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If you didn’t know it already, the craft beer world has exploded in the last few decades. At last count, there were more than 9,000 breweries (micro and macro) currently operating in the U.S. To put this into perspective, there were only a little over 1,700 breweries in 2010. That’s a major increase in IPAs, pilsners, pale ales, sours, and stouts. The oversaturation of brewing in the U.S. means two things: For one, there are a lot more options than there used to be; secondly, there are a great many breweries that simply aren’t worth your time. That said, a...

GERMAN breweries have been told to halt beer production amid fears Oktoberfest will be canceled after Russia cut off gas supplies.

Jim Caruso, CEO of Flying Dog Brewery, calls his business a "First Amendment brewery." That's because he keeps going to court to defend beer labels. It started in 1995, when Colorado's Liquor Commission objected to the label, "Good Beer, No S---." Bureaucrats told him, "Pull the beer from the market, or we suspend your license," he says in my new video. That could have put him out of business. I tell Caruso, "I'm glad we get to say 's---' in this interview, but I can see why the regulators didn't want the word." "Want free speech?" Caruso responds, "you have...

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – Breweries here in Greenville and across the country are making efforts stand in solidarity with the Black community and with those who have lost their lives to police brutality. As of Friday afternoon, Liability Brewing Company, Birds Fly South Ale Project and Fireforge Crafted Beer are the only breweries in the Greenville area that are participating in the ‘Black is Beautiful’ beer campaign. After seeing protests nationwide and in Greenville, owners at Liability Brewing Co. said they reached out to their friend in the Black community to ask about ways they can help support those fighting...

Treating home distilling as illegal makes little sense, given that homebrewing and wine making have been legal at the federal level since 1978. In the aftermath of its failure to pass a health-care overhaul, Congress appears poised to turn to tax reform. While income and corporate tax rates will likely garner most of the attention, alcohol producers are also hoping for changes to booze taxes. Specifically, brewer, vintners, and distillers have been pushing on Capitol Hill for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which would lower federal excise taxes on alcohol. Despite attracting nearly 300 co-sponsors in the...

Clemson University scientist Brian Ward and his team harvested about 145 pounds of Purple Straw seed, which was grown from less than half a pound. Credit: Scott Miller / Clemson University ================================================================================================= The first step of an ongoing-process designed to bring a valuable heirloom wheat back from the brink of extinction has been completed with flying colors. Last month, Clemson University scientist Brian Ward and his team harvested about 145 pounds of Purple Straw seed, which was grown from less than half a pound. Purple Straw is the only heirloom wheat to have been cultivated continually in the South from...

FORT COLLINS - New Belgium Brewing has joined forces with Ben & Jerry's to donate $100,000 to a California-based nonprofit that works to mobilize the snow-sports community to battle climate change. The two "B-corp" companies, Fort Collins-based New Belgium and South Burlington, Vt.-based Ben & Jerry's, partnered to create a special beer and ice cream, with a portion of their proceeds going to Pacific Palisades, Calif.-based Protect Our Winters. The companies presented the check to POW on Friday during a celebration at Stoney's Bar and Grill in Denver. ... In addition to fundraising for POW, the campaign encouraged people to...

Liquor stores and restaurants across Craig are pulling Colorado craft beers off their shelves due to the beer companies’ financial support to WildEarth Guardians, the environmental group that put Colowyo Coal Mine at risk of being shut down. Stockmen’s Liquor pulled 12 brands of beer — including New Belgium Brewery — because they are listed as WildEarth Guardians supporters. “We pulled those beers because their support of WildEarth Guardians... who said their ultimate goal is to shut down coal mines,” said Lori Gillam, owner of Stockmen's. “Craig is a coal mine town.” WildEarth Guardians has a list of business supporters...

Beer is another one of those testimonies to how the Catholic Church built European civilization. It is true that brewing was widely practiced in the ancient world, but the process was very primitive, even as simple as soaking a loaf of bread in water. Modern brewing practices grew up within Benedictine monasteries, where beer provided good sustenance, sanitary drink, and probably some mirth (at least for the pilgrims). The monks even created a special brew to sustain Lenten fasts, the double bock, classically seen in Paulaner’s Salvator (“The Savior”; look for St. Francis Paola on the Paulener label).The French Revolution...

Carlsberg Drivers Strike Over 'Lunchtime Beer' Cut Danish drinkers have been hit by a Carlsberg strike after the famous brewer tried to cut the amount of free beers workers are allowed to enjoy at work. 09 Apr 2010 Supplies were hit on Friday after angry warehouse staff walked out on Thursday following a Carlsberg decision to end a custom giving workers three bottled beers a day on the house. Denmark's most famous brewery has implemented a new workplace alcohol policy that limits employees to one bottle of beer a day at lunchtime. Carlsberg's distribution drivers are still allowed to drink...

U.S. beer sales volumes fell 2.2% last year, the highest rate since the 1950s, with demand worsening late in the year in a sign of the pressures on big brewers to make their mergers pay off. The decline, the industry's first since 2003, raises demands for industry leaders Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoors LLC to come up with better advertising and to rethink recent price increases, said retailers and analysts. But they must tread carefully, balancing price moves against a need to drive profits in the wake of the mergers that created the two. The two giants increased prices by...

North American Breweries is investing $10 million into Rochester’s Genesee Beer brand, hoping to bring the brewery back to “its glory days.” KPS Capital Partners LP formed North American Breweries earlier this year when it purchased Buffalo-based Labatt USA and then the Genesee Brewing Company. The renewed effort will include merging the sales and marketing teams from Labatt USA and Genesee, once a recognized beer in Western New York. The company said it has begun $6 million in upgrades and will invest another $4 million in 2010. “Positive changes are brewing,” said Rich Lozyniak, the new CEO of North American...

Brooklyn and Beer: A Match Made in 100 Breweries By Larry McShane Associated Press Writer May 12, 2004 NEW YORK (AP) - Raise a glass to Brooklyn, once home to more than 100 breweries, former producer of more beer than Milwaukee, the borough where Prohibition was greeted with a wink ... and an ice-cold draft. Make a toast to William Johnson, who opened Brooklyn's first brewery back in 1822. Lift a mug for John F. Trommer, a 19th-century German immigrant renowned for his all-malt Brooklyn brew. Strange as it seems, Brooklyn - famed for its churches, cemeteries and Coney Island's...

<p>Last year, big businesses were targeted with the largest tax increase since Jim Florio was Governor. This year, smaller businesses are being targeted to help plug a huge budget gap.</p> <p>Millennium Radio has obtained a copy of a Democratic sponsored Senate bill that seeks to raise fees on dog kennels, pet shops, micro breweries, and small wineries. The real estate industry is hit particularly hard, with fees doubled in 21-categories. Residential real estate analyst Ellen Souter says the fees will hurt realty companies across New Jersey. "It sickens me that no-one sat down to study this issue, and simply decided this is how were going to do it (balance the budget)," Souter said.</p>