KegWorks Blog

Yesterday a few of us met up for the annual trip the the Buffalo Raceway Beer Fest at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. We packed up some Keg Security T Shirts and piles of Draft Magazines and hit the road. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, beyond beer, but I’m always up for a day of fine brews, so “working” on Sunday was not an issue in the least. I was also unsure as to whether there would be much of a turnout, since all of Western New York had been completely dumped on by a winter storm the day before. But, much to my delight, Buffalonians arrived in hoards - feet of snow never slows us down (how ever could I have thought otherwise?)!

The beer fest was four hours of tastings and incessant beer chatter. I met homebrewers, home bar owners, connoisseurs and the like. And the beer? Oh my, the beer. Some fantastic breweries came to show their stuff - Flying Bison, Custom Brewcrafters, Ithaca Beer Company, Magic Hat, Yuengling, Saranac Beers… the list goes on. Consumer’s Beverage Centers brought a sampling from a number of breweries, including Great Lakes Brewing Company. I had the pleasure of tasting Great Lakes’ winter seasonal Blackout Stout - a dark, rich, creamy Russian Imperial stout with heavy notes of bitter chocolate and coffee, topped with a thick tan head - my personal favorite of the day. The CascaZilla “Monstrously Hoppy” Red Ale from Ithaca Beer Company was a treat too! To be honest, I was pleased with each and every beer I sampled. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Check out more photos from the Buffalo Raceway Beer Fest here, on Buffalo.com.

Cheers!

TAGS [ BEER FEST | BEER REVIEW | BEER TASTING ]

I received an email from a Jeff Barton of Milwaukee, WI who built the ultimate in tailgating supplies – The 12 Man Beer Bong. Whoa. He used draft beer products from KegWorks for his invention.

This thing is no joke. It weighs over 600 pounds when fully loaded. Luckily it includes a cart to get it around. It’s “fueled by up to two half barrels of beer which fit within its cart,” and serves two different kinds of beer for those picky beer bongers.

Check it out, and let Jeff know what you think.

TAGS [ BEER BONG | 12 MAN BEER BONG | DRAFT BEER | KEG ]

We’re quickly approaching that time of year again - time for all to embrace Ireland’s finest export - Guinness. Now, if you’re anything like me, anytime is the perfect time for a Guinness. But, I know there’s a good number of you out there who imbibe on this sandwich-in-a-glass just around St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you’re a year-round fan or a holiday indulger, now is a great time to review the steps in pouring a perfect pint of
Guinness.

How to Properly Pour a Pint of Guinness
Guinness is best served at 42.8ºF (6ºC) with the legendary two-part pour. It should take about 119.5 seconds to pour the perfect pint… always worth the wait.

1. Tilt the pint glass to 45º
2. Carefully pour until the glass is ¾ full
3. Place the glass on the counter and leave it to settle
4. Once the surge has settled, fill the glass to the brim
5. Enjoy and repeat

Don’t wait for St. Patrick’s Day - get out and grab yourself a perfectly poured Guinness today.

Cheers!

TAGS [ GUINNESS | GUINNESS PINT | POURING GUINNESS | ST PATRICKS DAY ]

I’m a big fan of Guy Kawasaki and his and his no-nonsense thoughts on Entrepreneurship…not to mention he is a huge hockey fan. If you ever think of starting a company, his book, Art of the Start, is required reading. His blog is one of my favorites and it is always on the top of my list to read when I see a new post. Based on his latest post, I think I have a very important meeting in Dublin I need to attend.

Here’s wishing you an early Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

–Tom

TAGS [ GUY KAWASAKI | GUINNESS | ST PATRICKS DAY | ENTREPRENEURSHIP ]

I’ve liked cherries for as long as I can remember. My affection for the sweet and succulent garnish developed into full-blown love when I was a little kid. My family went out to dinner at the same restaurant every Friday night and while the adults enjoyed their cocktails, I would sip on a nice stiff Shirley Temple. My favorite waitress always hooked me up by tossing in three or four extra cherries, making me a very happy little girl.

As I grew up, my love for cherries grew too. I loved to try the different varieties at the grocery store and I made it a point to go on several cherry picking excursions. Throughout my college years, I was a waitress at a country club. As I’d stand at the bar waiting for drinks for my tables, I’d help myself to the cherries in the garnish tray.

During a night out, I’d often order 3 Olives Cherry and 7-up, the delicious “grown-up” version of my classic childhood Shirley Temple. I even spent hours learning how to tie a stem with my tongue!

Needless to say, when a jar of the Luxardo Gourmet Maraschino Cherries made its way onto my desk as a part of the new product process here at KegWorks, I was VERY excited. I was even more excited when Dave cracked open a jar and brought them around the office for everyone to try.

The only way to describe my first experience with these gourmet cocktail cherries is to straight up tell you that the bar for the quality of the cherries in my life has been raised. I will never be able to fully enjoy a standard cocktail cherry again. Sure, your typical cherries aren’t bad… but try one of these babies and you’ll know what you’re missing, trust me. The delicious, all-natural whole pitted cherries are candied in deep red Marasca syrup, without use of any thickening agents or preservatives. I’m not sure which part makes them so mouth-watering but whatever it is, it’s amazing.

Luxardo is a premier name in mixology, typically known for their infused liquors. This Italian company certainly seems to know a thing or two about making amazing cocktail cherries as well. They’ve perfected the garnish and transformed it from “a little extra flavor” to an essential ingredient that has the capability of turning an ordinary drink into an extraordinary cocktail.

These gourmet cherries are an exclusive Italian import and from what I hear, they can be hard to find. Top pastry chefs swear by them, people who appreciate fine cocktails want them… now I know why. I’m just glad KegWorks has them.

Do you think it’s rude to bring your own cherries to a bar?

TAGS [ CHERRIES | MARASCHINO | LUXARDO | LUXARDO GOURMET CHERRIES | COCKTAILS ]

Alert to all craft beer drinkers: Brace yourselves for higher prices in 2008!!! Hops, the delightful flowers that add bitterness to your beer, are in short supply in 2008. To make matters worse, the barley supply is also tightening up. This double whammy shortage of essential ingredients is leading to higher prices from small breweries.

The cause of the hops shortage is multi-faceted. Two thirds of the world’s hops comes from Germany and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the US, a fungal infection is destroying hops crops, as well as a fire at a major hops warehouse, which destroyed 3% of the 2007 crop. Worldwide, hops yields have been low due to poor weather conditions damaging crops. The biggest factor reducing supply is economics. For years hops prices have been very low due to excess supply, so many hops farmers have either switched to other more profitable crops or sold their fields to developers. All these factors have caused the price of many hops varieties to shoot up from $2 or $3 a pound to over $20 a pound.

The years of low hops prices have led small brewers to buy hops on the open markets, but those supplies are no longer there. The large brewers like Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Miller have long-term future contracts with growers to buy hops at set prices for several years at a time due to their massive purchasing power. This means that after the big guys get their promised supplies of hops, small brewers must compete for the scarce supply of hops on the open market, leading to higher hops prices. While the large brewers’ production costs are set for 2008, due to their future contracts, the small brewers must make up their increased production costs by raising beer prices.

Barley is the essential ingredient in making malt. Malted barley provides the sugars brewing yeast needs to make alcohol and CO2. Barley prices are rising as farmers shift to corn production to cash in on the corn ethanol boom.

In addition to not having the buying power to secure long term pricing for barley and hops, small brewers generally use more hops and barley per beer than the large brewers, further pushing up the price of their beer. These ingredient shortages not only will cause craft beer prices to go up $1 to $3 per six pack, but may also cause brewers to change recipes and in some extreme cases, to even discontinue certain varieties like IPAs that require lots of hops.

I have begun to see these price increases locally. My local brewery has had to raise keg prices by $5 a keg. My local bar keeps an ever-changing selection of about 30 craft beers on tap, and I was chatting the other night with the manager about what beers are upcoming. Unprompted, he began to bemoan the price increases and scarcity of some kegs. He said all the breweries he deals with have raised keg prices $10 to $50 plus. In order to hold his pint prices steady (which are very reasonable) he has had to drop some breweries and varieties he prefers for brands are that similar but in his opinion not quite as good.

Hopefully, the weather will be better for hops in 2008 and the high prices for hops will encourage farmers to increase production in 2009. Sam Adams, the biggest of the craft brewers, is trying to help out by offering some of their stored hops at cost to other craft brewers through their hops share program. However, the tight barley situation seems like it will continue for the foreseeable future until the ethanol boom subsides. So, it looks like beer prices will jump in 2008, but might come down again in 2009.

TAGS [ HOPS SHORTAGE | BEER | BEER PRICES | CRAFT BREWERIES ]