Mike has been preaching the WineStreets gospel for so long now
that when Dogfish Head's Midas Touch was available (for the first time in
the Midwest?), I made the 20 mile trek from St. Paul to Bloomington.
And though I have not tried Midas Touch yet ($9.99 for a wine
bottle-about 7 bottles left), the trip was very worth it. In fact, they
might have a larger Belgian selection than Blue Max. They also had a
number of Poland and Czech Republic beers. I asked about meads, and Tom
didn't carry any just yet, but he hopes to have some on the shelves in
the next couple weeks. He says he is working with a Polish distributor
and might have as many as 12 different kinds, but hopefully 6 or so.
(Mike, will you let us know when these get in?)
So I have to admit, it was worth the effort. I ended up with a
whole bunch of stuff I hadn't planned on buying, and you will too.
Don
P.S. Is Gary Sinnin (?) out there, the mead master? Or does anyone have
his email address?
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Hey all-
I received a number of emails regarding ticket sales for the ABR, so I
think it's best we just get this over with in one fell swoop.
For those of you that know me, you've seen me in heated arguments about
the liquor laws in Minnesota, why I don't like the other beer festival in
town, and probably a lot more than I care to admit.
The burning question seems to be "Is there a limit on the amount of
tickets that we will sell for the ABR?" A simple question, on the
surface, but a very tough answer in reality.
We need to order glasses, get programs printed, decide if we will get
t-shirts printed, and most importantly, decide if we will do it again
next year.
First, a bit of history. The Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild was formed
because my good friend John Haggerty and myself were sitting in a local
watering hole one night and were frustrated at the lack of representation
of Minnesota breweries. It wasn't "Man I wish Water Tower/Town Hall" was
on tap here. It was more "Where's Page, Mantorville, Gluek, Lake
Superior, and St Croix?" Why do I see Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Golden
Draft Light, etc? The last one, by the way, is a particular thorn in my
side because I have now been forced to carry that beer in bottles.
So, we started the Guild to promote Minnesota Breweries. And, we've had
many private and all-to-public arguments of what we were doing. But
we've been an inclusive group. We did the ABR last year. How many of
you would have ever had the chance to try "Jackson Five IPA" if not for
the ABR? We had Winterfest, our Strong beer/Jazz Fest. This spring
we'll be doing the Food and Wine show as a group. In my own small,
misguided view of the world, we're trying to do what we think is best for
the industry. I say this while thinking how sad I am that Minnesota
Brewing closed, yet how happy I am that Schell's picked up the brands.
Which brings us finally back to the ABR. Are tickets limited? Does it
matter? Is it worth $20, even if it turns out that you can't attend, to
insure that there will be an ABR 2003? Does what we are doing make any
sense? Sometimes, I don't know. See the above part where I've been
*forced* to carry Mich Golden Light in bottles.
I guess the answer is "Yes." Tickets are limited. They are limited to
the amount I'm willing to sell and still guarantee that everyone in
attendance will have a great time. If you want to talk to a brewer, I
want to make sure you have that chance. I'm not sure when or how we
became people anyone would want to talk to, but it seems there is an
interest. I want this to be the best damn beer festival this state has
ever seen. Mark my words, it will be, regardless of whether there are 5
or 5000 people there. I said the same thing last year in private to my
co-organizers Paul and Colleen. I don't expect it to be any different
this year.
I hope to see all of you there. Direct any comments/hatemail directly to
me. This was my doing as an individual, and is not meant to reflect the
attitudes of the organization for which I am but a humble (well, maybe
not humble) servant.
Cheers!
David Berg
President, Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild
Head Brewer, Water Tower Brewing Company
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Hey Bob,
The "Autumn Homebrew Review" www.mnbrewers.com/events/autumn is doing all their judging in one weekend. You'll probably be there. Maybe you'd like to be a BOS judge Sat along with a couple flights on Fri night. Look forward to meeting you and all your buddies from Wisconsin! ;-)
Mike Moranz, President
Minnesota Home Brewers Association
---- Original Message -----
From: <rpaolino(a)execpc.com>
To: "Steve" <steve(a)globaldialog.com>
Cc: <madbrewers(a)hbd.org>; <jellings(a)me.umn.edu>; <aboyce(a)mn.rr.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2002 12:40 PM
Subject: Re: [madbrewers] Beer Contest: THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI MASH-OUT!
5/5/2002 (fwd)
> It must be something in the Minnesota brewing water that causes them
> to do it, but it seems that almost every big homebrew competition they
> do is spread out over more than one weekend with the Best of Show and
> added events separate from the main judging. Maybe that's what they
> have to do to make sure they have enough local judges to go around for
> all the entries, but it can be a HUGE disincentive for any judges to
> travel from out of town--only so many people can be best of show
> judges in one competition.
Greetings,
I sampled an entire bottle of "Midas Touch" from the Dogfish Head brewery this weekend. The label says barley, honey, white muscat grapes, and saffron. It had some sediment in the bottom of the 750ml bottle.
Excellent blend of malt, honey, and grapes, with none of the three dominating. Mildly sweet with just enough bitterness to balance very nicely. It is hard to say if this is beer or a mead. I picked it up at Winestreets in west Bloomington and plan on a few more for the cellar.
Mike Moranz, President
Minnesota Home Brewers Association
SECOND CALL!
The Autumn Home Brew Review web site now features ONLINE REGISTRATION for
both beers and judges!
DEADLINE IS AUG. 22, 2002! ENTER TODAY!
http://www.mnbrewers.com/events/autumn
FEATURES:
* The beer registration process allows you to print out your registration
form AND your three bottle neck labels.
* You may choose to print multiple copies of the registration if your web
browser allows it, letting you print a copy for your own records.
* The beer registration process allows you to enter your beer recipe as
well, allowing many selections from drop-down menus.
* The data is saved on a back-end server, so the chance of back-end data
entry errors are reduced.
* If you do all of your beer registration and judge registration at one
time, you will only have to enter your personal information once.
* The registration form includes the address for the Town Hall shipping
point.
* The judge registration form allows you to indicate your judging time
preferences and style preferences.
Entries will be accepted for the contest beginning Aug. 2 through Aug. 22
at Town Hall Brewery (in person and shipping) and at Midwest Homebrewing in
St.Louis Park.
- Al
Will wasn't the only person who noticed this jab but who will notice when we react?
Beer with all of the variations can have a much greater range of flavors, aromas, textures, and appearances. Much more than red or white, sweet or dry or oaky wine. Of course the wholesalers forgot about the ancient mixtures made from honey, barley, and grapes. Oh that's right, they don't make that commercially any more!
>>> Will Holway <brew987(a)yahoo.com> 08/15/02 10:00AM >>>
Found this snippet on MSN (about the health benefits
of beer). I heartily disagree that wine tastes better
than beer ...
The wine folk seem unperturbed by the encroachment of
beer into what was once their exclusive PR domain. "We
stand by the studies" that link moderate wine
consumption and health, says Juanita Duggan, head of
the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, a
Washington, D.C., trade group. "And besides, our
products will always taste better than theirs."
Cheers
WH
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Found this snippet on MSN (about the health benefits
of beer). I heartily disagree that wine tastes better
than beer ...
The wine folk seem unperturbed by the encroachment of
beer into what was once their exclusive PR domain. �We
stand by the studies� that link moderate wine
consumption and health, says Juanita Duggan, head of
the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, a
Washington, D.C., trade group. �And besides, our
products will always taste better than theirs.�
Cheers
WH
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com
August Schell Brewing Company Finalizes Purchase of Grain Belt Brand
New Ulm, Minnesota - Wednesday, August 14th,2002
Ted Marti, President of August Schell Brewing Company, announced the signing
of the agreement to purchase the Grain Belt beer brand today.
³We¹re very excited to have the sale completed. We did not see anything that
would have blocked the sale so we started to prepare for immediate
production. Knowing the consumers have already diminished the supply of
Grain Belt has made this task of getting production of Grain Belt started at
our New Ulm brewery extremely important. We have all the components of the
Grain Belt beer recipe on hand, including the all important yeast, so we can
get started at once. We know it is important to make sure the taste of Grain
Belt does not change. I want to assure loyal Grain Belt drinkers they will
get the same great American lager beer they are used to drinking. We take
pride in producing a consistent product here and I¹m positive we will be
able to do that with Grain Belt.² explained Marti.
Look for distribution of the product to be in full swing shortly. ³It is
imperative to not let the tap lines and shelves run out of Grain Belt. While
this may happen in isolated cases, we are doing all we can to get the
product to market as fast as possible without compromising the quality of
the beer.² said Marti. One of the reasons August Schell Brewing Company is
working hard to get full production ramped up is the upcoming Minnesota
State Fair . ³ We view The State Fair as an important venue for Grain Belt.
It has a long association with The State Fair and we don¹t want to
disappoint the fans of Grain Belt by not having enough beer available for
them at The Fair² explained Marti.
The recipe and packaging for Grain Belt will not change. ³Why change what
has proven to be a popular beer? We hope that with our distribution network
we can make Grain Belt more consistently and more widely available. That¹s
how we intend to make Grain Belt a more viable brand for the future² offered
Marti.
