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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Did you know that Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey starred in one of the worst “horror” films ever made back in 1994? Neither did I, until I cracked open a Sam Adams “Beers of Summer” sampler pack last night.
The night started out like any other. My wife and I had just put our seven month-old daughter Hannah to bed. The tiki torches on the deck were lit. She had a bottle of wine chilling that I knew she was going to hate and I was deciding between Samuel Adams Pale Ale and Hefeweizen.
I’m a big fan of the Sam Adams sampler packs, even though this one had Boston Lager and Light in the mix. My rule of thumb is that sampler packs should only have unique styles and flavors in them. If I wanted the Lager and Light, I’d buy them and be done with it. But, I’m all about variety, and the rest of the selection drew me to this 12-pack. Summer Ale, Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and Cherry Wheat. That’s a good combo.
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I’ve had a couple people say to me that I should bottle and sell some of the homebrewed beer I’ve mixed up over the past couple years. And, while hearing that always makes me smile from ear to ear, there’s always the little things to think about: licensing, production, marketing, distribution, financials… yikes… I’m fine doing it up one case at a time, thank you.
But, the guys at Samuel Adams are here to make that dream happen with the Longshot - American Homebrew Contest. Each Spring, a couple of lucky homebrewers actually get to see their beer on liquor store shelves from coast-to-coast, without having to worry about all the stuff it takes to make that happen.
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Sure, there’s a little election happening in November that you might have heard a little about. But, why wait until then to vote when you’ve got the 4th annual Samuel Adams Beer Lovers Choice to keep you busy (and buzzed?) until we’re neck deep in Obama vs. McCain ads?
This summer, you can exercise your God-given right to choose the next brew in the Samuel Adams family of beers! The candidates are…
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The IRI Beer, Wine and Spirits Practice, an independent company which provides manufacturers, distributors and retailers with market information, announced its “Top 30 Beer Brand Performers in 2007″ and “Top 15 New Beer Brands in 2007.” The lists provide a look at the industry’s 30 fastest growing beer brands as well as emerging new brand entries.
For the Top 30 Beer Brand Performers ranking, IRI analyzed volume growth, share of segment trends, everyday base pricing, and incremental sales growth in 2007 versus 2006 to determine the brands with the strongest performance in the beer industry. (Or, if you’ve had a couple already today, that’d be a ranking of the brews which saw the biggest growth in 2007, not necessarily the brands that sold the most overall.)
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