International Beverage Company

Both dollar sales and volume of beer sold by craft brewers is up during the first half of 2011. Volume is up 14% while dollar sales are up 15%! Other great news is that the Brewers Association reports that the industry is providing for more than 100,000 jobs  which is great for the economy. "Craft brewers continue to innovate and brew beers of excellent quality," noted Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. "America's beer drinkers are rapidly switching to craft because of the variety of flavors they are discovering. And they are connecting with small and independent craft brewers as companies they choose to support." For more specific information go to he Brewers Association Report directly by clicking here!

As long as you have a printer and scissors you can make your very own IPA Day Fold -a-Book! Beer School has created this book and it's full of information you can take with you while drinking and celebrating today! Test your friends knowledge and see how they do! Hoppy IPA Day everyone! Download a PDF version of the book here!

GQ writer Alan Richman was always a wine guy. When going out in New York he'd always order a glass of wine even though it was a bit pricey. Recently he started off on a single man investigation to determine if beer or wine was a smarter choice at a restaurant. Going from restaurant to restaurant and asking serves and chefs he was surprised by his outcome. He paired wine and beer with different foods and much to his surprise the winner was beer! He admitted he had less than a dozen glasses of beer his entire life until Sam Adams lager was released! By the end of his investigation and tasting Sam Adams Utopia he was foaming at the mouth for more! So, even if you're a wine guy by trade, give beer a chance, you will be happily surprised!

I know what your thinking. Beer... cocktails? the two words seldom come together in the same sentence unless you're being asked "Would you like a beer or cocktail?"

Even the word cocktail seems to ooze femininity, a stark contrast to the bready, buff image of beer. If a cocktail is dessert than beer has always been the meat and potatoes. But this article looks to beef up the delicate cocktail and readers may be surprised to find that beer cocktails not only sound good, they sound great. 

Take for instance "the Radler" which is a mix of lemonade and Miller High life "the champagne of beers". This mix is a sparkling and refreshing mix of two summer favorites and tastes refreshingly excellent. There are other more complicated beer cocktails in the article, with flavors from fruity to hearty. It looks like beer cocktails are sure to be a big hit!

To read the original article in the Charleston City Paper click here.

During the week of July 4th the winners of the 2011 U.S. Open Beer Championships were revealed. This competition is the only brewery competition to include professional breweries and award-winning home brewers; more than 1200 beers in more than 50 different categories were submitted. Boston Beer Company rated as one of the top 10 breweries based on the number of placing they had.

Here’s a list of the beers that we distribute who won medals at the 2011 United States Open:
 
Porter
BRONZE - Peninsula Porter - Michigan Brewing

Belgian Abbey Ale - Triples & Quads
GOLD - Samuel Adams New World Triple - Boston Beer Company

Belgian Lambic
BRONZE - Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red - Boston Beer Company

American Light
GOLD - Sam Adams Light - Boston Beer Company
BRONZE - Shiner Light Blonde - Spoetzl Brewery

American Lager / Pilsner
GOLD - Samuel Adams Boston Lager - Boston Beer Company

Bohemian Pilsner
GOLD - Samuel Adams Noble Pilsner - Boston Beer Company

Munchner Helles
GOLD - Shiner Old Time Alt - Spoetzl Brewery

What happens when you put a group of beer enthusiasts in a room to taste test and rate their favorite beers? A great time! After finding out that people want to know “what the best beer is” 11 individuals spent their evening tasting beers in several different categories and rating them. One of them was our very own Ron Runestad, Powers Distributing Business Development Manager for our IBC Craft Division and Certified Cicerone.

The categories included Light beers, Wheat beers, Ales and IPAs. After tasting tons of beer and dozens of brands here are their results:

IPAS
3rd Place: Michigan Brewing Co – High Seas
Other rankings: Mojo IPA, Dragonmead Crown Jewels, Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA, Saugatuck Singapore, Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA, North Peak Vicious Wheat IPA

ALES
1st Place: Dragonmead Final Absolution
3rd Place: St Martin Triple
Other rankings: Anchor Liberty Ale, Saugatuck Amber, St. Martin Brune, Dragonmead Erik the Red

LIGHT BEERS
3rd Place: Sam Adams Light
Other rankings: Miller Lite, Badass

WHEAT BEERS
2nd Place: Paulaner Hefeweizen
3rd Place: Celis White
Other rankings: Hoegaarden, Hacker Pschorr, Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Sam Adams Coastal Wheat, North Peak Archangel & Anchor Summer Beer

"I am very impressed by this beer and would definitely buy it again... If someone offered me this, whether I knew what it was or not when I sipped it, I would probably give them a hug (in a very masculine way).  Big Belgian authentic taste, alcohol laden, spicy, bananas, and amazing technical specs all make this beer worth every penny."

-Sud Savant

In this case "the people" are represented by the writer of the beer blog Sud Savant who recently conducted a taste test of St.Martin's Stunning Tripel. 

Sud Savant's byline reads "Drink it like beer. Taste it like Wine." and the blog does just that. Sud Savant takes care to break down the experience into topics like aroma, mouthfeel, taste and so on, and grades on an overall 50 point scale

So what was the outcome? 46 out of 50, that's about a 96% approval rating! He particularly loved the aroma of this robust Belgian. So do you think you're ready to give this Brew a try like Sud Savant? Look for it in local 

Yep, that's right! The 23rd of July is National Hot Dog Day. Hot dogs are a timeless American tradition and are favorite food to eat at baseball games and cookouts.
Did you know that the world’s largest hot dog was 1,996 feet long? It was created by Sara Lee Corporation in honor of the 1996 Olympics! The only way we see fit to celebrate National Hot Dog Day is to enjoy one with a great craft beer! We recommend pairing a hot dog with Brooklyn Lager or Mackinac Pale Ale! The well balanced hop and malt character of these two beers are going to enhance the natural salinity of a hot dog! Enjoy!