This is refreshing to see. I’ll be glad when this fad is gone. Too many terrible pumpkin beers have flooded the market the last few years.

Yes, there are some good offerings out there, but I would say only 3/10 are worth consuming.

Why Philly bars and brewers are already over pumpkin beer

“At some point,” says National Mechanics co-owner Paul Brown, “you’ve just had enough damn pumpkin.”

billypenn.com

It’s been a busy past couple of weeks for Tenth and Blake (no relation). They pick up a larger stake in Terrapin and now a majority stake in Texas’ own Revolver brewing out of Granbury.

http://beerstreetjournal.com/tenth-blake-acquires-majority…/

https://www.beeradvocate.com/…/texas-based-revolver-brewin…/

While the Revolver business model was one that focused on cutting costs and increasing profits, they delivered an alright beer. They hit a home run with their Blood and Honey, however I feel that they put all their eggs in that basket. I would have liked to see more emphasis placed on their Fracker series and other beer development.

I am surprised that they sold out this early in the game, but perhaps they have plateaued in terms of growth for their business model and wanted to leave the game before they lost all of their chips.

Thoughts from our D/FW contingent of followers? We really do not see that many Revolver beers out in the Austin / San Antonio area.

Texas-Based Revolver Brewing Joins Tenth and Blake

CHICAGO (August 11, 2016) – Tenth and Blake Beer Company, the craft and import division of MillerCoors, announced today an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Granbury, Texas-based Revolver Brewing.

beeradvocate.com

I had a fantastic time meeting with Laurie at Lacada Brewery. An awesome co-op brewery located in Portrush, Ireland. They recently took gold with their Stranded Bunny Porter. In addition to this, their Utopian Stout from their Salamander series was an excellent representation of an export stout. A great group of folks with some very fun plans in the works. I look forward to watching them from across the pond and returning to visit when life takes me back to Ireland.

We of course had to swap some beers while there. I took some Southern Star Buried Hatchet and Guadalupe Brewing Texas Honey Ale to share.

What are your thoughts on quality over local? http://www.beer-simple.com/…/an-invitation-to-struggle-comp…

We all have our little pet breweries that we will support even when the quality isn’t quite that of the national brands. At the same time though, are these pet breweries increasing quality with every batch and are our consumer dollars in the interim helping them reach greatness? Is it our right to support the local small guys and help them obtain sustainability on a larger (read: city / county / multi-county) scale?

Do you still mix up your fridge with occasional national brands? Or is your fridge all national and regional with little to no local guys?

Dead Brewer Walking: Why (Many) Good Breweries Won’t Survive a Craft Bubble Collapse

Beer lovers fight over lots of things, but there’s one thing we all agree on: there are a lot of breweries out there today. Others have thrashed out to varying…

beer-simple.com

A collection of breweries and pubs throughout Ireland

“Consistent with our approach when the acquisition was announced last December, we will continue to operate in the same manner, with the leadership team at Ballast Point continuing to run the day-to-day operations and making decisions the team feels are in the best interests of the company and our consumers,”

That’s pretty inconsistent considering the CEO, COO, CCO, and other major parties have announced their departure this week. It’s a shame to see all this happening to a brand like Ballast Point, but at the same time… when you dance with major corporations like Constellation, ABInBev, SABMiller, this is what happens.

http://thornstreetbrew.com/purge-ballast-point-execs-fleei…/

Edit:

This is a better article, a lot more comprehensive, and touches more on the root causes of the split. http://www.brewbound.com/…/door-ballast-point-founder-jack-…

It looks like the distillation side of Ballast Point is the area of contention. It will be interesting to watch this pan out and we will see whom has what at the end.

The Purge? Moree Ballast Point Execs Make Their Exit – Thorn Street Brewery

The West Coaster recently broke the news that Yuseff Cherney, Ballast Point’s COO/Head Brewer/Co-founding Distiller has left the billion Dollar Brewery…

thornstreetbrew.com/

A couple of weeks ago I trekked out to the Dingle peninsula in Ireland. Once there we drove out to the town of Dingle and came across this craft brewery. Their sole beer style is an Irish Lager. The brewery itself was a dairy in a past life and sits above what is said to be the purest water in all of Ireland. As the most important ingredient in producing a beer, I would say that they have the water profile down to a T. I was fascinated to see that they package both bottles and cans of their Tom Crean’s Lager. Tom Crean is a bit of a local legend. His story is one of bravery, courage, and relentlessness. Also, he traveled near the south pole and saved the lives of several of his fellow explorers.

If you ever get the chance to get out there, go say howdy to James and have a couple of pints of the good stuff. Also, look for the #BeerWithBlake dollar bill stapled to the ceiling in the taproom.

#Dinglebrewing #brewstraveler #craftbeer

http://dinglebrewingcompany.com/

The faces behind the beer. One of the things that I believe sets Jester King apart from other farmhouse styled breweries is their constant stream of media. They release blogs on a regular basis and really delve into the backstory of the beers they are producing, their methods, their reasoning. Even their results when they aren’t always up to spec. They are honest about the beer they pour down the drain and own up when they get something wrong.

Burren Brewing is some thing else. A fantastic little brewpub with amazing food. Roughly 15km from the cliffs of Moher. Quit a nice experience.

Pretty awesome story and an alright I(rish) Pale Ale. Thoroughly enjoying Ireland. Three new brewery visits thus far. Killarney was closed when we went by or I would be at four.

Follow me on Untappd for beer reviews and fun anecdotes along the way.

A local brewery taking a new approach to advertising their crowdsource. I am very impressed with the quality of the video production along with its message. It flows well, and is very professional. Even the sales pitch is great.

Spoiler: The glass looks pretty frickin’ fantastic too.

Hey folks, if you live in / near East Austin, Lazarus Brewing Co. is launching is offering Free Beer for Life: https://vimeo.com/173556238 (Full disclosure – I’m the owner / founder… but I think it’s still a pretty cool deal)

http://www.foxnews.com/…/klm-airlines-launching-worlds-firs…

With Heineken owning a 50% stake in Lagunitas now, I don’t believe it outrageous to think that perhaps Delta will bring some Lagunitas IPA aboard its flights in the future.

KLM airlines launching world’s first on-tap draught beer on flights

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is gearing up to be the first airline to serve draught beer on tap.

foxnews.com

This also occured today (http://prairieales.com/a-letter-from-our-president/)

However, rumors of this were swirling late last year.

Thoughts? Where is craft beer heading?

Say whaaaaat???!

Lagunitas buys stake in 3 smaller brewers; founder Tony Magee isn’t done

With a series of deals announced Wednesday, Lagunitas Brewing aims to transform itself from a large craft beer company with global ambitions to a large craft beer company with global ambitions and many local footprints.

chicagotribune.com | by josh noel

This was an interesting article from over the weekend.

We usually start up the vinyl player and listen to old records whilst drinking beers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/how-the-sounds-you-hear-a…/

How the sounds you hear affect the taste of your beer

So says a new study.

washingtonpost.com

A ridiculous amount of Berlinerweisse and Double IPAs from B-52 Brewing. Each one is a different fruit or hop combination.

Lots of labor and love went into these bottles from the good folks down in Conroe.

One day, I may even learn to take a good picture with proper lighting.

This sounds like a pretty cool new brewery opening in the D/FW Metroplex. http://www.dfw.com/…/111…/new-fort-worth-brewery-sows-a.html

I wasn’t aware of the capital behind these folks, I may have to make a trek out there later this summer.

FORT WORTH – New Fort Worth brewery sows a Wild Acre of hops | Star-Telegram.com

Fort Worth’s newest brewery, in the old Ranch Style Beans building, was founded by a man who knows his beans about the business side of beer.

dfw.com

Interesting op-ed from the President of Breckenridge Brewing on the recent happenings in Colorado.

https://www.porchdrinking.com/…/op-ed-breckenridge-brewery…/

Thoughts? I will post my own in a couple of days after some discussion here.

Op-Ed from Breckenridge Brewery & Anheuser Busch’s The High End

Todd Usry and Felipe Szpigel issue an Op-Ed from Breckenridge Brewery & Anheuser Busch's The High End division in response to last week’s CBG shakeup.

porchdrinking.com

This was a fantastic event last night. Jeffrey Stuffings (owner of Jester King) was out and about. He worked the crowd and asked every person individually about their feedback for the surprise beer. That beer is a serious labor of love and will be a fantastic American rendition of an internationally acclaimed style.

Pedro and his team at the Hoppy Monk were fantastic as well. Extremely attentive and knowledgeable about the beer, culture, and raison d’etre we were all there.

If you are unaware of what the Hoppy Monk stands for, I encourage you to check them out and ask. Their concept is one that is unique and I believe proper for Craft beer in this day and age.

http://www.beer-simple.com/…/soured-craft-beers-misplaced-o…

I do not go out of my way to find any “sour” beers. I also have a pet peeve about folks who utilize the terms wild ale, and sour interchangeable.

If I wanted to drink vinegar, I would go out to my local grocer, and buy a bottle of vinegar. The profile is not appealing to me, or my gastric systems.

A Wild Ale however, now we are talking. Give me all the Brett inoculated saisons. All of them.

Thoughts? Where do you lean on the sour / wild ale spectrum?.

Soured: Craft Beer’s Misplaced Obsession With Bugs and How to Deal With It

I like sour beer. Hell, there are sours that I love (I’m lookin’ at you, Rodenbach Grand Cru and Nodding Head Berliner). But craft beer, you’ve gone too far…

beer-simple.com