Word is already all over the internet (thanks in part to an “accidental” posting earlier this week), Scotland’s Brewdog has scored a definitive point in their high-alcohol brawl with Germany’s Schorschbräu. The End of History is what they are calling this new super-strength creation and it comes in at 55% ABV. At least the packaging is interesting.
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Some new beer numbers summing up 2009 were released yesterday and things are looking good for the future of the craft beer industry. The Brewers Association, a national craft beer industry advocacy group, released their report of 2009 craft brewers sales. They show that in a year of overall sales decline in the beer industry, craft beer sales increased by 7% in volume and 10.3% in dollars. Craft beer sales represented 4.3% of the total volume and 6.9% of the total dollar amount of beer sold in the US. American craft beer continues to take market share from the big three lager producers. Here’s some stats from the short fact sheet.
And from another source, a survey of chefs done by the National Restaurant Association puts locally produced wine and beer as the number five top trend for 2010. Locally produced beer and wine are number four in the alcohol and cocktails category with beer and food pairings coming in at number five.
Craft beer continues to rock!
The silly battle of the booze continues.
Having seen their 31% Tactical Nuclear Penguin shot down by Schorschbräu’s 40% eisbock Schorschbock 40 and suffering the additional humiliation of Schorschbräu’s email offer to sell Brewdog the secret to achieving such stratospheric alcohol levels, the boys at Scotland’s Brewdog announced that their retaliation would be swift and severe. They have come back with a new WORLD’S STRONGEST BEER, a 41% IPA called Sink the Bismark that is reported to be brimming with American hops. Not known for subtlety, they have announced their triumph in this video from their blog.
Sink the Bismarck! from BrewDog on Vimeo.
San Diego based Stone Brewing Company, known for big, bold American style ales and an edgy marketing strategy that says “you are not worthy” announced today that they are seriously considering the possibility of maybe opening brewery in Europe. Stone will be sending out requests for proposals to various municipalities in Europe to explore the idea.
Jay Brooks at the Brookston Beer Bulletin has pulled together some interesting and eye-catching charts and graphs related to GABF medal winners. Definitely worth a look.
I have no further verification of this, but I just read an article about an even stronger beer that is going to be released soon. Schorschbräu Schorschbock 40%. It’s an Eisbock from Germany. The company claims another beer at 31%, which already had Utopias beat. I’ve never heard of this particular brewery. Some additional investigation seems warranted.
I was thinking though that these new world record beers don’t seem as impressive to me as Utopia. Using the “ice” method of distillation seems like cheating. Sam Adams actually ferments Utopias to 27%. Oh well…
In the meantime, here’s the link to the original article.
Sam Adams Utopias, long the strongest beer in the world at 27% ABV, has been knocked off of that throne. Scotland’s Brewdog has announced the release of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 32% ABV barrel-aged, iced, imperial stout.
To make this beer they brewed a 10% ABV Imperial Stout and aged that in barrels for eighteen months. This aged beer was then taken to an ice cream factory where it was frozen. The water content of beer freezes at a lower temperature than everything else, allowing them to run off a concentrated version of the original beer. After a couple of freeze/runoff cycles they ended up with Tactical Nuclear Penguin. The website claims that the year and a half of aging has left them with a super-strong beer that is nonetheless smooth and drinkable (in small amounts and from a snifter of course).
They are only releasing 500 330ml bottles, so don’t count on seeing it in your local liquor store. The first 250 bottle will sell for £30 ($50). The remaining 250 bottles will sell for £250 ($412) and will include shares in the Brewdog company through their Equity for Punks program. And you thought Utopias was expensive.
Here’s some video from the Brewdog Blog.
Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.
New mid-year numbers for US craft brewers were just released by the Brewers Association, a trade and lobbying group for the craft beer industry. Here are some of the main points.
Given the overall state of the economy, things look pretty good for US craft brewers. You can read the whole press release here.
Associated Press Photo
Many do not know that aside from being Minnesota’s only Certified Cicerone™, I also own a theatre company called GTC Dramatic Dialogues that tours to college campuses across the country doing interactive performances on a number of topics. One of these topics is diversity issues. Race relations in the United States is a keen interest of mine. Thus, I was thrilled in recent days to see my two worlds finally coming together. The controversial arrest of Henry Louis Gates and the subsequent invitation to the White House for beers made beer a focal point in the nation’s ongoing dialogue about race. What would the three men discuss? And what beers would be poured?
Well…the choice has been revealed. The President will be drinking Bud Light. Gates prefers Red Stripe. And Officer Crowley will quaff Blue Moon.
Really?…..I had hoped for better.