International Beverage Company

Powers has more great beer news to share with you! Those of you in Oakland and Macomb County can look forward to a few more choices in your local beer aisles. Powers Distributing is now carrying four new international brews:

●     St. Martin Ale- Blond 7% abv An ale that finds the balance between bitter and sweet and features tastes of dried fruits, lemons and grains. A great choice for those who enjoy Belgian Blonds!

●     St. Martin Ale- Brune 8% abv An ale that’s heavily caramelized that leaves a lingering sweetness. Carries a pleasant taste of brown sugar and nuts and is perfect to drink with a great chocolate cake.

●     St. Martin Ale- Triple 9% abv Made with Saaz hops, this Belgian classic is robust in flavor and pairs perfectly with a creamy risotto.

●     Viru- 5% abv A beer that uses the best Barley and Saaz hops from the Czech Republic. Viru is made from an authentic Czech Pilsener recipe that results in a clean and refreshing taste with hits of vanilla.

“St Martin's life was a voyage profoundly marked by sharing and self-sacrifice. Founded in 1096, the Abbey of Saint Martin at Tours (Tournai) in Belgium perpetuated his teachings. Today, following the St Martin tradition, the recipes developed by the monks and handed down to our master brewers are being shared with you and your friends.

So reads the Brunehaut Brewing Company’s St. Martin website, indeed these Belgium brewers have shared their St. Martin Brews with fans world wide. Now you’ll have the chance to try them for yourself!

Viru is also a great choice it is brewed in Tartu, Estonia by A. le Coq Brewery and owned by the Baltic Beer Company. It first reached the U.S. in December of 2009. Viru is packaged in a bottle that is reminiscent of the turrets that could be found in the Medieval era Estonia, it is truly an experience in itself and has enjoyed immense popularity throughout the global beer drinking community.

So when you find these sophisticated brews in your beer aisle give them a try and get a taste of the authentic!

If you’re like me, you have always wondered what a beer festival is, what goes on there and who shows up. Well, after attending my first beer festival last weekend, I’m here to share my knowledge with everyone! As you can tell from the picture above, there were massive amounts of people everywhere! The World Expo of Beer was located in Frankenmuth, MI and had over 10,000 people over their two day festival and around 400 beers to try! There was music playing, people walking and talking, smiles on everyone’s faces and you could feel the joy in the air (luckily it was a nice 70 degree day)!

Many people pre-purchased tickets in fear of the festival selling out; in our case it was a shorter line if you had to buy yours there! Once entering, you received a collector beer sampling mug and then you’re on your own! With so many booths to choose from and 2 tents to travel through you really had a lot to take in. There was a large mixture of people there: many volunteers, cicerones, beer enthusiasts, craft beer lovers and people looking to have fun. Walking around with a small sampling mug allows you to try all the beers you want and not go overboard. This also gave you the opportunity to stop by a large amount of breweries, find out their history, why they are there and what beers they have to offer.

I was happy to see that many breweries from Michigan were in attendance, even though it was the World Expo of Beer; Saugatuck Brewing, Dragonmead Microbrewery, Michigan Brewing and Kuhnhenn Brewing were all there. Dragonmead’s booth was a very eye catching decorated booth with their seal in the background. The flags Dragonmead showed represent all the places that they make beer styles from!

Some companies took this opportunity to showcase a new beverage that few people might otherwise have had the opportunity to hear about. Diageo-Guinness was sampling Jeramiah Weed which is a brand new product for them. Vince Biando, Diageo-Guinness Distributor Manager for Eastern Michigan, said “I felt that this was a great way to help support our distributor’s selling effort on our new brand, J WEED. Having a booth did not just help my wholesalers Up North.  I met people from all over the state and country. We sampled over 25 cases to customers in 4 oz cups of JWEED. Over 14,000 people were exposed to JWEED via trial or seeing our POS up at out booth.  This is the first year that I was there as a participant but not my last.”

When it comes down to it, no matter where you came from or what your purpose is at the beer festival, everyone is there to have a good time and meet new people. Don’t be scared to attend you first one, because I guarantee you’ll be going to another one! I’ve already booked mine for Boston!

Beer Craft: A Simple Guide to Making Great Beer is newly released and ready to be picked up for your reading. Beer is meant to be drank, but it takes the right person to make the beer! It's a craft, takes chemistry and a study of science to get everything just right. Beer Craft interviews homebrewers, gives overviews of ingredients and different styles as well traces the history of beer. Pick up your copy today and let us know what you think! Hopefully it'll help you on the path of homebrewing!  

That’s right, Powers Distributing has added a few new beers from Saugatuck Brewing Company to our line up. What to expect? Four beers will be hitting shelves near you including:
Oval Beach Blonde Ale - 5.3% Alc: described as an easy to drink malt-centralized, American Craft beer. Great for any ocassion and popular in Saugatuck’s own Lucky Stone Pub.
ESB Amber - 5.5% Alc: An Extra Special Bitter in the British style with carefully balanced malt and hops.
Pier Cove Porter - 6.4% Alc: A considerable English Dark ale full of flavor with subdued roasty characteristics. An early cousin of the stout, this brew originated in England.
Singapore IPA - 7% Alc: Named for a Michigan town now covered by the sands of Lake Michigan. This beer is bursting with hoppy aromas, follows up with sweet malts and finishes with a swift kick of hops spiciness.

Saugatuck Brewing Company is a fairly recent addition to Michigan’s growing brewing community. Developed by Barry Johnson in 2004, Saugatuck quickly expanded to become the only brew-on-site facility in Western Michigan where patrons can brew their own beer from over one hundred recipes. After 2 weeks customers bottle their creation and take home about 5 cases of their special brew. The brewing company also features the Bier Hall, a banquet facility, and the Lucky Stone Pub, a full bar and restaurant that prides itself on it’s fresh food. We are sure that you will love Saugatuck just as much as we do!

Not sure which kind of beer you'll like, well don't worry, many of our suppliers offer a variety pack that is bound to have something in it that you'll love! These packages are easy to travel with and great for any outing! Many are seasonal varieties such as: Magic Hat who has multiple season varieties, Sam Adams, Leinenkugel and Blue Moon just to name a few! Check one out today and tell us your favorite!

It's American Craft Beer Week, May 16-22. With over 1,700 craft breweries across the U.S. how are young to help celebrate?

Just in time for summer and compact enough to fit in your coolers for outside, Brooklyn Brewery releases their Summer Ale in cans! Now available in a 12-pack light weight can option, Summer Ale is perfect for summertime activities. And, if you're in NYC on May 19th, you can participate in "CANibalization" parties that The Brewery is holding to celebrate their new release! Enjoy and travel with Summer Ale while you're enjoying the sun!

A brand new offically licensed beer stein is out just in time for a graudation gift or Fathers Day gift! Crafted of high quality pewter, this beauty sports a harp-shaped handle and holds one full pint of the good stuff. To order yours today from Keg Works click here!  

The Discovery Channel, History Channel and now The Food Network is suspected to be fishing around for a host for a new show who is knowledgeable in the beer industry.  The Discovery Channel has already announced a series while the History Channel is shooting their pilot episode. If you watch The Food Network you know their shows are entertaining, bringing both food passion and entertainment together. It only makes sense to follow the trend and create a show on brewing! Would you watch?  

CraftBeer.com is celebrating American Craft Beer Week and came out with a Quiz to see how much knowledge you have on the topic! How well can you do?