Hops & Grain Brewing recently claimed a gold medal in the 2012 World Beer Cup®, a global beer competition presented by the Brewers Association (BA) that evaluates beers from around the world
and recognizes the most outstanding brewers and their beers. Gold, silver and bronze awards in the competition’s 95 beer-style categories were presented May 5, 2012 during the World Beer Cup Gala Awards Dinner at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, California.

Hops & Grain was awarded a gold medal in the German Brown Ale/Dusseldorf Style Altbier category for its Alt-eration, a beautifully malty and classically bitter German style brown ale. “We couldn’t be happier to bring this award back to Austin. As a 6 month old brewery, and a small team of 2 brewers, we have high hopes for the attention this prestigious award will bring to the incredible craft beer scene here in our hometown of Austin. Spreading our message of sustainability and community has been our passion from day 1 and we hope that this award will bring more attention to our brand and our mission.” Josh Hare, Owner/Beer Wizard.

World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 218 beer judges from 29 countries. The competition—referred to as the “Olympics of Beer Competition”—saw an impressive field of nearly 4,000 entries from 828 breweries in 56 countries. The 2012 competition drew the largest, most international field of entrants in the history of the World Beer Cup. Visit WorldBeerCup.org for additional World Beer Cup information. The World Beer Cup has been held every other year since 1996 and is presented by the Brewers Association.

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Hops & Grain Brewing is the culmination of a lifelong passion for a more sustainable and rewarding way to live. At Hops & Grain we believe that good planets are hard to find and we’ve chosen to run our business with the environment and its sustainability at our core. By incorporating our community into our craft we are spreading the word of a greener future through hand-crafted beers and up-cycle dog treats made from our spent brewing grains. Our tap
room is open for tours and tastings every Friday and Saturday and our products can be found throughout Austin. Through our membership in 1% for the Planet and a steadfast passion to reduce our footprint we are crafting beers and dog treats in our east Austin warehouse with a clean conscience and an open mind. Join us in our passion for craft beer sustainability.

Odell Brewing and Thornbridge Brewery create transatlantic collaboration brew

On June 8, 2012 Odell Brewing will release Pond Hopper Double Extra Pale Ale, a new beer crafted with the UK’s Thornbridge Brewery. The collaboration brew will debut this year at SAVOR: an American Craft Beer & Food Experience in Washington D.C.

The project was inspired several years ago on one of Doug Odell’s frequent trips to the UK. In 2008, Doug landed at the Thornbridge Brewery of Bakewell. Intrigued by stories of UK craft breweries creating unique and hoppy styles, Doug found himself in the company of kindred brewing spirits. Two years later, Doug returned to Thornbridge and brewed a collaborative batch of beer, similar to Odell’s Red Ale, there. The recipe, dubbed Colorado Red was brewed with English malts and intensely aromatic English hop varieties.

Fast forward to February 2012 to find a reciprocal collaboration brew at Odell Brewing. Caolan Vaughan, head brewer and production manager of Thornbrigde, ventured to Fort Collins to brew Pond Hopper with Doug and the Odell Brewing crew. Brewed with English malts, and American hops (plus one Australian hop in honor of Caolan’s homeland), Pond Hopper features the best ingredients each country has to offer.

“This beer has a rich golden color with aromas of grapefruit, orange pine, and ripe melon,” said Doug Odell. “The overall impression of the beer is balanced with accentuation of hop flavor and aroma over bitterness.”

Pond hopper boasts a 8.9% ABV and is bottled in 750mL cork and cage finished bottles. It will be available throughout the brewery’s ten state distributor region and in the UK. Watch the Pond Hopper video: http://vimeo.com/40882579.

These Days of May

Here’s to our mothers, who gave us life and still call us “my baby”!  Here’s to the fallen, who gave their lives for their fellow Americans!  As we celebrate and reflect upon those who have given us the most, we honor the greatest aspects of who we are, as family and as country.  In this regard, we release Nineteen Anniversary Ale, a Belgian-style Tripel to honor our fondest roots of brewing tradition and those loveable monks and brewers who gave us the inspiration to do what we do and brew what we brew!  So let’s raise our steins and goblets, tulips and tankards, and give cheers to those who have given us the best!

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From our friends at Sun King:

SUN KING & Gen Con Partnership

Indianapolis, Ind. (May 4, 2012) –Craft brewing, like gaming, requires an active imagination. That’s why it feels so natural for Sun King Brewing Co. to partner with Gen Con.

Launched in 1968 by “Dungeons & Dragons” co-founder Gary Gygax, Gen Con Indy is the country’s largest gaming convention, attracting the biggest names in game design and manufacturing and more than 35,000 attendees in 2011. This summer’s exhibition will mark its 10th year in Indianapolis and its first ever to boast an Official Beer.

“When you work downtown it’s hard to miss the impact that Gen Con has on Indianapolis. It’s a really fun week and we’re excited to make a beer with that crowd in mind,” said Sun King brewer/owner Dave Colt. In 2010, Sun King made Fat Dragon in honor of Gen Con but this year the brewery will level up and make the Official Beer of Gen Con.

Gen Con will host a naming contest from June 1^st – June 8^th on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/#!/genconindy) for a beer that will be tapped at the JW Marriott on August 15^th to help kick off this year’s convention. The beer will be made available at bars and restaurants throughout central Indiana during the convention.

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The ladies at Intuition Ale Works in Jacksonville, FL got together while Brewer Ben Davis was taking his afternoon nap and brewed up a special concoction that will be released on May 5. This, from their web site:

Cinco de Mayo = Big Brew Day

Join us this Saturday for Cinco de Mayo! We’ll be tapping The Siren, a black lager with ancho, guajillo and chipotle peppers brewed by the ladies of Intuition.

We’ll also tap a keg of Sun Ray Wit infused with habanero, mango, peach and pineapple. Spicy.

Tapping this spicy ladies brew gives us an excuse to mark the entire month with celebrations of women and to raise money for Girls Rock Jacksonville! $1 from every pint of The Siren sold in the month of May goes to this local non-profit summer camp that helps girls realize their musical and individual potential.

Cinco de Mayo is also National Homebrew Day and we are hosting a Big Brew Day in our courtyard from 10am to 5pm for CASK members and other homebrewers.

Salud!

Indianapolis, Ind. (May 1, 2012) – Indiana-based Sun King Brewery and Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery have been working together for months and are excited to bring you Chaka, a limited-release Belgian-style ale — the first craft beer to be packaged in the Alumi-Tek® re-sealable pint bottle from Ball Corporation. Chaka will be released in limited quantities at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego on May 2, 2012 and then in each brewery’s home markets the following week.

“Until we undertook this project, only large breweries and beverage companies had access to this type of packaging,” said Clay Robinson, Sun King co-founder. “Sun King and Oskar Blues worked closely with Ball Corporation and Cask Brewing Systems to design and build a simple, functional small scale system that will allow craft brewers to take advantage of this unique packaging option.”

Oskar Blues is a pioneer in the craft canning movement as the first American craft brewery to can their beer with the release of Dale’s Pale Ale in 2002. They have grown to become the largest American craft brewery to package beer exclusively in cans, producing 59,000 barrels of beer in 2011.

Sun King began crafting beer in the summer of 2009 and has grown to become one of Indiana’s largest breweries, producing nearly 10,000 barrels of beer in 2011. Sun King was the first Indiana craft brewery to can their beer and the first brewery ever to create a customizable can for their seasonal and specialty beer releases.

The connection between these two breweries is deeper than the fact that they both can their beer. Oskar Blues head brewer, Dave Chichura, began his professional brewing career in Indianapolis fifteen years ago where he became friends with Dave Colt and Clay Robinson, the two brewers who created Sun King. The three friends have been talking for years about working together on a collaborative beer, so when the opportunity came to assist in the introduction of a new packaging option for craft beer, it was an easy yes.

The end result is a delicious Belgian-style ale crafted with a blend of ingredients from each brewery’s home state: Shagbark Hickory syrup from Hickoryworks in Trafalgar, Ind.; grain from Colorado Malting Company; and a special yeast blend from Brewing Science Institute, also in Colorado. Brewers from both breweries worked together to formulate the recipe and traveled between Colorado and Indiana to brew at both locations.

“Unique packaging like the Alumi-Tek bottle provides both Oskar Blues and Sun King the differentiation we need to make our limited-release beers distinct from our core lines. Plus, the sleek, bottle shape is appealing to our customers,” said Chad Melis, marketing director of Oskar Blues Brewery. “Craft beer in aluminum bottles is another step forward in the evolution of beer.”

May 14-20 Marks the “Mother of All Beer Weeks” with Celebrations in All 50 States

Boulder, CO • April 26, 2012—With craft beer delighting the palates of Americans nationwide, beer enthusiasts and beginners alike will come together to toast the seventh annual … [Read More at CraftBeer.com]

Cheers!
USABT

BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY ADDS CAPACITY AGAIN THIS YEAR

Denver, CO – April 19, 2012 - Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado added four more 300-barrel fermenters last week, bringing it’s total capacity to 75,000 barrels. This expansion follows the addition of two 300-barrel tanks and a 200-barrel Brite tank in January. With a new kegging line to come this summer, the brewery expects record growth this year as the craft beer industry continues to boom.

Breckenridge Brewery produced 41,000 barrels out of its Denver brewery last year, posting growth of 30% over 2010. The improvements to the brewery this year bring with them ten new positions in sales and production. The brewery now distributes into 33 states. Half of the new positions are in sales, to maintain the brewery’s organic growth in Colorado and its traditional markets while also supporting its 2011 expansion into the northeast.

Significant growth experienced in all major regional markets

Boulder, CO • April 10, 2012—Based on results from a recently-completed industry survey, the Brewers Association (BA) reports record exports of American craft beer in 2011, and for the ninth consecutive year*. American craft breweries exported over 110,000 barrels of beer in 2011, valued at an estimated $23.4 million-a dramatic increase of 86 percent by volume and 97 percent by dollars over 2010 exports.

Canada remained the industry’s largest export market, with shipments increasing 127 percent by volume (up to 27,976 barrels) in 2011, largely as a result of increased demand in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.

Additionally, the United Kingdom and Sweden remained the next two largest markets. Exports to both countries totaled approximately 13,065 barrels. Regionally, Western Europe is the largest destination for American craft beer exports. Shipments to the region increased by 52 percent in 2011 and now surpass 51,613 barrels.

“The growth in international sales is remarkable in light of the lingering global economic recession. Despite decreasing purchasing power, consumer demand for American craft beers has remained strong and importers have continued to expand their portfolios of American craft beer brands, even in emerging markets, like Brazil and India,” said Bob Pease, chief operating officer, Brewers Association. “These export figures speak for themselves. They are a testament to the innovation of small, independent American craft brewers and their focus on creating products of value to the consumer.”

Total American craft beer exports are up by approximately 500 percent since the BA Export Development Program was initiated in 2004 with funds from the United States Department of Agriculture Market Access Program (USDA MAP).

In the U.S., small and independent brewers employ nearly 100,000 full- and part-time employees, generate more than $3 billion in wages and benefits, and pay more than $2.3 billion in business, personal and consumption taxes. These brewers operate vital small businesses in communities across the country.

*representing all years for which data has been collected

Fort Collins, CO. – On April 21, 2012 Odell Brewing will release St. Lupulin, the brewery’s beloved summer seasonal. St. Lupulin (loop-you-lin) Extra Pale Ale pays tribute to a mystical character who passionately tended to rows and rows of hops caring for the coveted yellow resin within the hop cones known as Lupulin.

St. Lupulin is a dry-hopped extra pale ale with a clean and crisp finish. The selected hops, including Cascade and Centennial varieties, create a bright citrus and floral aroma and flavor. The brew boasts a golden straw like hue and an 6.5% ABV.

“St. Lupulin is like summer in a bottle,” said brewery co-founder and co-owner, Corkie Odell. “Hints of grapefruit and cut grass make it the perfect sunny day sipper.”

Odell Brewing will celebrate the return of St. Lupulin and warmer days with a tapping party at the brewery’s Tap Room on Saturday, April 21st, 2012. Guests can enjoy live music, local food, and backyard games.

St. Lupulin is available through September throughout the brewery’s ten state distribution region.

“This Collaboration brew is the microcosm of what’s going on in the Craft beer industry,” said Steve Kurowski, Marketing Manager for the Colorado Brewers Guild. “This is a testimony to the craft beer industry and its uniqueness of coming together verses competing against one another.”

Brewers from each local brewery worked together to create the special recipe that was brewed at Fort Collins Brewery. Each brewery will celebrate the collaboration during American Craft Beer Week (May 14-20, 2012).

For more information on American Craft Beer Week, please visit www.craftbeer.com.