April's Top Beer Stories
2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup Winners(April) - Complete List of Winners
Covey's brew master perfects his beer(April 28) - Texas - A red and white sticker discreetly placed on a steel boiling pot reads “Support your local brewer,” and that is exactly what Jamie Fulton, owner and brew master of The Covey Restaurant & Brewery, wants. Complete Story
Beer buds to open Roy-Pitz Brewing(April 28) - Pennsylvania - In a matter of weeks, suds connoisseurs will be able to ask their favorite barkeep to pull the handle on a pair of new brews - Lovitz Watermelon Lager and White Horse Hefeweizen - produced by the Roy-Pitz Brewing Co. Complete Story
Microbrew Montana: Lang Creek Brewing(April 25) - Montana - The owners left a clue right on the top of their website by advertising themselves as "America's most remote brewery." Complete Story
Alaskan Brewing gets recognized(April 25) - Juneau - Outside Magazine has named Alaskan Brewing Company as one of America's best places to work. The craft brewery in Juneau was honored for employee benefits and environmental stewardship, and ranked fifth in the medium companies group. Complete Story
Brewers Association 2008 Achievement Award Winners(April) - Colorado - Three predominant members of the brewing community were recognized with awards for their dedication and service to the industry at the opening session of the Brewers Association's annual Craft Brewers Conference. Complete Story
"Legal Weed" bottle caps plucked as regulators frown on beer name(April 24) - Colorado - Vaune Dillmann thought the wording on his bottle caps was just a clever play on the name of the northern California town where he brews his beer. Complete Story
Germans Toast the Anniversary of Their Beer Purity Law(April 24) - Germany - The German 'Reinheitsgebot,' or beer purity law, started 492 years ago. Germans find reason to celebrate the drink even the mild-mannered Benjamin Franklin once called "proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Complete Story
99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 ways to serve them(April 24) - Illinois - From goblets to pints, a wide range of glasses exists to hold your beer of choice. Some people say it heightens the taste and intensifies the drinking experience, while others say a good beer is a good beer no matter what glass you use. Complete Story
Unique Flavor, Refreshing Qualities Prove Golden for Hoegaarden at 2008 World Beer Cup(April 24) - Colorado - Hoegaarden, the Original Belgian White Beer, was awarded its fourth consecutive World Beer Cup Gold Medal in the Belgian-Style White (or Wit)/Belgian-Style Wheat category at the 2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup competition held recently in San Diego, Calif. Complete Story
Queen’s Head Pub Plays Host to Beer Education(April 23) - Boston - Continuing its series of “Beer School” events, the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub hosted Boston Beer Company founder C. James Koch ’71 yesterday evening. Complete Story
Blue Moon Brewing Company Named Champion Brewery(April 23) - Colorado - The Blue Moon Brewing Company took home multiple awards at this year's World Beer Cup held in San Diego, including the prestigious Champion Brewery, Large Brewing Company category. Complete Story
Anheuser-Busch earns fall as cost of beer ingredients rises(April 23) - St. Louis - Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the nation's biggest brewer, said Wednesday its profit slipped 1.4 percent in the first quarter as higher costs for beer ingredients more than offset rising revenue. Complete Story
Amnesia Baltic Porter from the Grumpy Troll(April 23) - Wisconsin - This batch of the beer is aged six months. Duckow says his first attempt at brewing the style was four years ago while living in Houston, where he teamed up with the local homebrew club called the Foam Rangers. Complete Story
Homebrewing 101: UNH senior's mad scientist beer guide(April 23) - New Hampshire - First, a disclaimer: I am in no way a brewmaster with years of experience, or a resource who knows where to pluck the freshest hops from some secret location in the depths of Germany. Complete Story
Molson becomes official beer of Winter Olympics(April 22) - Canada - Molson has scooped the deal to become the official seller of suds at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Complete Story
Outside Magazine Names New Belgium Brewing "Best Place To Work In America"(April 17) - Colorado - New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale, is the best place to work in America on Outside magazine's inaugural "Best Places to Work" list. New Belgium Brewing is ranked number one among companies with 250 or more employees. Complete Story
Fearless Brewing Company Expands Production(April 17) - Oregon - Fearless Brewing Company has more than quadrupled brewing capacity," said owner/brewer Ken Johnson, and has negotiated a distributing partnership with General Distributors. Complete Story
Bavarian beer brewing excellence(April 17) - Germany - Yes, beer can work this miracle. This golden liquid has, for centuries, been an integral part of German society and culture with around 1,300 breweries in the country, more than in any other except the United States (which has 1,500). Complete Story
Coors Cans Guided Brewery Tours(April 17) - Colorado - For decades, the trip to Golden — and the three free beers that follow the tour — has been a rite of passage for brand-new 21-year-olds, as well as a must-stop for any non-teetotaling tourist. But Coors, now called Molson Coors, has tinkered with the program, replacing its 45-minute, human-guided tours with a shorter, self-guided trip. Complete Story
Cambridge Brewing Company to Celebrate Nineteenth Anniversary(April 17) - Massachuetts - Company will kick off their Nineteenth Anniversary Party. Keeping with tradition the event will feature nineteen beers on tap and nineteen dinner specials, one for each year of business. Many of the favorite and now famous CBC beers will be featured including Red God IPA, Bannatyne's Scotch Ale and Tripel Threat, among others. Complete Story
Craft-brew set now has option to can their beer(April 16) - Texas - But some people want their beer - even beer in a can - to do more than just hit the 4 percent alcohol minimum. For them, there's Dale's Pale Ale, the as-of-yet little-known canned brew out of Lyon, Colo. Complete Story
Yes, Even Ice Cream Goes Well With Beer(April 16) - California - On a beautiful day like this, what do you find most refreshing? For me there are two things. The first is a delicious, cold, bubbly, revitalizing beer. The second is a few scoops of frozen, luscious, uplifting ice cream. But what if you could combine the two? Actually you can. Complete Story
Brewers Association Releases Top 50 Breweries List(April) - Colorado - The Brewers Association, which tabulates industry growth data, announced its annual list of the top fifty brewing companies. Released are both a Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies1 list and a list of the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies. Statistics are based on sales in 2007. Complete Story
A beer and a smoke keep 101yr old marathoner running(April 14) - UK - At 101, Britain's oldest employee Buster Martin is now the world's oldest marathon runner also. The former army physical-training instructor, who is also a star with a pop group called 'The Zimmers', participated in the 26.2-mile London marathon on Sunday. Complete Story
Beer pong tourney sweeps New York(April 14) - NY - People over a certain age might think ping-pong balls have one use. Think again, Grandpa.Last Saturday, the first leg of a 17-stop beer pong tour extravaganza was held at Porky's Bar in Chelsea. The bouncer at the bar described Porky's as a place where "a lot of people get ripped." Complete Story
Cape Cod Beer spreads cheer(April 12) - Massachuetts - Many will remember 2008 as a year of cutting back. Cape Cod Beer president and brewmaster Todd Marcus will recall it as the year he more than doubled his company’s manufacturing capacity and expanded its distribution from Plymouth to Provincetown. Complete Story
A Trip to the Blue Mountain Brewery and Hop Farm(April 12) - Virginia - Located on Critzers Shop Road in Afton, right across the Nelson County border and a mere twenty-minute drive from Charlottesville, Blue Mountain Brewery’s restaurant and tasting room looks like a cross between a Bavarian brew house and an antebellum plantation. Complete Story
Colorado Evolves as Beer Lover's Paradise(April 10) - Time - The best place for brewery-touring is Denver, partly because of its water, partly because it's the home of Coors and partly because skier, mountain-biker and hiker dudes love them some beer. Complete Story
Labatt adds Buffalo to beer label(April 10) - Time - Labatt USA has added Buffalo to its label to reflect the beer company's move to the city last June. All products Labatt sells in the United States will now be labeled "imported by Labatt USA Buffalo, NY." Complete Story
South Carolina entrepreneur's specialty beer business booming, thanks to change in law(April 10) - South Carolina - Last spring, with a leased delivery truck and a hand-me-down keg cooler, LeVine founded Carolina Craft Distributing, a wholesaler of craft, micro-brewed and international beers, in a small warehouse on the northwest side of Rock Hill. Complete Story
Spartan Warrior Imperial Stout released(April 9) - Alaska - The Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company’s Spartan Warrior Imperial Stout was released to honor the fallen soldiers of the Army’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division (4/25) soldiers at Ft. Richardson. Complete Story
"Beer of the Week:" Bear Republic's "Hop Rod Rye" Ale(April 9) - Chicago - But we did manage to pick up a couple of brewed gems on our recent visit. This week's selection comes from Bear Republic Brewery, which was featured here last autumn with their Racer 5 IPA. Complete Story
Stella and Carlsberg clash over ‘UK’s best beer’ claims (April 9) - UK - A row has erupted between rivals Carlsberg and Stella Artois over claims that Carlsberg has taken over the Belgian beer as Britain’s best selling lager for the first time in almost two decades. Complete Story
Belgian fruit beer a sweet reunion(April 9) - Wisconsin - When I’m in the mood for an excellent fruit beer, I eagerly search the local stores for Lindemans fruit ales. Complete Story
"At Last: Craft Beer. Done Lite."(April 9) - Beer Advocate - Or so says the website for the new line of light "craft beers" from Miller Brewing Co., the Miller Lite Brewers Collection (MLBC), in the most recent attempt by a large brewer to capture some of the success of small American craft brewers. Complete Story
Hops demand hops; Bend beer brewers scramble(April 8) - Oregon - In 1992, too many farmers were growing too much of it, in turn, flooding the market. For 15 years, hops retailers have been selling off the surplus, now it's all gone. Complete Story
Schlitz Returns to Chicago Beer Market(April 7) - Illinois - Pabst Brewing Company looks to be marketing nostalgia as it reintroduces Schlitz beer in Chicago this week. The beer was once a top-selling beer brand. But the Woodridge, Illinois-based company changed the brew's formula in the 1970s and sales dipped. Complete Story
'He Said Beer, She Said Wine'(April 7) - Boston - Beer and wine drinkers can co-exist peacefully tonight at Marnie Old's reading at the Back Bay Borders. Her book, co-authored by brew maven Sam Calagione, "He Said Beer, She Said Wine," is all about pairing wine and beer with different foods. Complete Story
Magic Hat's craft-beer wave(April 2) - Vermont - South Burlington's Magic Hat Brewery knows a little something about that sort of growth. Since it started turning water, barley, hops and yeast into beer in 1994, Magic Hat has outgrown two facilities. Complete Story
Yeast goes wild in Oval Trappist ale(April 1) - Canada - Without a clumsy duchess, one of the world's great beers might never have been born. Thanks to an overzealous cleaning crew, it was almost killed. Complete Story
Brewing Trouble: How to Drink Beer and Save the World(April 1) - Fermenting Revolution: How To Drink Beer and Save the World by Christopher O'Brien is a book about how the people can take back the brew and join together in saying, "If I can't drink good beer, it's not my revolution." Complete Story
Beer of the Week - Rogue Brutal Bitter(April 1) - Canada - While they’ve never had a beer available here on a year-round basis, Oregon’s Rogue Ales have become of the most popular American craft breweries in Ontario thanks to the frequent appearances of their beers as part of the LCBO’s seasonal beer promotions. Complete Story
