Lakeland, Fla. to be home to first Brew Hub contract brewing brewery

Florida will soon become home of a new concept in beer brewing – a dedicated brewery for hire facility called Brew Hub. The model is not dissimilar to contract brewing, a practice in the brewing industry of brewing another brewery’s beer using excess capacity. This allows a brewer in another part of the country to break into a market without straining their existing facility to do so.

The new company was founded by a former Anheuser-Busch executive and is based in a western suburb of St. Louis. The first of the company’s planned breweries is planned for Lakeland, Fla. along the I-4 corridor perfectly positioned for easy distribution throughout Florida and the Southeast. The new facility will offer all the amenities of a large commercial brewery with the ability to brew beer to demanding specifications. The company has even hired a brewmaster of impressive pedigree to watch over the process, Paul Farnsworth.

According to the company’s website, the Lakeland brewery is already under construction, but now completion date is listed. It does provide that the plant will have an annual capacity of 75,000 barrels along with full packaging, laboratory, marketing and distribution support.

Related articles

• Brew Hub — a new idea in craft brewing (oregonlive.com)
• Brew Hub will offer first site for craft beermakers to use (jacksonville.com)
• Craft beer brewing company signs Lakeland lease (bizjournals.com)

 

Jax qualifies for BeerCity USA, but the battle is not over yet

It was an epic battle; one that, though there were no real opponents, it looked as though we were not going to survive. At one point it looked as though we had already lost, then a reinterpretation of the rules took place and we ended up with two extra hours that we did not know we had. In those two extra hours we staged one of the most remarkable rallies ever witnessed on this field. In the end, we came out the other side as victors.

I refer to, of course, the quest for getting Jacksonville on the ballot for BeerCity USA. At times it looked as though there was no way we would make it. Our goal was to obtain 400 nominations by the close of the poll. With an hour to go we were still short over 60 nominations. But, through persistence and the help of other Jacksonville beer-lovers, we managed to cross the magic number of 400 with 13 minutes of poll time to spare. In the end, Jacksonville received 411 nominations, second behind Richmond, Va. which received 517.

But, the quest for BeerCity USA does not end there. Next week, beginning on Monday, May 13, we will have to rally our forces again for the actual voting on which city will be bestowed with the prestigious title of BeerCity USA.  In the running with us is the perennial favorite Asheville, NC. This passionate beer city has managed to win – or tie – for first place all four of the years the poll has been in existence. Our sacred quest now is to unseat the reigning champions and claim the title for our own.

Are we up to it? You bet!

Rally your friends, have them friend Springfield Brew Crew on Facebook, SprBrewCrew on Twitter, or follow this blog for updates. Then get them to vote. The rules are the same as for the poll: one vote per IP address. The city with the most votes will be crowned BeerCIty USA at the close of the poll on Saturday. May 18.

Related articles

• Second chance to get Jax on BeerCity USA ballot (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• Nominate Jacksonville for Beer City USA 2013 (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• Nominations open soon for Beer City USA; Let’s get Jacksonville on the ballot (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• Road Trip: Asheville – Beer City USA (myfox8.com)

 

Japanese create another special beer

The Japanese are known for their rather odd fascination with bizarre foods. I mean, who could forget such interesting snacks as Octopus ice cream, natto – fermented soy beans, and Wasabi beer? Each is disgusting on its own level, but what they have come up with now, may take the cake.

At first blush, Un, Kuno Kuro from the Sankt Gallen Brewery is an ordinary black chocolate stout. But, this beer, brewed in conjunction with the Golden Triangle Elephant Foundation, has a dirty little secret; it uses coffee beans that have taken a trip through the digestive system of elephants. In other words, the beans were picked out of elephant dung and then used to make the beer.

While the brewery says that actual elephant dung is not used in the beer, just the coffee beans, this seems a rather fine distinction. After all, the beans did travel through the inside of an elephant and were excreted out. No matter how you phrase it, that sounds an awful lot like elephant poop.

To prove the point that the Japanese are, well, crazy; the brew sold out in just minutes when it was put online for sale. That’s right, the brew which sold for 10,000 yen each (about $104) was snapped up by adventurous beer lovers from around the globe.

Website RocketNews24 got their hands on a bottle and their reviewer described the brew as having, “…an initial bitterness that got washed over by a wave of sweetness. Following that, a mellow body rolled in and spread out through my mouth.” The reviewer, Mr. Sato, went on to say, “Usually people talk about aftertaste when drinking beer but with Un, Kono Kuro the word afterglow is much more appropriate.

“After downing the last drop, slowly rising from my throat and mouth was that afterglow. The combination of bitter and sweet stayed fresh and lingered in my head. It was a familiar aroma that accompanied me through the entire beer.”

The coffee beans, known as Black Ivory, are so rare that the process yields just 1kg of beans for every 33kg ingested by an elephant. This is what makes them so expensive, and sought after. The beans are a major source of income for the elephant haven.

As for the name, Un, Kono Kuro, is a play on words in Japan. In Japanese the word for crap is unko, kono means this, and kuro means black. Put it all together and you have crap this black. It is not a stretch to figure out what the brewery was aiming for with the name. Common vernacular would have the name being “This is Black” or “S*it Black.”

The bottom line – no pun intended – if you get your hands on this brew, you are likely to have something truly special. Or, then again, it could just be more crap.

Related articles

• Elephant dung beer sells out in minutes (thedrinksbusiness.com)
• Ears to that! Japanese beer made from elephant dung sells out in minutes (metro.co.uk)

 

Founders crossing the pond, distributing to UK

More proof that the American craft beer surge is finding its way across the pond to Europe came this week in the form of a press release April 16 from Founders Brewing Company. The makers of the popular and oh so delicious Founders Breakfast Stout, also announced on their website that their brews are being exported to the United Kingdom in bottles with draft beer to follow.

The text of the press release follows:

(UNITED KINGDOM) – Both year-round and seasonal beers will be available in bottle immediately with draught expected to follow later in the year.

John Green, President of Founders Brewing Co. said of the partnership, “We’ve been looking at export opportunities for a while now, and we’re excited to partner with James Clay in making the United Kingdom one of our first international markets.”

“We are delighted to bring Founders Brewing Co. beers to the UK market” comments Ian Clay Managing Director of James Clay. “Founders is one of the most respected breweries in the world brewing a truly world class portfolio of beers. Introducing beers of Founders’ calibre to the UK is a fantastic addition to an increasingly diverse and vibrant UK beer culture.”

James Clay are particularly excited about the arrival of Founders Brewing Company’s All Day IPA. American IPA is fast becoming the beer-drinker’s style of choice, but with most coming in at a heady 6 – 9% abv often one can’t enjoy more than a couple. Founders Brewing Company’s All Day IPA is an award winning American Session IPA that has been expertly brewed to keep all the flavour of its stronger cousins, but at 4.7%abv.

Other beers available at launch include Porter (6.5% abv), Pale Ale (5.4% abv), a more traditional Centennial IPA (7.2% abv) and the remarkably smooth Scotch Ale, Dirty Bastard (8.5% abv).

The full range of Founders Brewing beers will be available through James Clay by early May.

Related articles

• Founders Brewing Co. Going International (fox17online.com)
• Founders Brewing Co. begins shipping to Canada; in negotiations in Texas, Florida, Maryland (mlive.com)

 

Nominations open soon for Beer City USA; Let’s get Jacksonville on the ballot

Jacksonville is a beer city. You know this and I know this. But, alas, the world does not know this. Last year for the Beer City USA competition we managed to get our city by the sea on the ballot for the illustrious title. We will have to come together and work to get our budding beer-topia on the ballot again this year.

Every year, for the past four years, the competition for Beer City USA opens up. The competition is less of a scientific poll and more of a popularity contest. Never-the-less, it is a fiercely fought contest that cities across the country covet. Charlie Papazian, the founder of the American Homebrewers Association and the Association of Brewers which later became the Brewers Association, thought up the contest to bring attention to the many communities that host craft breweries.

For the past four years Asheville, NC has reigned as either the sole or co-Beer City USA. And the craft brewing community seems to have taken notice. The mountain community, with its funky, off-beat vibe has become a sort of Eastern United States epicenter of beer. So much so that the big boys of the craft brewing industry have made in-roads to the area by opening or announcing to open several new, East Coast breweries. Oskar Blues, the innovative brewery from Colorado, has already opened a brewery in the area and will soon be joined by Sierra Nevada and New Belgium.

Jacksonville has the potential to be another beer hub for the eastern portion of the country. We already have an astoundingly good collection of breweries. In all the Jacksonville – St. Augustine – Gainesville area hosts 13 breweries and there are several more in the planning stages. That number rivals the number in Asheville and many of the other cities that are perennials on the Beer City USA ballot. Surely, a city with so many breweries and by default beer-lovers should be on the ballot. And, once on the ballot, we have to make a good showing.

In order to get on the ballot for Beer City USA, Jacksonville beer-lovers will have to suggest our city when nominations open April 22-26. As the time gets closer, I will post information on where to make your nomination and, once we get Jacksonville on the ballot, where to vote. Be sure to follow this blog, friend me on Facebook (sprbrewcrew) like the Jax Beer Guy on Facebook and follow both JaxBeerGuy and Sprbrewcrew on Twitter. You can also keep up to date on developments via The Brews News email newsletter that you can subscribe to at http://www.JaxBeerGuy.com.

Related articles

• Jacksonville becoming a beer destination, local tour operator to represent in Boston (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• BeerCity USA revs up – Craft beer news to celebrate (examiner.com)
• Jacksonville to host national beer gathering this weekend (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)