Since we’ll be closed for Christmas this Thursday and Friday, you’re getting your weekly helping of news a few days early. And don’t worry: this is a Star Wars spoiler-free zone.
The Empire is Expanding: Craft beer fans worldwide this week were rocked by the news of AB InBev purchasing Four Peaks Brewery in Arizona, Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado, and Camden Town Brewery in London. Total Ales contributor and Camden Town supporter Matthew Curtis may have put it best in his piece on Camden Town’s sale coming hot on the heels of their crowdfunding campaign: “Now I’ve had time to reflect I realise that I’m not sad or angry but I am disappointed. I’m not going to boycott Camden Town Brewery, I’ll still drink and enjoy its beer. It’s just that my relationship with them as a consumer has fundamentally changed.”
Beer’s Biggest Fan: On the more idealistic side of beer, All About Beer Magazine introduced us to Beer Dave recently. Also known as Dave Gausepohl in civilian life, Beer Dave can be convincingly referred to as the biggest beer fan in America. He has a can collection spanning 15,000 different beer cans, has visited over 3,400 breweries and has an estimated 750,000 pieces of assorted breweriana to his name. Cheers to Beer Dave for giving us all something to strive for, and contrast ourselves with in the face of friends and family who decry our fascination with glassware.
Drink Your Avocados: Australia’s Bush Shack Brewery is attracting attention for their production of a rare avocado-based beer for this year’s Araluen Botanic Park Avocado Festival. A few lucky tasters have reported that there is almost no avocado taste to the beer, but brewer Daniel Wind explained that the bitterness in the beer comes from the fruit. No word yet on if Bush Shack or a similar brew from LA-based Angel City Brewery will be available for release any time soon, but if they do come to market you can bet you’ll find out on Instagram first.
Miracle Jerky Emerges: British high-end bar snacks company Serious Pig has released what they describe as a hangover-preventing beef jerky. Dubbed Hangover Cured, the jerky is cured with chili and ginger to abate the unfortunate symptoms of a long night and sudden morning. We haven’t heard any testimonials yet, but we’re more than willing to take this snack for a spin.
The Full Pint Reviews 2015: Dan from The Full Pint recapped some of the most prevalent beer trends and biggest stories from 2015, from the acceptance of cloudy IPAs to the popularity of “Mexican Chocolate” beers. We’re personally the biggest fans of the session beers trend Dan highlighted. They’re especially useful around this time of year, after all. (And if you’re looking for Part 2 of the 2015 Pop Danthology video, we’ve got you covered here.)
Popping Bottles: Just in time for New Year’s Eve planning, the American Homebrewers Association and CraftBeer.com released this great video covering sabering corked beer bottles…or just popping them with your thumb. The only thing they left out is how to read the room before busting out the machete to open a bottle with aplomb– good luck figuring that out on your own!