Beer earns Illinois $792 million in taxes

A recent report by the Beer Institute shows that Illinois earned approximately $792 million  in state and local business, personal, sales and excise taxes in 2008.

The same study said that the American economy saw a $200 billion injection of beer money from the industry as a whole, which includes brewers, distributors and retailers.

Now, this triumvirate of the beer industry is a throw back to Prohibition era politics, when a newly beer-tolerant nation still wanted to maintain the illusion of control over alcohol. So, the government created a three-tier system of producers, distributors and retailers as a means to regulate the production of alcohol through distribution.

Beer Wars (the movie), argues that this system prevents smaller brewers from getting a real start. It’s hard to earn space on distributors trucks when Budweiser, Miller and Coors have 70% of the space (and the buying power).

At the same time, the National Beer Wholesalers Association says the system helps keep beer safe for consumption and salmonella free. Though, that’s exactly what the middle-men would say.

However you look at it, the beer business is big money in Illinois, and with craft beer sales on the rise, Chicago brewers are poised to add to that total in 2009.

Beer Wars Live — It’s Craft vs. Budwieser if you believe the hype

I saw Beer Wars Live last night, a guerilla-style documentary about the plight of the craft beer man in a world controlled by Anheuser-Busch InBev (the Budweiser people), followed by a live discussion of the industry moderated by Ben Stein.

The very heavy-handed film featured Anat Baron (former CEO of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and the writer, director, producer, star, caterer, goddess, etc.  of the film) stumbling around Boston, New York, D.C. and (briefly) St. Louis to find out why it was just so gosh darn hard to be a craft brewer in America, where AB InBev owns almost 50% of the market share and with MillerCoors included, they own 78% of the US market.

Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams, etc.), probably summed the movie up the best when he proudly, but sadly told the cameras that while Boston Beer Co. is the largest craft brewery in the United States, all the beer he produces is about equivalent to the run off from the AB InBev breweries. “My life’s work is their industrial waste,” he said.

To what extent Budweiser is an evil-corporation hell-bent on destroying the little guy and to what extent the little guy is simply a Budweiser waiting to happen was only somewhat probed by Stein in the discussion that followed.

The movie focused on Sam from Dogfish Head Brewery in Deleware and touched base with  Greg Koch from Stone Brewing Co. in California. While these two are very successful craft brewers, the movie’s female lead, Rhonda Kallman, a founder of the Boston Beer Co., was having trouble pushing her new caffinated beer, Moon Shot.

Kallman seemed to have immense trouble getting a foot in the door, even in the after-movie discussion. It’s ironic that even at an event about how hard it is for the little guy to get into the industry, the two larger craft brewers won’t give the time of day to a smaller one.

Easter Beers

(Editors Note: This post was also accidently destroyed by a wordpress mistake. It has been republished.)

Easter is a time of celebration. Even if you don’t believe in it’s religious trappings, the holiday can be a great time to share a brew with family members and old friends. If you observe Lent, perhaps this will even be your first beer in the past 40 days.

Be that as it may, you need a special brew for the occasion. Here are a few recommendations for that first beer from Chicag0-area breweries.

Matilda – This 7% ABV Belgian-style Ale from Goose Island Beer Co. is a treat. It is smooth, refreshing and has a sweet taste worth rising from the dead for.

Pullman Brown Ale - A nutty, brown ale from Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery, Pullman Brown will please fans of darker beers but has a sweet finish lighter beer drinkers will also enjoy.  Insert your Easter pun here.

Gumball Head Beer – A summer-time wheat beer from the people at Three Floyds Brewing Co., this beer is light and has hints of bannanas. It’s a good beer for sipping during that after-church family functions you have to attend. To early for beer? Pour it in a glass and tell anyone who asks it’s a mimosa.

Passover Beer?

(Editor’s Note: This post was lost in a transition from a wordpress hosted site to this site. It is being republished for my adoring fans.)

Passover season is upon us (Sunset of April 8th-April 15th), and while I’m excited for my favorite Moses-inspired movie to play on a major network, for all observant Jews  it’s an important time to consider your beer options for the week.

Basically, because the Passover laws dictate that all bread must be unleavened, you’re out of luck in the beer category. Beer requires yeast fermentation, another no-no for Passover.

If you’re not too picky, you could try the Honey Beer from Ramapo Valley Brewery, it’s brewed from fermented honey. (Totally 100% Passover ready.) However, if you think about it, that’s not actually beer.

Beer is fermented grain (wheat, barley, etc). Fermented honey makes mead.

So if you’re a Jewish viking, you’ll be set. If not, it’s only 8 days…

Review: Stone Brewing Co.’s Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Stone Brewing Co.’s Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

The Verdict: 9.7

My confession is that I like Stone Brewing Co. I like the brand they’ve developed and I like their no-apologies approach to brewing. They brew the good stuff, and they don’t care who knows it. Here was my battle with a bottle of Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, an American ale aged with oak wood chips:

Smell (2): It smells a bit like caramel and hops at first. Lemon and grass are also present, but not overwhelming

Color (2): A dark amber, slightly cloudy. It didn’t have a very strong head, but the flavor remained consistent even after a bit of oxidizing.

Drink (5): The oak flavor is embedded in the hoppy flavor of the beer. They advertise on the bottle that “you probably won’t like” this beer, but I would be surprised if you didn’t. There’s a strong malty flavor that feels almost  prickly going down. It’s a drink that stays with you. The lingering aftertaste is a bit toasty. This beer tastes like most other craft ales at first sip, but yields deeper and more roasted flavors the longer you drink it. By the bottom of the glass, you know why they call it “oaked.”

Incidentals (.7):This beer cost me about $20 for a six-pack. Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Very. Yes.

Unfortunately, it’ll cost us Chicagoans more because it’s not sold in Illinois. It is worth the drive to  Michigan, Indiana, or Wisconsin, though.

Notes on rating: I use a 10 point system. 5 points for drink, 2 for smell and color, and 1 for “incidentals” which include  cost, packaging and my general mood after drinking it.

InBev to Sell Rolling Rock

WSJ says the powers that be at Anheuser-Busch InBev are looking to sell the Rolling Rock brand.

For those keeping score at home, Anheuser-Busch bought Rolling Rock from the (then) solo InBev for $82 million. InBev later bought AB, and it seems they are ready to offload the struggling brand again.

Rolling Rock is an American pale beer, and while not one of the greatest brews in the world (it has a flavor some have called “variable“) it’s a great example of how a craft brand can be ruined by becoming mainstream.

Orignially brewed in Latrobe, Penn., Rolling Rock was founded by two brothers in 1939. It’s probably most iconic for the “33″ on the bottle, which has been said to stand for the 33 words on the bottle:

Rolling Rock – From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you.

However, some say “33″ was a note to the printer to tell him how many words were in that phrase, and he mistakenly included it on the bottle text.

While the distinctive green bottle and “33″ may have helped the brand grow from it’s small town roots to a greater drinkership, it seems InBev can’t capture whatever spirit first took the brand out of Latrobe.

Hot Topics

Without much introduction, let me speak to some of the hot topics you’ll find on this blog:

“Beer Wars” Movie: 

The Beer Wars Movie drops on 440 theatres around the country on April 16th. It’s a documentary look into the craft beer business, and the effects of the larger breweries on the beer making industry. This has gotten press from Tampa Bay to Boston. Combined with a live panel discussion with Ben Stein after the film, the event hopes to get beer lovers and beer beginers talking about beer. Here’s a taste to get you started:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhO_8pHcdGM]

The Economics of Brewing: 

Despite the recession, craft beer is a growing industry. The Brewers Association reported that craft beer accounts for a larger market share of total beer consumption in the U.S., thanks to a recession pushing wine snobs to more affordable beer snobbery. However, when I spoke with Flossmoor Brewery in Flossmoor, IL, they indicated that this increase in sales is offset by an increase in cost of materials. I plan to continually look at the cost of brewing for brewpubs, microbreweries, and the little guy.

Beer and Food:

It seems too simple, but people who are into beers are also interested in the foods that go with them. The Beer School Bar hosts monthly beer and food pairings, for one local example of the trend, but others have offered advice on the subject as well. As part of reviews of local beers, I’ll be hunting for good pairings, coming up with combinations to enjoy while enjoying a brew.

Online Communities

Browsing a bit online,  I found several groups dedicated to homebrewing and celebrating good beer. 

If you’ve got questions about brewing only the internets could solve, try looking to Realbeer.com. This site contains lots of helpful people looking to ask and answer questions about the process. 

Google and Yahoo each have some brewing groups. These seem to serve the same function as the Realbeer.com group, but with the familiarity of Yahoo and Google to stand behind.  There’s a yahoo one for homebrewers, which claims to be the largest on the site, and one for people in need of brewing equipement only. The Google groups are each about home brewing.

And on the social network side of things, there’s is a Facebook group with over 2,000 members dedicated to brewing and drinking the good stuff.

It seems like the majority of the discussion is on technical issues and beer trends/flavors. The identity of a “Chicago” beer doesn’t seem to matter as much as a “quality” beer. The people know what they like, and drink it.

But Chicago does have a few smaller groups more interested in the local scene. ChicagoHash.com, for example, is a meeting of a group of “beer drinkers with a running problem.”

I’ll drink to that.

Related Links

There are lots of sites that cover craft beer and home brewing related topics.

Chicago Beer Society does a good job keeping up with Chicago beer events. The organization also hosts meetings with beer enthusiasts and brewers to talk shop over cold ones.

Beer Town, the Brewers Association site, is a resource for national news on craft brewing and also houses the American Homebrewers Association, which discusses issues and news relating to homebrewing. 

Beer Advocate, a magazine/Web site, also keeps up to date on what’s going on in the world of craft beer.

Modern Brewery Age is a trade magazine that seems to have stoped trading (though I can’t confirm this).  Meanwhile, Beer Business Daily is doing a solid job reporting the beer news and keeping a good trade community together. 

Of course, in consumer print, you’ve got Draft magazine, whose main newsstand competition seems to be Beer magazine. Think of them as dueling connoisseur’s aides, but more readable. 

In the Blagosphere, I think this guy is doing an alright job. For a more refined blogger, the Zythophile navigates the history of beer.  Confessions of a Beer Geek also is an eye catching blog for those interested in beer.

But for my money, I like a good, simple Beer Haiku. Thank you, Beer Haiku Daily.

Mission Statement 1.0

What is ChiTown Beer about?

ChiTown Beer is a resource for beer enthusiasts and home brewers in Chicago. We provide news and reviews of new beer releases from Chicago breweries and brew pubs and information to help you become a better brewer.