A CLUSTER OF ARSONS IN ALTENKUNSTADT, BAVARIA, GERMANY Wednesday morning kept more than 200 volunteer firefighters busy in the heart of town.  Shortly after midnight a call came in for an auto fire that was quickly knocked down by a policeman before the VFD got on the scene.

While they were investigating the auto, about 10 minutes later a large trash container on a neighboring street was set alight.  The feuerwehrmans (firefighters) redeployed quickly and put it out in short order.  But only 2 minutes after that came a call for a barn fire just 600 feet away.

When they arrived there were two barns fully involved and a house close by was threatened.  Extra alarms were called to contain the fire, save the house and evacuate nearby residents.  The FF’s also managed to save some horses from one of the barns.

A local brewery, the Leikeim Brewery, is also next door to the barns and there was a fear that it would be lost, too.  They did manage to save the brewhouse, but the fire destroyed the building housing their electric generator and all the coolers in the lagering house shut down.  This resulted in the spoiling of more than a thousand gallons of unfinished beer which had to be dumped.  Leikeim had enough finished stock on hand, however, to maintain deliveries until they get the coolers running again.

Leikeim Brewery power house

Fire officials are crediting the lack of any wind during the night helping them contain the fire to the point of origin and not spreading through the town.  Property damages are estimated to exceed $1.25 million.  Police are actively seeking the arsonist.

The point of origin in the barn at lower left.  The house
was remarkably saved just as the fire was beginning
to spread into it.  The brewery power house is
just out of sight at lower right.

 
The Altenkunstadt Feuerwehr made a terrific stop.

The Coburg Neue Presse has the story and more photos HERE.
Leikeim Brewery WEBSITE.

Hat tip to Christian L.

IN A REMARKABLE DISPLAY OF LET’S-DO-IT, THE F. X. MATT BREWERY in Utica, New York, has got its bottling line back in operation.

You may recall that the brewers of Utica Club and Saranac beers suffered a major fire in their bottling/canning building just 31 days ago.  (See the Firegeezer reports HERE, HERE and HERE.)  The fire was confined to the bottling building, so the brewery operations were able to resume within a couple of days.  Matt made quick arrangements with the High Falls Brewing Co. in Rochester to can the product.

Observer-Dispatch

Even though the roof came down onto the third floor during the fire, destroying the canning machinery, the bottling lines on the 2nd floor suffered much less damage.  Now, after reconstruction, a temporary roof and fresh paint all around, the bottles are being filled again.  Canning will continue at High Falls for a while yet.

June is usually the highest-sales month for Matt and they will be taking a hit this year because they haven’t been able to build up store stocks leading up to this week.  The draft business was able to be maintained, but that is mostly local.  Currently the brewers are working double-shifts, but the bottling isn’t expected to be back to full production until the end of this week.

WKTV

The Utica Observer-Dispatch tells all about it this morning HERE.

WKTV has this video report:

UTICA (New York) FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS RELEASED THE REPORT of their investigation into the large fire at the Matt Brewery last Thursday.  (See Firegeezer stories and videos HERE and HERE.)

Observer-Dispatch

The investigators had previously announced that two brewery workers were welding on the 2nd-floor canning room when the fire started.  After attempting to put the fire out themselves, they started to be overcome by the smoke and fumes and had to leave.

The Observer-Dispatch is reporting that at a City Hall press conference this morning:

(F)ire officials said the type of welding the workers were using did not create any sparks. Instead, city Chief Fire Marshal Raymond Beck said the welding created so much heat that it melted a nearby conveyor belt.

As the conveyor continued to melt and burn, however, it did not create any visible flames, Beck said. The burning belt then caused cardboard and plastic six-pack binding to catch fire roughly 10 feet from the welding area, he said.

Beck estimated the fire had caused more than $10 million in damage.

While the canning room was destroyed, the bottling section was only partially damaged and has a limited availability to resume operations.

The brew house was unaffected by the fire and Matt restored brewing operations today.  All draft beer deliveries will be restored while the canning and some of the bottling operations will be outsourced to other breweries who have offered to assist.

Read this afternoon’s posting from the Observer-Dispatch HERE.

WKTV has a video report on today’s findings:

 
Observer-Dispatch

THE FIRE THAT DESTROYED THE BOTTLING PLANT at the F. X. Matt Brewery in Utica, New York, last night is calmed down now.  See last night’s Firegeezer report HERE.

As of midnight, Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks said that the fire still was not under control.  But after 3:00 am it was apparent that the heart of the blaze had been knocked down and this morning the FD is just working on the hot spots.

Company president Nicholas Matt told the Observer-Dispatch:

“It’s obviously serious,” Matt said by telephone late Thursday. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’ve lost our canning operation. The bottling operation is still in question.”

He said he’ll meet at 9 a.m. today with the employees of the brewery. He said he hopes to know more by then and have a better idea of what lies ahead.

The brewery employs close to 130 people. Its mainstay products in recent years have included the Saranac line of beers and Utica Club, whose popularity has been renewed this decade as a younger generation finds a beer once beloved by its grandparents.

The firm has already been contacted by several other breweries with offers of whatever help they need to keep production going, whether it be brewing or bottling the product.  The fire has not affected the brew house, but the bottling/canning operation accounts for about 20% of the company’s business.

The story is being constantly updated by the Utica Observer-Dispatch HERE and by WKTV Ch. 2 HERE.

WSYR-TV Ch. 9 has this video report this morning with some fire footage:

Updated, scroll down. 

A LARGE FIRE IN THE F. X. MATT BREWERY IN UTICA, NEW YORK, broke out around 5 pm this evening in the bottling plant.

The fire has built rapidly because of large stocks of packaging materials stored in the building.  Reporters on the scene say that they can already see cracks in the building’s walls.

Observer-Dispatch

The FD is also concerned with the storage of ammonia on the site that is used in the brewing process and they have warned citizens in the area to keep windows closed and avoid any black smoke.

New Hartford, Whitesboro and New York Mills FD’s are assisting the Utica FD on the fire.

WSTM

 Update, 10:20 pm:
As of 10 pm, Utica Fire Chief Russ Brooks said that the fire is still out of control.

The fire is believed to have started on the 2nd floor of the bottle building in a “high cone machine” which puts the plastic loops around the six-pack cans.  The roof and the third floor have both collapsed and they expect the entire bottling building to be a total loss.

Right now their main concern is a large ammonia tank and the FD is working to keep the fire from forcing a pressure explosion.  The explosive devastation and the health hazard would be massive if that happened.  A 5-block area around the fire has been evacuated.

The Utica Observer-Dispatch has the full, ongoing story and is constantly being updated HERE.

WKTV has this early video report with some fire scenes:

Firegeezer is concerned, too.  One of my favorite brews, Saranac Pale Ale is brewed here.  I have to get out to the store early tomorrow and stock up before supplies dwindle.

THE CITIZENS OF ST. LOUIS HAVE THEIR WORTS IN A TWIST this weekend after word got out that Belgian beer behemoth InBev is considering a hostile takeover of Anheuser-Busch.

InBev is currently the world’s largest brewer, by volume produced, and is looking to get into the lucrative American market.  Last year they made an import/distribution agreement with A-B to market some of their brands in the U. S. 

InBev has been gobbling up some of the leading brewers in the world including Beck’s and the venerable Bass Ale.  A-B’s standing in the beer world was recently surpassed by the proposed merger of Miller and Molson/Coors.  A-B’s stock was trading for around $52 before this news came out and then it jumped up to nearly $57 on Friday.  InBev is said to be considering an offer of $65 to the shareholders which will be hard for them to refuse.

Anheuser-Busch’s stock value has actually declined by 1.4% in the past five years while the Standard and Poor Index has risen 51% in that same time.  It is speculated that if InBev takes over the St. Louis firm, it will lead to a large cutback in A-B’s advertising budget.

If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of this story, start with this good background article in Bloomberg News HERE.

Firegeezer notes:  If InBev takes over Bud, maybe they will stop the odious practice of putting rice in their mash.  Yuck!

JOSH RUBIN, THE “BEER REPORTER” FOR THE TORONTO STAR (yes, the Toronto up in Canada) says: “Yes!”

photo by cizauskas

He leads off his column in today’s paper by saying:

Ask most people where the best beer in the world comes from, and they’ll probably say Germany or England. More worldly folks might mention Belgium.

But ask a beer aficionado these days, and odds are you’ll get an answer that might surprise you – the good old U.S.A.

“U.S. craft beer is probably the most diverse and interesting brewing scene in the world,” beer aficionado Cass Enright said at a recent dinner in Toronto at the Academy of Spherical Arts to celebrate the Ontario launch of Southern Tier Brewing’s India Pale Ale.

Thirty years ago there were only 42 breweries in the U.S. following wholesale buyouts and consolidations of the major brewers.  But since then, we have witnessed the explosion of micro-brewers and the development of old-fashioned craft breweries.  Today there are 1,449 licensed breweries in the country.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which regulates the import and sale of alcoholic beverages in the Province, says that they’d like to see more American beers being offered because their citizens are calling for it.

Read the complete article HERE.

It’s not Pizza AND Beer….. It’s
Pizza Beer

Tom Seefurth, a Chicago-area home brewer,  saw the possibilities of blending two great favorites and developed what he calls the World’s First Culinary Beer. 

After spending a year refining the recipe, he is now offering Mama Mia’s Pizza Beer.  Using a flavoring packet containing a secret combination of basil, oregano, tomatoes and garlic during the brewing process, he has introduced his Pizza Beer to the mid-western market.

By holding a series of flavor tests in various Chicago taverns, he found that he had a hit on his hands.  So Seefurth went to the Sprecher Brewing Co. in Milwaukee and contracted to have them produce the dark brown ale with the unmistakable pizza aftertaste.

“We started brewing in February and lined up distributors in the Chicago area. Then we got calls from people in the Milwaukee market asking if they could sell our beer,” he said.

Making the rounds of television and radio stations, Tom and his wife Athena (Mama Mia) have been actively promoting the brew and demonstrating how it can be used in dozens of food recipes as well as just drinking it.

Available in its over-sized 16.9 oz. bottle, it retails for $2.49 each.  The distribution area now covers most of Illinois, southern Wisconsin and is spreading into Indiana.  You can go to their website HERE and learn the story behind the unique brew.  Click the “On the Big Screen” tab on the left sidebar and you can view some of their videos showing the various recipes.  And tell them Firegeezer sent you.

482 YEARS OF GOOD BEER!

That’s what they are celebrating today in Germany.  The Reinheitsgebot, or beer purity law, was enacted on this date in 1526 and is the oldest food-quality regulation in history.

Getty image

Brought forth by Duke Wilhelm IV in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, the law stated: “In all cities, markets, and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities’ confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.”

While the purity ordinance has had some slight adjustments and changes over the centuries, most of Germany’s 1,300 breweries claim that they adhere to the original standards, varying only with the modern addition of yeast, an ingredient not found in beer production prior to Louis Pasteur’s 19th century discovery of the function of microorganisms in the process of fermentation.

Der Spiegel has the STORY.

A CONSIDERATION TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE PLANNING YOUR VACATION this year is learning just how much a pint of beer will cost you at the playground of your choice.

If you have your destination narrowed down to 2 or 3 places, this could be the tie-breaker.  Or if you are starting your planning from scratch, then you could begin with a list of the countries with the best beer bargains.

For example, in Congo you can get a hefty draft for 18 cents.  Of course, you’ll probably get shot before you can order up a second round for the house, but otherwise it’s a great buy.

Perhaps a better choice would be the Philippines where a pint will set you back about 60¢ (not including extras), but at least your chances of survival are higher.

But if you’re going to stick around to North America or Europe, then you can find the same valuable information at the Price of a Pint website.  They collect the beer prices world-wide as they are submitted by dedicated beer drinkers and loyal readers everywhere.

So while you’re sampling the local brews, log on and enter your bar bill to help out.  And while you’re planning this year’s getaway, log onto the website for some scheduling tips.

Price of a Pint WEBSITE.