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.

One step toward greatness!

Check it out gang,

As a Valentine's Day gift to me, I'm stopping by Best Buy tomorrow to pick up a Sanyo 4.9 cubic foot refrigerator. I'm going to convert it to a kegerator to hold my two soda kegs and CO2 tank. I figure I can brew up my Gingerbread spice ale and still have a free tap for a stout (maybe?).

It's a step toward opening a brewery, in a convoluted kind of way... baby steps, keg my beer and serve it on draft.

I'll do my best to post pictures and details of the conversion once all of the pieces are in play.

-Nick

Hot on the heels of the SABMiller news

Courtesy of the ProBrewer.com's forum:

A-B, InBev Talks Heat Up

Reports speculate that deal may happen this year

InBev, the world's second-largest beer producer by volume, and Anheuser-Busch are in advancing talks that could lead to a merger of the two, Belgian business magazine Trends said on Thursday.

InBev, whose key brands are Stella Artois, Beck's, Brahma and Leffe, and Anheuser-Busch have been the subject of consistent merger speculation over the past year.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal said talks between the brewing giants had become more serious and that a deal was possible this year.

Both brewers have repeatedly declined to comment.

InBev was formed from the 2004 merger of Belgium's Interbrew and Brazil's AmBev.

Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat

Keep plowing that land for biofuel production. Not like we need other staple grain to survive.

Courtesy of the NY Times,

"Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.

The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months, as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental cost of their production. These latest studies, published in the prestigious journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy.

These studies for the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland globally to support biofuels development."

Click the link highlighted above the quote for the full article.