International Beverage Company

It's getting easier to grab a drink at the airport and in the air. Some airports now allow liquor to be sold at dawn or around the clock. Passengers can experience happy hour at 30,000 feet. And wine aficionados passing through airports in Philadelphia, New York and Seattle can enjoy a tasting without leaving the terminal.

The ability to enjoy a libation while flying is a long-standing perk. But the increased access and options reflect efforts by some airports to boost revenue, as well as a growing marketing savvy by airlines, which now sell everything from meals to day passes to their premium lounges, travel experts say.

"What's happening is airlines are becoming better retailers of products," says Jay Sorensen, a consultant, who says the cocktail push by U.S. airlines began during the last year. "They're doing things to highlight the fact that, 'Yes, indeed, we do sell alcohol on the airplane.' They're trying to mimic what occurs on the ground in terms of consumer promotions."

To read more about this article from Charisse Jones featured in USA Today click here

In the continuing countdown in our 30 Beers until Christmas series, we're going to go all patriotic this time, in the form of Samuel Adams Revolutionary Rye and Yards Brewing Co.'s Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale.

I had my first taste of the latter, appropriately enough, in Philadelphia, home to the Liberty Bell and Yards, long one of my favorite brewers. Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale is a strong ale based on Jefferson's original recipe. Seems like twice a year his wife, Martha, would brew a batch of beer at Monticello.

"He may be the Father of our Country,'' Tom told friends, referring to George Washington, "but he can't brew beer worth spit.''

Or something like that.

Sam Adams Revolutionary Rye, meanwhile, is an American-style rye ale, with a combination of German Hallertau Mittelfrueh and American Ahtanum, Centennial and Amarillo hops.

The Revolutionary Rye was Sample B in Sam Adams' nationwide Beer Lover's Choice contest. You may have voted for it, or for Sample A (Sam Adams Belgian IPA) at a beer festival this summer. Well, Revolutionary Rye crushed the Belgian IPA, garnering 63 percent of the vote.

To read this full article and more from Peter Genovese click here!

If Cory King is behind the bar at the new International Tap House in Soulard, odds are that you'll get a good beer, poured correctly.

That's because he's a professional, and he's got the credentials to prove it.

King, 27, is a manager at iTap and one of about a dozen people in St. Louis who have become certified beer servers through the Cicerone Certification Program.

The Chicago-based course, founded in 2007 by brewing expert and former craft-beer marketer Ray Daniels, has three tiers of certification: beer server, cicerone and master cicerone. About 1,500 people have graduated from the first level and 200 from the second. So far, only one person has achieved master status — a title that requires passing a grueling, two-day test.

Here at Powers Distributing, we have two Cicerones that went through this program!  To read more about this article from Evan Benn click here!

As MillerCoors ramps up its new craft and import division, it won't be running a torrent of TV ads or putting up a flashy new website. Rather, the brewer is doing something a little more basic -- sending its workers back to beer school.

From the highest-paid executive to the lowest-earning brew house laborer, every employee in the company's 40-person Tenth and Blake division will take classes on beer history, styles, flavors and etiquette, including one course on food pairings called "Beer & Cheese." The back-to-basics training is just one example of how the beer giant is using the division to focus on the small but fast-growing craft segment where complex ingredients and storytelling mean more to consumers than a celebrity spokesman or catchy tagline.

"In the craft and import business it is a lot more about education being the new promotion," Tenth and Blake President-CEO Tom Cardella said in an interview discussing the division's strategy. "There's a lot of desire for knowledge and learning and training in regards to how beer is made, how beer is looked at in regard to the sensory experience as it pairs with food."

To read more about what MillerCoors and Tenth and Blake are doing by Editor E.J. Schultz click here

The maker of Samuel Adams announced this week that a rye-based ale garnered 63 percent of votes, beating out a Belgian-style India pale ale for a spot in the brewery's portfolio.

The winning brew, Samuel Adams Revolutionary Rye, will be available in January as part of a new variety pack called American Originals. The 12-bottle packs, which will sell for $14-$16, include two bottles each of Revolutionary Rye, Boston Lager, Noble Pils (last year's Beer Lover's Choice winner), Scotch Ale, Irish Red Ale and White Ale. 

Here are my tasting notes from when I tried Revolutionary Rye in July (at the time, its name was simply "Sample B"): 

Sample B is a dark reddish-copper color, maybe a notch-and-a-half darker than Sam Adams Boston Lager, with a nose of full, rich malts and a touch of hop citrus. The flavor alternated between sweet malts and bready rye spice. As it came up to temperature, the sweetness seemed to take over.

To read the rest of this article by Evan Benn click here!

Every think you would drink a beer with a name like "Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout" or "Short's Key Lime Pie"? Well, here is a list of the Top 10 Crazy craft beer flavors according to Joshua Bernstein and the Discovery Channel! Take a look and let us know what you think!

For Boston Beer founder Jim Koch, freshness is an important ingredient in a beer, just like hops and malts. That’s why it’s no surprise the creator of the Samuel Adams line of beers is brewing up a way to ensure that his company’s bottles and kegs are as fresh as possible by the time they arrive in the hands of restaurateurs and consumers.

Executives at Boston Beer discussed their “Freshest Beer” program last week as part of the release of the company’s third quarter earning. Cases of beer bottles typically sit on wholesalers’ shelves for four to five weeks, and kegs can sit in the warehouse for three to four weeks. That’s not good enough for Koch, whose company is pursuing a new way to ensure the beers spend less time with the distributors.

To read more about the article by John Chesto and see how it affects you click here!

How green is your beer? No, I am not talking about the dyed swill forced upon the masses on St. Patrick’s Day, nor am I referring to the several “lime” varieties of the light American lagers that shall remain nameless. I am talking about sustainability. The eco-friendly and environmentally conscious brewers. Does your beer stack up?

The brewing process is energy intensive. From the amount of water used to the spent grains, the heating of brew kettles and the chilling of wort, even the smallest craft brewery uses a great deal of resources, both in material and in energy. Craft brewers have a tendency to be ahead of the curve in a lot of ways, from collaborative efforts with other breweries to forming partnerships with other local businesses. An excellent example of this is how many of them are working to becoming “greener” breweries. So what are these independent business people doing to reduce their impact on the planet, and why? From coast to coast, craft brewers are making changes both big and small to “go green”.

To read the full article featured in The Daily Loaf by Sean Nordquist click here!

Boston Beer Co Inc's Samuel Adams is launching a champagne-like brew later this month to prove that beer can be worthy of a New Year's toast.

The limited run beer, called Infinium, will be sold in 750-ml bottles with foil-covered cork tops, like champagne. It is gold-colored, crisp and dry, with nearly double the alcohol content of an average beer and more than some wines.

"I get a beer that sits in between a champagne, a good dessert wine and a Sam Adams Noble Pils, which is a hoppy, aromatic pilsner," said Jim Koch, chairman and founder of Boston Beer.

He hopes Infinium will help influence consumer perceptions about beer. Limited release Infinium launches this month!

To read this article in full from Author Martinne Geller click here!

Koch: American Beer Drinkers want Value!