“A bunch of guys talk in the market,” said Don Feinberg, a founder of Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y., and an importer for Vanberg & DeWulf there. “We’ve all been saying the same thing for about 18 months now, which is, enough of the high octane.”Rock on, Don! If it were just a little easier to find these beers...I wonder if we'd see more sales. Sounds like the USDOT is putting on a DUI push: why not get behind that?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
SBP: time to wake up
Time for me to wake up, that is. When your dormant project gets a mention in the New York Times, you better jump on it. Nice quotes from a lot of the people who are on top of making, importing, and selling session beers! I especially liked this from Don Feinberg:
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19 comments:
"...enough of the high octane."
Can I get a witness?!
“everybody drank it for lunch, from grandmothers to kids.”
Oh man, Lew -- I can hear the gnashing teeth of the neo-prohibitionists already!!
Interesting article. Let's not forget that malt, hops, and shipping costs are at all time highs. I don't think it's coincidence that all of these brewers suddenly realized that there's a market for lighter beers right at the same time that producing them is in their best economic interest.
Tom
http://destinationbeer.blogspot.com/
Tom,
Looks like malt is going to come down a lot; there's already been some downward pressure on that. Hops, likewise, are going to be coming down from last year's crazy heights; not all the way, but down.
But...while I suspect that the price increases may have had something to do with choices on extremes (sour beers, for instance), I'm still not seeing any big move towards session beers. Damn it.
Isn't it kind of ironic for the folks at Ommegang to be saying this?
Well, no: Don is no longer associated with Ommegang. He sold his share to Duvel/Moortgat.
Hmm... Hey Lew where did you get your info on the hops and barley? My hop contracts for next year are up 20% and I won't even be able to get several varieties. Barley is going up as well, at least the shipping.
Charlie Schnable
Otto's Pub
a well made high alcohal beer lets you know there will be no session tonight .most people when they go out to drink know how much they wanna drink . the whole point of drinking out is have public transportation or designated driver . remember philadelphia is best beer drinking city not best beer drinking suberb .
welp, i'll give it a try!
Shipping I don't know from, Charlie, and the malt I heard about is European: things are evidently looking pretty good there for the harvest. I read recently that American grain harvests overall are coming in big this year, too. As for hops, well, I may have mis-interpreted what I read, having gone back and checked that. Could be market speculation, too. Apologies.
the whole point of drinking out is have public transportation or designated driver .
Silly me. I thought the whole point of going out for drinks was to have some fun and conversation. The things you learn running a blog...
"Isn't it kind of ironic for the folks at Ommegang to be saying this?"
Why? They're good beer people, I'd like to think they're passionate about all aspects of beer. Look at Jim Koch.
No apologies necessary Lew, just worried that I missed out on something!
charlie
It's a great article, and I'm totally going down the same road. Hey, I love crazy beers, but I like to take it easy sometimes too.
Out here in the NW, small breweries are producing more lagers, and I love it, because it really shows off the skill of the brewer; your flaws are expounded in a small beer, instead of being blurred out in a big beer.
I love Philadelphia Brewing Co. Rowhouse Red so much, its only 5%
"Only" 5%? C'mon, Rebecca, you gotta get under 4.5% for it to get significant!
OK...Cold Hop and Hazed and Infused are under 5%..I love Taras Boulba, that's under 5%..East End makes a great harvest ale.
This is why I love Victory so, so much. They cover pretty much all avenues with their brews..
Donnybrook Stout = 3.7%
Golden Monkey = 9.5%
With a whole lot of lovely in between..
There will be no tolerating you now you've been quoted in the Times.
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