Weyerbacher Merry Monks

Weyerbacher's Merry Monks is a Beglian style Abbey Tripel. The beer is bottle conditioned and has an ABV of 9.3%. It pours a clear orange color with minimal white head. The nose has some light malt and is fruity, with hints of orange. The first sip lays out plenty of malt with fruity esters and a creamy like texture to the body. The finish is short but pleasant and invites you to have another sip. This beer is rich, yet smooth. Monks is unique in that it is a rare big ABV beer that is smooth and "light" enough to have during a very hot summer day. Weyerbacher makes some fantastic beers and I suggest that you try one of their beers if you see it sitting on a shelf at your beer store. Monks is a very, very enjoyable beer that I would recommend to any beer lover.

Craft Beer Sales Continue to Rise

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This press release has been burning up the beer blog threads since it was released. The Brewers Association says that "craft beer dollar sales during the first half of 2008 increased 11% compared to this same period in 2007." "The Brewers Association reports that in the first half of 2008 volume of beer sold by craft brewers grew by 6.5% totaling an estimated 4 million barrels of beer compared to 3.768 million barrels sold in the first half of 2007." The Nielson Company ays that beer sales are affected least by the poor economy as opposed to wine, which is impacted the most.

The key here is to follow the second statistic in that the production of craft beer is increasing. I am skeptical of the first number as the BA never stated whether or not they accounted for the rise in price of craft beer over the last year to various factors. Of course sales would be higher if the average price is higher. The craft beer market is continuously growing which is a good sign for all of us who enjoy these tasty brews.

Microbreweries and Anheuser-Busch in a Fight Over Beer Swag

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California microbreweries are waging a political war against a new proposed bill that would allow brewers to increase the amount of money they spend on souvenirs from $0.25 to $5.00. The collection of microbrewers feel that the proposed bill would allow the bigger companies to buy back sales and customers that they have lost to craft beer over the last few years. Anheuser-Busch says that they are backing the bill to creat a level playing field with the liquor industry, who is allowed to spend $5, as opposed to taking sales back from craft brewers. The other worry for craft brewers is that the big companies are decieving customers with their ownership of smaller breweries, such as Redhook Ale that are marketed as craft breweries.

Big Beers Become More Popular

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Beers with higher ABV's have become more popular with craft beer fans across the country. The trend of big beers started with Sam Adams Triple Bock (and later Utopias), Rogue's Imperial Stout, and the founding of the DogFish Head Brewery which makes a wide variety of innovative beers. These "big beers" are unique because of their high ABV's (8-20% ABV as opposed to Budweiser's 4%), high price tag (approximately $15) and over the top flavor.

I love big beers. As far as I am concerned the continued experiments with beer are what makes the American Craft Beer Scene so unique. Brooklyn Local 1 is a great local example of this new trend. I understand that Jason Alstrom wants beer to carve it's own niche but I am confused on his quote. The last time I checked, the wine industry is all about tradition and noone in the wine industry is doing anything like these craft brewers.

21st Amendment Brewery

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The 21st Amendment Brewery has decided to package their two beers in cans. Hell or High Watermelon Wheat and Brew Free! or Die IPA will now be available to Bay Area craft beer fans in cans. Brewery founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O'Sullivan decided on cans for three main reasons. The first reason is that canned ceer is better for the environment as less energy is used to produce the cans. The second reason was that cans can go many places that bottles cannot, and the third reason was to protect the beer. As opposed to bottles, cans do not allow light in which helps keep the beer fresh.