Craft Brewing and Distilling News for April 22, 2014
April 22, 2014•Anchor Distilling is launching the whiskies of Taiwanese distillery Kavalan in the U.S. market this week. Founded in 2005, the Kavalan line includes Kavalan Classic Whisky ($89.99 a bottle), Concertmaster ($99.99), King Car Conductor ($119.99), Ex-Bourbon Cask ($159.99), Vinho Barrique ($159.99), Sherry Cask ($184.99) and Fino Sherry Cask ($424.99) whiskies. The distillery is located in Yilan County, Taiwan, where the sub-tropical climate allows for quicker whisky maturation, according to the company. Master blender Ian Chang and consultant Dr. Jim Swan use a variety of types of wood casks for aging. Kavalan joins Anchor Distilling’s portfolio of more than 300 specialty products from about 20 countries.
•Petaluma, California-based Lagunitas Brewing Co. has opened a new brewing facility in Chicago. According to local news reports, the 300,000-square-foot outpost has a current capacity of roughly 500,000 barrels, and is set to expand capacity to 1 million barrels annually, following the installation of additional equipment. Scheduled to arrive in November, the added equipment is slated to be operating by mid-2015. The new facility also includes a state-of-the-art bottling system, capable of cleaning, filling, capping and labeling 450 bottles a minute. Lagunitas Brewing’s Chicago brewery joins its existing, 500,000-barrel Petaluma facility. The craft brewer, whose year-round lineup includes its IPA, Dogtown Pale, Czech Style Pils and Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ labels, among others, is projecting annual production of 500,000 barrels for each of its two breweries this year.
•Escondido, California’s Stone Brewing has released a new black rye Kölsch-style ale, Spröcketbier. The limited offering is the first beer in Stone’s Spotlight Series, featuring beers created by teams of Stone employees who compete to see their brews distributed nationally. Spröcketbier, at 5.4% abv, is available in 22-ounce bottles and on draft across Stone’s 40-state footprint.
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