Changing Beer Scene

Sad day for Bud

Budweiser is no longer the King of Beer as we once knew it. Instead, Inbev a international beer company made one of the largest shareholder cash offers in history. The Board did not go quietly and were unceremoniously removed. They tried valiantly to save the company but in the end shareholders were swayed by the $70 a share offering price. Sometimes money is just louder than tradition, jobs, patriotism, and keeping something American. Even if you are a craft beer snob and never let that stuff touch your lips it is a sad day for beer drinkers around the country. Is there anything made in America? Oh Yeah, that craft beer from your favorite local brewer.

Distribution Chaos Ahead?

Now for local beer news. Alaska Distributors which for many years has been the distributor of many local beers and fine out of state beers is disbanding, sold, broken up, assimilated. Whatever you want to call their demise there will no longer be Alaskan Distributing. Columbia Distributing going through their own changes is combining with Hood River out of Portland to create COHO Distributing. A cute fish that is chomping a huge chunk of the Alaskan Product Book. No one yet knows where the various brewers will end up. This is huge. Will Sierra go with the new guys? Where will Alaskan Brewing (no relationship to the distributor) go? Every brewery is evaluating their options. This is big money. Probably one of the largest transfers of products in State History. There are so many wineries and breweries in this company. Will they all go quietly to the new Coho? The distributor selling brands gets paid for the valued assigned to the accounts and revenue it created with that brand. This is really big money. Stay tuned it will turn the beer business upside down for a time. As always happens in these huge deals chaos inevitably reigns.

July is Here

The Father's Day Beerfest was a great success for the Washington Beer Commission who will reap the awards of all those beer drinkers who found their way to the beautiful St. Edwards Park. The interest in craft brewing continues to grow and nationwide as well as locally there has been over 10% annual growth. As a result many of our local breweries struggle to find a way to keep up. Many are expanding and others just work harder than they normally do.

It is good that people are buying locally. Not only is that good for the planet but your chance of getting a fresh and wonderful beer is always better. Buy it local taste if fresher!!!

The Hops situation. The hop shortage will be apparent soon. If you happen to be growing hops you notice how fast they are moving up to the sky. Soon they will be budding and by mid september they will be ready to harvest. The 6 weeks of harvest time is not far off at that time everyone will know what their hops will cost and what will be available. There really has not been any shortage of hops that has affected beer in the pubs. In fact we have had some amazaing beers with an abundance of hops. But some brewers are warning that prices will rise again. Malt has also gone up 30% or more. Stay tuned for the 08 harvest. 2009 should be better as more acreage has again been turned over to hops.