The Audacity of Hops

by Tom Acitelli

  Tiny Humboldt Brewing Company Ted Appel, “Humboldt Brewing Pulls Out of Chain,” Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat, December 3, 1997, E1.

  Shipyard sales growth and “The lesson is” David Sharp, “Specialty Beer Brewers Turn Focus to Local Markets as Boom Goes Flat,” The Chicago Tribune, May 28, 2000, C7.

  Also cut back and happily distributed Flaherty, “Now, the Glass Is Half Empty.”

  Ommegang details Wendy Littlefield, “A Very Long and Boring History of Our Careers in Beer,” BelgianExperts.com, May 4, 2011, http://belgianexperts.com/become-a-belgian-expert/1420/a-very-long-and-boring-history-of-our-careers-in-beer/; Ron Givens, “Cooperstown’s Future Ale of Fame,” New York Daily News, August 28, 1998.

  Henry King details and excise-tax history Hieronymus, “Henry King.”

  Often expressed a polite indifference “Our Men in Washington,” Modern Brewery Age, May 12, 1997.

  Vijay Mallya quote Rick Bonino, “Say It Ain’t So, Micro-Joe,” Spokane (WA) Spokesman Review, April 12, 2000, D1.

  “McDonald’s Versus Fine Food”

  World Beer Cup attendance and medals details “World Beer Cup 2000,” Modern Brewery Age, July 10, 2000.

  “The natural dynamic is to drink less” Ibid.

  Began a decadelong slide Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  There were fewer of these as well “What Is the Current State of the American Worker?,” Both Sides with Jesse Jackson, CNN transcript, September 3, 2000.

  Quotes from Hindy, Jackson, Petrini, and Papazian “World Beer Cup 2000.”

  Craft Beer Logs On

  Alstrom biographies and BeerAdvocate start-up details Todd and Jason Alstrom, interview with the author, June 2, 2012; “Roots of BeerAdvocate?” April 17, 2012, http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/roots-of-beeradvocate.12813.

  Mark and Darci Silva biographies and RealBeer start-up details Bernhard Warner, “Insider: The Beer Industry’s Silva Bullet,” Adweek, September 22, 1997; “Welcome to the Executive Offices,” Real Beer website, accessed May 21, 2012, www.realbeer.com/rbi/exec.html.

  Ale Street News start-up details Melissa Brady, “About Ale Street News,” Ale Street News website, accessed May 19, 2012, www.alestreetnews.com/about-us.html; Peter Genovese, “From Stout to Bitter, Ale Street News Covers the Industry,” Newark Star-Ledger, January 19, 2008.

  Celebrator start-up details, including the Iron Liver Tour “20 Years of Brews News,” February/March 2008, Celebrator Beer News website, http://celebrator.com/archives/2008/02/cbn_topstoriessummary.html.

  21st Amendment start-up details “The 21st Amendment Story,” 21st Amendment Brewery website, accessed June 18, 2012, http://21st-amendment.com/company.

  RateBeer startup details; as Tucker saw it Ken Weaver, “The Quiet Kingmaker,” Bohemian.com, May 7, 2012, www.bohemian.com/northbay/the-quiet-kingmaker/Content?oid=2280727; Joe Tucker, e-mail message to the author, May 2012.

  At least 1,700 homebrewing clubs Jim Lundstrom, “Homebrewing Enthusiasts Are Branching Out and Making Names for Themselves,” Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent, May 11, 2002, 1E; Lisa Rauschart, “Bold Brews Go Against Grain of Bland Beers,” Washington Times, January 25, 2001, M12.

  Three thousand judges evaluating 2,668 homebrews Rick Armon, “Beer Competition Coming Here,” Rochester (NY) Chronicle and Democrat, January 21, 2001, 1B.

  “I remember hammering a good guy” Magee memoir.

  Uzbeki Raga Ale episode Magee memoir. The Oregon Brew Crew confirmed the thread, though the author himself did not see it.

  “It’s pretty depressing to frequently” Kendall Jones, “Which Breweries Are Overrated?” Washington Beer Blog, January 11, 2012, www.washingtonbeerblog.com/how-does-brewery-become-overrated/.

  Motorists lined up more than a mile and a half Webb, Good Beer Guide Belgium, 163.

  Growing Pains Again

  Jeremy Cowan and Shmaltz start-up details Jeremy Cowan with James Sullivan, Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah (San Francisco: Malt Shop Publishing, 2010), 183–84.

  A way to divide up the nation’s most competitive Hindy and Potter, Beer School, 243–53.

  Had taken the brewery as collateral Bryson, 14.

  Bodega scene Cowan, Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah, 183–84.

  Closings and openings “Craft Brew Update: The Craft Brew Segment Basks in Hard-Won Stability,” Modern Brewery Age, May 13, 2002.

  Like farming walnuts and harvesting Bordeaux grapes Burton, Hops and Dreams, 105–8.

  Rise annually more than 5 percent “The Craft Brew Segment Basks in Hard-Won Stability,” Modern Brewery Age.

  Biggest brewpub chain Greg Kitsock, “Brewpub Chains Merge, But Will It Matter,” Washington Post, November 22, 2010.

  A $2.5 million expansion “Boulevard Brewing Co. Plans Expansion,” Modern Brewery Age, August 30, 1999, 2.

  $2.2 million expansion Jason Stein, “What’s Brewing? Specialty Brewers’ Cups Runneth Over Thanks to High Demand,” Wisconsin State Journal, May 15, 2005, C1.

  Sierra Nevada’s late 1990s expansion Burton, Hops and Dreams, 105.

  Would eventually produce more than 40 percent Mike Boyer, “Local Brews Still Make Splash with Consumers,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 19, 2003, 1D.

  Production numbers “The Next Beer War?” Modern Brewery Age, March 25, 2002, 8; Adam Nason, “New Belgium Celebrates 20th Anniversary on June 28th,” Beerpulse.com, June 21, 2011, http://beerpulse.com/2011/06/new-belgium-celebrates-20th-anniversary-on-june-28th/.

  ”For a while” Gerry Khermouch, “Having a Blast During the Great Beer ‘Bust,’” Brandweek, January 17, 2000, cover story.

  David Geary had realized Geary interview.

  More modern small breweries “Craft Brew Update: The Craft Brew Segment Basks.”

  Charlie Papazian put together a slideshow and the movement’s professionalization Ibid.

  “Queen of Carbs” “Anheuser-Busch Brews Bitter Beer Battle,” Associated Press, May 23, 2004.

  Jackson excerpt “Miller Merger Could Be a Good Thing,” taken from Jackson’s speech to the Craft Brewers Conference, Beer Hunter website, June 8, 2002, www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-001728.html. Used with permission.

  Still the Latest Thing

  Vinnie Cilurzo biography and Blind Pig details Vinnie Cilurzo, interview with the author, April 2012.

  Worked at his parents’ winery “Cilurzo Winery Pursues Fine Wine Crafting in Temecula Valley,” Inland Empire Business Journal, November 1998, 9.

  Electric Dave details Tom Miller, “This Brew’s for You,” Arizona Trend, January 1989, 75.

  Arizona brewing history Ed Sipos, “A-1: The Western Way to Say Welcome,” American Breweriana Journal, January/February 1998, accessed May 25, 2012, www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/arizona-sipos.shtml.

  Bandersnatch details Kerry Lengel, “Bandersnatch Low-Key and Likes It That Way,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), January 29, 2003.

  Happily drank at least six bottles’ worth Miller, “This Brew’s for You.”

  Arrest for marijuana smuggling and equipment in the hands of other brewers Cilurzo; Kerry Lengel, “Eccentric Electric Bisbee Brewer Content with Small Operation,” The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), March 27, 2002, 5F.

  6 percent alcohol by volume and 92 IBUs in bitterness Cilurzo.

  First mainstream-media reference “Coors’ Deal with Bass Is Not the Apocalypse,” Alameda (CA) Times-Star, January 30, 2002.

  Vineyards brewing Cilurzo; Tina Caputo, “The B-Word Comes to the Wine Country,” Wines & Vines, June 1, 1998, 71.

  Reopened Russian River as a seven-thousand-square-foot brewpub Bob Norberg, “Downtown Renaissance Continues,” Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat, February 13, 2004, E1.

  Bricktown Brewery details and quote Tim Goral, “Annual Microbrewery Report,” Modern Brewery Age, May 10, 1993, S12.

  “Huebert Brewery produces” Melissa Marchel, “Oklahoma Couple Poured Their Hearts into a Legal Battle to Open Brewery,” Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), May 22, 2004.

 
Saint Arnold Brewing start-up details Christopher Helman, “Beer Man: How Brock Wagner Built St. Arnold’s Brewing into the Best Microbrewer in Texas,” Forbes, January 3, 2011.

  Texas brewing history “Brewing Industry,” Texas State Historical Association website, accessed May 29, 2012, www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dib01.

  Wagner estimated boosted sales Helman, “Beer Man.”

  About thirty gallons per Texan per year “Brewing Industry.”

  Found himself happily planning Helman, “Beer Man.”

  Moved thirty-one cases of Olde Towne Amber Bill Plott, “Olde Towne’s Brewing Ale and Hearty Business,” Birmingham (AL) News, April 1, 2005, 1B.

  Kona Brewing details Aliza Earnshaw, “Kona Brewing Thrives with Portland Connection,” Business Journal, July 9, 2004.

  Maui Brewing start-up details “Ben E. Keith Beverage Distributors Introduces Maui Brewing Co. to Texas,” GreatBrewers.com, April 8, 2011, http://greatbrewers.com/story/ben-e-keith-beverage-distributors-introduces-maui-brewing-co-texas.

  Rarely miss an opportunity Garrett W. Marrero, “Maui Brewing Company,” CraftBeer.com, October 31, 2011, http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/breweries/featured-brewery/show?title=maui-brewing-company.

  Crushing It

  Prices starting at around $250,000 Norman Miller, “Can It on the Critique,” MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, MA), November 24, 2009.

  “Dumbest idea” and “nobody will” Alicia Wallace, “Yes, They Can,” Boulder (CO) Daily Camera, April 18, 2010.

  Cask Brewing Systems introduced Greg Kitsock, “Where No Can Has Gone Before …” All About Beer, July 2009, vol. 30, no. 3.

  Dale Katechis biography and Oskar Blues start-up details Jeremy Henderson, “Give ‘Em Ale: Top American Craft Beer Was First Brewed in an Auburn Bathtub,” War Eagle Reader, November 1, 2011.

  Katechis-Lutz Q&A “Oskar Blues Brewery Releases First Colorado Craft Beer in a Can,” Modern Brewery Age, November 18, 2002.

  Found itself with a backlog of orders Joel Johnson, “Canned Beer Is the Future of Good Beer,” Gizmodo, August 27, 2010, http://gizmodo.com/5622938/canned-beer-is-the-future-of-good-beer.

  Also adopted by Oskar Blues cost about $45,000 “Oskar Blues Cranks Up Canning Capacity,” Modern Brewery Age, October 11, 2004.

  Its distribution wove its way out of Colorado Kitsock, “Where No Can Has Gone Before …”; E. J. Schultz, “Dale’s Pale Ale,” Ad Age, November 15, 2010, 22.

  Frontier–Dale’s Pale Ale deal “Dale’s Pale Ale to Take Flight with Frontier,” Modern Brewery Age, December 23, 2002, 2.

  With Gusto

  Oliver conversation and book idea Garrett Oliver, interview with the author, May 2012.

  “Great beer from around the world” Oliver, The Brewmaster’s Table, xi.

  Oliver learning about Slow Food, trip to Bra, and getting involved Oliver.

  Hindy’s reaction to Slow Food Hindy and Potter, Beer School, 197–98.

  “Exactly in step with what” Calagione.

  Association of Brewers involvement and Charlie Papazian stepping in Michael Jackson, “Notes from the Road: Turin,” Beer Hunter website, December 8, 1998, www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000143.html; Charlie Papazian, e-mail message to the author, July 2012.

  “Treated like rock stars” Ray Daniels, interview with the author, May 2012.

  “Quit chuckling and listen up” Oliver, The Brewmaster’s Table, 57–58.

  “Some American mass-market brewers” Ibid., 353.

  “The heady mix of a newly vibrant food culture” Ibid., 287.

  Annual revenues of $395,000 Julie Dunn, “Boulder, Colo.-Based Small Brewers Join Forces with North Carolina Association,” Denver Post, November 2, 2004.

  Nerves frayed and other details of the merger “Association of Brewers & BAA to Merge,” Modern Brewery Age, October 11, 2004; Bradford; Jordan.

  A Great Passing

  Shelton visit to Jackson “Michael Jackson ‘The Beer Hunter’—Interview Preview,” YouTube video, 9:52, posted by “SheltonBrothers,” September 2, 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLohwMW7qjU.

  A September 14 memorial service in London Carolyn Smagalski, “Michael Jackson—A Final Farewell in London,” BellaOnline website, accessed June 4, 2012, www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53112.asp.

  “Michael, why don’t you ever write about English beers?” “Michael Jackson Toast at Toronado,” YouTube video, 4:01, posted by “BeergeekDotCom,” October 2, 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OIGftT46bZM#!.

  “I think Michael Jackson” Trailer for The Beer Hunter: The Movie, accessed June 4, 2012, www.beerhuntermovie.com/.

  Beer, Premium

  Daniels biography and Cicerone idea Daniels; Josh Noel, “Beer’s Buddy,” Chicago Tribune, July 11, 2010, 4.

  First Cicerone exam details and Van Til quote Josh Noel, “Beer’s Buddy”; “First-Ever Master Cicerone Named,” Business Wire, December 8, 2009.

  Oliver at Cheers Beverage Conference; early-morning distributor talks Oliver.

  Craft beer sales and production numbers “Brewers Association Announces 2008 Craft Brewer Sales Numbers,” Business Wire, February 24, 2009.

  “The first time” Marton Dunai, “Craft Brewers Hit Bottleneck,” Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), January 14, 2007.

  Greg Koch and Steve Wagner quietly opened J. Harry Jones, “Stone Brewing Quietly Opens Unmarked, High-End Bistro,” San Diego Union-Tribune, January 6, 2007, NI-1.

  Dogfish Head was arriving Bob Townsend, “Rejoice: Dogfish Head Arrives,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 1, 2007, 6K.

  The first twelve-packs of New Belgium’s Steve Raabe, “Out of the Bottle,” Denver Post, May 15, 2008, B5. New Belgium eventually upgraded to a top-of-the-line, sevenmillion- dollar bottling system, per Jordan.

  It cost nearly 40 percent more “Brewers Association Announces 2008 Craft Brewer Sales Numbers.”

  Hops levels and prices Julie Johnson, “What’s Brewing?,” Beverage Dynamics, September 1, 2008. The author is grateful to various brewers and to writer Stan Hieronymus for explaining the business of hops.

  Boston Beer’s hops sales Carol Angrisani, “Hip Hops,” Supermarket News, November 24, 2008, 23.

  Asshole-free Author attended Philippon’s speech.

  “They drank wine” “The Classes Drift Apart,” Economist, February 4, 2012, 36.

  Exit the Godfather

  Dinner details Keith Greggor, interview with the author, March 21, 2012.

  Greggor and Tony Foglio experiences in liquor Ibid.; “Our Management Team,” Griffin Group website, accessed June 7, 2012, www.tgg.us.com/?p=team.

  Few investment bankers Greggor.

  Greggor and Foglio bought Greggor; “Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio Invest in BrewDog,” BrewDog website, October 21, 2009, www.brewdog.com/blog-article/183.

  It was an open secret Greggor; Bronder.

  Largest manufacturing business Kate Sofis of SFMade, e-mail message to the author, June 8, 2012. Anchor was biggest by revenue.

  “Maytag’s departure is a harbinger” Don Russell, “Sale of Industry-Changing Anchor Brewing Triggers a Few Shudders,” Philadelphia Daily News, May 7, 2010, 53.

  Craft Brewers Alliance announcement John Foyston, “Craft Brewers Alliance Inc. to Purchase Kona Brewing for $13.9 Million,” Oregonian (Portland), August 3, 2010.

  Anchor-Griffin deal details Greggor.

  “Small is beautiful” “Specialty Brewers Gather in Atlanta.”

  Reaction to the deal Greggor; Magee; Tom Abate, “Anchor Brewing Co. Sold to Greggor, Foglio,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 27, 2010, A1.

  Big Crowds and the New Small

  Pliny the Younger pouring details Cilurzo.

  “Nary a breeze” “History for Santa Rosa, CA,” Wunderground.com, accessed June 9, 2012, www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KSTS/2010/2/10/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Santa+Rosa&req_state=CA&req_statename=California&MR=1.

  They forbade growlers th
e next year and had more staff Cilurzo.

  Brew Masters and Eataly details Greg Kitsock, “Beer: Mapping Dogfish Head’s 2010 Adventures,” Washington Post All We Can Eat (blog), January 3, 2011, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/beer/beer-tracking-dogfish.html; the author attended the opening night of Eataly.

  GABF details “2011 Great American Beer Festival Winners Announced,” Great American Beer Festival website, October 1, 2011, www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/news/2011-great-american-beer-festival%C2%AE-winners-announced/.

  For three years in a row Mike Esterl, “Craft Brewers Tap Big Expansion,” Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2011, B6.

  Craft beer sales and jobs numbers “Facts,” Brewers Association website, accessed June 9, 2012, www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/facts.

  ”The smaller brewers’ activity” Esterl, “Craft Brewers Tap Big Expansion.”

  Definition-change details and “A lot has changed” “Brewers Association Announces Revised Craft Brewer Definition,” Brewers Association website, January 3, 2011, www.brewersassociation.org/pages/media/press-releases/show?title=brewers-association-announces-revised-craft-brewer-definition.

  Colbert viewer numbers “Jon Stewart’s Nielsen Ratings Down 15 Percent; Colbert’s Up 11 Percent,” Vulture (blog), New York magazine, January 9, 2008, www.vulture.com/2008/01/stewarts_ratings_down_15_colbe.html.

  “This isn’t one of those fake holidays” Colbert Nation website video, May 15, 2008, www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/168493/may-15-2008/american-craft-beer-week.

  Honey ale at the White House “The Obamas Make History with Homebrewed White House Honey Ale,” March 1, 2011, http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2011/03/obamas-make-history-with-homebrewed.html.

  “The Albion Brewery”

  Sanguine about the newfound fame McAuliffe, September 30.

  Ken & Jack’s ale brewery visit details John Holl, “The Rise and Fall of New Albion Brewing Led the Way for the American Craft Beer Revolution,” CraftBeer.com, accessed June 11, 2012, www.craftbeer.com/pages/breweries/featured-brewery/show?title=new-albion-brewing.