This Week's Brews News - February 23, 2007 -- Beer Info

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Harpoon Welcomes Danish Brewers To Celebrate Brewing Tradition(February 22) - Boston - Today, the Refsvindinge Brewery of Denmark arrives at the Harpoon Brewery to celebrate a beer they helped brew from over 3,000 miles away. The Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Refsvindinge Private Stock Danish Farmhouse Ale is the 18th installment of Harpoon’s limited edition line of beers. Complete Story

Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar may be put up for sale(February 21) - Prague - Agriculture Minister Petr Gandalovic, whose ministry is in charge of the state-owned company, said Wednesday that the government would work to prepare Budvar for privatization. The process would depend on the outcome of the trademark dispute with Anheuser-Busch, he said. Complete Story

Rogue's 10,000th batch(February 21) - Oregon - Rogue Ales master brewer John Maier has brewed his 10,000th batch. Maier brewed the first batch of Rogue Ales in a garage on the Yaquina Bayfront in Newport, Oregon, on May 18, 1989. Complete Story

Craft Beer Growth — An American Success Story(February 21) - Boulder, CO - The continuing growth of craft beer entered double-digit territory in 2006, with sales by craft brewers up 11.7% by volume for the year. This comes on top of strong growth in each of the prior three years and illustrates the ongoing surge of consumer interest in craft beers. Complete Story

The Celebrator Beer News celebrates its 19th Anniversary(February 21) - California - Leaders of the craft brewing industry join the party celebrating America's premiere brewspaper anniversary. Complete Story

Attorneys General of 21 States Lash Out at Bud.tv Age Checks(February 21) - National - Dealing a blow to the $40 million experiment hailed as ushering in a new era for marketer-generated media, the attorneys general of 21 states are attacking Bud's groundbreaking online TV network, charging that it's too easily accessed by people below legal drinking age. Complete Story

Foster's Profit Rise 90 Percent(February 20) - Australia - Australian brewer and winemaker Foster's Group Ltd. posted a 90 percent rise in half-year net profits on Tuesday, but shares plunged when it missed analyst forecasts after a strategy to combine its beer and wine sales teams flopped. Complete Story

Masham beer is Yorkshire's best(February 20) - UK - Theakston's famous Old Peculier ale has scooped the coveted title of Champion Beer of Yorkshire at the Rotherham Oakwood 2007 Real Ale Festival. The Masham family brewery triumphed over stiff competition from more than 60 other Yorkshire brewers to claim the top prize. Complete Story

St. Pauli announces 2007 Poster Girl - This Poster Girl is not only beautiful but is also a certified trained firefighter and hazardous materials handler. Poster and Complete Story

Terrapin Beer signs as official beer for the Tour de Georgia(February 19, 2007) - Atlanta – Terrapin Beer Company, makers of the award-winning Terrapin Rye Pale Ale and Golden Ale, has been named the Official Beer provider for the 2007 Tour De Georgia. The partnership complements Terrapin Beer's passion for the sport of cycling, which includes its involvement with several Athens-based cycling teams. Complete Story

Beers pack a big punch(February 19) - Indiana - They're big. They're bad. They'll knock you on your fanny if you're not careful. Extreme and big beers, those with high alcohol content and colossal flavor, are all the rage among craft brewers and many beer drinkers nowadays. Complete Story

Beer Giant, Others Eye Old Dominion's Territory(February 19) - Washington DC - A group of partners that includes the beer giant Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis has applied for a new brewery license at Old Dominion Brewing Co. in Ashburn, another sign that the popular pub near Dulles International Airport is close to changing ownership. Complete Story

Big Nugget from Alaskan Brewing takes 1st Place at Toronado Barley Wine Festival(February 19) - San Francisco - Results

Banging back brews at Bockfest(February 19) - New Ulm, MN - Four hundred kegs of beer. That’s how much beer was readily available for people to drink at this year’s Bockfest, the August Schell Brewery’s annual festival in New Ulm. Complete Story

Beer By the Year - Vintage Brews(February 17) - Newsweek - Forget 'born-on dates.' Vintage suds are becoming a popular pour at fine dining joints. But is any bottle of beer really worth it? . Complete Story

Two New Seasonal Brews from Pelican(February 17) - Oregon - The Pelican Pub and Brewery has added Grand Cru de Pelican and Saison du Pelican to its bottling line. Complete Story Website

Minhas to brew Dixie beer brands(February 16) - Wisconsin - Minhas Craft Brewery said Thursday that it has signed a contract with Dixie Brewing Co. to brew and package Dixie beers at its Monroe brewery. The contract will result in the reintroduction of Dixie Brewery's brands following Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the New Orleans area on Aug. 29, 2005. Complete Story

Oregon beers grow by hops and bounds(February 16) - Oregon's craft brewing industry, dismissed by some as "that microbrew fad", did more than survive a mid-'90s shakeout, a post-Sept. 11 slowdown and a more recent flattening out of beer consumption nationwide. It thrived. Complete Story

This Weekend's Beer Festivals

Toronado Barley Wine Festival - San Francisco - February 17-24
Best Barleywine festival in the smallest location. A large selection of barleywines on draft; with a judging and selection of the top three finishers.
Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival - Lansing, MI - February 24
An outdoor celebration of Michigan-brewed barrel-aged, cask, and big beers; hot food and live music; event will be held "snow, rain or shine."
Second Annual Tour de Beer - Atlanta, GA - February 24 - The Tour is a fun and fundraising function for GEORGIA BIKES! Sample complimentary pints of fine microbrews. Participate in our famed raffle and, possibly, silent auction (Can you say “new bike” from CycleWorks?). Take in some hors d'oeurves and a brewery tour. Listen to the live music of The Commitaphobics.

Featured Beer of the Week

Old Foghorn Barley Wine
   Anchor Brewing has been producing small batches of Old Foghorn Barley Wine since 1975.
   Old Foghorn is highly hopped, using only Cascade hops. It is fermented with a true top-fermenting ale yeast. Carbonation is produced by an entirely natural process called "bunging," which produces champagne-like bubbles. Our "barleywine ale" is dry-hopped with additional Cascade hops while it ages in our cellars.
   Because of the high original gravity, the yeast is unable to ferment all of the sugars. As a result, barley wine is high in alcohol, and is slightly sweet, due to the residual sugars. Old Foghorn also has a pleasant hop bitterness, due to the large quantity of hops used during brewing, and a unique hop aroma due to the dry-hopping and aging.

If you have a brew news story or would like to promote your beer festival, competition, or brewery openning, please contact: Dow Scoggins at info@beerinfo.com