Walmart, [CEO Lee] Scott added, “built the company on two things: One was price, but the other was assortment, and you can’t take an area like beer where people are moving to craft and ‘under-assort’ yourself because the person who is buying craft beer and wants that assortment will drive to Kroger and pay the 15% more.”

Local store managers will have a say in what beers are stocked which means there is a chance that regional breweries could get some shelf space and not just the craft beer made by the macros.

Of course, Walmart isn’t doing this because they like craft beer. They are simply following the money.

While craft beer still only commands about 5% of the beer market, these smaller, mostly regional brands are the only bright spot in beer, growing at a 14% clip compared with a 2% decline in the overall beer category, experts said at the convention.

I sincerely hope this helps the smaller breweries and not just the big boys. Everyone has heard about the Mom & Pop businesses that went belly up because they couldn’t compete with Wally World. Hopefully this will help the Mom & Pop breweries compete, rather than extend the reach of the craft division of the macro breweries.

Pretty Little Things Beer ans Ale was featured in an article at boston.com.

“We called it a ‘project’ so we could close it down if we had to,’’ said Paquette, who co-owns Pretty Things with his wife, Martha Holley-Paquette. “If nothing else, we’d sell that batch and would be known as the people who made these crazy beers,’’ he said…

The company’s survival also took pluck and cultural forces such as a younger generation of beer drinkers interested in new styles of ale and more women developing a taste for craft brew. The couple’s $9,000 investment was enough to spark an enterprise that expects to generate $1.2 million in sales this year.

www.prettythingsbeertoday.com

The episode I watched looked at Ocean Side Ale Works they are a local brewery in Oceanside, California. Started as a hobby by a teacher and a firefighter in 2005 they are in a growth phase and got to meet with Jim Koch of Samuel Adams.

You can see the video here

The interesting bit of information I got from the show is Jim Koch said you do not have to bottle to be successful. It made me want to start a brewery again.

Koch, who employs just 12 sales reps to cover a 35-state territory, says he relies on web sites like beeradvocate.com and ratebeer.com, as well as social media like Twitter, to get the word out. (via The Washington Post)

So follow @StoneBrewingCo on Twitter to see if the  Total Tap Tower Takeover Tour is coming to your area. Don’t forget to follow us as well @Beerutopia

Jim Koch, Founder & Brewer at Samuel Adams

Even the best beer can be ruined by improperly maintained draft systems, bad pours, and improper glassware. This can leave a customer with a bad impression of a good beer and it is completely beyond the brewery’s control.

Samuel Adams, arguably the most successful brand in the craft beer industry, has announced a new program aimed at ensuring their beer is properly served every time. “Perfect Pour” certification recipients must educate their staff on beer and draft quality, serve  Boston Lager on draft using the special Boston Lager Glass, and consistently serve fresh, high-quality beer.

It’s obvious that the folks at Samuel Adams understand the importance of educating those that serve beer in addition to those that drink it.  The Cicerone Certification Program aims to do this as well but it’s nice to see a brewery taking the initiative because everyone benefits from the effort.

Here’s the press release:

The Brewers Association has been working for some time to get the government to lower excise taxes for small brewers and has seen some progress on the issue. Bills are working their way through the House and Senate right now which would give some much needed tax relief for small brewers.

Beer and alcohol are often villainized in the media so it’s nice to see this piece from ABC explaining how reducing excise taxes could mean a boost for the economy. (Beware there is video on the page which begins with a loud commercial as soon as the page loads, which is why I chose not to embed it here.)

According to an estimate in a Harvard University study, reducing the excise tax would create more than 2,700 new jobs in the first year to 18 months and an average of 375 new jobs per year over the following four years.

Brady, the co-author of the bill, said although it isn’t a priority for Congress to do, it is a serious bill that could create a lot of jobs.

“I know, considering we are fighting a war, the economy and the oil spill, this isn’t the top of Congress’ agenda, but this is a chance to increase jobs,” Brady said. “Beer has gone global. We have these small craft brewers that can bring amazing new tastes in the market.”

The video features some well-known craft brewers and is worth watching, once you get past the commercial.

Hoping to build on the craft-brewing and local food movements, N.C. State University researchers in Raleigh and a handful of farmers in the mountains are growing experimental plots of hops, the cone-shaped flower clusters that brewers add to beer for bitterness and aroma and as a natural preservative.

Jensen, who is growing on land once used for tobacco, said it’s a huge amount of work but one of the few crops that, on paper at least, could bring in decent income for farmers, which is what led her to try it. Hops can sell for more than $10 a pound in small quantities, and it’s not unusual for an acre to yield more than 2,000 pounds. (Read full article)

I will be trying to grow some Hops here in Arkansas and will keep you up to date with my success or failure. But at $10 a pound it’s worth a try.

Had he known what was happening, Koch said he might have bought more shares in his company, which is known for its Samuel Adams beer brand.
“You could get 50 shares of stock for a case of Sam Adams empties,” he quipped. “That’s a good deal.”

Audio: Jim Koch on Boston Beer Co. stock plunge
Boston Beer Co. founder talks about stock snafu with Loren & Wally on 105.7 WROR

JimKochWROR051110

Anchor Brewing Co., the San Francisco beer company that helped spark the modern microbrewery movement, has been sold to two Bay Area entrepreneurs who are in the artisan beer and spirits business.

Keith Greggor, 55, and Tony Foglio, 64, of the investment and consulting company The Griffin Group, announced their purchase Tuesday. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Greggor and Foglio, who developed the Skyy Vodka brand, said they plan to expand the brewery’s operations…(via ABC News)

Beer seems like a good investment, I think I will invest in another 6pack myself. It will be interesting to see if they can grow the brand but keep up the quality.

Halbert, who lives in Fenton, Mo., has made a career out of illustrating beer labels. His work appears on packaging from Anheuser-Busch InBev, MillerCoors and Samuel Adams, so if you’ve had a beer in recent years, you’ve probably owned a piece of Halbert’s art.

Halbert specializes in scratchboard, a technique where the artist etches black-and-white images into a clay board, giving an old-time, engraved-wood appearance. Breweries’ design firms hire him to draw wheat strands or hop vines or malted grains for labels, packaging and advertisements. read full article here

I did a quick google search and found his website  http://www.inkart.com/index.html take a look and next time you drink a beer maybe Michael Halbert drew it