Michigan homebrew bill passes

Michigan homebrew bill passes Michigan State House, moves on to state senate.
LANSING — A bill that would allow homebrew to be served in licensed Michigan brewpubs and restaurants passed the Michigan State House of Representatives Thursday.

 House Bill 4061 passed by a vote of 105 to 5, according to the Brewers Association.
The bill, which would allow homebrewed beer to be served for competitions and club meetings, will now go to the Michigan State Senate, where it has been assigned to the Regulatory Reform Committee.

Michigan Beer Cellar to start bottling

 While making a name for themselves in the increasingly competitive craft beer market that is West Michigan, Michigan Beer Cellar is deciding to take their art a step further. The Sparta based brewery already distributes kegs of their brew to approx. 15 pubs across the area. Now they're looking to expand on that by distributing their brew in bottle form. Upon label approval and bottling line installation, they're looking to start with 4 different brews.

Short's Brewing Co. has an app

By Josh Smith Are you planning a special event and need some help figuring out how much beer to plan for?Well, the good folks at Short's Brewing Co. have created a very handy tool for just that kind of brainteaser.Their new app - beer-calculator - will help you calculate how much beer you need based on the total number of guests, percentage of guests who drink beer, and the number of drinks per person.Their Beer Ordering Calculator will advise you how many 1/2 barrels, 1/4 barrels, 1/6 barrels, or 12 oz. cases you should plan for.For example, say you are throwing a bash and invite say, 50 of your best friends. If you assume half of them drink beer and each drinks two, you should be able to getaway with:

• 0.40 1/2 barrels

• 0.81 1/4 barrels

• 1.21 1/6 barrels

or 1.56 cases (24 - 12 oz. bottles)

It's probably best to round up or even pad it a little (good craft beer tends to runs out fast). I also briefly tested this on my smartphone and it worked pretty well with my browser — in case you need to recalculate on the fly.