Craft brewing renaissance hits college campuses

A boom in the craft beer industry combined with an increase in food science programs means that more students are graduating college with a different kind of alcohol education.

Of all the places to find beer on a college campus, the classroom may not be the first one to come to mind.

But there are currently about 50 universities in the U.S. that have food science programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With a handful offering courses in subjects such as enology, viticulture and the fermentation sciences, experts say more students than ever are graduating with a new kind of alcohol education.

“It’s an academic field that is growing like crazy,” says Thomas Shellhammer, a professor in Oregon State University’s food science and technology department.

When OSU’s food science department began in 2001, Shellhammer says there were about 40 students enrolled. Today, that number has more than tripled, and he estimates that it will only grow as time goes on.

“When I was in college, I had no idea there was a degree in food science,” he said. “Now we’re at a point when people in their first year are seeking it out.”

While food science programs in general have been on the rise over the past decade, what has happened in the beer and wine industries may be especially interesting, especially for students seeking work in a lackluster job market. After all, as Shellhammer puts it, alcohol is “relatively recession-proof.”

In the domestic beer world, Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors control about 80% of the market, while craft breweries only have about a 6.5% share, according to the Brewers Association based in Boulder, Colo. While sales from the large corporations have remained stagnant or even declined, craft breweries are growing.

Craft brewer retail dollar value in 2012 was $10.2 billion, up from $8.7 billion in 2011, according to the Brewers Association. Even with a relatively small share of the overall market, the craft brewing business employs roughly half of the brewing jobs in the nation.

Eryn Bottens recently graduated from OSU’s food science technology program with a concentration in fermentation science. He had homebrewed as a hobby for years, but a few different career and education paths led him back to school where he discovered OSU’s program.

“Most folks I talked to were surprised that you could even major in a field like that,” Bottens says. “Some weren’t sure that someone could be successful with it, but they have since turned around. There is so much growth here in the Northwest it’s hard to deny it.”

Bottens plans to work for the Boston Beer Company next year. He says the program at OSU has prepared him for a wide range of career choices.

“Any graduate could look into jobs that relate to a fermented food,” he says, “including beer, wine, cheese, bread, pickled foods and other fermented beverages. I just happened to focus on the beer side.”

While the number of colleges offering courses and workshops in beer brewing and winemaking is rising, there are still only a handful of universities that offer students the option to graduate with a degree in either, though the departments usually carry more technical terms like “enology” and “viticulture” in the title.

OSU, Cornell University and the University of California-Davis are examples, with UC Davis’s program dating back to 1860 when state legislators mandated there should be university research in the field, according to instructor Mike Ramsey.

Some college administrations have even installed student-run breweries on campus. UC Davis, OSU and the Seibel Institute of Chicago all have their own, and Colorado State University became the latest when it announced in April plans to unveil its own microbrewery in the university’s student center.

A bit of history: The microbrewing industry is a fairly recent phenomenon, both Shellhammer and Ramsey say. It was only in 1979 when President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that allowed home brewing to be exempt from taxation for personal or family use.

During that year, there were only about 89 breweries in the United States, according to a graph created by the Brewers Association. In 2010, that number skyrocketed to 2,403.

But the microbrewing renaissance may be a regional trend, says Kurt Staudter, executive director of the Vermont Brewers Association. Even a cursory glance at the colleges offering education in the field is a telling sign that states in New England and the Pacific Northwest as well as California are favorable to the industry, thanks to a clause in the 1979 amendment that left some control up to states. But that is isn’t the case everywhere.

“We’ve noticed a dramatic shift in drinking products locally,” Staudter says. “But a number of states have a long way to go.”

He notes that as more and more college students are exposed to craft brews, many have bypassed more generic brands in favor of those that are locally crafted.

“Kids today who are 21 are graduating with better taste in beer than their parents,” he says. “Before when you came home your father may have said, ‘Sit down, let me open you a Pabst Blue Ribbon.’ Now, it’s, ‘No, Dad, let me offer you an IPA.”

Devin Karambelas is a summer 2013 Collegiate Correspondent.

SABMILLER PLC : Interest in Mixed Beer Drinks in PET Packaging Is on the Rise – 4

Interest in Mixed Beer Drinks in PET Packaging Is on the Rise

14 June 2013

Plze?, June 13, 2013 – Interest in drinks in PET packaging has been on the rise during the last few years; this trend also includes mixed beer drinks. Gambrinus Flavored is not only available in traditional, 0.5 l cans, but also in practical 1.5 l PET bottles. All three flavours will be available in this modern and ever more popular packaging – Lime Elderberry, Crisp Lemon, and this year, novelty Juicy Citrus.

Practical from all perspectives

Over the last few years, popularity of PET packaged drinks among consumers has been on the rise. In segments of mixed beer drinks, this type of packaging represents 15% of sold volume while during the same time period last year, it was only 7% (January – May 2013 vs. same time period of last year, modern market, source: Nielsen). Consumers value the practicality especially. It provides them with a certain comfort during consumption. “PET bottles are light, strong and repeatedly closeable. Czechs simply see its advantages and so its market share is on the rise,” said Miroslav Peichl, brand marketing manager of Gambrinus. New packaging should support another boost in the interest in mixed beer drinks from Gambrinus that is sought after by consumers, especially for its pleasant taste and content. “Besides the characteristic, well-balanced taste of the traditional and popular Gambrinus beer, the fruit flavour results in low calories because there are no sweeteners or preservatives,” Peichl added. Recommended retail price of one PET bottle of Gambrinus Flavoured is 42,90 CZK (about 2.00 USD).

Gambrinus Flavoured scores with consumers

During Summer 2012, mixed drinks reached 10% share in the total beer market and thus became the fastest-growing beer segment. “Since its introduction, Gambrinus Flavoured became one of the three most sought after products on market in the segment of mixed beer drinks. The bet on citrus fruit paid off. These are far more popular than any other flavours,” Peichl announced. Varieties Gambrinus Lime Elderberry a Gambrinus Crisp Lemon in cans also succeeded in the prestigious consumer survey, Consumers’ Choice – The Best Novelty of 2013, in the category of flavoured beers. Among many other brands, these products got the most votes from 4,000 respondents and became the most popular novelties of the last year. This March, Gambrinus added a new flavour based on citrus foundation – Gambrinus Juicy Citrus.

Contact:
Vladimír Jurina                                                           
Brand PR mana?er                                                      
Phone: +420 724 617 886     
Email: vladimir.jurina@pilsner.sabmiller.com

Notes for editors:

- Gambrinus Premium beer was the only Czech beer awarded at the international tasting competition The International Brewing Awards 2013 – among the beer brewing palls known as The Brewing Oscar. 40 brew-masters from 16 countries evaluated more than 800 beers from all around the world. Gambrinus Premium won silver medal in the Classic Lager category.

- The wide portfolio of Gambrinus brand consists of Gambrinus Original 10°, Gambrinus 11° Excellent, Gambrinus Premium light lager, and Gambrinus Dry with low content of sugar. Since 2012, Gambrinus added Gambrinus Crisp Lemon, and Gambrinus Lime Elderberry products to its portfolio. These are mixed beer drinks. They are typical for lower alcohol content and refreshing taste.

- Thanks to following the original brewing recipes typical for Czech beer, and also thanks to the use of traditional Czech beer brewing materials, Gambrinus is entitled to use the quality trademark “Czech Beer.”

- History of Gambrinus brand goes way back to 1869. Gambrinus is beer that won hearts and minds of its consumers thanks to its high quality and preserving of original brewing procedures.

- Gambrinus is part of Plze?ský Prazdroj Inc. portfolio.  PP is member of SABMiller plc. With its total sale of nearly 9.9 million hectolitres during the calendar year of 2011 (including licenced productions abroad) and with its export to more than 50 countries worldwide, Plze?ský Prazdroj Inc. is the preeminent beer producer in the region and the biggest exporter of the Czech beer.

- SABMiller plc. is one of the world’s biggest beer brewing companies with beer brewing activities or distribution in more than 60 countries across six continents. SABMiller portfolio includes important international Brands such as Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, and Pilsner Urquell, as well as almost 200 successful regional and national brands.

This SABMiller subsidiary news release has been translated from its local market language to English language for publication on www.sabmiller.com. We have attempted to provide an accurate translation of the original material but due to the difficulties of translation slight differences may exist. 

Note, the news release was first published in its local market on 13th of June 2013.

Staten Island attorney Gary Angiuli plans to contribute to revival of borough …

View full sizeStaten Island attorney Gary Angiuli says that Flagship, a startup brewery at 215 Bay St., will be the anchor of a 33,000-square-foot facility he’s dubbed “Back of the Bay.” It’s a project Angiuli envisions as part of the “renaissance that Staten Island needs.”

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island, once home to over a dozen breweries in the 1800s, may be ripe for a new generation.

Gary Angiuli, for one, seems to thinks so.

Come January, the borough attorney based both in Tompkinsville and Dongan Hills — as well as CEO of the Angiuli Group — will house Flagship, a startup brewery, on his property at 215 Bay St. in Tompkinsville, former site of Angiuli Motors. It will be the anchor in a 33,000-square-foot facility he’s dubbed “Back of the Bay,” and it’s a project Angiuli envisions as part of the “renaissance that Staten Island needs.”

Additional features planned for the development include “restaurants, cafes and piano bars and the like, of which we are currently in negotiations,” Angiuli said.

Jay Sykes, the entrepreneur behind Flagship, bills his product as an “unforgettable beer brewed in the forgotten borough.”

The 31-year-old Sykes is a West Brighton resident and salesperson with a Brooklyn beer distributor and a member of Richmond County Beer Club. His operation will occupy 13,000-square feet of “Back of the Bay,” where plans are under way for a tasting room that will be open Thursday through Sunday for tour-takers.

Two weeks ago, Sykes and his team planted hops at the Silver Lake Golf course; 300 rhizomes — Willamette, Mt. Hood, Nugget and Cascade varietals — that one day will yield buds to season Flagship’s anticipated three styles of beer: An India Pale Ale (IPA), a lager and porter.

Sykes, who already has hired a brewmaster, aims for the porter “to be robust, but drinkable,” the IPA to be around 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and the lager — a brew that is traditionally crisp and dry with little bitterness lent by hops — to appeal to Staten Island palates, particularly newbies crossing over to the craft beer experience.

Jay Sykes hope to open a brewery at the former site of Angiuli Motors on Bay St.Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores

The young entrepreneur plans for seasonals — a winter and a summer brew — to be sold in kegs and limited bottles.

FEELING CONFIDENT

Does the brewery have a chance for success?

The most recent startup on Staten Island, Harbor Ale in the late 1990s established in Arlington well before craft beer became fashionable in New York City, alas was short-lived.

James Thomson, a West Brighton attorney who specializes in start-ups and is the attorney for Flagship, said he’s confident in what he sees.

“These guys have been sharp,” Thomson said, adding he’s looking forward to the operation’s opening day.

Ken Tirado, beer aficionado and owner of Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn in Charleston, wishes the entrepreneurs great luck. While optimistic for Staten Island to see brewing start once again, he said he hopes Flagship starts off easy and comes around to shunning IPAs and trendy, super-hopped brews.

“They would be well-advised to [stick] with seasonals, a signature lager, and a brown ale,” Tirado opined. “The local tastebuds seem to like sweeter, milder beers.

“One thing about New York City,” Tirado continued, “is it’s a brand-loyalty and unsophisticated beer palate. I joke with the beer salesmen that Miller, Coors, and Bud are still the most popular beers regardless of what we throw at people.”

“Brewers wait their entire lives to make their beer available to consumers,” said Tim Sinatra, area sales manager with Brooklyn-based Union Beer Distributors. But as with any business, there are risks involved.

“I think the biggest issues with new breweries,” he said, “is that most of the brewers have been waiting a long time for the chance to make beer and have it consumed by more than just their friends. They tend to lose focus on quality.”

Home-brewers looking to turn pro should take baby steps for longevity, advises Paul Halayko, president of two-year old Newburgh Brewing Co. in Newburgh, N.Y. He mentions wildly successful brewers who made quick and impressive leaps to fame like Patrick Rue of The Bruery in Placentia, Calif. Locally, he said the upstate craft beer community is keeping an eye on Singlecut, a downstate start-up in Astoria, Queens. Open since December, Singlecut offers over 15 brews, organized tastings with food pairings and a slick marketing campaign that includes intricately-designed tap handles that are almost works of art, costly endeavors that some beer experts criticize take resources away from carefully-managed brewing.

As for Flagship, Sykes is keeping details as simple as possible to keep costs down. He believes the homegrown hops will save the company money down the line. He’s bought used equipment, including a small bottling system, and anticipates his biggest expense to be a build-out of the Bay Street location.

“We want to have great support from the restaurants and bars,” said Sykes. “We really want to go strong for Staten Island.”

Note: This story has been updated and reposted to correct an editing error in the original headline.

Home beer-brewing and winemaking on the rise, survey shows – Florida Times

More people are making their own beer and wine.

The American Homebrewers Association said yesterday that its annual survey of retail beer- and wine-making supply stores showed gross revenue at those businesses grew by an average of 26 percent in 2012.

Some of the stores surveyed also sell other retail goods such as gardening supplies. For those that specialize in homebrew ingredients and equipment, gross revenues increased on average by 29 percent, the AHA said. That’s 2 percent higher than the 2011 survey results, and 10 percent higher than the results from the first AHA supply shop survey in 2009.

The AHA said 275 homebrew shops in 47 states participated in the survey.

“As homebrewing continues to grow, retail shops are responding accordingly, satisfying the needs of their increasing customer base,” said Gary Glass, AHA director.

About 80 percent of the shops reported increased sales of beginner homebrew equipment kits, indicating more people are getting into the hobby for the first time. Most of those fermentation newbies were in the 30 to 39 age range.

Sales of beer ingredients continued to outpace wine ingredients, with shops reporting an average of 35 percent of retail revenue coming from beer ingredients vs. 21 percent from wine ingredients.

In Jacksonville, Just Brew It operates two beer- and wine-making supply stores: Its main store in Riverside and a branch it opened in Jacksonville Beach in 2011. And Jacksonville’s Cowford Ale Sharing Klub (CASK) homebrew club has grown from about 150 to more than 300 active members in just a few years.

See the complete AHA report here.

Continuous Fermentation Process Increases Beer Brewing Efficiency | The Daily …

The pilot plant for new the fermentation process (Picture: K. Auffermann-Müller/TUM)

The beer is going green, and it has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day—a group of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (Germany) have developed a new non-stop fermentation process that takes place in stages over a number of interconnected tanks. The tank system can be operated continuously over a period of several months, which leads to an energy reduction. The new method also promises significant resource efficiency gains.

Fermentation and lagering are the most time-consuming stages in the brewing process. In these production steps the beer develops its characteristic flavors and aromas. “The taste and quality of the beer depend to a large extent on the type of yeast used, and the applied fermentation process,” explains Konrad Müller-Auffermann of the Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality.

Breweries normally use large, cylindroconical, stainless steel tanks (CCTs) for fermentation. These tanks have only one inlet and outlet at their base for filling and discharging the beer and yeast. Once fermentation and lagering have been completed, the breweries release the carbon dioxide that has built up in the tanks and clean them thoroughly—a process that usually takes several hours. Subsequently the tanks can be refilled with the next batch.

Therefore the tanks cannot be used for production during filling, emptying and cleaning. In order to eliminate these downtime, a TUM scientist has developed a new process that allows continuous fermentations in a number of interconnected tanks. “We simply equip the existing tanks with a central pipe, with open bottom,” says Müller-Auffermann. “This enables the combination of tanks in order to create a reaction cascade.”

The advantages of continuous operation

With this new process, yeast and other sedimented substances can be separated into fractions and re-used if required. Müller-Auffermann explains: “By installing a downward-facing pipe, we created two reaction zones in each tank. Now, unlike the conventional system, the brewers can fill and empty the tanks continuously from the top part of the tanks. The bottom connection of the tank can hence be used to discharge yeast cells and other particles.”

Continuous operation makes the fermentation plant more efficient. “This new method reduces the incidence of energy peaks, so that breweries will be able to save on electricity. In addition, less beer will be lost—and breweries can save water and cleaning detergents,” says Müller-Auffermann.

The process and system, for which TUM has submitted a patent application, is running successfully on a small scale at the Research Center Weihenstephan. Hence, the brewing industry is already considering the application of this efficient and environmentally friendly concept for industrial-scale operations in the near future.

Old dream—New solution

Brewers have been juggling with the dream of turning the classical batch fermentation into a continuous process for over 100 years. In all this time, however, no one has managed to develop a widely applied industrial concept. Dr. Friedrich Jacob, Director of the Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality, explains why: “Beer is a highly complex product with hundreds of different components. Even very minor changes in technology can result in too much or too little of a particular substance forming—which may potentially impair the flavor of the beer.”

“When developing this new process and technology, the simplicity was always in the main focus,” adds Müller-Auffermann. “Since the yeast plays a decisive role in the quality of the beer, we handle this sensitive organism nearly identically, compared to the traditional process. That is the key to a consistently good product.”

Flat Earth brings beer brewing back to old Hamm’s site

A local brewer plans to bring beer back to the old Hamm’s Brewery.

The East Side brewery, which in the 1950s was home to the fifth-largest beer company in America, rolled out its last beer in 1997.

Now, Flat Earth Holdings, LLC, the company better known as the Flat Earth Brewing Co., has signed a licensing agreement with St. Paul to locate in a portion of the old brewery site.

The company will move into buildings No. 7 and No. 8 in a long vacant section of the Hamm’s Brewery off Minnehaha Avenue. Company president John Warner said he plans to occupy about 50,000 square feet.

“We’re not doubling our space,” said Warner, whose brewery now occupies a modest site by Pearson’s Candy on West Seventh Street. “We’re 14-timesing our space.”

Flat Earth Brewing started in 2007 on Benson Avenue, south of Highland Park, and quickly became known for its hand-crafted assortment, including its Angry Planet Pale Ale and the popular Cygnus X-1 Porter, which is named after a black hole. Flat Earth’s seasonal specials include a Black Helicopter Coffee Stout and the Mummy Train Pumpkin Ale.

Work on the new site is in the beginning stages. In the long term, Warner hopes it will include a taproom and beer garden among the East Side brewery’s brick buildings.

STEEPED IN HISTORY

The brewery’s history is almost synonymous with that of St. Paul.

In 1865, German immigrant Theodore Hamm became the owner of a small brewery overlooking Swede Hollow when the previous owner

defaulted. Hamm had no experience in the trade, but his brewery grew over the next 20 years to cover four acres.

The family business stayed there for another century, overseen by three generations of Hamms and eventually a lovable mascot, the Hamm’s Bear.

The klutzy cartoon bear — often pictured in television ads tipping over canoes or tripping over its own feet — was named by Advertising Age in 1999 as a key emblem of the 75th best ad campaign of the 20th century: “Hamm’s beer: ‘From the Land of Sky Blue Waters.’ ”

The company went through a series of sales before landing under the auspices of Stroh’s, its final owner. Over the course of 30 years, Hamm’s and a string of neighboring employers vacated the East Side, including Whirlpool in 1984 and 3M in the latter half of the last decade.

Neighborhood efforts to breathe new life into the Hamm’s campus have included plans for an Asian Pacific Cultural Center, which was twice slated to receive $5 million in state funding. The money was vetoed each time by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Jim Danielson, general manager of Everest, LCC, said the five buildings north of Minnehaha Avenue are almost fully occupied by his company’s tenants, who are tired of looking out at the broken windows and spray paint across the street.

“It would make me happy if they clean that eyesore up,” Danielson said. “They’re starting to. It would make the whole neighborhood happy. Our building is pretty full right now.”

ON TAP

In the Twin Cities, the surging popularity of micro-brews and locally made, handcrafted beers has helped some beer makers expand virtually overnight.

Many are adding taprooms where alcohol can be enjoyed on the brewery premises, a result of loosened distribution restrictions under the state’s so-called “Surly Bill,” which was passed by the Legislature in 2011.

Brooklyn Center-based Surly Brewing Co. recently closed on the purchase of eight acres of land off University Avenue in Minneapolis, near the St. Paul border, for a “destination brewery” and event center.

Burning Brothers Brewing and Bang Brewing Co. are two startup brewers who recently announced plans to open tap rooms in St. Paul, in part to help fund the launch of their own micro-breweries.

Flat Earth’s move to the new location won’t be cheap. Warner has applied for a $375,000 grant from the city’s neighborhood STAR program, which is funded by a citywide half-cent sales tax.

The grant was recommended for approval by the STAR board, but the mayor’s office and St. Paul City Council will weigh in later this summer.

“I want the city to be my partner,” Warner said. “It’s a god-awful property that I’m going to make look like a jewel.”

The improvement will be a welcome sight.

The sprawling brewery campus is split between private and public ownership. About a third was torn down over the years to make way for Phalen Boulevard.

Before retiring last November, Curt Lange spent 15 years as general manager of the third of the Hamm’s site which remains privately owned by Everest, LLC and investor Howard Gelb.

With Gelb’s portion of the property attracting an over-the-road trucking outfit, a hospital laundry, artists, attorneys and even a small call center, Lange spent years pressuring the city to find worthy tenants to occupy the publically owned south end of the brewery campus, which is blighted by broken windows and graffiti.

“It’s been a long time,” said Lange on Monday, who was happy to hear of a yet another employer moving in. “It’s going to be jobs, and I think we need jobs. I think it would be a positive thing.”

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.

ON THE WEB

For more information on Flat Earth Brewing, go online to flatearthbrewing.com.

Staten Island attorney Joe Sykes plans to contribute to revival of borough’s …

Jay Sykes hope to open a brewery at the former site of Anguili Motors on Bay St.Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Staten Island, once home to over a dozen breweries in the 1800s, may be ripe for a new generation.

Gary Angiuli, for one, seems to thinks so.

Come January, the borough attorney based both in Tompkinsville and Dongan Hills — as well as CEO of the Angiuli Group — will house Flagship, a startup brewery, on his property at 215 Bay St. in Tompkinsville, former site of Angiuli Motors. It will be the anchor in a 33,000-square-foot facility he’s dubbed “Back of the Bay,” and it’s a project Angiuli envisions as part of the “renaissance that Staten Island needs.”

Additional features planned for the development include “restaurants, cafes and piano bars and the like, of which we are currently in negotiations,” Angiuli said.

Jay Sykes, the entrepreneur behind Flagship, bills his product as an “unforgettable beer brewed in the forgotten borough.”

The 31-year-old Sykes is a West Brighton resident and salesperson with a Brooklyn beer distributor and a member of Richmond County Beer Club. His operation will occupy 13,000-square feet of “Back of the Bay,” where plans are under way for a tasting room that will be open Thursday through Sunday for tour-takers.

Two weeks ago, Sykes and his team planted hops at the Silver Lake Golf course; 300 rhizomes — Willamette, Mt. Hood, Nugget and Cascade varietals — that one day will yield buds to season Flagship’s anticipated three styles of beer: An India Pale Ale (IPA), a lager and porter.

Sykes, who already has hired a brewmaster, aims for the porter “to be robust, but drinkable,” the IPA to be around 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and the lager — a brew that is traditionally crisp and dry with little bitterness lent by hops — to appeal to Staten Island palates, particularly newbies crossing over to the craft beer experience.

The young entrepreneur plans for seasonals — a winter and a summer brew — to be sold in kegs and limited bottles.

FEELING CONFIDENT

Does the brewery have a chance for success?

The most recent startup on Staten Island, Harbor Ale in the late 1990s established in Arlington well before craft beer became fashionable in New York City, alas was short-lived.

James Thomson, a West Brighton attorney who specializes in start-ups and is the attorney for Flagship, said he’s confident in what he sees.

“These guys have been sharp,” Thomson said, adding he’s looking forward to the operation’s opening day.

Ken Tirado, beer aficionado and owner of Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn in Charleston, wishes the entrepreneurs great luck. While optimistic for Staten Island to see brewing start once again, he said he hopes Flagship starts off easy and comes around to shunning IPAs and trendy, super-hopped brews.

“They would be well-advised to [stick] with seasonals, a signature lager, and a brown ale,” Tirado opined. “The local tastebuds seem to like sweeter, milder beers.

“One thing about New York City,” Tirado continued, “is it’s a brand-loyalty and unsophisticated beer palate. I joke with the beer salesmen that Miller, Coors, and Bud are still the most popular beers regardless of what we throw at people.”

“Brewers wait their entire lives to make their beer available to consumers,” said Tim Sinatra, area sales manager with Brooklyn-based Union Beer Distributors. But as with any business, there are risks involved.

“I think the biggest issues with new breweries,” he said, “is that most of the brewers have been waiting a long time for the chance to make beer and have it consumed by more than just their friends. They tend to lose focus on quality.”

Home-brewers looking to turn pro should take baby steps for longevity, advises Paul Halayko, president of two-year old Newburgh Brewing Co. in Newburgh, N.Y. He mentions wildly successful brewers who made quick and impressive leaps to fame like Patrick Rue of The Bruery in Placentia, Calif. Locally, he said the upstate craft beer community is keeping an eye on Singlecut, a downstate start-up in Astoria, Queens. Open since December, Singlecut offers over 15 brews, organized tastings with food pairings and a slick marketing campaign that includes intricately-designed tap handles that are almost works of art, costly endeavors that some beer experts criticize take resources away from carefully-managed brewing.

As for Flagship, Sykes is keeping details as simple as possible to keep costs down. He believes the homegrown hops will save the company money down the line. He’s bought used equipment, including a small bottling system, and anticipates his biggest expense to be a build-out of the Bay Street location.

“We want to have great support from the restaurants and bars,” said Sykes. “We really want to go strong for Staten Island.”

New Beer Brewing Company Opens In Sherman

TEXOMA — May 31st, it was a hectic afternoon and evening with weather tracking all the storms across Oklahoma especially the record breaking El Reno tornado.

KTEN storm chaser Doug Drace was out in the middle of the tornadic storms. Out of his 18 years of storm chasing, it is a chase day he will not soon forget.

Beer Buzz: Tuxedo Park Brewing soldiers on

click to enlarge

Still Homebrewing

Though Jason Burk and Brent Chapman announced their departure from Tuxedo Park Brewers, co-founder Adam Burk reports the Fountain Square homebrew shop will continue to serve its loyal constituency at 1139 Shelby St. (enter and park off the Alley). Open Tue-Fri, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. and Sat, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For more info call 408-6970, email storekeeper@tuxedoparkbrewers.com or log on tuxedoparkbrewers.com.

Reality Check

Brewers in Germany are standing up against allowing “fracking” – the process of obtaining natural gas and other resources through the use of hydraulic fracturing – in the fight to maintain the purity of Germany’s water. “We are concerned that fracking endangers the brewing water that more than half of Germany’s breweries take from private wells,” according to a spokesman for the Association of German Breweries. Brewing and brewery tourism are major industries throughout Germany. Elected officials are expected to come out on the side of brewers.

New Tastes
Flat 12 Cucumber Kolsch is a refreshing, deep gold German ale with lager qualities coming from pilsener malt and cold fermentation. The brew was voted Best of Show by patrons at the May 2013 Crown Brewery Festival in Crown Point. It’s on draft and in bottles around Indy. We sampled at Flat 12′s Taproom and agree with the accolades. Before they run out, try Double Pogue’s Reserve and Hinchtown Hammer Down Ale. Other new Flat 12 seasonals include Axis Hefe, German Hefeweizen and Japanese Sorachi Ace Hops (on draft only).

Thr3e Wisemen is pouring three new big beers – Old 59 Barley Wine, Double Pit Road Red and Kiss the Bricks Maibock.

Sun King Brewing Co. released two specialty brews in the King’s Reserve series. Bourbon Barrel Cowbell, a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Porter, nicely balances the roast and cocoa malt flavors with creamy vanilla and flavors of bourbon. Stupid Sexy Flanders, a Belgian-style Flanders Oud Bruin, is fermented with wild yeasts, Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces to impart tart cherry flavors over the malt sweetness.Both are available in two-pack cans at the brewery.

Father’s Day gift ideas for beer lovers

View full sizeVancouver artist Mindy Humphrey turns beer packaging into wallets and other accessories.Mindy’s Beer Gear
“The greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer,” said humorist Dave Barry. “The wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.”

Ben Franklin considered beer nectar from heaven. “Beer is proof that God wants us to be happy,” he said.

Brewing and drinking beer is certainly having its moment, especially true in Oregon and the Northwest. For a Father’s Day gift that hits the spot, consider these beer-related items:

Beer soaps: At uncommongoods.com, there’s a selection of beer soaps from San Francisco soap-maker Hiromi. The essences of lager, stout, ale and porter are drawn from the alcohol and then mixed with oils to make a six-pack of heady cleansers. The retailer also has a selection of brewing kits, too. Vermont maple porter, West Coast India Pale Ale, Texas Chipotle amber and Southern bourbon stout kits come with everything you need to get started on your own label of home-brewed beer.

Beer brewing kit: You’ll also find a beer brew kit from the Brooklyn Brew Shop at Williams-Sonoma, including a cook pot, grain, hops and yeast. There’s enough in the starter kit to make one batch of beer, and flavors include light Summer Wheat and Belgian ale. (williams-sonoma.com)

View full sizePortland Growler Company makes ceramic growlers in a variety of sizes and colors.Portland Growler Company
Portland growlers: From the heart of the craft beer movement comes the stoneware jugs known as growlers, made by portlandgrowlercompany.com. They’re thick to hold in the cold with a tight-sealing flip-top lid and a variety of sizes and colors.

Beer glasses: Find a large selection of beer glasses for serving everything from a traditional English pint to craft brews at Crate and Barrel. There’s also a tasting set that includes an acacia wood tray and four 5-ounce glasses. Keep track of new beers with a Moleskine beer journal that has tabbed sections, pouring tips, a beer glossary and a section for recipes. Or elevate the kegger with a Krups Beer Tender, a dispensing chiller that holds several varieties of kegs including a 5-liter Heineken. Beer temperature can be adjusted, and the contents will stay fresh for 30 days. (crateandbarrel.com)

Beer wallets and tags: Crafter Mindy Humphrey of Vancouver turns recycled beer packaging into wallets, cuffs, dog collars and luggage tags that she sells on her Etsy site, etsy.com/shop/mindysdesigns.

View full sizePortland’s Dagny Designs makes cotton boxers in beer and other designs.Bonus Pants
Beer boxers: Portland’s Dagny Designs makes 100 percent cotton boxer shorts in beer and many other designs. Find the Bonus Pants line at Portland Saturday Market or on Etsy at etsy.com/shop/bonuspants. While you’re on Etsy, type “beer and portland” into the search field for lots more Portland-made beer-related goods.

Six-pack bag: Colorado-based Breckenridge Brewery collaborated with Topo Designs on a smart-looking, limited-edition backpack with a detachable, insulated, six-pack bag — handy for hikes, concerts or other outdoor activities where a few brews would be welcome. Included is an opener forged by Machiene Era Co., a Richmond, Va., ironworks. (breckbrew.com)

Keep it cold: On a hot summer day, beer warms quickly; pop a Chillsner into the bottle and your drink will stay frosty. The gadget is an aluminum rod that you freeze first; on one end is a drink-through spout. (gentsupplyco.com)

Small-space brewing kit: From Urban Brewery in Grand Rapids, Mich., comes a smaller version of the typical 5-gallon brewing kit. The scaled-down size takes up less prep space, so it’s a good option for studio apartment dwellers or those with limited basement brewing room. All the ingredients you’ll need are included, as well as eight reusable plastic beer bottles and caps. Choose from a half-dozen flavors, including Blonde Ale, American IPA, Irish Red and Brown Porter. (etsy.com/shop/urbanbrewery)