LOCAL NEWZ
Oliver Weatherbee of First State contributed a report by AP's Tom Stuckey first published in
DC-Beer that the Maryland craftbrew controversy may be drawing to a successful conclusion.
A reported compromise between brewpub owners and other sectors of the alcoholic biz, if
accepted by state legislatures and the gov'ner, would allow production of up to 22,500
barrels per year (up from the present 10,000), with up to 4000 barrels legally sold on premise.
Theo DeGroen of Baltimore Brewing was quoted thusly: "For most of us, for the next five years,
there should beno problem. "
PERSONAL MICROBREWERIES
That's what they're calling the brew-on-premises biznesses; there's even a Personal Microbrewery Association already. There was a nice piece on
Alexandria's Shenandoah Brewing Co. in the January 10 Wash Post Weekend section. Unfortunately,
Susan Miller wrote a horribly ignorant blurb on b-o-p's in the Jan 13 Newzweek - "It's hardly
surprising that beer lovers might prefer making their suds in a boutique brewery rather than in
their own bathtubs. After all, home brewers require expensive equipment, well-ventilated
storage space and a high tolerance for swill -not to mention stove-top explosions."
[Methinks someone needs to invite Ms. Miller to a homebrewers club meeting for a little enlightenment.]
BREW CITY NO MORE
Betsy Perse of First State contributed a December 29 Wilmington News-Urinal piece on the
year-end closing of Pabst's 152-year-old Milwaukee brewery, putting 250 employees out of
work and with few prospects. Pabst is currently contract-brewed by Stroh's and Olympia.
"In Milwaukee...ordering anything but a Pabst on the city's working-class South Side was
akin to wearing a sign that said 'not from these parts.'" In response, Pabst is being
boycotted by neighborhood pubs (according to one interviewee, "I think if you went into
the city today and asked for a bottle of Pabst, you'd have a 99 percent chance of being asked
to leave"), with one tavern selling its inventory for $1 a bottle and contributing proceeds
to a fund for retired Pabst workers. Lawsuits are pending from both sides. From the glory days of
Milwaukee brewing, only Miller remains. "Beer is our image, sure," said Maggie Jacobus of the
Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau. "But jobs are becoming more service-oriented
now. People buy micro-brews."
For the holidays I was given a "365 Bottles of Beer for the Year"
daily calendar - each day features a description of a beer and other choice tidbits. For example:
January 1 - The custom of offering a toast to the New Year, or other special occasion, originated in England. Ale was often drunk by the fireplace, where bread was toasted. Toast bits were added to the warmed, spiced ale, resulting in a concoction raised as a "toast" to friends and family.
January 11 - The term "ale-wife" derives from the fact that brewing was a domestic enterprise run from the household by women in early England.
January 24 - Newark's [NJ, I presume] Kreuger Brewing Company sold the first canned beer in Richmond, 62 years ago this month.
January 25 - The keepers of alehouses and inns in 15th- and 16th-century England were prohibited by law from refusing loding to a traveler; however, declining to serve food or drink was permitted.
