Craft Brewing And Distilling News for November 27, 2012
November 27, 2012•New Belgium Brewing will enter Alaska and Louisiana early next year. Distribution in Alaska will begin on March 18, followed by Louisiana on April 1. New Belgium told Shanken News Daily that it was still interviewing distributors and that no decisions have been made. But company executives added that New Belgium will enter these new markets as it has done elsewhere—starting with distribution of 22-ounce bombers, followed by draft beer and then 12-ounce bottles. The company added that likely brands to open the two markets are Fat Tire Amber Ale, the surging Ranger IPA, Shift, Trippel and its seasonal release brews. With the addition of Alaska and Louisiana, New Belgium will be present in 31 states and Washington, D.C.
•Samuel Adams has teamed up with San Francisco chocolate maker TCHO to create the Samuel Adams Beer Lover’s Chocolate Box. Each of TCHO’s chocolates are paired with a beer in the Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack—which includes Boston Lager, Winter Lager, White Christmas, Holiday Porter, Old Fezziwig Ale and Chocolate Bock. The chocolate box will be available nationwide for $16.95 at TCHO.com/SamuelAdams.
•Washington, D.C.-based DC Brau Brewing Co. is set to begin a new expansion project that will more than double its production capacity, from the current 5,000 barrels annually to over 12,000 barrels. The new tanks are slated to be up and running by January 2013. DC Brau expanded distribution into the Charlottesville, Virginia area this year and is considering expansion into Maryland in 2013. The company’s selection of brews includes three year-round beers—The Public, The Corruption and The Citizen—as well as a line of limited-release beers.
•Smashburger is extending its craft beer and burger pairing program to the Houston market, in collaboration with local brewer Saint Arnold Brewing Co. The program, now available at all 12 Houston Smashburger locations, includes eight different burgers and sandwiches paired with Saint Arnold’s Santo, Amber Ale (two pairings), Brown Ale, Weedwacker (two pairings), Fancy Lawnmower or Elissa IPA labels. The Houston pairing program follows the introduction of similar craft beer initiatives in Denver and New York, where Smashburger has partnered with Fort Collins, Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing and Brooklyn-based Sixpoint Brewery, respectively.
•After retiring from the Chicago Bears in the 1990s, Walter Payton owned a suburban Chicago brewpub that produced such labels as Sweetness Stout, borrowed from his gridiron nickname. The beers quit pumping soon after Payton’s death in 1999, but now his son is jumping back into the business. Jarrett Payton, 31 and a former pro football player himself, is teaming with a Chicago start-up, Argus Brewing Co., to produce Jarrett Payton All-American Wheat Ale, which carries the tagline “sWHEATnessBrew.” Payton, who has a radio show and works as an ESPN commentator, will make promotional appearances on behalf of Argus in the coming year. The company is owned by the father and son team of Bob and Patrick Jensen and is located in a renovated stable where horses were once kept to deliver beer made at an adjacent Schlitz Brewing Co. plant.
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Tagged : craft beer, New Belgium Brewing, Samuel Adams
