The year of organic beer
The Huffington Post
In the last decade, craft beer has made a breakthrough both in awareness and in sales. While the industry booms, so does the interest in brewing organic craft beers. This interest in green beer was witnessed recently at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Over 2,375 beers were served by over 450 breweries from across the nation, and a good handful of them were purely organic.More

Cigar City Brewing wins Florida's only gold medal for beer
St. Petersburg Times
Heft a pint again in honor of Joey Redner's Cigar City Brewing. At the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival, which concluded recenlty in Denver, the Tampa, Fla., brewery brought home a gold medal for its Minaret ESB. Breweries in Florida took home five medals overall, but this amber-colored Extra Special Bitter was the state's only gold.More

Anheuser-Busch investing $1 billion in US
The Associated Press via Google News
Anheuser-Busch plans to invest $1 billion in its U.S. breweries and other facilities by 2014. The St. Louis-based brewer of brands like Budweiser and Bud Light said the money allotted for projects this year will go toward modernizing its brewing processes, upgrading its systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and installing equipment for new products.More

Beer of the week: Freaktoberfest by Shmaltz Brewing Co.
The Ledger
Freaktoberfest is a totally unique Oktoberfest experience from Shmaltz Brewing Company, employing five types of hops and five malts. First off, its only commonality with a true Oktoberfest is that it's a lager. A lager that pours the color of cherry Kool-Aid and has some of the flavor characteristics of Campari, the brilliantly red, bitter Italian aperitif made from quinine, orange peel and herbs.More

Pumpkin beers deliver fall flavors in a bottle
St. Petersburg Times
It's that time again. Pumpkin beers are here in full force, and while I wasn't surprised to find more of them on the shelves this year, the range of styles and approaches were wider than expected, providing for a very interesting tasting session. Whereas pumpkin beers of the past generally went for the "liquid pie" flavor, many breweries now are focusing more on hefty additions of fresh and roasted pumpkin into their mash, creating beers that are more complex and flavorful.More

Craft beer brewers seek their 'empire'
Stuff
Seven years ago Rotorua craft beer brewers Paul Croucher and Nigel Gregory set out to build an "empire." Croucher Brewing has managed to partially colonize the local domestic market plus discerning sectors of Australia and Singapore, and a landing party has made tentative inroads in the United States. As more awards are added each year for their fine hoppy and malty brews it shouldn't be long before "we are drinking their beer everywhere." More

Meet barley wine, the beer that's never met a grape
The Huffington Post
Don't let barley wine's name throw you for a loop: The beer style has little in common with fermented grapes — except for an alcohol content that can hit double digits. That explains why the thick, sometimes fruity, always strong belly-warming ale has become a signature sip for cold, chilly nights. But to suss out the style's genesis, we need to turn to 18th and 19th century Britain.More

Illinois backs bar that would serve 500 craft beers
Daily Herald
A new business that's all about beer could be coming to Vernon Hills, Ill. The Beer Market, which would serve about 500 types of crafted bottled beer, received a positive response from village trustees recently during an informal work session. The business is described as a "novel and new entertainment and gathering place centered on the growing demand for high-quality specialty beers and wine." More

Google beer is on tap
ZDNet
Delaware-based brewery Dogfish Head is helping Google expand its reach to your local public house with the launch of URKontinent — a beer that took Google employees from all over the world and the entire Google Applications suite to brew. The story of URKontinent's origin is laid out in a 13-minute-long YouTube video, where you get to see how Google+ Hangouts and the rest of Google's collaboration suite helped Dogfish Head pool suggestions and come up with the beer's recipe.More

Early primary empowers Florida voters
The Ledger
The cornerstone of our democracy is our right to be heard at the ballot box and, given the scope of the issues facing our nation — record unemployment, a growing debt and deficit, and a bleak economic outlook for the foreseeable future — there has never been a more important time for Americans to have a meaningful say in the affairs of our nation. For this reason, it is critical that Florida hold an early primary, which will allow Florida voters to remain a relevant player in the process.More

Join us in Florida for the 2011 Beer Industry Conference
BIF News
Registration has begun for the Beer Industry of Florida's 65th annual conference to be held Nov. 3-4 in Orlando, Fla., at at the beautiful Waldorf Astoria, Bonnet Creek. The 2011 Beer Industry Conference will offer the unique opportunity to build relationships and business contacts with Florida's leading beer industry professionals. Distributors, brewers, vendors and industry partners are invited and encouraged to attend this premier meeting in Florida. For more information please click here, or contact Heidie Nesset at Heidie@floridabeer.org or 850.222.8960 ext. 1. We look to seeing you this year.More