys have seen on that front. I’ll start there.”
Boston Beer Co. CEO, Jim Koch: “Yes, I think over, not just this year but previously in 2008 and 2009, we’ve seen a significant increase in shelf space for craft beer, typically at a greater rate than the sales. So your craft beer certainly benefited from more shelf space; the shelf space has grown faster than the sales. That eventually has to come to an end because sales per SKU or per foot of craft beer space have been declining as the category has expanded itself.
So I think we, you know, we may be at an inflection point where the rate of increase for craft shelf space may slow down. I’d certainly hope that it would match the volume growth of the category. But it can’t exceed it forever.”
That statement came during a second quarter earnings conference call earlier this month.
2010 has been a superb year for craft beer and the last several years have been a significant improvement over the early part of the last decade. Even greater than this current renaissance was the craft beer boom of the mid-90s. Data from the Beer Institute shows that “specialty breweries” grew from 376 to 1,625 from 1992 to 1998. Absolutely staggering. Then what happened? Craft beer volume growth (and the number of craft breweries) leveled out for the next five years before its resurrection in 2004. Despite the great year craft beer is having, there is the inevitably that current trends will come back down to earth. The question is when will that be? Two years? Five years? Ten years?
World Class Beverages, a major distributor of craft brands, provoked much thought in the beer community with its blog post back in March titled, “Less is More? Are There Too Many Beers?” The post discussed the challenges facing distributors with the resurgence in the number of craft breweries over the past few years.
Jim Schembre, World Class Beverages of Indianapolis, had this to say at the beginning of the year:
“The big concern for the year 2010 for the wholesaler is the continued development of more and more brewers; there are now over 1,500 craft beers in America and the craft brewers are wondering if the category has so many brands that the brewers will lose their identity. Something like the wine industry: you know that you like Zinfandels but name one? So some of the major craft brewers are pressing the ideal to slow down the development of other brands. Brewers like Magic Hat even suggest that as wholesalers we do not need to even carry anything but the top four, as they currently represent over 70% of the grand total. So the big thing for 2010 for wholesalers will be access to market and who gets it. Remember there is only a small shelf at retail and how many brands and packages can you even put on it. So the list of brewers that want to come in the state and the number that can actually get to market are two different things. We as wholesalers and you as consumers, because of this aggressive growth of new brewers, must be concerned about quality and we are seeing people get in the craft side and have no beer skills at all. That is a problem.”
Compounding that fact, the Brewers Association recently reported that at least 100 craft breweries have begun operation this year. How can craft distributors effectively handle these new brands with their current portfolios, which in some cases, already include dozens of brands?
On the retail side, there is a sentiment among core beer drinkers that wine has done just fine with over 6,000 wineries present in the United States. Why can’t there be 3,000 or 4,000 craft breweries? Wineries have had one luxury in the past couple decades that craft breweries, for the most part, don’t have and that is extra shelf space. There are new beverage shops opening each day but in existing stores, space comes at a premium. A craft brewery that opens a couple years from now is probably going to have more difficulty than one opening today.
Beer industry veterans are leery of this “winofication” of beer. I’m not referring to exclusive beers going for hundreds and beer culture turning all hoighty-toighty. That’s another discussion. This is about the importance of “brand” to craft beer sales. Over time, a very savvy wine drinker may learn to recognize and differentiate between hundreds or thousands of wineries on the shelves but picking a wine, for most of us, is based on a varietal, is mostly random or we’ll ask the wine department person to pick something for us. Nielsen research says that this would be detrimental to craft beer in the long run, “Craft Brewers will sustain growth via brand-building marketing strategy, rather than a style route-to-market. Brands command pricing and credibility. Marketing & merchandising ‘varieties’ may seem easier…but that drives ’substitutability,’ undermining pricing.”
I asked a couple retailers for their input on brands and variety. One said that the only major hit his business was really taking was with high-end imports. When asked about craft, he said, “Everyday, year-round beers are slightly down. It’s more about special releases and seasonals.” He identified long-time customers as going for the latter while casual customers are buying more year-round selections from small craft brands (and are presumably moving away from bigger brands).
Another retailer said the following:
“The selection is getting to be too much. I used to carry everything available locally but now it is impossible to do and keep it all fresh. There is no doubt that the biggest hit has been to imports over the past few years. I sometimes wonder if it is going to end up like sherry (foritified wine) where only the older clientele drinks. Nobody under 50 comes in to buy Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry to drink. I even wonder about things like Dewars Scotch which is mostly older clientele, the younger crowd drinks Single Malt scotch mostly. Craft beer is going that way, the ‘older’ regulars are the ones that still buy the Bass, Newcastle, Chimay, Becks and Heineken. The ‘younger’ crowd almost strictly buys American craft with the exception of hard-to-get Belgians like Cantillon and Fantome, plus American-influenced craft like Mikkeller. I think Heineken, Newcastle and others need to find a way to reinvent themselves to the younger crowd.”
He also identified Mendocino Brewing, Arcadia, Flying Dog, Rogue, Anchor and North Coast as moving more slowly than they have in the past. With the exception of Rogue, which has always been at the center of discussion regarding its high prices, the other brands have been slow to introduce new seasonals on the off-premise side.
Seasonals, while seemingly a low risk-high reward proposition, come with a price. The same retailer mentioned that Southern Tier seasonals were selling like crazy when first introduced but not as much this year. So should Southern Tier swap out some of its seasonals and introduce new ones? Seems like a good idea in the short run but a brewery that does this takes the risk of alienating drinkers who are a fan of that seasonal. Magic Hat is a prime example of one that consistently rotates in new seasonals to the detriment of its relationship with core beer drinkers. Just read the sentiment here.
New year-round offerings and seasonals may not seem like a sustainable brand model but they this movement has staying power, at least for another couple years. A brewery can easily add a second layer of seasonals if interest in the first batch of seasonals fades. Package four seasonals in 6-packs and offer four new ones in bombers. Reduce the time available for each one. For example, instead of four seasonals, a brewery can mix in a maibock, a summer ale/lager, a pumpkin ale, a Marzen, a barleywine and an imperial stout into one calendar year. There are a lot of options (and beer styles that match a season) at the disposal of craft brewers.
That’s it for now . . . I will circle the wagon on the fate of new breweries and new brands in the next edition on Monday.
[Photo Credit: http://picasaweb.google.com/ooaona/Savor2009#5342014032286661586]The Tipping Point: Part I
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
The Netherlands Finds Its Flavor
Beer, Cheese ... and Startups ... and Beer Startups
Earlier this week, I was happy to attend a talk by Madison's Economic Development Director, Mr. Tim Cooley. He pointed out what a lot of us in "the biz" already know: Wisconsin's problem isn't a shortage of talent, infrastructure, or ideas, but rather a shortage of capital. We don't have enough people - venture capitalists, investment firms, etc - willing to invest in all of the startups going on here.
The situation is getting better, particularly for "big name" industries such as biotech and e-commerce. And, part of the reason for that is the recent (2005) investment tax credit passed by the state to give an incentive to invest in these kinds of companies that is now starting to pay some dividends. This is a 25% credit on funds invested into "Qualified New Business Venture". Obviously, this begs the question: what is a Qualified New Business Venture and does your company qualify? The rules are as follows:To be certified as a Qualified New Business Venture by the Department of Commerce, businesses must be able to answer "Yes" to the following six questions:
1.Are you seeking private equity funding for pre-commercialization activities related to the development of a proprietary new product or process in Wisconsin?
2.Have you been in business for no more than 10 consecutive years?
3.Are your principal administrative offices located in Wisconsin?
and
Does at least 80% of your payroll go to people employed in Wisconsin?
4.Do you have less than 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees?
(FTE=Total number of hours worked per year multiplied by total number of employees divided by 2,080 hours)
5.Do at least 51% of your employees work in Wisconsin?
6.Since its inception, has your business received, in aggregate, no more than $10 million of private equity investment in cash?It is my belief that brewery startups would qualify as "Qualified New Business Ventures" under this definition. There are two issues that would determine eligibility: 1)"pre-commercialization activites" and 2) "proprietary new product or process". The second is easy: recipes are trade secret, hence proprietary. Easy peasy. The first is a little more difficult: "Pre-commercialization activity".
Some organizations define pre-commercialization activity as things like market analysis, research and development, and product testing. On the other hand, "Commercialization Activities" are generally understood within the product life-cycle to assume a product is available for the general public. So, "pre-Commercialization" would be anything prior to "available to the general public". In the software universe, the equivalent of "beta" testing would be "pre-commercialization".
So, let's apply that to the brewing industry for a moment. What does "pre-commercialization" mean in a brewing context? Beta testing? What is beta testing? Well, how many batches do you think it takes to perfect a recipe, to do market analysis on the success of a recipe to determine acceptance, and then roll out the product to a wider market?
I'd argue that most brands take at least 2 years, if not 5, to become fully refined. Take, for example, O'so's Picnic Ants Saison - last year's version was very, very different from this year's. And not in a "rotating brand" kind of way like "Stone Anniversary" or something. Rather, this year's is a refinement, based on market analysis and product testing, research and development, beta testing; call it what you like, but it is no different from the 5 years that GMail sat in beta to refine it for general consumption.
So, I would argue, any brewery that otherwise meets the other definitions would be engaging in "pre-commercialization" activity by limited release of new brands to refine proprietary recipes. So, what's "limited release"? Good question. GMail was in beta for 5 years and it counted as "limited release" because you had to be "invited"; given the multiple millions of email gmail.com addresses before it came out of beta, I'd argue "limited release" is a pretty fluid definition. Or, for a more local option, look at perBlue's Parallel Kingdom - it qualifies. Alice.com qualifies and it has thousands of users - far more than drink, say, BrewFarm beer.
Yet another way that the brewing industry is similar to the software industry ... So, I think it's time to add "breweries" to the list of things that Wisconsin is known for. Oh ... wait ...
Today’s Craft Beer Power Hour annotated
(Boulder, CO) – Loads of information was learned today during today’s Brewers Association Power Hour. 2010 craft beer stats galore found below . . .
Earlier this year, I provided a few nuggets of info I heard while on a year-end conference call with the BA. Well, my membership ran out, I haven’t re-upped yet and I missed out on today’s mid-year call. During (some of) these calls, Dan Wandel of SymphonyIRI, a marketing group that tracks data on various product industries, reports out on what this agency has discovered about the beer industry. Fortunately, two kind folks took my place today and tweeted their little hearts out during the call.
The following is courtesy of Cicerone Program Founder/Director (and former Brewers Association Marketing Director), Ray Daniels, and North Carolina Brewers Guild Financial Advisor, Audra Marotta. Here’s what we learned today (with some re-organizing and a few notes from myself):
Macro Industry Stats:
Top 10 major brewer brands DOWN more than 5 million cases so far this year. /Ray
AB down 1.9%, MC down 2.4%, Heineken down 1.0%, Crown Imports down .8%, tho Boston Beer up 14.7%, Yuengling up 14.1%, PBR up 1.5% ($ sales) /Audra
2010 case sales down in 3 largest off-premise channels. $ sales flat in grocery, down in Convenience & Liquor /Audra
Combined case sales for 7 Megabrands in supermarkets down 4.1%, $ sales down 3.1% for 1st 6 mos of 2010. /Audra
Pricing erosion seen in import segment, while craft segment increases about 1-2%, depending on channel during 1st half of 2010. /Audra
Bad news: progressive adult bev sales in 24-oz can sales are exploding, esp in convenience stores. /Ray
Sadly, Progressive Adult Beverages seem to be the one other sector of the beer business that is growing (other than craft). /Ray
3 of top 10 new brands are IPAs … the rest are Progressive Adult Beverages like Smirnoff Blueberry & Limonade. Sad. /Ray
7 of 15 top NEW beer brands are progressive adult beverage brands (Smirnoff, Mikes). New Belgium Ranger in top 5. Dundee IPA in top 15. /Audra
It’s a pleasant surprise to see Ranger IPA doing so well since its introduction last year. The IRI figures regularly published in Modern Brewery Age tend to exclude this beer for whatever reason.
Blue Moon Belgium White Ale, Shock Top and Leinie’s leading way in top 15 super premium brands $ sales. Blue Moon #1 momentum brand. /Audra
Blue Moon $ sales up 27% vs 2009, and is SIG’s #1 “momentum” brand. Amazing. Shocktop up 34%. /Ray
Blue Moon White fastest growing craft/specialty brand in case sales % change in supermarket channel. /Audra
Newcastle Brown up 10% this year: I’d say that’s good for craft as it helps to create craft drinkers. /Ray
I’d also say that Blue Moon’s success bodes well for craft as well. Some of those drinkers may stick to Blue Moon, sure, but some of them will be more open to craft brands after liking Blue Moon.
Import brands % change leaders: Modelo Especial, Stella Artois, Newcastle Brown, Dos Equis, Labatt. /Audra
NAB + IBU = #6 [Regional] Brewer /Audra
Craft Overall Stats:
Listening to BA Powerhour on first half of 2010 sales data. Craft volume up 11.9%! /Ray
More stats from the BA’s Mid-Year Report here
Craft segment experiencing DOUBLE DIGIT [year-over-year] case and $ sales growth 2009 vs. 1st half 2010. /Audra
Dan Wandel from SIG says craft beer the “shining star” of US beer market, on track for 6th (I think he said) year of >10% growth. /Ray
What recession? First half craft sales showing best growth of any year since 2007. /Ray
With social media a big news source for some of us, it may seem like craft beer is at levels that are unheard of with all the day-to-day chatter but we’re really just getting back to pre-recession growth levels. What makes craft beer growth in 2009 and 2010 so remarkable, though, is that we’re still in the recession.
Symphony IRI Group shows craft beer being 8.7% of the total beer market in H1 2010. /Ray
Craft beer $ market share 5.4% in 2005 vs. 8.7% in 2010. Domestic premium fell from 45.3% to 40.9% over same 5 year time period. /Audra
Beer continues to lose share to wine/spirits, although craft segment continues to lead all beer segments in case and $ sales growth for 2010 /Audra
Craft case sales velocity supermarkets up in each of 8 quad wk reporting periods of 2010 vs. 2009. Minus craft? Down 1% $, Case down 2.8%. /Audra
Merchanding support flat in craft segment while sales in cases and dollars continue to grow. Single 22oz, 4-packs sales contributing a lot. /Audra
Sales of craft beer 22 oz bottles up 28% in 2010 vs. 2009 in supermarkets. /Ray
One tweeter makes a good point: many wine drinkers that go for 750s are looking for value these days. Despite 22’s being much more expensive per oz. than 6-packs, they still provide an attractive alternative, (perhaps) especially to wine drinkers.
Craft 6pk/12pk 12oz cans in convenience channel HUGE growth (80%, 49.4% respectively in $ sales % change). /Audra
More households in the US now purchasing craft beer versus a year ago–better than any other segment. /Ray
Consumers on avg. spend $12.34 per craft purchase occasion. Just over $80/yr. total spend. /Audra
8 of the top 15 new craft brands this year are IPAs. /Ray
Good news is that craft lead brands continue to grow–a good sign of vitality for the sector. Way to go craft brewers! /Ray
Craft Regional Stats:
Craft sales growing in all regions of the US, but Southeast is #1 and Great Lakes is #2. Cool! /Ray
Abita and SweetWater are, by far, the top brands in the Southeast. After them, we’re looking at Highland with 16k barrels. Lots of room for growth in this region!
Great Lakes is leading region for case and dollar craft sales growth in the US. Time to hire more people! /Ray
Southeast region up 24.6% craft $ change YOY. Northeast and Southcentral highest price case sales inc. YOY. /Audra
In $ sales top 10 craft lead brands comprise 39.1% of segment. The Southeast region greatest amount of growth! /Audra
Based on case sales, craft segment food state leaders: CA, WA, TX, OR, NY, NC (in order)! /Audra
Craft sales account for more than 20% of all beer sold in supermarkets in Portland, OR and other PNW markets. /Ray
Craft Brand Stats:
Stone & Alaskan Brewing are #9 and #10 of the top ten craft brewers in US with folks like Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium at top. /Ray
Hmm, I think Stone would have to be at growing in excess of 30% more than Alaskan is growing in 2010 for this to be possible. Something seems wonky here.
Based on $ sales change %, Sierra Nevada explosive growth. In case sales top 10 craft lead brands comprise 40.9% share of segment. /Audra
Sierra Nevada is at 10% growth so far this year. Bang it here for the latest on the burgeoning brewery.
Top craft brand distributor gainer in CA: Sierra Nevada Torpedo. # of [Craft] UPCs in CA supermarkets: 511. Sam Adams also big gainer. /Audra
SN Torpedo is fastest growing of the top 15 craft brands: up more than 200% versus last year. /Ray
New Belgium $ sales % change up 28%, Boston Beer up 14.3%, Deschutes up 13.2%, Stone up 22%, Full Sail up 3.1%. /Audra
Pretty remarkable to see NBB growth rate higher in a year where it’s not expanding into any new markets over a year in which distribution did expand to several states. Though NBB’s peers are growing faster than they were last year and this is the first full year of sales for some of those markets so not all that surprising perhaps. . .
Congrats to Lucky Bucket Brewing, the top craft vendor sales gainer in the Plains region! /Audra
Today’s Craft Beer Power Hour annotated
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
Ray Daniels Power Hour Tweets: Craft Brewing & Mid-Year Category Sales Review
New Glarus Brewing tidbits a.k.a. speculation
(New Glarus, WI) – A few interesting pieces of information on New Glarus Brewing . . .
Some interesting info surfaced on Beer Advocate recently and I tried to get New Glarus to confirm but haven’t heard back yet so I’m re-posting this as “speculation.”
From Incutrav: “Was talking to Deb [Carey] on Saturday at the brewery. Spotted Cow is the #1 selling draft beer in WI, beats out Miller, Bud– everything. Pretty amazing. They are on pace to sell 100k BBL in 2010. New brewery will be running at max capacity within two years they figure.”
100k barrels in 2010 would be a remarkable turnaround from 2009. That would be a 27% increase from approximately 79k barrels sold last year (per The New Brewer). The brewery posted a modest 5% increase in 2009 after multiple consecutive years of double-digit growth, the lower rate due in large part to the recession. Having the top-selling draft beer in Wisconsin is also a baffling, incredible accomplishment.
And from Weatherdog: “On Saturday at the Great Taste I was lucky enough to have a nice conversation with Dan Carey. I asked him about the future and history of the new geuze. He was very forthcoming and just an awesome guy to talk to.
They originally brewed somewhere between 30-40 bbls of the lambic in March of 2009. This batch was fermented with the same Wyeast Lambic blend that is available to homebrewers. After that fermented for a while, they decided that they didn’t like the flavor profile of the beer and it didn’t go in the direction they wanted. They ended up dumping about 30 bbls of the beer out, but still held on to a little bit for future blending. Then this past December they brewed another batch of the lambic and put it in unsealed barrels right next to their horse barn to 100% spontaneously ferment. This beer then spent the entire spring and summer outside next to the barn fermenting and aging. This younger beer turned out much better and had a flavor that they were very happy with…
If I can remember correctly, the blend for this years batch had the remaining old lambic blended in with about 5 (55 gallon) barrels. Dan still held back 5 or so (55 gallon) barrels for future blends. All future batches that they brew will be spontaneously fermented in the same way as the second batch. Now future releases will be as traditional as anything in Belgium.
Dan told me ideally this beer could become an annual R&D release with the possibilities to maybe do some other fun stuff with the base beer.”
New Glarus Brewing tidbits a.k.a. speculation
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
New York's 'Desi Food Truck'
Full Sail Brewing Offers New Release in Brewer’s Share Line-Up – Adam’s Malty Bomb
How Safe Are My Eggs?
Sandwich Shop Stays Open, for Now
Café Serves All, Lubavitch Style
Aspen Brewing Company
Hoisin & Brown Bearale Braised Beef Short-Ribs
Tommyknocker Brewery Releases Golden Saison to Benefit Gulf Restoration Network
Boulevard Brewing cooking up an anniversary pale ale
(Kansas City, MO) – Boulevard Brewing is working on a new anniversary pale ale that will hit bottles later this year.
Per today’s blog entry:
“This past weekend, we paid tribute to the brewery’s 21 years of history by brewing a one-of-a-kind batch of ale. [...]
The 21st Anniversary beer will honor Boulevard’s flagship beer, Pale Ale. When John McDonald, our founder, first brewed the ale more than 20 years ago, it was considered over-the-top, robust and consumed by only the most dedicated of craft beer loyalists. Today, Pale Ale beers are literally pale in comparison to the newest trend of “imperialized” brews that are bigger, bolder and have more flavor. Our brewmaster, Steven Pauwels, says the goal of the anniversary beer is to have the same effect for beer lovers as Pale Ale many years ago.”
The beer won’t be available until closer to the actual anniversary date of November 17th. Click over to the brewery blog for lots more info on the brew. A handful of brewday photos can be found on Facebook.
In other news, Boulevard completed a full bottling run of Bob’s 47 Oktoberfest yesterday. Check out Twitter for the latest.
Boulevard Brewing cooking up an anniversary pale ale
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
Goose Island considering contracting to Redhook Ale Brewery
(Chicago, IL) – There is nothing official yet but . . .
. . . all signs point to Goose Island contracting out some work to Redhook Ale Brewery in New Hampshire soon.
Goose Island Brewmaster, Greg Hall, didn’t provide much color on the situation but confirmed that contracting could be in the cards. “We are nearing our capacity ceiling and are looking at our alternatives, which include brewing and bottling or kegging at Red Hook in Portsmouth. We haven’t signed any contracts or made any commitments yet so it’s premature to make an announcement on our part.”
As noted last week, an agreement would help alleviate Goose Island’s capacity constraints and help fill excess capacity at Redhook.
A source said that contracted beers would likely be just the core brands and not specialties like the reserves. The only beer to have received label approval so far is Goose Island IPA. With Goose Island having expanded to the East Coast recently, it is thought that these beers would be produced primarily for that market.
As for quality concerns, says Hall, “If we choose to contract brew, we will have a Goose Island brewer on-site for early brews until we are quite comfortable with the beer.”
If and when this does happen, it will be the first time in fifteen years that Goose Island has been produced outside of Chicago. “We brewed off-site while we were building our Fulton St. brewery at the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee, when it was still in G Heilemen’s hands. It was all-draft Honkers Ale in 1995.”
Goose Island considering contracting to Redhook Ale Brewery
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
