Minnesota Bar Accused of Illegally Selling New Glarus Beer
A Minnesota bar located near the Wisconsin border is under investigation for illegally selling beers from New Glarus Brewing without a license, per a report from the Green Bay Press Gazette. According to a search warrant filed in Hennepin County, an employee of Maple Tavern had allegedly been making trips across state lines to buy kegs of Spotted Cow, a popular beer from the company, to be brought back and re-sold in Minnesota. New Glarus is well known for distributing its beer only in Wisconsin. “There’s a lot of great beers – there’s a lot of great Minnesota beers,” Deb Carey, New Glarus co-owner, told the website. “For someone to go to this length, I don’t get it.” The alleged crime is a felony offense.
Greg Koch Advocates for Hometown Cause
Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of Stone Brewing, has pledged to brew a beer to be sold only in his hometown of Pataskala, Ohio, pending approval of a levy that would save a number of school programs, field trips, teachers and extra-curricular activities from looming budgetary cuts. According to the Newark Advocate, Koch has promised 100 percent of the proceeds from the beer – should it be brewed – to an undetermined cause benefitting area students. Koch also pledged $1,000 to a GoFundMe page set up to save the high school’s band, art and theater programs. The issue was brought to Koch’s attention when a current student, 15-year-old freshman Ally Jeffers – a member of the school band – wrote to Koch (a success story from the town) to ask for help and advice.
Recycled Sewage Water Approved for Use in Oregon Beer
It’s easy to say you support sustainable business practices, but would you still be gung ho for the cause if your beer were brewed with recycled sewage water? Oregon beer drinkers may be tasked with answering that question for real in the near future as, according to the Sun Times, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission has approved the use of recycled sewage water in the brewing process. Such beers aren’t yet ready for market, so it’s unlikely that you’ll unknowingly pop open a bottle of one; safety tests still need to be done. But, with recycled sewage water already being utilized in Oregon for crops irrigation, it very well could be the next frontier in sustainable brewing practices.
Ben & Jerry’s and New Belgium Catch Heat Over Partnership
Much to the chagrin of some industry watchdogs, New Belgium is releasing a beer with the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream logo on it. By pairing alcohol and ice cream, one watchdog says, the two companies are promoting beer as something safe for consumption by children. “It’s a crass, corporate greedy move to put a brand name like Ben & Jerry’s on a beer,” Bruce Lee Livingston, executive director and CEO of Alcohol Justice, told USA Today. “It’s bad for children — who will start looking at beer as the next step after ice cream.”
Craft Brewers Still Going After A-B Over Super Bowl Spot
In the parlance of these Internet times, it’s been roughly 300 million years since Anheuser-Busch aired a Super Bowl ad poking fun at the more frou-frou aspects of craft beer. Because it’s Anheuser-Busch, however, you just knew they wouldn’t be able to live down the diss (which at this point clearly needs no re-telling). Since the incident was probably fading from your memory, here’s a story from Detroit News: Bell’s Brewery will soon sell 48 bottles (at $20 a pop) of, yes, you nailed it, Bell’s Pumpkin Peach Ale. Onward!