Press Release: Cleveland Winter Warmer Fest Breweries Announced

Winter Warmer Fest Breweries Announced

Over 50 Ohio craft breweries to feature strong and rare beers.

CLEVELAND – The Ohio Craft Brewers Association released the list of participating breweries for the 12^th Annual Winter Warmer Fest. Over 50 Ohio craft breweries will showcase their winter seasonal, limited-edition and high-gravity beers at Windows on the River on Saturday, March 3^rd from 2-5 p.m. The Winter Warmer Fest is a fundraiser for the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, a non-profit organization founded to promote, preserve and protect Ohio’s craft brewing industry.

Winter Warmer Fest will once again feature a cask area with several breweries offering special infusions available only at the event. Many of the brewers will be on hand throughout the day to meet and talk with Ohio craft beer enthusiasts.

Participating breweries:

The Brew Brothers at Scioto Downs
BrewDog
The Brew Kettle
Brick and Barrel Brewing
BRIM Kitchen + Brewery
Butcher & The Brewer
Catawba Island Brewing Co.
Collision Bend Brewing Company
Columbus Brewing Company
Cornerstone Brewing Company
Crooked Handle Brewing Co.
Double Wing Brewing Co.
Fat Head’s Brewery
Forest City Brewery
Goldhorn Brewery
Grainworks Brewing Company
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Hairless Hare Brewery
Hansa Brewery
HiHO Brewing Company
Hofbrauhaus Cleveland
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
JAFB-Wooster Brewery
The Jolly Scholar
Lager Heads Brewing Company
Little Fish Brewing Company
Lock 27 Brewing
Lockport Brewery
MadTree Brewing
Maize Valley
Market Garden Brewery
Masthead Brewing Co.
Noble Beast Brewing Co.
North High Brewing
The Phoenix Brewing Company
Pigskin Brewing Company
Platform Beer Co.
R.Shea Brewing
Railroad Brewing Company
Rhinegeist
Rocky River Brewing Company
Royal Docks Brewing Co.
Saucy Brew Works
Seventh Son Brewing
Sibling Revelry Brewing
Terrestrial Brewing
Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.
Wadsworth Brewing Company
Warped Wing Brewing Company
Willoughby Brewing Company
Wolf’s Ridge Brewing
Working Class Brewery
 
Early bird discount tickets are available for $10 off list price if purchased by 12/31/2017.
General admission tickets are available in advance for $45 ($35 with early bird discount), which includes a souvenir glass and tasting tickets for 20 four-ounce samples. Early admission tickets are also available for $55 ($45 with early bird discount), granting admission at 1 p.m. Designated driver admission is available for $15 and includes a food voucher. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.beerfesttickets.com/winterwarmer2018

Winter Warmer Fest is supported by Boelter Beverage, Brewers Professional Alliance and Frantz Ward.
 
Founded in 2007, the Ohio Craft Brewers Association is a nonprofit guild that exists to promote and preserve Ohio’s unified craft brewing industry. We aspire to be recognized as the industry leader at both state and national levels for preserving the art of making high-quality, unique craft beer; to serve as the unified voice for craft brewers across the state; to advocate on behalf of the Ohio Craft beer industry; to contribute to systemic, local community development by driving economic and job growth, while creating experiences that bring people together; and to serve as a beacon for local production and manufacturing through craft beer, resulting in diverse choices for consumers.

Press Release: Ohio Craft Breweries Earn Excise Tax Reduction

Ohio Craft Breweries Earn Excise Tax Reduction

Small businesses plan to reinvest savings into growth and jobs.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A two-year version of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which lowers the federal excise tax for breweries, was passed on December 20^th, 2017 by the 115^th U.S. Congress.

Under the bill, domestic craft breweries producing less than two million barrels annually would see the federal excise tax reduced to $3.50/barrel (from $7/barrel) on the first 60,000 barrels. This savings will allow Ohio’s 257 small brewers to reinvest in their businesses, expand their operations and hire more workers. The legislation is currently written as a two-year provision.
 
“The CBMTRA provisions will make a real-world bottom line difference for every size brewery in the state of Ohio,” said Collin Castore, president of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association and co-owner of Seventh Son Brewing Company. “Breweries will continue to pay all the regular state, local, and federal taxes that every business pays. The excise tax reduction of $3.50 per barrel will save large and small breweries thousands of dollars each year. In the brewery business, that usually means those dollars can be put towards growth; and growth means Ohio manufacturing/brewing jobs and more great Ohio beer.”
 
The effort to bring meaningful federal excise tax relief to small brewers has been a primary political objective for the Brewers Association and state guilds from across the country for almost 10 years. 

“Our expectation is that small brewers will use their savings related to the recalibration of the federal excise tax on beer to invest in their breweries, expand their operations, create more jobs and hire more American workers,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO, Brewers Association. “We are very appreciative that Congress has enacted these bipartisan, strongly supported measures.”

Currently, the craft brewing industry is responsible for $2.67 billion in impact to the Ohio economy and Ohio craft brewers employ over 4,000 workers.

“We’d like to thank Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, as well as the entire Ohio Congressional delegation for co-sponsoring CBMTRA,” said Mary MacDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. “Their support will help Ohio’s small and independent brewers continue to grow and thrive, and we look forward to their continued support in our efforts to make the excise tax reductions permanent in future tax legislation.”

CBMTRA enjoyed wide bi-partisan support in Congress, counting 303 co-sponsors in the House and 54 in the Senate. Senator Portman offered the amendment to include the CBMTRA provisions to the tax bill passed Wednesday.

“The Brewers Association along with the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, other state guilds, and countless individual brewers’ voices were loud and were unified and were heard,” Castore said. “We made CBMTRA literally the most widely supported bi-partisan piece of legislation to pass through Congress in the last several years. Our Ohio Senators are proud and supportive of Ohio craft beer and were instrumental in finally getting CBMTRA attached to a piece of legislation.”

 
Founded in 2007, the Ohio Craft Brewers Association is a nonprofit guild that exists to promote and preserve Ohio’s unified craft brewing industry. We aspire to be recognized as the industry leader at both state and national levels for preserving the art of making high-quality, unique craft beer; to serve as the unified voice for craft brewers across the state; to advocate on behalf of the Ohio Craft beer industry; to contribute to systemic, local community development by driving economic and job growth, while creating experiences that bring people together; and to serve as a beacon for local production and manufacturing through craft beer, resulting in diverse choices for consumers.

Cincy Winter Beerfest List Unveiled

Once again, it's that time for Cincy Beerfest and the new list has been unveiled and check out the link below to see all of the offerings. This year is sure to be another fun time and if you come out on Saturday for the day session then make sure to try to come check me out pouring beers.

Check Out the Cincy Winter BeerFest List Here

Beer Flow: Bring The Noise Episode 15 - Boston Beer Co. On Tap

We are back to have a few beers and talk about things taking place in the beer world. Grab a pint, pull up a seat and see or even become involved with the things that we are discussing around beer.

This week we also take a look at another featured brewery which will be Boston Beer Company and their Samuel Adams Line of Beers.

Press Release: Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Announced as Keynote for 2018 Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference

Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Brewery Founder/CEO, Announced as Keynote for 2018 Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference

January 5, 2018 (Red Lodge, Montana) – Zephyr Conferences, organizers of the Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference and the Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference, has announced that Sam Calagione, Founder and CEO of Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware, will keynote its 9th annual Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference in August. Dogfish Head is in the Top 20 on the 2016 Brewers Association Beer by Sales list, and Sam has proudly focused brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day he opened Dogfish Head 22 years ago, which was the smallest American craft brewery at the time. “We are very pleased to have Mr. Calagione joining us and engaging with the 150-plus beer writers we get each year at the BBC,” says Ryan Newhouse, Marketing Director for Zephyr Beer Conferences, which also organizes two national wine conferences, and a food conference, in addition to a full line-up of taste adventures. In addition to the keynote address, Sam will welcome 40 bloggers to Coastal Delaware for a BBC pre-conference excursion to Dogfish Head Brewery, a production brewery and distillery featuring a tasting room and food truck, the Dogfish INN, a beer-themed inn on the harbor, and Dogfish Head Brewing & Eats, an off-centered brewpub and distillery. An English major, Sam has authored five books – his most recent Project Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast’s Guide to Extreme Brewing at Home was released in 2017.  Sam’s innovative style has earned him the reputation of one of America’s most adventurous brewers and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, People, Forbes, Bon Appetit, and many other magazines and newspapers. He lives in beautiful Lewes, Delaware, with his wife and Dogfish VP Mariah and their two children Sammy and Grier. Conference participants can join Sam and #BBC18 in Loudoun County, VA from August 10-11 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Sterling, Virginia, near Dulles International Airport. Registration details can be found at http://www.beerbloggersconference.org. Contact Ryan Newhouse at ryan@zephyrconferences.com or via phone at (888) 758-8687 EXT. 702 if you have any questions. About Zephyr Conferences The Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference will take place in Loudon County, Virginia, from August 10-11, 2018. It began in Boulder, Colorado, in 2010, and has consistently drawn around 150 of the top beer bloggers and writers from around the country (and Canada). This year’s Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference will take place in Burlington, Vermont, from March 6-8, 2018. It provides hard information about the important and growing functions of beer marketing and beer tourism that you can bring home to both grow and improve your local offerings. The inaugural BMTC in 2017 drew 245 attendees from multiple regions.

Beer Review: Other Half DDH Double Citra Daydream

Out of Brooklyn, New York comes Other Half Brewing and this is my look at their Double Dry Hopped Double Citra Daydream; a Double IPA done in the New England style and coming in with an alcohol content of 8.5% ABV. Check out my video here to see my thoughts on this hazy goodness which led me to score this one as a 91 overall. Cheers!

Beer Flow: 2017 Flowing Pints Award Show

This past week we took a look back on 2017 and discussed some of what we found to be our favorite beers. Check out the recap of the show here which covered the following categories:

• Favorite/Best Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best Brewery of 2017
• Favorite/Best Hop-Forward (Pale Ale, Session IPA, IPA, DIPA) Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best Dark Beer (Porter, Stout, Imperial Porter, Imperial Stout) of 2017
• Favorite/Best Fruit Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best Barrel-Aged Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best "Simple" Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best Local Brewery of 2017
• Favorite/Best Local Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best New Brewery of 2017
• Favorite/Best Foreign Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best Seasonal Beer of 2017
• Favorite/Best BeerTubers of 2017

All beers were chosen from beers that we actually tasted obviously so keep that in mind as well, as some beers are not as easy to come by in some areas as we know. Hope you enjoy and Cheers!

Beer Review: Collective Arts Basil & Cranberry Gose

Here is my look at the Cranberry Basil Gose from Collective Arts Brewing which is another one of the beers that I received from a recent beer mail from my buddy Joe. This sour beer comes in with an alcohol content of 4.7% ABV and despite being highlighted by cranberry and basil; it didn’t seem to fully become what I expected. Highlighted by a nice refreshing quality, it did though still provide a nice flavor profile and was highlighted by a very pleasant color. Check out my other thoughts on this beer by watching the video and remember there’s always time, Get Your Beer On! Cheers!

Appearance - 11 / 15

Aroma - 10 / 15

Flavor - 11 / 15

Palate - 10 /15

Overall - 34 / 40

Total Score - 76 / 100

Beer Review: Gun Hill Hessian In Paradise

So my buddy Average Joe decided to drop me out a beer mail more recently and one of the beers happened to be Hessian In Paradise from Gun Hill Brewing Company out of the Bronx, New York and the focus of this review. Coming in with an alcohol content of 3.8% ABV, light and refreshing is what first comes to mind and this beer definitely encompassed that. Check out my review here to see my in depth thoughts on this one and grab a cold one so you too can “Get Your Beer On!” Cheers!

Appearance - 12 / 15
Aroma - 13 / 15
Flavor - 12 / 15
Palate - 12 / 15
Overall - 35 / 40

Total Score - 84 / 100

Beer Review: Heavy Seas The Partner Ships Cigar City

Heavy Seas Beer decided to partner up with Cigar City Brewing for the #6 collaboration of their Partner Ships series. The Partner Chips Cigar City IPL is an India Pale Lager that comes in with an alcohol content of 7.8% ABV and initially became available July 2017. In all seven beers make up the series and if they are like this one then I will also be giving them a look and taste as well. So grab a beer, check out my video here to see my thoughts and enjoy while you “Get Your Beer On.” Cheers!

Appearance - 14 / 15
Aroma - 13 / 15
Flavor - 13 / 15
Palate - 14 / 15
Overall - 36 / 40

Total Score - 90 / 100

Beer Review: Avery duganA

Here is my look at the Dugana from Avery Brewing Company, an American IPA that comes in with an alcohol content of 8.5% ABV. Now this bottle was a little older but thought that I would share anyway, I had it fresher when at that time I rated it 4.5 out of 5 which would place it the vicinity of a 90 on my newer scale. It is a beer with a 93 IBU, but it is so malted out that one doesn’t really get hit with the bitterness that would be expected. I found it to be a tasty beer and I believe that it should be released here again in 2018; nonetheless here is my look back on this one. So grab a cold one, and check out the video while you “Get Your Beer On!” Cheers!