alcohol

Beer Birthday: Tom Peters (http://tinyurl.com/23v7e6b)

My good friend Tom Peters, one of the owners of Monk’s Cafe and Belgian Beer Emporium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, turns 57 today. His enthusiasm for and promotion of Belgian beer has few equals. And he throws perhaps the best late night parties of anyone I’ve ever known. Join me in wishing Tom a very happy [...]

RT @biteoforegon: set up has begun at Waterfront park 4 @biteoforegon, opens nxt wk Fri, 8/6 11am thru Sun 8/8. #inpdx #pdxeats #bite

RT @xytoda: Family Dawgz live at The Electric Co tonight immediately after Dark Star Orchestra @SaranacBrewery

"While beer brings gladness, don’t forget that water only makes you wet.” — Larry Leon Wilson, in "The Spenders" #beerquotes

Drink with us tonight for Dark Star Orchestra - looks like it will be a beautiful night for a concert in out courtyard. Cheers.

Danone this week agreed to sell its 22.98% shareholding in China Huiyuan Juice Group to Hong-Kong-based private equity firm SAIF Partners for EUR200m (US$260m).

The top ten stories published on just-drinks this week:

If you want to sip a cosmo like the gals in 'Sex and The City 2,' it's not too late.

Global Brands' Kick Ultra

Cider of Sweden, the UK distribution and marketing unit of Kopparberg Breweries, has changed its name to C.O.S. Brands.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Anheuser-Busch InBev cannot register the name Budweiser as a trademark across the EU.

Fortune Brands has posted a healthy lift in sales and profits for the first half of 2010, despite a dip in operating profits at its Beam Global Spirits & Wines division.

The company behind 'soberade' soft drink Outox has modified the health claims on its cans to clarify claims that it "greatly speeds up" the breakdown of alcohol in the blood.

(Longmont, CO) – Left Hand Brewing received approval for its two Imperial Stout labels this week.

Of all the new labels to come out over the past year from Left Hand Brewing, these may be the best. Left Hand Wake Up Dead will be the moniker for the Imperial Stouts going forward. Here are the label write-ups (they’re pretty similar):

Wake Up Dead: “GOOD MORNING. YOU’VE WOKEN UP DEAD. YOU’RE IN RUINS. But don’t be discouraged. Here’s a black ale to brighten your day. Wake Up Dead lurks in our cellars for over four months before being unleashed. Hints of raisins, black licorice, coffee and dark chocolate are followed by earthy, herbal hop notes. Any apprehensions about the rest of your day are quickly forgotten, for whatever the mind expected, it finds. Sometimes you’re not in the mood for what everyone else is having.”

Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead: “[...] On the brink of catastrophe. But don’t be discouraged. You are ripe for a revolution! Just like the Bolsheviks of the early 1900’s, our barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout doesn’t happen overnight. Patience is required. Wake Up Dead hibernates in our cellars for over 12 months before being blended to woody perfection. Hints of raisins, cherry, licorice and toffee, followed by earthy, herbal hop notes that rise up, joining in your fight for a better life. Don’t be afraid of the dark. All power to the stouts!”

Per a release schedule for the brewery’s beers sent back in February, here’s another description for Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead: “We be a-rackin’ the Imperial Stout into Heaven Hill Brandy barrels early in 2010, and will blend it with un-aged Imperial Stout to woody perfection. At 22 degree plato and 10.2% ABV, it’s the perfect warmer for those cold winter nights. Enjoy the complex flavors revealing hints of raisin, black licorice, coffee, dark chocolate, and, of course, a hint of brandy.” It is scheduled for release in late November in 22 oz. bombers and kegs.

The regular Imperial Stout, also in a 22 oz. bombers and kegs, has been a perennial release in the past though the brewery hasn’t yet announced when the current packaging will be replaced with the Wake Up Dead packaging.

[Ed. note: click the pics for close-up views.]

Left Hand Wake Up Dead, Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead branding set to debut[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Kalamazoo, MI) – Bell’s Brewery got label approval for its 2010 Best Brown mini-keg this week.

Best Brown, one of Bell’s winter seasonals, is listed as being available from October 1 through March on the brewery’s website. The mini-kegs will be back this fall and the artwork has changed to convey that message instead of opting for the usual winter scene. Says Marketing Director, Laura Bell, “Brown ale is a great beer to drink when the leaves start to turn and the air gets crisp and we wanted to capture some of that feeling through the art on the can.”

Last year was the first time that Bell’s introduced the Best Brown one. Other previously released brewery mini-keg favorites include Oberon and Two Hearted. Here’s a pic of last year’s edition of Best Brown.

For those unfamiliar with mini-kegs (there aren’t a lot of craft breweries making them), one container holds 1.32 gallons or a little over 10 pints.

Bell’s Best Brown mini-kegs return with new look[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

(Birmingham, AL) – Good People Brewing will introduce its beer into cans for the first time this fall.

It’s been a wild year for the small Alabaman brewery. The Birmingham City Paper reported back in May on the brewery’s new facility: “After operating a brewery for two years in a small basement in Five Points South, Good People Brewing Company has relocated into a 25,000-square-foot building near the Railroad Park in the city’s center.” Part of the expansion plan includes a new canning line that is scheduled for delivery in October. If all goes according to plan, we’ll see canned beer come out of the brewery toward the end of that month.

According to Owner, Jason Malone, Good People Brown Ale and IPA will be the first two styles to roll off of that line. “The Brown and IPA just seemed like a good place to start considering their popularity. We are planning on canning those two plus our Hitchhiker IPA, SnakeHandler DIPA, and Coffee Oatmeal Stout before the end of the year.”

The cans will be distributed around Birmingham to start and Malone hopes to cover all of Alabama by the first quarter of 2011. That is a tall order for a brewery that produced just 260 barrels last year according to the Brewers Association but Malone has a plan. “We also have a new brewhouse and fermenters scheduled to arrive about the same time so by the first of next year we’ll have plenty of capacity to cover the state.”

Until then, here’s a brief update on what’s new at the brewery this week.

[Ed. note: Labels withheld per request]

Good People Brewing cans arrive this fall[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

Shares in Huiyuan Juice Group rose by 8% on Thursday (29 July) - the most in almost two months - after Groupe Danone agreed to sell its stake in the firm to Hong-Kong-based private equity firm SAIF Partners.

The World Cup has helped beer sales in the UK register their first quarterly increase in four years, according to recent figures.

(Ellensburg, WA) – Iron Horse Brewery will bring back an existing brand in a new way in August.

Per Iron Horse rep, Natalia Parker, “509 Style Ale is a rebranding of our Rodeo Pale Ale. The beer has been continually tweaked over the last two years and so we decided it was time to give it a new label. It will be available in 22 oz. bottles from August through November and will be available in kegs year-round.” The ABV on this one is 5% and the light hop profile includes Cascade, CTZ and Mt. Hood.

This is the second beer in recent months to feature branding around Washington’s 509 area code. Check out the Budge Spokamber Ale label below.

In other Iron Horse news, the brewery recently opened its second location.

Iron Horse 509 Style Ale branding debuts next month[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]