The Reinvention of the Wheel Is Starting a New Trend in the World of Craft Beer

When you ask someone to describe a bottle of beer the first thing that comes to mind is a single serving bottle. Typically this bottle is 12oz, small, and meant for one person. If you were to ask someone will you share your beer, you might find a look of hesitation to say the least. Welcome to the reinvention of the wheel: 750-militer bottles for beer.

Wine has always come in 750-militer bottles and has always been a beverage to be shared. To not share a bottle of wine would seem selfish as well as leading to a very intoxicating night. Beer on the other hand has not been considered a beverage meant to be shared, such as wine. Instead most beer through the ages has been offered in only single serving sizes. Recently there has been an evolution to beer and beer bottles and large format beer is quickly becoming more and more mainstream.

So who came up with the idea of putting a beer in a bottle that can serve 2 - 15 people? Belgium of course! Belgium has pretty much pioneered the large format beer scene in the world. Some of the greatest beer ever brewed is only available in the states through 750-militer bottles. A large bottle of beer will typically serve from 2 - 4 people at a time. While large bottles of beers have existed through Europe for sometime the idea is taking shape in the states; Beer Halls and Restaurants all over the nation are starting to understand the need for such beers.

Euclid Hall in Denver, Colorado is an up and coming American Tavern and Beer Hall featuring some of the best craft beer by Colorado breweries and American Breweries in the nation. They feature a slew of Belgium beer and have a very impressive large format selection to choose from. Tony Maciag, General Manager of Euclid Hall says, "The idea is to share. Our concept at Euclid is all about sharing and beer is no exception." These bottles hold 25.36 ounces of beer which is more than enough for one person and easily enough for more. Euclid features around twenty large format beers at any given time as well as 375-militer, 550-militer, and 22oz bombers of beer.

Many Colorado breweries feature their limited edition or rare releases in large format exclusively. Great Divide Brewing Co out of Denver showcased their Stranahan's whiskey aged Old Ruffian using these bottles and are hand numbered to showcase their rarity. Outside of Colorado, American breweries focusing on brewing craft beer also partake in the tradition. Boulevard Brewing Company out of Kansas City, Missouri showcases their "Smokestack" using these bottles as well.

While the average bottle of beer (12oz) is perfect for a single serving it doesn't do a celebration justice. Many parties that go out to celebrate an evening choose wine since it serves more than one person; not beer. Not the case anymore! Many large parties that attend Wine Affairs in San Jose, Ca choose beer over wine. Stephen Markosky says, "We have a great selection of craft beer as well as some bombers (22oz) and champagne size bottles. We want people to take in the experience together. Quite a few birthday celebrations and engagements are toasted over beer instead of wine; it's the new trend." Beer Halls and restaurants across the nation are starting to showcase their craft beer selection outside of drafts and single bottles and focusing more so on larger bottles for sharing.

The typical large bottle of beer, 750-militer, will be corked and caged like a Champagne bottle. This is one of the reasons so many people pass over these beers. Not a lot of people in the world have experience opening a Champagne bottle let alone a bottle of beer presented the same way. The unknown is scary and we tend to avoid it as a species. With more and more American breweries and craft beer being showcased in these bottles, the unknown will become mainstream.

The next time you go head out for dinner be it on a date or for a celebration take the time and ask about the restaurants beer selection. Ask if they have carry any 750-militer beers. Nothing will give the experience of celebration as a very unique beer shared amongst friends and loved ones.

Marc Bayes
certified beer server
http://www.notyourdadsbeer.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/notyourdadsbeer

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Beer Gardens - Microbrewery Craft Beer Basking In the Sun and Taking On Some Shade

When you think of beer the word garden doesn't seem to fit next to it. Sure hops are grown, same with barley, and rice but those ingredients are grown on farms not gardens. Nevertheless beer gardens are real things and they are beginning to catch a buzz around the states.

A beer garden is a large outdoor setting that's shaded by trees, the ground is gravel not road, and the seats are communal benches not chairs. People come to a beer garden to enjoy beer, food, each others company, and the good ole outdoors. Rare that one sees this in the states since most establishments only offer a patio or terrace with tables and chairs. Communal seating? Doesn't sound very American does it? That's because beer gardens actually originated in Bavaria, Germany.

In the 19th century beer gardens began to spring up in Germany. King Ludwig I (King Louis I) ruled as did the dark lager. These lagers needed to be brewed in the winter since it had to be brewed at 4 and 8 degrees Celsius. In the summer these beers would be served but needed to remain cold as well. The breweries dug cellars into the banks of the river Isar in order to store the beer, covered these cellars with gravel for insulation, and finally planted chestnut trees so the leaves would shade the beer.

Since all of the large breweries were doing this and people still wanted to drink beer, these areas were quickly becoming hot spots for the people of large cities such as Munich. With gravel at your feet and shaded chestnut tress over your head the name Biergarten or beer garden quickly took it's roots in the German culture.

Smaller breweries still existed in Munich at the time and were feeling the loss of patronage from the citizens of Munich and decided to petition King Ludwig I to forbid the selling of food at these establishments. While the king granted this the larger breweries allowed customers to bring their own food. It was quite a battle over patrons, one that would rival America's gas wars in the 1980's. Later the decree that no food would be served was removed but according to the Bayerische Biergartenverordnung (beer garden decree) patrons in Germany are still allowed to bring their own food to the gardens.

Beer gardens while popular in Germany have only just started to take their roots in America. The oldest garden in the United States is Bohemian Hall, New York. Serving sausages and traditional German fare and beer. While they don't serve a lot of craft beer, they do serve some micro breweries, and the beer drinking community of New York is brought to together every weekend at Bohemian Hall.

Stone Brewing has opened Stone World Bistro and Beer Garden in Escondido, California. This establishment is completely opposite to Bohemian Hall. The establishment is beyond beautiful and very lavish with leather and oak all over. Offering 120 bottles of craft beer and 33 micro breweries on tap. That's a lot of beer. Not one beer offered is a light lager (fizzy and macro brewed), the only beer offered is exceptional micro brewery craft beer.

The food at World Bistro is considered top notch for the United States. Nothing but organic and locally raised graces their menu. They take absolute pride in what they serve showcasing steaks, pork, greens, and deserts that not only look fantastic but deliver on flavor; just like Stone's Beer.

Beer gardens are appearing all over the United States. These are just two examples of beer gardens you can visit either on the east or west coast. Google the nearest garden near you and see what pops up. Remember though, in order to be considered a beer garden it must be communal seating, outdoors, and shaded by trees. With micro breweries becoming more and more main stream year after year, expect establishments to add gardens and beer gardens, as establishments to open up. Head to the garden, have a pint and laugh with some friends and truly take part in a tradition that has spanned over 100 years.

Marc Bayes is an expert author and scholar on Craft Beer as well as a certified beer server. Want to know more about craft beer, new releases, great breweries, and amazing events involving the world of beer then head over to http://www.notyourdadsbeer.com Sign up, take a look around, and join the conversation. Always on Face Book: http://www.facebook.com/notyourdadsbeer

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The 2011 Craft Beer Trend Is To Pull Out Of States And Partial Markets

Beer has existed for just about as long as wine has but the evolutionary changes of the beer world has caused a shift in the drinking habits of the common beer drinker. Macro brewed adjunct lagers have dominated the beer industry for fifty years but times are changing for the mass conglomerate beer industry with the mainstream movement of craft beer.

Craft beer is brewed by craft brewers. These microbreweries produce small, independent, and traditional beer. Small refers to six million barrels of beer or less. Independent refers to 25% or less of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by someone who is not a brewer themselves. Traditional refers to having an all malt flag ship beer or 50% of it's volume through all malt beers or beers that use adjuncts to enhance the flavor of their product rather than for cheaper ingredients.

While the standard adjunct lager, Anusher Bush and Coors comes to mind, can be found in just about any bar across the country, the new standard for bars are beer bars. Beer bars specialize in craft beer produced throughout the United States as well as exceptional beer from all over the world. In a great beer bar you'll find little to no macro brewery beer whatsoever. What beer a beer bar carries however is determined by the distribution of beer from a brewery. Here's where things get complicated.

Macro brewery beer is distributed across the entire United States. This is the reason so many people still drink light fizzy adjunct lagers or lite beer over craft beer. Craft breweries are limited to distribution based upon a number of factors. The distribution company that handles where the beer goes may only allocate a brewery's beer to a certain number of states; either because of the amount of beer that is produced or the size of the distribution company. Sometimes it has to do with the brewery themselves. A lot of breweries start out as brew pubs. A brew pub is a place where one can enjoy food and beer. Most of the beer produced by brew pubs are only on draft or available in growlers; making distribution of one's beer harder to come by. The main reason a brewery might have limited distribution is supply and demand.

With so many craft breweries breaking into the beer industry market share, name recognition, and brand loyalty are the number one factors to starting up a brewery and keeping it going. If you're a new brewery that has just started up then you want to be in as many states as possible. The more people who see your beer will try your beer and in turn return to buy more of your beer. In time people will recognize your logo, the beers you produce, and will begin to share your beer with people they know. This is the three-step process to making a brewery's beer stay on the market and gain a following.

There are however repercussions that come from trying to dominate market share in multiple states and building a breweries brands. This comes back to supply and demand. Many breweries in 2011 are facing the issue of supply and have begun to pull out of states across the country. All these breweries started small, broke into tons of markets, built up their name for making great craft beer, and now the demand for their beer exceeds the amount that can be produced. For many breweries they can't make enough beer to keep on the shelves, regardless of quality. For many more the quality would drop in order to keep up with the demands and that's something all craft breweries will never sacrifice.

Dogfish Head (Delaware) announced they will be pulling out of four states and two other markets in 2011. Dogfish Head's the fastest growing brewery in the country this year and you'll be lucky if you find any of their beer on shelves at your local liquor store. Sam Calagione made the decision to pull from these markets because he was tired of never seeing his product on shelves. Who can blame him? When you can't make enough product to support the demand of your distribution company, retail stores, and your loyal drinkers then you have a serious problem. This problem however is better than no one enjoying your beer.

Dogfish Head will be pulling out of the U.K., Canada, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Rhode Island in 2011 indefinitely. Being the fastest growing brewery has caused a demand for Dogfish Head that can not be met. With no plans to expand in the near future they will continue to produce beer for the markets that have bought the most of their product. While this will absolutely upset loyal fans in these states and countries it will however bring joy to those that will continue to get Dogfish and now hopefully even more of it.

Dogfish Head is not the only brewery pulling out of states this year. It seems this is the trend for 2011. Avery Brewing Co. out of Boulder, Colorado announced this week they will be pulling out of eight states and seven other markets. Avery broke into as many markets as humanly possibly in order to sell their beer. Now they are in a position to get out; which they have to in order to continue to supply their beer to loyal drinkers and beer markets. Too many markets aren't moving their beer while other markets can't keep it in stock. It only makes sense they pull from some in order to replenish others. Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Tennessee will not see Avery in their state for the foreseeable future. The partial state markets that will lose Avery include Northern California (Bay Area and Sacramento), Eastern Arkansas, Upstate New York (outside of New York City), Central Florida (Orlando), and Wisconsin.

With Colorado being the Mecca of craft beer it's not unimaginable that more breweries than Avery are pulling out of states. Great Divide, Oskar Blues, and Left Hand Brewing are all pulling out of states this year. Great Divide has removed their beers from six states (Michigan, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Mexico and Alaska, and Washington, D.C.) They will be reduce their distribution to Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia.

Many craft beer drinkers will be disappointed this year as they found out their favorite breweries are leaving their states. The key to a great brewery is fresh quality beer. Fresh means beer that is continuously on the shelves. If you aren't getting new beer releases from your favorite brewery then you're lacking fresh beer. Quality is the second concern for great beer. The beer the brewer conceives needs to be the same from conception to delivery. A lot of breweries are faced with the issue of creating the same product their fans know and love and keeping up with demand for their beer. No brewery wants to cut corners and make a beer that isn't exactly the same as what their fans fell in love with. In order to ensure that doesn't happen, sometimes you have to pull out from certain markets.

It's definitely upsetting seeing breweries having to pull out of states but keeping up with supply, demand, fresh beer, and quality means some sacrifices are necessary. Many beer drinkers will stop being fans of their favorite breweries if they can't procure their favorite brands. While this is never good for a brewery it's better to have upset fans than bad beer. The demand for craft beer is at an all time high and not being able to supply enough beer for all markets is a better problem then not having their beer sold or producing a lesser quality product in order to meet demands.

Marc Bayes is an expert author and scholar on Craft Beer as well as a certified beer server. Want to know more about craft beer, new releases, great breweries, and amazing events involving the world of beer then head over to http://www.notyourdadsbeer.com Sign up, take a look around, and join the conversation. Always on Face Book: http://www.facebook.com/notyourdadsbeer

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