Suave Fest and Raíces Brewing Shine Light on LatinX Brewers

The communal nature of the craft beer industry naturally lends to a general sentiment of inclusiveness. Race, gender, sexual orientation, doesn’t matter to most in the beer community as long … Read More

Two Denver Breweries Fly 300 Miles in a Day for Freshest Wet Hop

To brewers, harvest season can take on an entirely different meaning. Because for a tiny window of time, spanning just a few weeks, the hop harvest opens up the opportunity … Read More

Preview | 2019 Surly Darkness Day and Your Chance to Win Tickets

Rewind the cold beer time machine just five years and you’ll notice only a handful of iconic beer events that have withstood the test of time. As beer festivals continue … Read More

Paulaner Brings Authenticity to Oktoberfest Celebrations Across America

This post was sponsored and supported by Paulaner USA. 

While trendy styles like Hazy IPA’s and Pastry Stouts continue to gain steam among craft beer fans, one style that has seen … Read More

Indeed Brewing Company’s New Taproom Now Open In Milwaukee

Indeed Brewing Company, home to Northeast Minneapolis’ original taproom, has officially completed its expansion farther east with the opening of its Milwaukee brewery and taproom.

On August 23, the brewery announced via social media the official soft opening for the new location on 530 S. 2nd St. in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood would take place on September 6. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. to celebrate the opening.

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Event Preview | Wiley Roots Vanilla Anonym Release and MORE!

There’s been a lot of hype around Wiley Roots Brewing Co.‘s upcoming beer releases. The brewery is releasing not one, but SIX beers tomorrow, September 6, 2019. “It is our belief that beer embodies a sense of place and time, reflecting both where we are at any moment as well as where we have been,” shares the brewing company on their Facebook page, “When we release a new Slush variant, we believe those beers represent the summer months, easy drinking, refreshing, fruit forward, and most important of all – FUN.”

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Ultimate 6er | Easy-Drinking Beers for Football Season

Now that the last NFL pre-season game is in the books, it’s time to get serious. Week one starts this week, and it’s game on! The Packers take on the Bears for Thursday Night Football and wraps up with the Broncos playing the Raiders on Monday. Needless to say, the lineup in between will be awesome! As you’re completing your Fantasy Football drafts or simply reaching for a nice, cold craft beer to sip on as you’re cheering on your favorite team, here’s a few beers that will go great with the games as week one is set to begin.

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Exploring Left Hand Brewing’s Nitro Beer Niche

Perusing the curated beer list found on a brewer’s website is a common pastime for beer fans looking to learn more about a new brewery or gain insight into a brewery’s new releases or seasonals. Left Hand Brewing’s beer page is one of the more unique ones you will find. Alongside a robust list of “Perennials,” seasonals and limited releases, the Colorado operation also has a full list for its Nitro offerings. While Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro in cans is by far their most widely-distributed nitro offering, the brewery has diligently worked to expand its canned nitro selection to include a variety of fruity and seasonal nitro releases, available on-draft and in cans, that has helped carve out a unique niche for the brand. We asked Left Hand’s Social Media and Events Coordinator, Kristina Schostak about the program.

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Brewery Showcase | Coda Brewing

Have you ever seen Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? The original one with Gene Wilder? That’s kind of what visiting Coda Brewing is like. The brewery is tucked in a warehouse in a residential neighborhood and feels like a middle school science room combined with an old-timey apothecary. Luke Smith, owner, head brewer and yeast wizard, almost looks like Gene Wilder with his curly head of hair and ginger chops.

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A Beer with Top Chef Winner Joe Flamm

No stranger to the Chicago culinary food scene, Spiaggia’s Executive Chef Joe Flamm, made a name for himself nationally after winning Top Chef in 2018.

Flamm was part of the original crew at Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, he also worked with Bill Kim, known for his Asian-fusion restaurants in the city before landing at Tony Mantuano’s Spiaggia, a Michelin star restaurant.

Like many in the culinary industry, Flamm is a huge fan of Miller High Life. From his days as a line cook to now, it’s his beer of choice and has been apart of many of the biggest moments in his life.

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Oktoberfest Lagers | Märzen, Festbier & Autumnal Confusion

Beer lovers rejoice: It’s Oktoberfest season!

Most folks assume the word “Oktoberfest” on a beer label or tap list refers to a particular style, but it’s actually a little more complicated than that. Let’s talk about how we got here, and then get into what’s what with Oktoberfest lagers.

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5 Questions With Dogfish Head’s Founder & President Sam Calagione

It is still the biggest news to come out of the craft beer industry this year: Boston Beer Company purchased Dogfish Head Brewery for a reported sum of $300 million. The move merges the two brands under the collective roof of Boston Beer Company bringing together the 2nd (Boston Beer Co.) and 13th (Dogfish Head) biggest producers of craft beer in the U.S. It’s a massive move that caused shockwaves throughout the craft beer industry and beyond. Craft beer is no longer in its startup phase: It is big business, which sometimes warrants massive moves that can shift the entire trajectory of the market with it.

Of course, Boston Beer Company bringing the Dogfish Head brand onboard also comes with the totemic leadership of its founder, Sam Calagione, who will sit on Boston Beer Company’s Board of Directors. Calagione has always been an outspoken and vibrant voice in the craft beer community who frequently zigs where others zags and takes pride in the innovative spirit on which Dogfish Head has built its market share. With the new merger comes a new role for Sam and a new path for Dogfish. In the days following, beer drinkers have voiced valid concerns that the Dogfish brand might get diluted or complacent post-acquisition. True to form, Calagione thinks otherwise and is rather bullish on what the merger can do for his brewery.

I asked Sam five questions about what life looks like for Dogfish Head in a post-merger world, what beer fans can expect from the brewery, the collaboration opportunities that are now available with Boston Beer Company and more. Here’s what he said.

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River North Brewery Comes Home

River North Brewery sits on the corner of an unsuspecting, industrial, urban street in downtown Denver in the heart of River North district. You may miss it if you were just driving by, but if you are looking, the brewery stands out with a gorgeous polished metal sign on red brick with black paint. It fits in so well into the neighborhood that you could assume it has been there for years. Technically, they have been.

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Breaking With Tradition | Pairing Beer With Cheese

Nibbling cheese while sipping wine is a time-honored tradition, but an increasing number of breweries are challenging the old-fashioned wisdom and introducing pairing beer with cheese. Embracing beer and cheese may seem like a stretch but many experts contend that beer is actually a better partner for cheese.

I recently had the pleasure of attending Halfpenny Brewing Company’s monthly beer and cheese pairing in Centennial, Colo. and found that beer does indeed play nicely with cheese. According to Halfpenny co-owner/brewer Chris Reigrut, “Beer and cheese just make an excellent pairing.”

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Ask the Experts | How to Revamp the Standard Brewery Tour?

Chances are, if you have been to a brewery before, you have been on a brewery tour. It’s an easy way to get the consumer closer to a brewery’s brand, process, and beer. While some offer hands-on exercises, unlimited samples, and specialized experiences, your typical, run-of-the-mill brewery tour is no longer memorable. Beer drinkers are much more educated and knowledgeable of the brewing process and the craft beer industry as a whole than they were 5 or 10 years ago. Sniffing hop pellets and looking at stainless steel fermenters can get dull after a while. 

To stand out in today’s brewery tour landscape, you really have to offer something that goes beyond the status quo and provides a deeper connection to the brewery you’re visiting. Many national and regional breweries have realized that their brewery tour can help extend the beer drinker’s experience with them, which could help influence subsequent purchasing decisions at retail locations and bars. Offering something different and memorable is a great way to standout from the fray of local colleagues and regional competitors. Things like specialized tours and immersive tasting experiences are just a few ways that breweries have revamped their tours to better appeal to today’s beer drinking clientele.

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22 Northmen Brewing Company | A Fresh Take on Minnesota’s Viking Heritage

When I stepped into 22 Northmen Brewing Company, I felt like I was in that scene of Beauty and the Beast when Gaston is singing his song.

We don’t always liken a brewery to our favorite Disney movie, but when we do it’s our highest form of flattery! Read More

A Classic, Now Unfiltered: The Inspiration for Lagunitas’ Little Sumpin’ Hazy

Their IPA might be their most well-known and widely-distributed, but my favorite Lagunitas Brewing Company offering is a beer that blurs the lines of the drinking experience. A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is a classic that can be enjoyed rain or shine, sun or snow. Its hearty ABV, unique wheat body, and complex flavor profile have made it a fan favorite for years. It’s also an employee favorite, says Lagunitas Brewmaster Jeremy Marshall. While the original has its perks, Lagunitas employees and brewers have had access to a version of A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ that has never graced retail shelves before now: an unfiltered-version designed to taste like you’re drinking it straight from the tank. That was the inspiration for their newest offering and Sumpin’ Sumpin’ sibling, Little Sumpin’ Hazy. 

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CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective Continues to Disrupt

In 2015, the CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective was born out of Oskar Blues Holding Company in what began as a financial partnership with Fireman Capital Partners, a Boston area private equity firm. The Collective brought together a group of like-minded brewers who still maintain their independence under the Brewers Association’s definition of a small and independent brewery, but have also become part of a unified entity that has allowed for greater collaboration of ideas, resources and distribution networks. Just two months after the formation of CANarchy, Oskar Blues brought Michigan’s Perrin Brewing Company to the fold and have since added four others.

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48 Beer Project | Meet Label Artist Heidi Geist

We all know the cliché, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” In theory, that advice can be applied to beer as well but yet, we all ignore that saying. In reality, the cover (or in the beer industry, the label) is what sells the first can or bottle, while the contents sell the following case and create loyalty. It would be foolish to think the package doesn’t matter. The design wrapped around the liquid tells the story of the product and the company.

Stories are the foundation of human experience and connection and Portland, ME based artist Heidi Geist has quite the story. She is in the midst of a cross-country endeavor to explore and experience the American craft beer culture through label art. I had a great conversation with her about the 48 Beer Project, how it got started, what she is experiencing and the works she creates.
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Craft Brewers See Opportunity in Adding Hard Seltzer to Their Growing Portfolio

What does it mean to be a craft brewer in 2019? For many, sticking with the status quo is no longer business as usual. Brewers today understand their consumers on a deep level and have more data than ever on their preferences. One of the newer preferences that continues to make waves outside of the typical craft beer market is hard or “spiked” seltzer. 

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