Hello everyone, December marks the our first anniversary here at hereforthebeer.com. We want to thank all of the wonderful people that we had the opportunity to meet this year. We hope that you enjoy our montage (the first good use of the song as far as we are concerned)! We look forward to an even more interesting and exciting 2010 on here for the beer … Cheers!

Related Posts:

• 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO
• Day 4 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• Craft Brewers Conference – Boston, MA
• I am (not) a craft brewer – but they are…
• Day 3 in Denver for the 2009 GABF

This week a new website was launched by the Brewers Association for the Homebrewer segment of their membership.  Not only is the new site more visually appealing than the old segment of the AHA site, it is far more functional.

One of the biggest functionality and association building aspects of the new site is that the forums are open for reading and participation to anyone - not just members.  Simply register on the site (for free) and you can jump right into the conversation.  This is a great move for building community and encouraging more potential members to “check things out”.

The new wiki also looks encouraging, with tons of recipes and a useful brewing dictionary.  It’s nice that this site was launched with lots of valuable content, rather than just as a blank canvas, making the site useful right out of the gate.

I applaud the AHA for offering free access to many of the valuable resources on there (but certainly encourage any active homebrewers to pony up the $40 for a membership – there are tons of additional advantages).  So cheers to all of those involved over at the AHA – the site looks great.  Check it out yourself at www.homebrewersassociation.org

Related Posts:

• National Home Brew Day 2009
• AHA Big Brew 2009 Video Award Winner!
• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• Vermont Craft Brewing Pioneer Greg Noonan Passes Away
• 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO

This video is an overview of the 2009 Great American Beer Festival.  This 28th Annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO was an amazing and well organized event.  With over 49,000 attendees this year, surprisingly the floor never felt all that crowded.  This was our first time at the GABF, but we are guessing that the 46% more space added this year helped to create a more comfortable venue.

The Brewers Association estimates that there was 18,000 gallons of beer at this event, which meant that on the showroom floor you could sample 2,100 different beers from 495 breweries across the country.   Although even at 1oz per sample, it would be impossible to try them all (2,100 1oz samples = 132 pints).   51 of the breweries were attending for the first time, which is a testament to the growth of craft beer.

There were 78 categories being judged this year by a panel of 132 judges from 10 different countries.  A whopping 3,308 beers were entered in to the Great American Beer Festival Competition this year, each vying for a medal in their category.  Unlike many wine events, where a particular score awards you a medal; at the Great American Beer Festival there is only one Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medal per category.  This means that each of the three winning beers in each category represent one of the best examples of that beer style in the United States.  Congratulations out there to all of the Medal winners of the 2009 GABF!

This well structured event also included 8 educational areas.  We had a chance to try the “You Be the Judge” seminar, where we got to try our hand at judging a few beers.  In addition there were dozens of other events around Denver, both tied to the Great American Beer Festival and Denver Beer Week.  We encourage you to check out some of our other coverage of the GABF including the Farm to Table event, Pints for Prostates event, Samuel Adams Longshot Competition, our posts about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4, and our Best Dressed of the GABF segment.

We hope you enjoy our coverage of the GABF as much as we enjoyed attending this event.  Cheers from Here for the Beer, we hope to see you at the Great American Beer Festival next year.

Related Posts:

• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• Day 4 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• Day 3 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• Day 1 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• Day 2 in Denver at the 2009 GABF

Saturday was yet another awesome day. Starting with brunch at Marlow’s for the  announcement of the winners of the Samuel Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest.   The winners were Michael Robinson’s Old Ale, Ben Miller’s Barelywine and Jeremy White’s Lemon Pepper Saison.  Try these winners beers in the Samuel Adam’s Longshot Six-Pack which will be available nationwide in April 2010.

Next it was back to the showroom floor for more beer and the announcement of the Great American Beer Festival Medal Winners. We are proud to say that our home state of Vermont took home three medals. Otter Creek Brewing took home the Gold Medal for their Vermont Lager in the Bohemian Style Pilsner Category and the Alchemist cleaned up in the Gluten Free Beer Category with a Gold Medal for their Celia Framboise and a Bronze Medal for their Celia IPA.   After the Medals were awarded we met up with Paul Gatza, Director of The Brewers Association, for a tour of the showroom floor to sample some of the 2009 Great American Beer Festival Award winning beers.

After the session and feeling some of the effects of our whirlwind morning and afternoon of award winning beers, we went in search of a hamburger in downtown Denver.  According to the “Google Gods” the number three best burger in Denver (and the only one of the top three places  in walking distance) was the Trinity Grill.  The place was empty (probably because the beers on draft were New Castle and Guinness) but we just wanted a lot of water and a good hamburger to prepare for another night of beer drinking.  The burger did not disappoint and we ended up meeting with fellow beer geeks Jeff, Steph and Tim who are planning to open a brewpub – sweet.

Back to the show floor for the infamous Saturday night session and let me tell you it was jam packed with all kinds of crazy characters.  Check out our best dressed of the GABF video coming soon.  After sampling many more award winning beers it was back to the hotel for a few hours of shut eye before getting up at 3am to catch our flight home.

It was sad to leave Denver, we met so many great people and enjoyed tons of great beers.  It was an education in styles, regions and ingredients that we will draw on for years to come.  Thanks to the Brewers Association for putting together this colossal event and to all of the brewers who participate in making it so incredible.  Thanks to the miles of walking (that place is HUGE) and the gallons of water (plentiful on the floor) we actually returned home feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to jump back into the innkeeping scene at our Bed and Breakfast in Brattleboro, Vermont.   We hope you enjoy our upcoming videos from the GABF (if you haven’t already seen our other GABF posts, be sure to read about our adventures GABF day 1, GABF day 2 and GABF day 3) we look forward to seeing you all there next year!  Cheers from Here for the Beer!

Related Posts:

• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO
• 2009 Samuel Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest
• Day 3 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• Day 1 in Denver for the 2009 GABF

So after a crazy first night and an adventure filled second day, we trekked out for day 3 in Denver.  Friday started out with another killer food and beer pairing luncheon, where we sampled dishes like Buffalo Carpaccio with Avacado Tile and Cajun BBQ Shrimp with Fresh Corn Grits, paired with great beers like Del Norte’s Manana Amber Lager (from Denver) and Oregon’s Bend Brewing Co.’s collaboration “Rocksy Stein Lager”.  6 courses and 7 beers, now that’s what I call a great lunch.

Next we hopped on a bus for a quick tour of Denver, stopping back at Falling Rock (ahh the memories) for a taste of some Oskar Blue’s and Breckenridge beers while packed in amongst the huge beer loving crowds (at 2 in the afternoon on a Friday mind you – got to love Denver!).

Then off to the Great Divide brewery for a quick tour with the owner and a taste of their beers, including the 15th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA, which may very well have been my favorite beer of the day.

We left Great Divide and headed to the Pints for Prostates Rare Beer Tasting, which will get it’s own post and video soon – a great event for an even better cause.

The Friday evening session at the GABF was more crowded than Thursday, but still far from uncomfortable.  Cheers to the Brewers Association to spreading the event out in more space, leaving plenty of breathing room.  The highlights of this session were our tour of the floor with Brewers Association Director Paul Gatza, trying some of his favorite brews (this will be in an upcoming video as well) and our “you be the judge” session, which was an informative and casual look at the challenge of being a beer judge at the Great American Beer Festival.

We wrapped up the night with some much needed pizza and yes, a beer, before crashing and “rebooting” for the tomorrow.

Keep an eye here or follow us on Twitter for all of the latest from the 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado!

Related Posts:

• 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO
• Day 1 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• Day 4 in Denver for the 2009 GABF
• Day 2 in Denver at the 2009 GABF

A really interesting press release just came our way from the Brewers Association summarizing the mid-year craft brewing numbers.

Perhaps the most interesting part was the chart (attached) that indicates the growth and decline based upon the number of actual breweries. I was amazed to see that the US has just now, in 2009, surpassed the number of breweries that were here in 1910.

So post-prohibition it has taken about 75 years to rebuild the industry.   As a matter of fact, the number of breweries has increased from under 100 to over 1,500 in just the last 30 years.  Most of this growth has clearly been in the small and independent craft brewers.

The U.S. now boasts 1,525 breweries, the highest number in 100 years when consolidation and the run up to Prohibition reduced the number of breweries to 1,498 in 1910. “The U.S. has more breweries than any other nation and produces a greater diversity of beer styles than anywhere else, thanks to craft brewer innovation,” Gatza [Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association] added.

The other interesting take away was the exponential growth from the mid nineties through the early 2000’s.  Obviously that growth has tapered off recently (as it has for almost everything else), but it leads me to wonder how much room is left for additional growth in the craft brewing industry? Have we reached the peak?

So rest easy tonight as you can officially party like it’s 1910 all over again.

Related Posts:

• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• New Homebrewers Association Website Launched
• Vermont Craft Brewing Pioneer Greg Noonan Passes Away
• 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO
• Day 4 in Denver for the 2009 GABF

In this episode, my friend Timberly and I check out an AHA National Home Brew Day event with the Masholes, a fun group of home brewers in Massachusetts.

Six home brewers brought their equipment to one house and throughout the day brewed six different beers.   Gathering as a group gave these home brewers (and the thousands of others who participated in similar events around the world) an opportunity to explore different techniques and share tricks of their craft.   Of course, it also was a great opportunity to share the fruit of the labor, the beer!   With the Masholes we found a group of people who were brought together by a common thread, the love of craft beer and the passion for creating it.   We’ve said it several times, beer should be fun – and the Masholes have definitely figured out  how to have fun while brewing good beer.

If you are in the Western Mass area and would like more information about the Masholes check out their Facebook page.   If not, you can get information about home brew groups in your area at the Brewers Association website www.beertown.org Hope you enjoyed meeting the Masholes, we certainly did!  We will see you next time on Here for the Beer.

Please Note:  As you know, we don’t usually use YouTube, but the AHA is running a contest, for the best and most watched video from National Homebrew Day, so we are throwing our video in.  So please, share this with your friends, family and fellow beer enthusiasts. Lets make the Masholes famous! You can see more about the contest on the Big Brew section of the AHA website.

Update – YouTube has banned this video as “Inappropriate” and therefore I suppose we are out of the contest…(Thanks to the AHA for keeping us in!) But we have uploaded it to our regular source, Blip.tv and hope that you enjoy it.

Related Posts:

• New Homebrewers Association Website Launched
• AHA Big Brew 2009 Video Award Winner!
• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• 3 days till Boston and the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference
• Twas the Night Before the Night Before Christmas 2009

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In this episode, we are at Cask Night hosted by Harpoon Brewery in Boston, MA. Cask Night was the last of the many hospitality events offered at the Craft Brewers Conference. This event featured 60 different cask conditioned beers, some that have never been brewed before and others that were making there premier, such as the Imperial IPA by Otter Creek Brewery (a must have for all of you fellow hopheads out there at 135 IBU this beer was like a great dream).

This event was also my personal favorite as you can see in frames 1:29 and 2:22. I enjoyed myself so much that I forgot to change the setting on the microphone, so I must apologize that most of the interviews are difficult to hear. I promise to do better next time.

Listed below are the beers available at this event.  By the way,  I actually typed that all in for you guys – do you feel the love??  I hope so!  We will see you next time on Here for the Beer!  Amy

Allagash Brewing in Portland, ME

• Allagash Burnham Road a Belgian Style Smoked Strong Ale (IBU:35 OG:1.065 ABV:7.4)
• Allagash CBC Barrel Blend a Blend of several barrels from their Wild Barrel Room (ABV:8.5)

American Flatbread Burlington Hearth in Burlington, VT

• London Calling an Original Bitter (IBU:26 OG:9.8P ABV:3.7

Amherst Brewing Company in Amherst, MA

• Graduation Ale a Dry-hopped Golden Ale (IBU:40 OG:14P ABV:5.8
• Super Stout a Cocoa infused Stout (IBU:33 OG:15.5P ABV:6)

Berkshire Brewing Company in S. Deerfield, MA

• Imperial Stout (IBU:30 OG:20P ABV:8.5)
• Lost Sailor IPA (IBU:40 OG:15P ABV:5.9)

Bobcat Cafe in Bristol, VT

• Lincoln Lager (IBU:25 OG:1.043 ABV:5)
• Ripton Red (IBU:30 OG:1.056 ABV:5)

Boston Beer Company in Boston, MA

• International IPA (IBU:47 OG:15.5P ABV:6.13)
• Ungespundet Pils (IBU:30 OG:13.5P ABV:5.27)

Boston Beer Works (Canal St) in Boston, MA

• The Big Gouda a Smoked Lager (IBU:28, OG:18P ABV:7)
• Splendid Splinter a Golden Ale (IBU:25 OG:12P ABV:5)

Boston Beer Works (Fenway) in Boston, MA

• Old Ironsides an English-Style Old Ale (IBU:35 OG:1.064 ABV:6)

Cambridge Brewing Company in Cambridge, MA

• The Colonel a “Vatted Ported” (IBU:55 OG:15P ABV:6.5)
• Spring Training IPA (IBU:40 OG:14.5P ABV:6.3)

Cambridge House Brewpub in Torrington, CT

• Cambridge House IPA (IBU:60 OG:15P ABV:6.4)
• Three Steve Stout (IBU:30 OG:12.5P ABV:4)

Cape Ann Brewing Comapany in Gloucester, MA

• Fisherman’s Tea Party a Barley-wine made with 3 styles of tea (IBU:86 OG:1.089 ABV: 9)

Gardner Ale House in Gardner, MA

• Chair City Pale Ale (IBU:32 OG:11.5P ABV:4.8)
• Chocolate Porter (IBU:35 OG:12.5P ABV:5.5)

Gritty McDuff’s in Portland, ME

• Black Fly Stout 2001 Gold Medal Winner at the Real Ale Festival (IBU:16 OG:1.045 ABV:4.1)
• Gritty’s Best Bitter 2000 Gold Medal Winner at the Real Ale Festival (IBU:25 OG:1.050 ABV:4.9)

Harpoon Brewery in Boston, MA

• Harpoon IPA (IBU:42 OG:15.8P ABV:5.9)
• Harpoon Summer Beer (IBU:26 OG:12.8 ABV:4.8)

Haverhill Brewery/The Tap in Haverhill, MA

• Merrimack Mild an English Dark Mild (IBU:19 OG;9.4P ABV:3.8)
• Scapegoat Bock a German Dunkel Dark Bock (IBU:26 OG:16.4P ABV:6.6)

John Harvard’s Brew House in Manchester, CT

• The Dark Bootlegger Ale a blend of a traditional Brown Porter and Barley Wine aged in a Thomas Tew rum barrel for 7 wks (IBU:37 OG:16.8P ABV:6.7)

Kennebunkport Brewing Company in Kennebunk, ME

• Taint Town Pale Ale the local favorite (IBU:32 OG:1.048 ABV:4.75)
• Vintange 2008 Prelude Holiday Ale a traditional strong Enlish Ale (OG:1.078 ABV:7.5)

Lowel Beer Works in Lowell, MA

• Bohemian Pilsner made with all Moravian malt & dry-hopped with whole Czech Saaz (IBU:25 OG:1.050 ABV:5)

Martha’s Exchange in Nashua, NH

• Dr. Hoppenstein’s Double IPA Hopped thoughout the entire brew process from mash-in to cask (IBU:93 OG:1.091 ABV:9.1)
• Revolution Red a medium bodied red brewed with beets and carmalized malts. (IBU:42 OG:1.056 ABV:5.5)

Mayflower Brewing Company in Plymouth, MA

• Mayflower Golden Ale the moderate mineral content in there water is perfect for this style of beer (IBU:18 OG:10.5P ABV:4.2)
• Mayflower Pale Ale made with Victory Malt, Caramel Malt, East Kent Golding Hops, and Nugget Hops (IBU:40 OG:11.9P ABV:4.9)

Mercury Brewing Co. Ipswich, MA

• Ipswich Dark Ale (IBU:40 OG:14.1P ABV:5.8)
• Ipswich IPA a cross between an American and English style IPA (IBU:60 OG:14.3P ABV:6.3)

Moat Mountain Brewing in North Conway, NH

• Moat Pale Ale an American Style Pale Ale with a firm bitterness (OG:11.5P ABV:4.5)
• Moat Spruce Brown standard session Brown Ale both malty and bready in body, medium bitterness (OG:12P ABV:5)

Opa Opa Brewing Company in Williamsburg, MA

• Opa-Opa IPA (IBU:55 OG:14.7P ABV:6)

Otter Creek Brewing in Middlebury, VT

• Imperial India Pale Ale has a generous supply of hops throughout the entire process providing an enormous hop flavor (IBU:135 OG:24.5P ABV:11)
• Russian Imperial Stout brewed with double the malts and four time the hops of a regular stout (IBU:65, OG:24P ABV:10.6)

Pennichuck Brewing Company in Milford, NH

• Chief’s Imperial IPA unfiltered and dry-hopped with Centennial, Cascade, and Simcoe (IBU:106  OG:23.3P ABV:10)

Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, NH

• Baltic Porter dry-hopped with Warrior (IBU:38 OG:19P ABV:7.5)
• Saison Prentemps dry-hopped with Rose  Hips and pepercorns (IBU:32 OG:16.75P ABV:6)

Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, NH

• Triple Nelson made with Candi sugar, Crystal malts, and dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin in the cask (IBU:40 OG:20.5P ABV:9.6)
• Saturnaleia Double Red rich malty notes of a traditional red and dry-hopped with Amarillo and Centenial (IBU:71 OG:19.5P ABV:8.1)

Salem Beer Works in Salem, MA

• Customs House IPA full hop character, Cascade & Amarillo, with a supporting background of solid malt (IBU:56 OG:12.5P ABV:6.25)

Sabago Brewing in Gorham, ME

• Boathouse Brown Ale brewed with Caramel, Chocolate and Black malts and hopped with American hops (IBU:24 OG:11P ABV:4.8)
• Full Throttle Double IPA featuring Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Simcoe hops and has been dry-hopped for over a month (IBU:85 OG:20P ABV:8.2)

Shipyard Brewing in Portland, ME

• Chamberlain Pale Ale featuring Pale Ale, Crystal and Chocolate malts and Fuggles, Cascade and Tettnang hops (IBU:37 OG:1.050 ABV:5)
• Old Thumper Extra Special Ale from the Ringwood Brewery in Hampshire, England (IBU:35 OG:1.060 ABV:5.8

Smuttynose Brewing Co.  in Portsmouth, NH

• Smuttynose IPA includes Simcoe, Amarillo, Warrior and Centennial hops (IBU:70 OG:15 ABV:6.6)
• Star Island Single spicy, light bodied with drinkablity (IBU:30 OG:13P ABV:5.5)

Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield, CT

• Liberator Dopplebock, chocolaty with notes of figs, raisins and brown sugar (IBU:45 OG:20 ABV:8.4)

Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, RI

• Scotch Ale oak aged in barrels for 8 months (IBU:32 OG:21 ABV:9)

Tuckerman’s Brewing in Conway, NH

• Tuckerman Headwall Alt a German style brown ale (IBU:32 OG:12 ABV:4.75)
• Tuckerman Pale Ale (IBU:39 OG:12 ABV:5.5)

Watch City Brewing Co. in Waltham, MA

• Bitter (and Jaded) ESB in honor of their original beer from 13 years ago (IBU:40 OG1.04)

Willamantic Brewing Co. in Willimantic, CT

• Well Read Ale an English Red Ale (IBU31.5 OG1.057 ABV5.7)

Woodstock Inn Brewery in North Woodstock, NH

• Pemi Pale Ale (IBU:56 OG:1.057 ABV:5.7)
• Pigs Ear Brown Ale (IBU:25 OG:1.054 ABV:4.3)

Related Posts:

• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• Hefeweizen vs. Witbier
• Blue Moon
• Finally A Practical Use For A Case of Corona
• Victory In Vermont

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We were lucky enough to be able to attend the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston this year.  We have been getting a ton of great footage and will have a few fun episodes coming out soon from here.  In the interim we wanted to share this, a cool montage, shot for the keynote address which was presented by Greg Koch. (On a seperate note, check this out – he actually “tweeted” a photo of himself giving the speach here!)  The brewers in the video all worked together to brew a beer for this event.  The video and the beer couldn’t be more symbolic of the amazing camradarie that exists in this industry.  Over the past few days we have seen brewers from all over the world sharing stories and pints as they discuss the ins and outs of that beverage we all know and love…beer.  Its truly inspirational and we believe that a many other industries could learn a thing or two from the craft brewing world.

You can check out our tweets from the event here or the ongoing tweets of all of the attendees at the CBC here.  Of course, we hope that you’ll stay tuned for some fun and beer-filled video in the next week from the Craft Brewers Conference right here, on Here for the Beer!

Related Posts:

• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• Craft Brewers Conference – Boston, MA
• 3 days till Boston and the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference
• New Homebrewers Association Website Launched
• 2009 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO

We are excited to be heading down to Boston for this years Craft Brewers Conference. I am sure that we will get a bunch of great footage down there and it will be a nice way to say “hi” to some of the cool people we have met in our travels.

In their 26th year, the Craft Brewers Association puts on the largest beer industry gathering in North America. This will be our first year attending but based on the schedule and details we have read from others it promises to be much more than an ordinary trade show and conference. (No offense to the Professional Association of Innkeepers International PAII – whose also solid conference we just attended in Atlanta). But the bus tour of Boston area breweries, pre-party hosted by our friends at Harpoon and the promised special release and seasonal samplings really make this look like it has one up on the innkeepers…

If you are going to be down there, please let us know – we would love to hook up with some friends while we are in Boston!  This will only be our second time in the city and we would love some travel advice…

Related Posts:

• 2009 Here for the Beer – Year in Review
• Harpoon “Chapionships of New England” BBQ Championship in Windsor, VT
• National Home Brew Day 2009
• I am (not) a craft brewer – but they are…
• A Beer Geek’s Brewery Tour