Fully Automatic Beer Brewing

 A former Microsoft employee and homebrewer frustrated by the difficulty in getting recipes to turn out the same every time, turned to his food processing engineer brother and another Microsoft employee, to create PicoBrew Zymatic.
 Users browse a list of recipes online on their desktop computer or smartphone. Recipes are submitted to the site by users. They they weigh the grain into a plastic tray, add hops to special filters, and water to a small cornie keg (which transfers water back and forth into the device). In 3.5 hours, their brew is finished. (They can even monitor their PicoBrew from their smart phone.)  Add yeast to the cornie keg, refrigerate it for a week or so and the beer is ready.
 PicoBrew Symatic ( picobrew ) soon on Kickstarter. The first machines will sell for $1300 and the second wave for $1500.

The Grateful Dogfish Head??

The Grateful Dead are readying the release of the craft beer the band began developing last year with Delaware brewery Dogfish Head. The special ingredient suggested by fans? Granola, according to Brewbound. More than 1,500 fans submitted suggestions for the "American Beauty" pale ale. The suggestion for granola came from Thomas Butler, a 39-year-old chemist and homebrewer who saw his first Dead show when he was nine.
 The components of granola – honey, toasted grains, oats and fruit – offer a lot from a beer perspective, as said on the Dogfish Head website. The beer is to be a sessionable ale that highlights the oats and honey with a nice 'dank' hop selection.

Perrin & Siciliano's To Host Homebrew Contest

US Government Shutdown Means No New Beer

 There are two main issues for the craft beer industry to deal with during the shutdown. By the numbers, the largest of these issues is the Treasury Department’s Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) ceasing approval of new beer labels and recipes. Beer news site Beerpulse estimates that 400 labels per day won’t receive approvals during the shutdown, based on the over 110,000 labels that TTB had approved over the course of 2013 through the end of September. More immediately detrimental to the health of craft breweries is the Small Business Administration halting approval of new loans for the duration of the shutdown.

Oktoberfest Pasta

Beer Brat Oktoberfest Pasta- (serves 4)
  Ingredients:

6 strips thick sliced bacon

1 sweet white onion, sliced
1 tbs olive oil, plus 2 tbs later
6 bratwurst (raw)
12 ounces brown ale
1 lb spaghetti
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
4 large eggs

Directions
In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the bacon. Remove from pan, chop. Pour off about half the pork fat, leaving about 2 tbs still in the pan. Add 1 tbs olive oil and onions, cook over medium heat until the onions start to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes. Remove onions from pan, set aside.
Increase heat to medium high, add the bratwurst, cooking until browned on both sides. Add the beer and reduce heat to medium low, simmering until the bratwurst are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Slice into rings.
While the bratwurst are cooking, cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water, drain and return to pot.
Add sliced brats, chopped bacon, caramelized onions, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tbs olive oil to the spaghetti, toss to combine.
One at a time poach the eggs in simmering water until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.
Divide the pasta between 4 bowls, top with poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Beer Facts

 Beer improves the state of blood vessels-
According to a study, arteries become more flexible and blood flow improves within hours when you drink a pint of beer, Authit Mail reports. A new study states that drinking a pint of beer actually improves the state of blood vessels around your heart.
 Here are some of the benefits:
-Beer is known to decrease the incidence of heart diseases by approximately 20 to 40 per cent. Though drinking beer is okay, you need to have it responsibly. Moderate consumption of beer results in an increase in HDL and a decrease in LDL along with an improvement in both.
-Beer is loaded with vitamins. According to a Dutch study, there was a remarkable 30 percent increase in vitamin B6 in beer drinkers.
-It is also known to decrease kidney stones.
-Beer is also believed to make your head clear. Drinking the right amount of beer is good for your mental health. The New England Journal of Medicine reported a preservation of mental acuity, especially in older women who drink alcohol moderately.
-There have been numerous studies that have shown that the consumption of moderate alcohol also decreases the incidence of Alzheimer's and improves memory, concentration and reasoning.
-Multiple studies have shown up to 50 percent reduction in the risk of strokes in moderate alcohol drinkers. The American Stroke Association have stated that two alcoholic drinks per day can decrease the incidence of stroke... but I'm sure you all ready knew that.

Time To Make Cider!

 Brewing hard cider from nonalcoholic, or “sweet” cider is a simple process, and the inebriating end product is as delicious as it is discombobulating. Here are the steps you’ll follow to make hard cider of your own. how-to-make-hard-cider .
Also here are tips to make your cider great making-cider-tips-from-the-pros.

Smuttynose Coming To Michigan

 Smuttynose Brewing Co. will enter the state of Michigan for the first time this fall through a partnership with West Side Beer Distributing. Beginning in October, the beers will be available in four key markets—Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Detroit. Initial shipments of Finestkind IPA and Big A IPA will be available exclusively on draft, with shipments of bottle packages to begin early next year. Smuttynose will be available across 23 states and Washington, D.C. The company produced nearly 41,000 barrels of beer last year, and will move into its new brewery and visitors’ center in Hampton, New Hampshire in 2014.  shankennewsdaily

So, you want to work in a craft brewery??

This from the Mad Fermentationalist - I detailed a brew day on the brewery's "main" system. So to follow up on that, I thought I'd give an overview of what day-to-day life is like at a startup craft brewery when you aren't brewing. I think many homebrewers don't have a clear image of what goes into working at a new craft brewery...working-at-startup-craft-brewery

Michigan's Best Brewery; Nominate Your Fav

 The nomination process begins today for the best brewery in Michigan.
What are we looking for: The best overall experience, including the variety of beer they produce, quality of menu (if food is offered), ambience and the staff's craft beer IQ.
Bottom line: This has to be a fun place that offers great beer!
• email: gonzo@mlive.com (Put the name of the brewery in the subject field along with a few details about what makes your favorite brewery so great!
• On Tuesday, Sept. 3, all Mlive reporters throughout the state at MLive.com and affiliate website AnnArbor.com, will also post stories online and take your nominations. If your favorite brewery is not in one of our markets, don't worry: We'll take nominations from all over the state, including the Upper Peninsula, the Traverse City/Grand Traverse Bay Region and Southwest Michigan.
• The breweries with the most nominations in each market will be added to our official polls.
• Polls will be published online Thursday, Sept. 5. And readers will get to vote. michigans_best_brewery_

Muskegon Brewery Updates

Unruly Brewing Co.
Where: 360 W. Western Ave., Muskegon, in the Russell Block Building
Owners: Jeff Jacobson, Mark Gongalski and Eric Hoffman
The beers: Unruly will serve a variety of beers, including the Revel Rouser IPA and the Sasquatch double IPA. The brewery will also serve a coffee porter, a cream ale and a California common steam beer.
Unruly has also acquired a small winemaker's license and will make white and red wine, as well as cider in the future.
Food options: The brewery will serve sandwiches from Fatty Lumpkins Sandwich Shack as well as appetizers from local vendors like The Cheese Lady. Eventually, the owners hope to have a full menu.
The space will fit about 150 people inside and an additional 70 people in the outdoor beer garden area.
Expected opening is in November. Unruly has all the licenses to operate and has to undergo a few final inspections before opening.

Fetch Brewing Co.
Where: 100 W. Colby St., Whitehall, in the old State Bank building
Owners: Dan and Jen Hain
The beers: Fetch will have four standard beers on tap, said co-owner Dan Hain. They are:Tree Stump Coffee Stout, the Lazy Eye Rye, the Pitchfork Wheat and a pale ale.
The brewery will also make "small batch stuff" and seasonal brews that will rotate. Hain also said he wants to experiment with produce from nearby fruit orchards.
Food options: Fetch will serve pizzas, paninis and finger foods from Whitehall restaurant Sam's Grille and Pizzeria.
There will also be a second-floor mezzanine area. Hain said the space should accommodate about 95 people.
Expected opening is late December or January.

Pigeon Hill Brewing Co.
Where: 500 W. Western Ave., Muskegon, in the Noble Building
Owners: Joel Kamp, Michael Brower, Chad Doane
The beers: The brewery will start out with large batches of four or five beers when they open and expand their portfolio once the initial rush slows down, said co-owners Joel Kamp and Michael Brower. The bar has space for 10 taps.
The taproom will seat about 80 people.
Expected opening date is unknown.

New Beer Sitcom?

 A new beer sitcom based on Dogfish Head brewery could be in the works. The show would feature funnyman Ken Marino (“The State,” “Party Down,” and the Ben Stiller-produced web comedy “Burning Love”) and his writer/actress wife Erica Oyama (“Burning Love,” "Children’s Hospital”) as the husband-and-wife owners of a funky craft brewpub. Marino was Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione’s college roommate at NYU, and remains one of the brewer’s closest friends.
“It was actually my wife's idea – she does most of the thinking in our partnership.” Marino quipped to TODAY.com. “We pitched it to Sony TV earlier this summer and they loved it.”
  Fox also loved the idea, enough to purchase the exclusive rights to the show, Calgione confirmed. A pilot is in the works, and if Fox likes what they see, the show could make it to the airwaves. new-beer-sitcom

Summer Craft Beer Festival in GR

 The 2013 WGRD Summer Craft Beer Festival is taking place at John Ball Park in Grand Rapids MI Saturday, August 17 from 2-7PM.  20+ Breweries will be there along with food music and brewing seminars.
 2013-wgrd-summer-craft-beer-festival

IT"S SHARK WEEK!!!

Shark week drinking games... The-Shark-Week-Drinking-Game

Breaking Bad Beer

 by Dana Henninger- Brewers Ted Rice, Jeff Jinnett, and John Gozigian are huge fans of the TV show Breaking Bad. After all, the AMC series is filmed in Albuquerque, N.M., where the trio has run Marble Brewery since 2008. Several Marble beers have made cameos on the show, and cast members have found themselves relaxing after a shoot in the Marble tap rooms. Next week, on August 8, the brewery will release two commemorative beers in honor of the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad, the second half of which premieres on August 11. The first, named Heisenberg’s Dark after main character Walter White’s alter ego, is a black IPA, according to the craftbeer.com. The second is a white IPA called Walt’s White Lie — a reference obvious to anyone familiar with the show’s premise (a school teacher turned meth dealer to support his family).
 Breaking Bad fans outside New Mexico are out of luck when it comes to sampling these brews, as Marble doesn’t yet distribute out of state. The beers will be available on draft at all three Marble tap rooms (two in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe), as well as select local draft accounts. Perhaps a trip to the Southwest is in order?  stop-everything-theres-now-2-breaking-bad-ipas

Less and Less of the Light Stuff

 Today in "news that surprises no one," people are drinking less and less of the light beers that have long ruled the beer market, because they're finding that they don't taste as good.
AdAge cites the ConsumerEdge Insights' Beverage DemandTracker, "a periodic survey of U.S. adults who consume alcohol at least once a week," which found that 27 percent were drinking less light beer because they were "tired" of the taste, while 21 percent were drinking "more types of beer." We can only assume that means that craft beer is making stronger and stronger gains (again, to no one's surprise). Fewer and fewer people now say that "light beer tastes great," 30 percent in the last survey, compared to 33 percent in June 2012.  breaking-light-beer

Bell's Brewing in Escanaba

 The new facility will be called the Upper Hand Brewery, and it’ll produce entirely new types of beer.
Bell’s owner and founder Larry Bell has told the Escanaba Planning Commission that Upper Hand beer would be available in the U.P., northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, but not in Lower Michigan.  new-bells-brewery-site

A Microbrew Love Story...

"Drinking Buddies" is a new romantic comedy based around a small brewery. It's release is scheduled for this August.
Check out the trailer Drinking Buddies

Craft Beer Releases July 2013

July craft beer releases.
Dogfish Head – Brand X
Dogfish Head – My Antonia
Dogfish Head – Festina Peche
Firestone Walker – Double DBA
Founders – Rubeus
Great Divide – Rumble
Great Divide – Wolfgang
Great Divide – Seasonal Yeti
Lagunitas – DayTime
Smuttynose – Homunculus

Big Lake Brewing Opening July 5

Big Lake Brewing (BLB) at 977 Butternut Drive (a commercial plaza near the intersection of Butternut, North 144th Avenue and Riley Street), will officially open to the public at noon on July 5.
 The new brewpub will specialize in traditional beer styles and wine produced on-site. When the doors open, patrons will find a beer menu with traditional styles, including a porter, strong ale, IPA, and a wheat ale brewed on a 3-barrel nano system.  For now, Big Lake will focus on brewing for the taproom, but  they are interested in distributing keg beer in the future if demand warrants.
 Big Lake Brewing will not have a kitchen or food, but patrons are encouraged to bring in outside food,  Thai Palace and Peppino’s Pizza are located next door.
 Initial hours are 5 p.m. to close on Friday, and noon to close on Saturday and Sunday. Weekday hours may be added down the line.

 Owners, Greg Mackeller, Travis Prueter, and Nic Winsemius founded the LLC in 2009.