Scary news this week from California — Stone Brewing had to evacuate their brewery in the face of a wildfire. So far, the brewery and its residents are okay, but the wildfires in the region continue. In other California brewery news, Sierra Nevada is opening a nano brewery, a 20-gallon (~80-L) pilot system for experimentation.
The Brewers Association has released a new set of guidelines for craft beer.
Hops
Business Week had an interesting article on the impact of IPA on hop farmers. Hop prices have almost returned to where they were after the fallout from the hop shortage in 2006. And, the landscape keeps changing with hop farmers taking out “alpha” varieties to grow more aroma hops. And from the old news department, here’s on article on how many different hop varieties are in the most popular IPAs. This was published last year, but it has some good information it it. Long story short, a median value of three hop varieties when you look at the most popular brands. It was news to me.
Around the World
The Huffington Post ran a (somewhat fawning) story on the state of craft beer in Germany. Meanwhile, in China, the beer market is changing. China has brewed more beer than any other country for the last 11 years (according to the article), but now brewers are facing a bit of a slowdown.
Beer and Barbecue
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle proclaim that beer is a great marinade for BBQ. This is true, but they should have also mentioned that it may reduce the risks posed by certain carcinogens in grilled meats.
Reality Series and Surreal Bottle Opener
Mark Wahlberg is set to produce a reality series about some guys opening a microbrewery. HuffPo instructed it’s readers how to open a beer with a chainsaw.
How to Talk Like a Beer Snob
To end on a lighter note, Thrillist give some instructions on how to talk like a beer snob.
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Related articles
Opening a beer with almost anything: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk1BWPtGI9E