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.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS 24-YR. HISTORY, the Boston Beer Company, brewers of the Samuel Adams line of craft beers, has had to issue a recall of some of its product.

In a press release Monday, the BBC announced:

April 7, 2008–The Boston Beer Company (BBC) today announced a voluntary recall of select 12 oz glass bottles of its Samuel Adams beer which may contain small grains or bits of glass. The precautionary recall comes after routine quality control inspections at the Company’s Cincinnati brewery detected defects in certain beer bottles, manufactured by a third-party glass bottle supplier that might cause small bits of glass to break off and possibly fall into the bottle. The affected bottles come from only one of the five glass plants that supply the Company with bottles. This plant supplies about 25% of BBC bottles. While the Company believes that the number of bottles from this plant that actually contain glass is significantly less than 1%, it took this measure to protect the safety of its drinkers.

The bottles in question were made by the Owens-Illinois glass works and have an identifying number embossed into the glass.  The number is found along the edge of the very bottom of the bottle and has the following marking:  The letter “N” followed by the number “35″ followed by the letters “OI”.

You can read the entire press release which has the full information about the recall HERE.

THE WASHINGTON POST’S ANNUAL BREW-OFF FINALS were held this week and we’re pleased to announce that Hook & Ladder Brewing’s entry, their Backdraft Brown Ale, has won the grand championship for this year.

Firegeezer’s reports on the early rounds are HERE and HERE.

The final standings after the elimination of 31 other entrants is HERE.  The Post also tells the “backstory” of Hook & Ladder Brewing’s short history:

Congratulations to the new Champs!

Read more about Hook & Ladder at their WEBSITE.

THE BEER MADNESS BREW-OFF JUST CONCLUDED its 3rd round of the tasting competition.  (If you missed the original report, see Firegeezer HERE.)

We are delighted to report to you that Hook & Ladder Brewing’s entry, Backdraft Brown handily downed the Samuel Adams Honey Porter and will be moving into the Semi-finals this week.

This round marks the winners of the four categories, so Backdraft Brown finishes this week as the champion of all the Dark Beer entrants.  Next round will pit them against the winner of the Specialty & Fruit bracket, the Ommegang Hennipen, a spicy Belgian-style ale from Cooperstown, New York.

In the other brackets, Raven Lager won the Lagers category and will be going up against the winner of the Ales bracket, Troegs Hopback Ale.

Firegeezer notes:  This should rank Hook & Ladder as the favorite for this next round.  After all, how could anything in a “Specialty & Fruit” category ever beat out a real beer?

THE WASHINGTON POST’s 2nd ANNUAL BEER MADNESS BREW-OFF IS CURRENTLY RUNNING.

Washington Post image

The paper’s dedicated beer reporter, Joe Helm selected 10 experienced beer drinkers to judge this year’s competition.  They started with 32 chosen brews that were sorted into four categories:  Lagers, Ales, Specialty & Fruit beers, and Dark beers.  With eight beers in each category, the taste-off began three weeks ago with head-to-head eliminations much like the NCAA tournament brackets.

This year one of the entrants in the Dark Beers category is a representative of the Hook & Ladder Brewery, its Backdraft Brown has beaten its competition in the first two rounds and is now in the Elite Eight quarter-finals.  This week they are going up against the Samuel Adams Honey Porter.  That’s tough competition for sure.  But they’re all tough from here on out. Last year’s overall winner, Brooklyn Lager was bounced in the second round this year.

Hook & Ladder Brewing Company is based in Silver Spring, Maryland, and was founded by a volunteer firefighter and his brother.  Hook & Ladder was founded on the mission of building a business while giving back to each community in which its beers are sold.  Hook & Ladder and its wholesale partners donate a portion of all sales to local burn centers and firefighter burn organizations through the A Penny in Every Pint™ and A Quarter in Every Case™ programs.  A Quarter in Every Case™ donates 25 cents from each case sold and A Penny in Every Pint™ donates $4 from each barrel to local burn organizations.  These efforts have raised over $30,000 in the past 18 months alone.  

When asked about their first two victories, Hook & Ladder CEO Matt Fleischer said,  “It was a total team effort, no question about it.  It was a hard-fought contest, and we gave it 110 percent. But we can’t rest on our laurels or start patting ourselves on the back just yet. We’ll enjoy this win tonight, and then begin preparing for next week.”

The winners of this round will be announced on Sunday and Firegeezer will bring you the results as they happen.

Hook & Ladder Brewing’s website is HERE.  Check ‘em out, they have some neat stuff in the “company store.”
For a clearer view of the bracket and to read more about the competition, go the the Post’s webpage HERE.  They also have information on all 32 brews entered in this year’s contest.

STATS SPORTS BAR IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, has instituted a new way to deliver draft beer to the customer.  They are putting the taps right on their table.

STATS is a three-story shop with five bars in it and the expected array of  huge plasma-screen tv’s tuned in to the endless sports programming.  Located just a block from the Georgia Dome, they have a good trade.  There are two taps built into each table and they are hooked into a cooler filled with kegs in the basement.

The Associated Press tells how it works:

A waitress must first check IDs before turning on the tap. When the digital ticker counting each ounce hits 180 — or about three pitchers — the taps shut off until a server comes by to check on the table. Bigger parties keep servers running back and forth fairly often, while it’s rarer for smaller groups to hit the limit.

To use the taps, diners simply reach into the middle of the table and pull the lever to get as much — or as little — beer as they’d like. Meters and valves monitor the flow and instantly display how many ounces the table has tapped.

Of course, this unique system demands a new pricing scheme. Charging customers by the ounce instead of by the drink means that if a full pint of brew costs $4, a single ounce would only cost a quarter.

To read the full story, click HERE.
STATS Sports Bar WEBSITE.