EarthTalk®: Beer Brewers & Clean Water

Dear EarthTalk: I heard that a number of beer brewing companies have banded together to support the Clean Water Act. Can you enlighten? — Mitch Jenkins, Cincinnati, OH

In April 2013 the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) brought together two dozen nationally respected craft beer brewers to launch the Brewers for Clean Water Campaign, which aims to leverage the economic growth of the craft brewing sector into a powerful voice for bolstering clean water protection in the United States.

“Whether brewers are creating ales, pilsners, porters, wits or stouts, one ingredient must go into every batch: clean water,” says Karen Hobbs, a senior policy analyst at NRDC. “Craft brewers need clean water to make great beer.”

While hops, malt and the brewing process itself are also clearly important, water just may be the secret ingredient that gives a specific beer its distinctive flavor. “Beer is about 90 percent water, making local water supply quality and its characteristics, such as pH and mineral content, critical to beer brewing and the flavor of many classic brews,” reports NRDC. “For example, the unusually soft water of Pilsen, from the Czech Republic, helped create what is considered the original gold standard of pilsner beers. The clarity and hoppiness of England’s finest India Pale Ales, brewed since the 1700s in Burton-on-Trent, result from relatively high levels of calcium in local water.” Brewers can replicate the flavors of beers like these and others by sourcing freshwater with similar features or by starting with neutral water and adding minerals and salts accordingly to bring out certain desired characteristics.

Of course, clean water is essential to more than great-tasting beer. “It’s critical for public health and the health of a wide range of industries,” adds NRDC. “Now our streams, wetlands and water supply need our help. Without strong legal protections, they are under threat from pollution like sewage, agricultural waste, and oil spills.”

The popularity of craft brewers’ “microbrews” in recent years is another reason why NRDC has hitched its clean water wagon to the industry. “Craft brewers are closely tied to their communities with a very real understanding of the impacts bad policy can have on regional water sources,” reports the group. “While the participants in the campaign include brewing operations large and small, all have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability in their operations and beer development.”

By taking part in the campaign, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Allagash, Short’s, Temperance, Arbor, DryHop, Finch’s, Revolution, Flossmoor, Cranker’s, Wild Onion, Right Brain, Half Acre, Goose Island and other craft brewers are helping spread the word in a way that hits home with consumers. For its part, NRDC is urging beer lovers (and other concerned environmentalists) to use the form on its website to e-mail the White House encouraging President Obama to finalize guidelines recently created by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that call for greater protections for streams and wetlands in important headwaters regions from coast to coast. And consumers should be glad to know that for once drinking beer can actually be good for the environment. So bottoms up!

CONTACT: NRDC Brewers for Clean Water, www.nrdc.org/water/brewers-for-clean-water.

EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E – The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

Home Brewing: Soon To Be Legal In All 50 States

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Home brewing will become legal in all 50 U.S. states, if Alabama’s governor signs a recently passed bill. In March, Mississippi approved a bill that will take effect this summer.

iStockphoto.com

Home brewing will become legal in all 50 U.S. states, if Alabama’s governor signs a recently passed bill. In March, Mississippi approved a bill that will take effect this summer.

iStockphoto.com

The Alabama Legislature has approved a bill making it legal to brew beer at home, a practice that had been forbidden in the state. If Gov. Robert Bentley signs the bill, as is expected, home brewing will soon be legal in all 50 states.

Alabama lawmakers voted on the bill to legalize home brewing months after it was first introduced. And while it met with earlier debate and resistance, the arrival of the legislation — House Bill 9 — for a vote Tuesday night seems to have come to its supporters as a pleasant surprise.

Right To Brew, an advocacy group in Alabama, said that “after all hope seemed long lost, they brought up HB9 unexpectedly, out of the blue, and passed it 18 – 7 – 1 tonight, without a single word of debate. The Alabama Homebrew Bill has passed the Legislature!!!!”

Alabama had been in danger of becoming the only U.S. state in which it was illegal to brew beer at home. As we reported in March, Mississippi recently approved a home-brewing bill; Utah and Oklahoma enacted similar laws in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

If enacted, the new law would mean that Alabamans who make their own beer “will no longer have the fear of arrest hanging over their heads for simply participating in a hobby that is enjoyed by residents of 48 other states,” a representative of Right to Brew said in an email.

Home brewing has been growing in popularity along with the public’s surge in interest in craft brewing. But the hobby had long been either forbidden or in a legal gray area. It wasn’t until 1978 that it became legal under federal law.

The Alabama bill limits how much beer can be produced, and it forbids brewers to sell their beer. It also discourages stockpiling.

“The bill allows 15 gallons to be produced every three months,” says Republican Rep. Mac McCutcheon, who introduced the bill, “and there shall be no more than an aggregate amount 15 gallons of beer, mead, cider and wine stored in the home.”

Brewers must also keep their beers under the 14 percent alcohol by volume mark.

The Alabama legislation’s success was welcomed by the American Homebrewers Association, which has advised state groups of brewers.

“After five years of working with Alabama home brewers to legalize the hobby of home brewing in the state,” says AHA Director Gary Glass, “it is gratifying to see the Alabama Legislature finally pass a home-brew bill.”

Despite being passed by the state Legislature after Mississippi’s bill was approved, Alabama’s home-brewing bill may take effect first — the Mississippi legislation is scheduled to take effect this July.

Home brewers toast West Roxbury event

There was no judging or scorekeeping as local home brewers brought their creations to West Roxbury’s Porter Café on Saturday for a tasting event. Instead, new friends were made and beer was savored at the friendly gathering.

“It’s a great opportunity to try all of these local beers and to meet all of these people,” said Dermot Loftus, 39, co-owner of Porter Café. After hearing back from several home brewers, Loftus said, he was surprised at how much beer was being made locally. He even had to remind everyone, according to home brewer Joe Murphy, that participants could only bring in a few bottles, for fear that there would be too much to drink.

“The fun in home brewing is sharing,” said Murphy, 42, of Farquhar Street in Roslindale. “Very few home brewers hoard their beer.” As a result, he said, “An event like this is great.”

Murphy first started making his own suds a few years ago after rediscovering an old brewing kit his sister gave him as a present nearly a decade ago. Only using the ingredients in the aged kit, the first batch, naturally, did not turn out so well.

“But I knew it had promise,” he said. Now an active home brewer, he uses techniques such as extract brewing and bottles with his own label, Yellowbird. After he is finishes a batch, he gives the excess barley to his sister, Lori Murphy, who then turns it into dog treats.

“Apparently, dogs love it,” said Murphy, 38, of Durnell Avenue in Roslindale.

Experience varied from brewer to brewer. Some, like Murphy, have been involved in the hobby for some time. Others, like Vinny Mannering, have only just started. The craft beer he brought, the first one he ever brewed, turned sour and carbonated after spending six months in the bottle. Yet he wasn’t discouraged.

“The best thing that comes out of this is to have one more person doing craft brewing,” said Mannering, 26, of Jackson Street in Quincy. A native of West Roxbury, Mannering’s love of craft beer started in college and only grew once his friend created TapHunter, a smart phone application that allows consumers to find local craft beer outlets.

“If you don’t get sick of Bud Light after the first few years of college, there’s no helping you,” he said.

Others at the event felt the same way, saying that craft brewing offered them the opportunity to make something out of the ordinary.

“None of these beers would exist if I didn’t make them, for better or worse,” said Justin Armstrong, 35, of Walter Street in Roslindale. One of his beers, a baked apple barley wine, speaks to his view of craft brewing as “a good combo between drinking and cooking.”

But for the most part, participants simply relished the experience. Although most of the brewers did not know each other at the beginning of the event, by the end they were chatting like old friends.

Keith Kirchoff, 31, of South Fairview Street in Roslindale, said that past events between home brewers have been more than just contests.

“I got to know a lot of awesome people I wouldn’t have known otherwise,” said Kirchoff.

Beer 101? Auburn considers offering coursework in brewing sciences

(FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

AUBURN, Alabama — While the proposal is already inciting jokes about college students getting credit for keg parties, officials at Auburn University say they’re serious about offering coursework in brewing sciences.

Auburn trustees will consider Friday whether the institution should offer a graduate-level certificate designed to teach commercial brewers how to develop higher quality products, and how to market and distribute them.

The certificate, which would take 18 semester hours to complete at a cost of $750 to $1,000 per hour, is a direct response to the rapid expansion of Alabama’s craft-beer industry, according to Martin O’Neil, head of Auburn’s department of nutrition, dietetics and hospitality management.

“You have had … a huge boom in micro or craft brewing at the state
level, and I believe that’s about to double over the next 12 to 18
months in terms of commercial operations,” he said.

Since the Legislature began loosening brewing restrictions in 2009, members of the state’s burgeoning craft-beer industry have been clamoring for qualified workers. 

“It’s definitely a challenge,” said David Carn, director of business development for Back Forty Beer Co. in Gadsden.

“We didn’t want to headhunt outside the state … but unless you steal somebody from one of your colleague, competitor breweries — which we don’t want to do — you’re not going to be able to find anybody in Alabama.”

If approved by the trustees, the courses would be offered exclusively online, so students would not be
brewing on Auburn’s campus. O’Neil said the only on-campus brewing
would be done by educators for the purpose of video capture and testing.

The courses would only be available to those who have previously earned four-year degrees or better. O’Neil said the university’s preference would be students coming from scientific, engineering or
business backgrounds.

The proposal marks an attempt by the university to support a sometimes overlooked portion of the state’s growing tourism and hospitality industries, according to O’Neil.

“We’re trying to support an industry that is crying out for education,” he said.

“It
provides … highly skilled, high paying jobs. That’s good for this
industry and that’s good for this state and it speaks to the land-grant
mission of Auburn University.”

If approved by the board, the certificate would be forwarded to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education for final approval. If approved there, it could be offered as early as 2014.

Friday’s trustee meeting is at 10 a.m. in the library tower on the Auburn Montgomery campus.

According to O’Neil, the only other credible program in the United States that caters to commercial beer brewing is at the University of California Davis.

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New Hickory brewery toasts emerging regional trend

HICKORY N.C. – The first batch of beer is at least a couple of weeks away from being brewed at the new Skull Coast Brewing Company brewery, but the Chief Drinking Officer, First Mate and Brewster are hard at work.

On Wednesday, Skull Coast founder and Chief Drinking Officer Dave Fox rushed around the active construction site that will house the brewery at the former Hollar Hosiery Mill on Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard.

While Fox conferred with construction company representatives and discussed the placement of the brewery’s new equipment, First Mate Mark Olson met with bar staff applicants, hoping to find people who will make Skull Coast’s customers “come in and feel like they’ve had a great experience, as opposed to just having a great beer.”

Brewster Alexa Long was working on perfecting her recipes for a pumpkin stout, a chili-chocolate porter and a special brew that Skull Coast will announce after opening.

Fox notes that a passion for high-quality beer in North Carolina is held not only by producers, but also by consumers. “There is such a great following for craft beer here in North Carolina it’s insane,” he said. “Anybody that you meet, you can have almost an encyclopedic kind of discussion with them about all the different types of craft brew . . . It’s remarkable, the knowledge-level that there is here. Some people call them ‘beer geeks,’ but they really know their stuff.”

The opening of the new brewery will give people in the area yet another place to sip locally-made craft beers and represents the rise of craft brewing in North Carolina.

North Carolina, Fox said, has become “kind of a new Colorado or Portland. The fact that major breweries are now moving out into North Carolina just speaks to why you would want to be here to begin with.”

Those major breweries Fox mentions include Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, two of the largest craft beer producers in the country, which both have plans to open new breweries near Asheville.

Craft breweries coming from the West Coast are not the only players in North Carolina’s brewing industry. Smaller operations, often run by home brewers turned professional, are growing in number.

Win Bassett serves as the executive director of the North Carolina Brewers Guild. He said there were 26 breweries in North Carolina in 2005. At the end of 2012, the number of breweries in the state stood at 73. About 16 breweries opened in North Carolina in 2012 and another five or six breweries have announced plans to open in 2013, he said. “You don’t start a brewery if you intend to make money,” Bassett said. “You start a brewery if you have a passion for the craft.”

Beer ‘geek’ gets started

One of those ‘beer geeks’ Fox referred to might include Jason Howard, whose passion for craft beer led him to start Howard Brewing Company in Lenoir with his wife early in 2012.

Howard took up home brewing as a hobby more 10 years ago while he was living in Michigan and operating a construction company. He grew increasingly interested in home brewing when he moved the construction company to North Carolina six years ago and became the president of a local home brew club.

When demand for his work in custom homebuilding waned, Howard saw an opportunity to take his brewing hobby to the next level. He took time to develop a business plan, and, about eight months after he decided to become a professional brewer, Howard Brewing produced its first batch of beer in August 2012.

Howard now has accounts in Lenoir, Boone, Blowing Rock, Morganton and Hickory, and he plans to expand to Greensboro soon. “I’ve been happy with the amount of beer that we’ve been able to move. We need to do more, but I think that will come in time as we get more brand recognition,” he said.

Howard thinks Western North Carolina’s brewing industry is growing because of the number of active, outdoor-oriented people in the 21- to 40-year-old demographic. He said such people have embraced the craft beer movement and helped their local breweries thrive.

“We’re finding that North Carolina is getting identified throughout the nation as a place to go for great beer. That was usually reserved for the West Coast, up in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle and Portland and all the Colorado beer towns, but it’s fun that North Carolina is now getting on the map that way,” Howard said.

As North Carolina’s reputation as a beer destination has grown, the popularity of beer festivals in the state has increased. The Hickory Hops Brew Festival will celebrate its 11th anniversary in April. Hickory Hops is hosted by Olde Hickory Brewery and the Hickory Downtown Development Association. The festival allows beer lovers to sample craft beers from about 50 breweries in the southeast.

Connie Kincaid, executive director of the Hickory Downtown Development Association, said events such as Hickory Hops and Oktoberfest have “an incredible economic impact on this area.” She said the Western Piedmont Council of Governments analyzed factors including attendance and number of hotel rooms reserved to estimate the economic impact of Hickory Hops in 2012 at $250,000.

Bobby Bush, a home brewer who has written columns for brewing magazines, helped found Hickory Hops and the Carolinas Championship of Beers competition. The competition rewards brewers who participate in Hickory Hops and offers awards in about 134 categories of beer.

NC laws are beer friendly

Bush said certain state laws allow breweries to thrive in North Carolina. In 2005, the General Assembly passed a Pop the Cap Bill, legislation which raised the alcohol by volume limit on beer from 6 percent to 15 percent. The bill was a “big sign to brewers that this state was more beer-friendly than they’d thought,” he said.

Bush said that North Carolina laws allowing breweries to offer onsite tastings and beer sales are more liberal than laws in many states. Brewers in North Carolina are able to self-distribute their beers, allowing them to circumvent formal distributors. Howard said the state “seems to have a good relationship with all the small breweries, meaning they’re on our side and we’re all trying to do this together as opposed to being antagonistic.”

In addition to the benefit of laws that support the brewing industry, new brewers can benefit from the assistance and advice of established brewers. When Fox realized Skull Coast’s new facility would not be ready in time to brew the beer for an account with Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, he contacted Howard and was able to use Howard Brewing’s equipment. “Who else would do that?” Fox asked. “I think people in a lot of other industries would say, ‘Oh, you can’t make it? Let me try to get in.’”

Fox said local brewers have been welcoming and have provided practical advice. “Even as we were laying out some of our brewery, Olde Hickory invited some of the contractors to come by and take a look a their place to see if they had any questions on certain things that they needed to be aware of or pitfalls that they wanted to watch out for.”

Steven Lyerly, who has co-owned Olde Hickory Brewery since 1995, said the new breweries do create competition for him, but the competition does not concern him. “You reach a critical mass. The more that’s out there, the more exposure the people have to craft beer, and then they’ll start drinking more craft,” he said. “Every drop of beer I make this year is sold, so I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about trying to keep up. I think in the foreseeable future it is just going to get busier and busier.”

Skull Coast almost ready

At Skull Coast, plans for the layout of the taproom and brewery were stretched out on the unfinished taproom’s bar, and massive, 30-pane windows allowed shafts of sunlight to filter through the construction dust.

The brewery was first scheduled to open last summer, but construction and equipment delays continue to push back the opening date. “I’d like to think that we can be up and brewing this month,” Olson said, “but we’re kind of at the mercy of the construction schedule . . . I think the value now is that no one’s rushing anything. The proper time is being put in.”

Fox started Skull Coast as a contract brewing company in 2009. In contract brewing, a brewer uses another company’s equipment to brew its own beer. When developers approached Fox with an opportunity to brew at the old mill, “we decided that we didn’t want to contract anymore, just because we wanted to be able to brew our own beers. We have so many new recipes that we wanted to make sure that they were in our house,” Fox said.

Olson said that he and Fox researched several cities in order to decide where to site the brewery. The size of the space at the mill drew them in initially, but Hickory’s geographic location also played a role. Hickory will give Skull Coast close access to Interstate 40 and will allow easy service to accounts in Charlotte, Raleigh and Asheville.

After the brewery equipment arrives, Fox said it will take two or three weeks to start brewing beer. “Once stuff starts coming out of the tanks, trust me when I say this, the doors will be open and we’re going to be welcoming people in,” Fox said.

Brandon store helps hobbyists craft home brews

BRANDON –

When Francis Booth was of a tender age, he developed a fondness for science — for chemistry, in particular.

He later used that fondness to brew a batch of beer at home. It took only that first batch for him to realize his newest passion, which he worked on perfecting for a while before moving on with life and career.

But the fire still flickered. Three and a half years ago, he got back to home brewing, a hobby that has drawn in thousands of Americans since it was legalized by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

Much has changed since then. Basic brewing for many in the hobby has morphed into craft brewing, involving fragrant herbs, grains and hops that can produce just about any flavor imaginable.

For Booth, it turned into a business.

“I went to class, then spent a whole year brewing and experimenting with flavors and ingredients,” he said.

Then, he started Booth’s Brewing Bar Supply, at 333 Falkenburg Road N. The business draws 15 to 35 students on any given Saturday, eager to learn techniques they can take home and brew into a pale ale, dark brew or Belgian blond beer.

“Back in the late-1990s, only a select few people made craft beer,” Booth said.

Most people stuck to recipes that brewed up flavors more like Anheuser-Busch products, he said. But Booth had something else in mind.

“I wanted the equivalent of a good German beer,” he said.

But there is so much more home brewers can conjure up — from pumpkin ales to left-handed milk stout or even White House honey ale, a recipe created to mimic a craft beer enjoyed a couple of years back by President Barack Obama.

“The law says you can brew 200 gallons of beer at home per adult, per year,” said Gary Lynch, the assistant manager at Booth’s, who helps teach classes and gives customers pointers on perfecting their brews. Lynch made his first batch of beer in 1983 using a garbage can, a garden hose, screen and Fleishman’s yeast.

“I call this chocolate chip cookies for guys,” he said. “Some people like walnuts, some like pecans. Everyone wants to put their own spin on it.”

For about $200, Lynch can send a customer out the door with a setup that will enable them to produce beer.

And then there are repeat customers, like Chris Curran of Brandon, who now comes up with his own recipes, owns a freezer for his kegs and some specialty equipment that allows him to create the kinds of craft beers he loves.

“I had always had an interest in it,” Curran said.

After battling through a bout with cancer, he decided the time was right.

“I went to Booth’s, and they walked me through the entire process,” Curran said. “I started with the basic kit. If you can scramble eggs, you can make extract beer.”

These days, he’s set up to create all-grain beer, which enables him to decide on the texture, color, body and alcohol content.

“The more choices you have, the more choices you have to make,” Curran said, standing near his pool, explaining the brewing operation he has set up on the patio. “I don’t get too much into the science of it, but I like to take recipes and modify them.”

Zeke Myers, of South Tampa, on the other hand, is totally into the science of brewing. As a chemistry buff, it is one of the things that attracted him to the hobby, initially.

“My background is in chemistry, hands-on in the laboratory,” Myers said. “I bought a kit in April. Gary [Lynch] helped me pick it out. The first time I brewed a batch, I knew I wanted to do it full-time.”

Myers is preparing to open Zeke’s Brewing, a microbrewery he’s building right near Booth’s, hoping to sell four or five types of craft beer to local pubs.

“I love red ales, Belgian blonds, new pale ales and Oktoberfest lagers,” he said.

Eventually, Myers may try to market them all, but for now, he’s staying mum on which brews he plans to start out with.

“There is a confidence I have from my work in the lab,” Myers said. “It gave me the confidence to try to do this on my own.”

Myers said he hopes to begin selling in February or March.

“I think there’s a lot of room in this market for microbrews,” he said.

“Some want to know how to make beer so they can have a few on the weekends,” Lynch said. “And some want gold medals hanging on their walls.”

About 98 percent of first-time brewers are successful and anxious to try it again, Lynch said. “We’ll work anybody through the process.”

Christian Moerlein opens Cincinnati brewery

CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati beer brewing returns to its historical roots Wednesday as the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company opens its new brewery in Cincinnati.

The brewery is in a 125,000 square foot space formerly known as the former Husman Potato Chip plant and pre-Prohibition Kaufmann Brewery facility in the heart of the historic Over-the-Rhine Brewery District.

The craft brewing facility completes the four-phase vision for the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company and its owner Greg Hardman, which includes returning local ownership of Cincinnati’s beer brands, repositioning the brands to build a base of sales, opening of the Christian Moerlein Lager House on Cincinnati’s Riverfront and producing the brands locally in in the historic Over-the-Rhine Brewery District.

“We are proud to become one of the building blocks for the renewal of Cincinnati’s Historic Brewery District,” said  Hardman in a news release. “When beer was king in Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine was the hub of the industry, and we are honored to revive the proud heritage of brewing in this great brewing city.”

The new craft brewery, expected to add up to 20 jobs by summer 2013, will have initial capacity of 750,000 gallons of beer or 15,000 barrels in its first year, with additional capacity to be added throughout the year.

The Christian Moerlein brands will be brewed and distributed from the new facility. Previously, the location served as a pilot brewery for Moerlein test brews.

Future construction phases of the brewery will include additional brewing capacity and an event and tour center.

“Our goals with the new Christian Moerlein Brewery are to accelerate the regional expansion of Moerlein lagers and ales craft beers, one of the pioneer brands of today’s craft beer movement, create continued tourism for Over-the-Rhine and Cincinnati, and most importantly, brew the best beer with our great brewing team,” said Hardman.

The company also announced it has been working on the development of many new styles of Moerlein craft beers that will be introduced from the new brewery facility in 2013.

Craft Beers Shipping Overseas – CBA Signs Export Agreement

You are reading Craft Beers Shipping Overseas – CBA Signs Export Agreement by Kendall Jones, as originally posted on The Washington Beer Blog. If you enjoy this post, consider following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +.

How random is this? Some guy walked into Two Beer Brewing one day and asked if he could buy several hundred cases of beer with the intent of shipping it to Singapore for resale. Or was it Shanghai? Doesn’t really matter. The point is the same: if you want to export your beer to foreign markets, you probably cannot rely on guys randomly walking into your brewery and asking to buy hundreds of cases of beer. Random. I’m pretty sure that Scuttlebutt Brewing is (or was) shipping some beer to Asia as well, but I’m not if it was part of some specific plan or simply another matter of happenstance. I’m betting on happenstance.

I just learned that there is now a company with an expressed mission to export U.S. craft beer to European and Asian markets. CraftCanTravel LLC describes itself as being well-positioned to be a first mover in the craft beer export industry. The company apparently handles all exporting disciplines in-house, but I really don’t know what that means. I guess all I really  need to know is that there is now a company that does it, whatever it is.

Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) recently announced that it has signed an agreement to add its products to CraftCanTravel’s catalog. In fact, looking at the CraftCanTravel website, it would seem that right now the CraftCanTravel catalog consists exclusively of CBA products. I would not be surprised if other breweries jumped aboard. I guess. Like I said, I’m not always sure how these things work.

Here’s the press release:

(Portland, OR) – Craft Brew Alliance, Inc. (CBA) (Nasdaq:BREW), an independent craft brewing company operating Kona Brewing Company, Omission Beer, Redhook Brewery and Widmer Brothers Brewing, has signed an agreement with CraftCanTravel (CCT) to exclusively distribute the four craft beer brands to Europe and Asia.

“As our brands continue to develop and grow we are excited to begin sharing our beers with the international beer community through CraftCanTravel,” said Andy Thomas, president of commercial operations. “We see significant opportunity for US craft beers internationally and CBA is uniquely positioned to be an export leader because our brand portfolio offers a wide variety of beers to satisfy any beer drinking occasion.”

Through our exclusive agreement, CraftCanTravel has begun distributing select beers and brands to China, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. CBA and CCT will focus distribution on Kona Longboard Lager and Big Wave Golden Ale, Omission Lager and Pale Ale, Redhook Long Hammer IPA and Pilsner, and Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen and the Rotator IPA Series. Specific beers will vary by country.

CraftCanTravel is the first full service craft beer exporting company in the US market focused on exporting US craft beers to foreign markets, building long term relationships with respective importers, and actively and directly managing craft beer portfolio performances in those markets. CCT was launched in 2012 by a team lead by Maarten Kruijtzer, a 22 year beer industry veteran and former Heineken senior executive with extensive export experience across four continents. The exclusive agreement between CraftCanTravel and Craft Brew Alliance will ensure that the quality and integrity of CBA’s beers is maintained throughout distribution, allowing consumers in markets around the world to enjoy the wide range of the company’s unique beers and brands.

New brew shop opening in Old Town

A Louisiana-based beer brewing supply shop will open shop in Old Town at the beginning of November.

The Brew Shop, located near the corner of North 8th Avenue and Calder, will carry malts, grains, wine juices, and equipment.

Owner Ira Sawyer plans to give brewing demonstrations during a grand opening party on Nov. 10.

“I have a lot of customers who drive to my store right now,” said Sawyer, who has another shop in Sulphur, La.

Craft brewing has picked up steam across the country in recent years and Sawyer said Southeast Texas has a good home brew market.

“There are people in this area that are 10 times better than I am,” said Sawyer, who refers to himself as the Home Brew Guru.

The Brew Shop will not carry any alcohol.

Got an In The Works tip? Email Julie Chang at JXChang@BeaumontEnterprise.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at Twitter.comJulieChang1

Two Kids Brewing

Do what you love. Rob and Sam Dufau — 25-year-old lovers of beer, brewing, and each other — take that as more than just a platitude. For this husband-and-wife team, it’s a dare that led them both to jump the tracks from unfulfilling careers in the science and food service arena to open their own upcoming company, Two Kids Brewing.

Before taking the leap, Rob, a molecular biologist, was suffering the doldrums of day jobbery after leaving a dream opportunity at his previous employer due to a nightmare boss. Meanwhile, Sam was watching her degree in landscape architecture collect dust and preparing to transition from the restaurant industry into real estate. Such situations might drive many to drink, but it drove them to brew.

The logo for Two Kids illustrates their feelings about opening a brewing company. It displays a door that’s slightly ajar, conveying a sense of sneaking out to do something out-there. In their words, to do something your parents might not approve of, but will definitely be worth it and provide some wild stories.

The first step outside the door will be setting up a Kickstarter campaign geared for September to amass some funds to add to their own start-up stockpile. After that, they’ll go about finding a space, which will likely be located in Mira Mesa. Home to AleSmith, Green Flash, Hess Brewing, Rough Draft Brewing Company, and Wet ‘N Reckless; the community is already well saturated with breweries. Rob and Sam see this as a plus given how supportive of each other most brewers are. Also, being that they live in the community, there’s the bonus of being able to ride their bikes to work.

On the brewing front, their main goals are to explore the lighter side of craft brewing, dispelling a misconception that for something to be craft or special, it needs to be incredibly strong, heavy, or bitter. Additionally, they recognize the ability of lower alcohol beers to convert macrobeer drinkers into crafies. They also plan to produce lesser seen styles like a California Common. That lager, dubbed Sam, will be one of their core beers.

Two Kids’ other core beers will be an ordinary bitter, biere de garde, India pale ale, and their most award-winning brew to-date, a sessionable chocolate stout. Rob and Sam also plan to produce numerous special release and seasonal beers: saisons and amped up versions of Sam and their bitter. Some of those specialties will be bottled in very small quantities, but most of their beer will be available only in kegs and almost exclusively at their tasting room.

In their first year, the duo plan on producing 100 barrels using a one-and-a-half barrel brewing system. If they are successful, they hope to ramp up to 450 barrels per year in the next year or two. As of now, Rob and Sam think they’ll be able to get Two Kids open by spring of 2013.