It’s amazing how much life gets in the way of blogging. Between fantasy football drafts, putting our house up for sale and spending time with the family, I’ve been neglecting my self-appointed duty of bringing you the best beer ramblings I can come up with… *sniff*… but, don’t fret, as there’s tons to get caught up on in the coming days, including the official start of pumpkin beer season!
Before we get into that, a couple of quick, non-pumpkin updates:
While it’s not pumpkin-related, it runs a close second in my book: Samuel Adams OctoberFest!
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Over the past few months, I’ve become a big fan of Magic Hat and their 12-pack samplers that always seem to hit the spot. Apparently I’m not the only one, as the brewer is doing well enough to gobble up a premier West Coast microbrewery - Pyramid Breweries Inc.
Magic Hat Brewing will acquire Pyramid through an all-cash tender offer and subsequent merger, at $2.75 per share of Pyramid common stock. The closing of the proposed transaction is anticipated to occur by the end of August.
From what both companies are saying, it sounds like it’ll be business as usual as far as beer drinkers are concerned, with no immediate changes to either brewer’s lineups planned.
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There’s something about lists that just feels right. Maybe it’s how they bring order to a chaotic world? Maybe it’s because everyone likes a winner? Or, maybe it’s because lists are easy to post so I have to type even less than I normally do? No matter what it is, laziness aside, lists help make the world go ’round and lists about beer are no exception.
So, without further ado, Drink-a-Pint is proud to present: The Brewers Association Top 50 Breweries for 2007!
Maybe it’s my ever-present East Coast bias, but the top 50 craft brewery list was actually pretty interesting. While I expected Sam Adams to be at the top, I was surprised Magic Hat didn’t make the top 10 and, for some reason, I thought Victory was much more popular than its #35 ranking. And, since the brewery is right down the street from my office, I was definitely bummed to see Flying Fish was nowhere to be found (*sniff*).
(Read the complete post…)
Until this week, if you weren’t within driving distance of one of Pyramid’s Alehouses in Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, Berkeley or Walnut Creek, CA, you were out of luck if you were in the mood for their Crystal Wheat Ale. Well, thou shalt not drive that far for wheat anymore, because you’ll be able to find Pyramid Crystal Wheat Ale in grocery stores and retail outlets throughout the Pacific Northwest.
So, why the excitement? How about this little tidbit: Crystal Wheat Ale won three consecutive medals at the Great American Beer Festival in 2005 (Silver), 2006 (Gold) and 2007 (Gold). The brew is inspired by Pyramid’s very first beer from 1984 – Wheaten Ale – which was the first year-round wheat beer brewed in America since Prohibition. Plus, Pyramid;s Hefeweizen has won four medals over the past decade, including a medal at the World Beer Cup in 2006 (Bronze) and at the Great American Beer Festival in 2004 (Gold), so I’d say they’ve got a good thing going. (Too bad it’s not going to be available anywhere near me in Philly… *sniff*)
Crystal Wheat Ale has an alcohol by volume of 5.3% and is made with Mt. Hood, US Tettnang, and US Spalt wheat hops and 2 Row Pale Barley.
