First bottled brew will be Beachwood’s ever-coveted Tovarish Russian Imperial Espresso Stout in 22oz. bottles. Brewed on Beachwood’s tiny 10-barrel system, Tovarish is a bold Russian imperial stout brewed with a base of British Maris Otter barley, heaping amounts of roasted barley, and specialty malts. It is finished with a touch of blackstrap molasses along with a custom roasted coffee blend by Portola Coffee Lab in Costa Mesa, CA. “Tovarish is a very special brew to the Beachwood family and we’re looking forward to sharing the love,” notes Beachwood Brewmaster & Co-Owner, Julian Srago.

Julian & The Wench at Beer Revolution

Official release is scheduled for December 14th at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA. Tovarish bottles will also be available at various local Los Angeles and CA retailers.

Cheers!

For the most part, alcohol regulation and taxation is up to the States and the Federal Government stays out of the conversation. Each state has its own laws, system for regulating alcohol, and enforcement agencies. And even though California is more “lenient” than many other states in this union (don’t even get me started on bigotry in the South…), it is still subject to a lot of controversy when it comes to alcohol regulation and taxation.

The latest topic of debate is aging beer in barrels that previously housed spirits. Although wine and beer are often taxed and regulated similarly, spirits are considered to be an entirely different segment of the alcohol industry and are taxed much higher. Because barrel-aged beers receive some of their flavor from the alcohol in the wood, some believe that they should be considered distilled spirits and taxed accordingly — which makes very little sense when you think about it.

When evaluating the volume of individual ingredients in the finished product, distilled spirits make up a significantly small portion of the overall mass of the beer. It’s equivalent to a brewer adding vanilla extract to flavor a beer and the ABC taxing the beer as a spirit because a fraction of its overall recipe includes trace amounts of alcohol. I know this is a gross exaggeration, but you get my point.

Lucky for me and my fellow California-based barrel-aging brewers, the CA government agrees. On Friday July 13th, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1812 (Chesbro D-Arcata), a bill that ensures beer aged in used wooden barrels will continue to be taxed, licensed, regulated and labeled as “beer” throughout California. The bill was sponsored by the California Craft Brewers Association passed both chambers of the Legislature unanimously.

AB 1812 will provide clarity that beer aged in re-purposed empty wooden barrels will continue to be defined as beer.

“This is a very important bill to the growing craft beer industry in the state,” said Tom McCormick, Executive Director of the CCBA. “California craft brewers have become literally world renown for their unique interpretation and adaptation of ageing beers in wood barrels.  AB 1812 will ensure that this exciting brewing process will continue to thrive.”

California’s craft beer industry has gained worldwide acclaim for their use of wooden barrels to age craft beers.  These empty wooden barrels are expensive and are typically recycled by craft brewers from previous use by the wine or distilled spirits industries.  The re-purposing of these empty wooden barrels imbues unique character and complex flavor profiles to the beer.

“This bill is common-sense legislation that will allow California’s craft brewers to continue to grow their businesses creatively, adding jobs and providing a bright spot in the state economy,” said Steve Wagner, president of Stone Brewing Co.

There are currently over 290 craft brewers in the state. The craft brewing segment has grown consistently despite the overall beer industry being down in recent years. Last year craft beer sales grew 13% nationally with similar growth reported in California.

Viva la Barrel-aged Craft Beer! Huzzah!!!

This is big news in the world of craft beer. It is encouraging and exciting to see more and more countries outside of the “Western World“embrace and celebrate craft beer. Hopefully, IBC’s presence in the Indian craft beer market will help to ignite a craft beer revolution across the entire country — inspiring more breweries to open and more craft breweries to export to India.

Upon receiving this news, I approached the owners for more information, and I am honored to say that they gave me an exclusive interview to coincide with the announcement, which will follow this post shortly.

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

April 29th, 2012.  Independence Brewing Company (IBC) is a new brewing venture founded by Shailly Bist and Avanish Vellanki to bring genuine craft brewing to India.  With an aim to offer Indians something other than the yellow, fizzy, industrial lagers that have become a fixture in India, IBC hopes to offer a unique array of craft brews across a variety of styles not previously offered in the nation.  IBC brings Independence from Boring Beers!

IBC is also proud to announce the addition of Greg Koch, CEO and Cofounder of Stone Brewing Co., to the team.  Greg will serve as a partner and Chief Advisor to IBC. “I’ve had a chance to visit India and witness first-hand why Avanish and Shailly are so excited, and I have to say I agree with them!  There is tremendous opportunity in India for craft beer.  I also have to say that I’m really excited about these two guys and look forward to helping them bring Independence from boring beers to India!” said Greg Koch.

“We are really excited to work with Greg!” said Avanish Vellanki, Cofounder of IBC.  “We are tremendously honored and moved by Greg’s excitement about India; Greg clearly sees the tremendous opportunity in the country, and we look forward to introducing truly exceptional brews together!”

IBC will set up its first craft pub brewery in the city of Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, India, one of India’s fastest growing technology centers. With a national landscape in which only a handful of beers exist in the nation, and a regulatory environment that has only recently awoken to the microbrewery concept, IBC hopes to bring the extensive and passionate craft brewing culture in the US to India.

IBC will be the only craft brewery in India owned and operated by a craft brewer.  “We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to bring to India something we truly love, and we think Indians will love too – truly exceptional craft beers,” said Shailly Bist, Cofounder & Head Brewer of IBC.  “India has such a rich artisanal culture, and we think it’s about time that IPA had a homecoming!”

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Follow Independence Brewing Company on Facebook and @IndeBrewCo on Twitter.

This morning, whilst wasting copious hours fluttering around Twitter and procrastinating writing an article for Beaumont’s World of Beer, I stumbled across a tweet from my boys over at Beer Tap TV:

Naturally, being the smart-ass little twit that I am, I responded with the wittiest thing that came to mind — without even know anything about the contest

Unfortunately, the validity of such a trade is improbable, if not impossible. Technically, I do not have a child to offer at this moment which means that my barter would be a “I owe you” note. And then there is the fact that I do not intend on spawning — ever. Which means that I would never be able to fulfill my terms of the barter and, therefore, would always be in debt to Black Star. Either that or the Black Star secret mafia would kidnap me, artificially inseminate me (or whatever it’s called), and then hold me captive for 9 months until I follow through on my bargain.

Anyways, all baby jokes aside, the concept for this viral marketing campaign is brilliant. After all, who wouldn’t want a years supply of delicious, crisp craft beer? And I can say this with a straight face since I am familiar with the Black Beer brand. Last year, I had the honor of attending its official re-launch party in San Francisco and got to throw back a couple with the owner. Some of you extreme beer geeks might think “Ah, it’s just a lager. Nothing special.” Which is unfortunate. Black Star Lager is brewed with true ingredients — no adjuncts or other bullshit materials that the macros use. It is a real solid, flavorful lager. And the best part is that it comes in cans, which means it is an awesome beer for outdoor adventures.

So now the real question is: What would you do or trade for a year’s supply of Black Star Beer?

I look forward to submitting my answer soon as well as seeing what other crazy ideas are thrown into the pool. For more details, check out the following announcement from Black Star Beer:

We are giving beer lovers the opportunity of a lifetime- the chance to win a year’s supply of Black Star Beer. We are inviting contestants and spectators near and far to join us at The Great Northern Brewery in Whitefish, MT on February 5, 2011 for The Black Star Barter.

This isn’t any old barter, we’re thinking big. What is 52 cases of this crisp, refreshing, double hopped golden lager worth to you? That’s one thousand two hundred and forty eight beers!  We are looking for contestants to submit their most creative, over-the-top, outrageous ideas to barter. Nothing is off limits. In fact, we encourage off-the-wall submissions. The judges will rank all barter submissions based on creativity, awesomeness, thoughtfulness, and enthusiasm. There will only be one winner, so contestants will be fighting head to head to make their idea count.

The Barter is officially an exciting new addition to this year’s 52nd annual Whitefish Winter Carnival, held February 4-6, 2011. We understand that Whitefish, MT might not currently be in the books for February, but we invite you to join us for the festivities as a daring participant or spectator. In addition to the barter, we will be hosting the 16th Anniversary party of the Great Northern Brewing Company that night, February 5th, from 7pm until 9pm.

Friend Black Star on Facebook and Follow @BlackStarBeer on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtage #beerbarter!

House Resolution 1297, introduced by Congresswoman Betsy Markey (CO) on April 22, 2010, to support ‘the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week’ PASSED mid-yesterday with 62 co-sponsors.

Read more about H. Res. 1297 passing from politico.com.

American Craft Beer Week is not even half over, but here is the big picture, thus far:

-The “Mother of All Beer Weeks,” organized by the Brewers Association, celebrates and highlights all that America loves about craft beer and small and independent craft brewers.

-In 2006, the week became the largest national effort focusing on American craft brewers and remains so today.

-For 2010, 500+ events from 300+ breweries are posted at AmericanCraftBeerWeek.org

-Events are happening in 45 states!

-20,000 plus ‘likes’ were reached this past Monday on Facebook with literally thousands of tweets on Twitter about the week’s happenings.

-The Declaration of Beer Independence is a big part of American Craft Beer Week, with town mayors (see Durango Hearld), Governors, beer lovers and brewers all signing it!

There are a lot of extremely exciting ongoing in the world of craft beer. But, the fight is far from over. Whether you write a letter to your congress person or simply just become a friend on the American Craft Beer Week on Facebook, no gesture is too small.

We can do it, folks. Keep fighting for the cause!

Cheers!