Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing: Joy's Jinger Ale!

It took 2 months, but it was well worth the wait! In honor of our daughter's birth, I brewed a special ale. It was originally going to be a gingerbread ale; however, I didn't go with all of the spices one would include in a gingerbread. Instead, I made a straight ginger ale (6% ABV), where I added 1.5 ounces of freshly ground ginger (courtesy of our microplaner) in the last few minutes of the boil. Even though I was outside, and using a propane burner, the aroma of ginger was powerful, wafting through the air, piquing my neighbors interest in what I was making.

Last fall, I had gone to Annapolis Home Brew, where Jim (one of the owners) was nice enough to stay with me to get me set up with the right keg kit.

I also went to Best Buy and bought a small fridge that came without a freezer. This became my little project - to convert it into a homebrew kegerator - when Rachel took our daughter to visit the grandparents.

With the ginger ale fully fermented, I noticed that it was a bit cloudy in the car boy, sooooooo, I remembered back to Lonnie M. over at Ale Nuts.com using unflavored gelatin as a filter in his kegs. Armed with a little more research and knowledge, I filtered and carbonated 5 gallons of awesome beer. I know it's good because it got the official Rachel Seal of Approval!

I think tomorrow may lead me to brewing a Bitter for the 4th of July...

Holy smokes, that calendar is full!

Hey everybody,

As an aside from some knowledge on starting a brewery, check out the link on the right-hand side of the page and click on the Calendar of Upcoming Events. There is a ton going on in Maryland and D.C. for the next several months. I'll be updating the events that have limited information listed. I guess it's too early to know everything. But, I'm pretty sure the dates a rock solid.

It's Awesome, Baby!

It's that time of year again - the Washington Post is holding their second annual

March "Beer Madness" Tournament!

I invite everyone to go and fill out a bracket (you can print them from the website) and follow over the next several weeks to see if your favorites moved on to the next round.

Brooklyn Lager is last year's reigning champion, and they have a first round battle with our near and dear (if you are a Maryland traditionalist) National Bohemian! (Now brewed by Miller, in North Carolina.)

Click here to take a look at last year's tournament.

What does it mean to have a brewery license in Maryland?

I was scouring our Maryland code on beer and breweries (Article 2B), and finding our "code" is a hell of a lot harder than I expected. If the legislature were smart, there would be a direct link to the general code on the main page - an easy to navigate code, to boot.

§ 2-206. Brewery license.

(a) In general.- A Class 5 manufacturer's license:

(1) Is a brewery license; and

(2) Authorizes the holder to:

(i) Establish and operate in this State a plant for brewing and bottling malt beverages at the location described in the license;

(ii) Import beer from holders of nonresident dealer's permits; and

(iii) Sell and deliver beer to any wholesale licensee in this State, or person outside of this State, authorized to acquire it.

(b) Restrictions on service and sale.- A licensee may:

(1) Serve up to 6 ounces for a sample of beer brewed at the licensed premises to anyone who has taken a tour of the brewery, if that person is of legal drinking age; and

(2) Sell beer brewed at the brewery for off-premises consumption to anyone who participates in a guided tour of the brewery, subject to the following restrictions:

(i) The purchase is limited to 144 ounces of beer per person each year, based upon records kept by the brewery and forwarded to the Office of the Comptroller at intervals specified by that Office; and

(ii) The person has attained the legal drinking age.

Following the lead taken by Saranac

I received an email today from DuClaw written in a similar style to Saranac Beer announcing price increases across the board for their beer. Not only that, but there will be no Venom this year, which is their American Pale Ale.

Instead of reformulating the Venom recipe, it was announced that there will be a new American IPA called Hellrazer. I'm pretty sure that it will have a similar grain bill to Venom, however they will just use a different variety (or varieties) of hops.

I'm also anxious to hear the results of today's hearing at the Maryland House of Delegates. They were hearing the direct wine shipping bill, HB 1260, and hopefully it passed with flying colors. It would be tremendously beneficial for home consumers and for the liquor stores, by providing a wider selection.

I appreciate the effort of Saranac Beer announcing the price increase

The Saranac Beer monthly email came today with their announcement of a price increase coming soon.

Not the greatest of news; however, I truly appreciate Nick and Fred Matt coming forward and informing their customers that this is something they have to do and their hands are tied.

We are all aware that prices everywhere are increasing; we see it every time we fill-up our cars. Unfortunately Saranac is being affected too and thus we are writing to explain why you are going to experience a significant increase in the price of our beers over the next few weeks.

We have heard from literally hundreds of our loyal drinkers over the years that you appreciate the fact that Saranac is somewhat more reasonably priced than other craft beers. Thus we know you are going to be sensitive to the fact that the price of Saranac is going to increase about 8%-10% in the upcoming weeks. This at retail will translate to an increase of $.50 for 6-packs and $1.00 for 12-packs. We recognize it is a big increase and we wish it was avoidable.

Unfortunately it is not. We are experiencing dramatic cost increases for malt and hops, the basic ingredients we use to make our beers. In 2008 the price of malt will go up over 100%, and the price of hops, depending on the variety, will increase from 40% to more than 100%. These price increases are unprecedented! They are the result of a number of factors we have no control over including a poor harvest in 2007, increased world wide demand, a decline in the acreage devoted to growing malt and hops and increased demand for that acreage for making ethanol. All in all, these tremendous increases in malt and hops are going to nearly double the cost for us to make our beer. This combined with the rising cost of package materials, energy and labor, is putting us in a position where we have no choice but to increase our prices.

We regret having to take such significant price increases. We have made every effort to minimize the amount that we pass along to you. In fact this increase will not offset all the cost increases we are facing. We have made the decision to absorb some of the increases ourselves, but we must take a significant price increase if we are going to be able to continue to make the quality beer you expect as a Saranac drinker.

We certainly hope you understand and will continue to support us. As always we thank you for your loyalty and support. If you happen to be in our neck of the woods, please come visit us. We hope to see you soon!


Sincerely,

Nick Matt Fred Matt
President Vice President

It might not be the beer you normally pick up, but I suggest you support these guys, go out and buy a sixpack of Saranac Pale Ale. While you're at it, buy a sixer of your local beer. They are feeling the same pinch.