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Weekend reading: Spice up your reviews, craft beer in chains, and Beer Wars
If you write beer reviews, this is a must-hit link. Fal Allen, former Anderson Valley Brewing GM, made a long list of terms to use when writing beer reviews. Some may already be savvy with words but part of the reason I stopped writing reviews after about 20 of them was because I felt I was saying the same thing over and over. Now you can use words like, “Acetaldehyde,” “Ethyl acetate,” and “Sulfidic” in your reviews. Credit to the newly re-designed Brookston Beer Bulletin for the find.
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Craft beer in supermarkets. Proposals to make it legal in some states that haven’t yet allowed it have drawn their share of criticism but have plenty of backers. One side argues that consumers have the choice to buy beer in supermarkets if they want to while the other argues that supermarkets will take away business from small retail outlets and they’ll be forced to close. The Colorado Brewers Guild was adamantly against a recent proposal in the state to add beer to supermarkets and it failed to pass as it has in Massachusetts and other states in recent years.
The Brewers Association, based in Boulder, CO, appears to have taken a stance on the issue by creating the Market Development Committee, responsible for gaining access to and promoting sales in chain on and off-premise accounts . . . including supermarkets. The goal is to increase craft beer market share by adding new package placements in chain stores and bars. Ten of the fourteen members on the committee are in the top 25 craft breweries out of 1400+ and two represent Colorado breweries: Kim Jordan of New Belgium Brewing, and John Bryant of Oskar Blues, who happens to be the Committee Chairperson.
Supposedly, if independent retail stores have to close down, selection will be greatly reduced, and smaller brewers will not have the same amount of shelf space to stay afloat. Chain stores would seem much more likely to carry beers from craft breweries that are larger in size and can stock shelves consistently over small breweries. Smaller chains may be willing to carry smaller breweries but it begs the question as to whether the work of this committee is helping those at the top and hurting the rest.
Regardless, the Committee just put out its new presentation notes online for folks to check out (it’s a short 2-pg PDF).
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[Updated with the link to Harry's post] Lastly, here’s a review from a few weeks ago that caught my eye. Most know by now that Beer Wars drew mixed reactions after its opening. A couple months later, Harry Schumacher, a leading industry analyst has finally presented his thoughts on the film. Sure, he points out that the premise of the film was kind of . . . backwards? which has been done before. What’s more interesting is when Harry goes into a bit of the history of distribution and some of the major players that got craft beer on shelves in the first place. Unless you follow Maureen Ogle’s work, you don’t get a glimpse like this into the history of craft beer all that often. Granted, it’s definitely a short read compared to Ogle’s work (which is well worth checking out).
Anyway, if you haven’t seen it yet, the movie is now available on DVD.
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July 4th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Weekend reading: Spice up your reviews, craft beer in chains, and Beer Wars http://tinyurl.com/ltyqgy
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July 5th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I dont see the link for Harry Schumacher’s actual review of Beer Wars. You put Ms. Ogle’s link but i dont see his.
July 5th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Whoops! When I went there I realized there is no direct permalink to the post, lamented, and forgot to post a link to his general blog containing the post. Much thanks for the reminder!
July 5th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
[...] BeerNews [...]
July 5th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Thanks so much for the mention. We appreciate and like you guys, too.
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 6th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Thanks for posting this since there are never enough sites out there that discuss craft beer in one avenue or another.
Cheers
P. Fruit Trees’s last blog post..(WA) Seattle International Beer Festival, FYI
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 6th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Browse on over to our blog and have a look. Our main site is http://www.2beerguys.com and we also have a beer education biz at http://www.craftbeereducation.com
Ian’s last blog post..Article: Brewing Change: Why Craft Beer Makers Go Green
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 6th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Thanks for the suggestions! Keep ‘em coming!
Scott-TheBrewClub’s last blog post..Beer Review – Long Trail Belgian White
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 6th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
:’( Beer 47 didn’t make the list. Well, if you read this comment, you can check it out.
David Jensen’s last blog post..Smoky Maple-Porter BBQ Sauce
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 6th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Thanks for the mention! Glad you enjoy the blog….now if only I can update it more often!
The Beer Snob’s last blog post..August 15 & 16: 8th Annual Brews, Jazz and Funk Fest
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 15th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Thank you for the mention, delighted you like the blog, I shall link back to yours.
Melissa
Melissa Cole’s last blog post..Does My Bum Look Big in this Barrel?
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 15th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
If you have a moment, check out my blog at http://www.DailyBeerReview.com. Thanks and let me know what you think.
Beer Drinker’s last blog post..Downtown Brown
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 16th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Melissa, no problem. I think you have a cool site! @Beer Drinker – thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely drop in!
Scott-TBC’s last blog post..Lindemans Framboise Raspberry Lambic
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Thanks so much for the mention. I really appreciate it. I’ve added your site to my reading list.
Chipper Dave’s last blog post..Craft beer in cans more expensive than bottles?
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com
July 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am
What a great list.. I had your site of course but didn’t have many of these others in my bookmarks. Thanks…
Jim Morin’s last blog post..The Dusty Boot
This comment was originally posted on http://thebrewclub.com/)“>TheBrewClub.com