Alltech Building New Brewery and Distillery in Kentucky
Continuing its exploration of the craft alcoholic beverage sector, Alltech, a global biotech nutrition company, is investing $13 million in the construction of a new 27,972 sq. ft.brewery and distillery in downtown Pikeville, Ky. Having broken ground on the project earlier this summer, the company expects Dueling Barrels Brewing & Distilling Co. to be open in 2016.
Reached by Brewbound, the company said the project is being financed entirely by cash flow.
“With Alltech’s global reach, it is expected that Dueling Barrels’ beer, whiskey and moonshine, all from Eastern Kentucky, will go to the global market by the end of next year,” said Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech, in a press statement. “It is also our hope that Dueling Barrels will extend the Kentucky Bourbon Trail into Eastern Kentucky, bringing visitors, tourism dollars and international publicity with it.”
Alltech said the specific beers that will be produced there are yet to be determined, but added that it will produce a separate brand from the Kentucky Bourbon Ale line it also produces.
The new brewery, which will be capable of producing 45,000 barrels annually, is the latest endeavor for the company that has increased its investment in the space. Alltech not only operates the Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company, which manufactures the abovementioned Kentucky Bourbon Ale brand, but in July it acquired two breweries in the UK: The Station Works Brewery in Ireland and Cumberland Breweries Ltd. in England.
Sun King Jabs Tom Brady, Boston Area Cidery Responds
Sun King Brewing this week released more than 20,000 cans of its Wee Mac Scottish Ale, stamping the born-on date with a special message to the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots: “Tom Brady Sux.”
Brady, a famous UGG model that moonlights as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, has been embroiled in controversy for the last seven months, as he faces allegations that he had been illegally deflating footballs to gain a competitive advantage. But the diss from Sun King didn’t come out of the blue; the Indianapolis Colts, which tipped off the NFL to the possible malfeasance in the first place, is the brewery’s home team. Furthermore, Sun King sells beer in Lucas Oil Stadium, the home field of the Colts.
Zak Keefer, Colts beat writer for the Indianapolis Star, first reported the jab on Twitter. Once that went viral, it didn’t take long for Downeast Cider, a Boston-based cidery to respond. Rather than stamp a dig at the Colts on its own cans (the Patriots did demolish the Colts en route to its fourth Super Bowl championship after all), Downeast joined the chorus of Patriots fans hoping for the 4-game suspension imposed on Brady in the aftermath to be overturned, declaring simply: “Free Tom Brady.”
Breakfast of Champions Introduces Wheaties Beer
General Mills, owner of Wheaties, the so-called “Breakfast of Champions,” is partnering with Minnesota’s Fulton Brewery to release a beer called “HefeWheaties.” The beer, a Hefeweizen packaged in 4-packs of 16 oz. tallboy cans, will be available only for a limited time in the Twin Cities market beginning August 26.
“This was a true partnership between Wheaties and Fulton,” said David Oehler, marketing manager at Wheaties, in a blog post. “Both teams were passionate about this project and got to work quickly. We enjoyed the chance to collaborate with Fulton throughout the entire process from idea generation to can design.”
Though the beer will be available only while supplies last, Ryan Petz, president and co-founder of Fulton, left open the possibility that once this first run goes dry, the pair could renew the partnership for additional batches.
“We’ll see how people react to it,” he said. “If it’s something everybody loves, we’ll obviously consider doing it again in a bigger and more widely distributed way in the future.”
Widmer Launches GoFundMe Campaign for Injured Brewer
Widmer Brothers is hoping to raise at least $10,000 on GoFundMe to support the recovery of one of the company’s senior brewers who was hit by a car last month. Angel Marquez, who has been with the company longer than anyone save for founders Kurt and Rob Widmer, has been in the hospital with critical injuries since he was hit while crossing the street to the brewery in Portland, Ore., and has been undergoing a series of reconstructive surgeries, according to Craft Brew Alliance communications manager Jenny McLean. Since the campaign launched seven days ago, the company has raised more than half of its stated goal of $10,000. McLean said doctors predict a “strong recovery” for Marquez.