Who?

I have never heard of Butternuts Beer and Ale, but their cans caught my eye at the local liquor store. When I was there, I picked up a six-pack of Heinnieweisse and Snapperfish IPA.

Last night, Snapperfish accompanied our all-natural hotdogs (oxymoron, I know) from Evermore Farm.

The beer is a decent IPA from a tiny operation. It has a good hop nose and flavor, but not the afterbite I would expect of the style. The malt is round and chewy, like a good molasses cookie. I have a photo below.


All in all, it gets 6/10. A good attempt, and with a touch more refinement it could be great.

- Posted using BlogPress from my mobile

The End of an Era

I had to buy some due to the fact I recently learned that AB InBev intends to start brewing this in the US, for US consumption. I wanted to drink it while it retained some semblance of English honor.
- Posted using BlogPress from my mobile

Review: Beer Is Proof God Loves Us

Beer Is Proof God Loves Us by Charles Bamforth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I thoroughly enjoyed Bamforth's book, Beer is Proof God Loves Us. It's an excellent, short journey into one man's livelihood, the world's social contract, and history's keen eye on beer and brewing.

He presents this book is something part history lesson from a favorite childhood teacher, to that of an autobiography. It reads much like you are having a conversation with a friend, with who you haven't spoken too in a long time. As a matter of fact, that conversation is with Bamforth; especially if you read the endnotes as you encounter them.

The tone of this book is not to educate the masses on beer and beer production, there are scores of other books out there that accomplish that. This book is merely one man's reflection on a product that he has spent over three decades learning about, working with, educating all, and the societal impacts and impasses he's encountered with beer along the way.



View all my reviews

Updates Galore!

First, let me say thanks to everyone who has kept pestering me about updating this virtual real estate. I wish I could say that I was backpacking across Europe, or exploring the barley plains of Idaho or even visiting every brewery in North America--alas, that stuff can wait! I have been busy playing 15 months of clean up.

So, you want to start a brewery or a brewpub, huh?

Let me go out on a limb and advertise a book that I read a while back:


It's basic, but really helps you establish the groundwork for what you will need to build your own establishment.

Also read Sam Calagione's Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Brooklyn Brewery founders Steve Hindy and Tom Potter's Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery; both books will launch you down the path of opening up your business--from business plan, funding, first sales trips, and then success.

More official business

And what do they always tell you about real estate, regardless of the enterprise? LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Before you venture into that old dairy and buy up all the gear, make yourself familiar with any local laws pertaining the establishment you want to run. I suggest heading over to the list of Alcohol Beverage Control Boards. From here, you will be redirected to your state's office concerning the creation/selling/distribution of alcoholic beverages.

Here, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, TTB, are truly there to help. Don't get them confused with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, they are the law enforcement side of the house, and you certainly don't want to warrant a business visit from them.

The TTB is part of the Executive branch, and the applicable laws are listed under the Code of Federal Regulation, Title 27 - Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms; Chapter I--ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY; Subchapter A--Liquors; Part 25--Beer. Please don't try to open your brewery or brewpub in your house, § 25.21 says you can't, go rent a commercial piece of property with enough floor space for food stuff and more than enough space for your brewhouse.

The TTB is the agency that grants all permits to operate an alcohol-related business. They even have a clever little how-to get started in the industry, found here.

Next, comes a whole bunch of fun stuff: paperwork! What, you thought you signed your life away on the commercial property you just agreed to a 12-month lease on? You hands are going to cramp even worse after this run! Again, the TTB succinctly provides you with a quick list of the forms you need to complete, depending if you are going the brewery/brewpub route. And all the while, you should have thoughts of insurance running wildly through your head. You cant do ANYTHING without insurance. (Under TTB's Beer FAQ, item 7.)

I'll check back in with more information later.

(Big ups to Baying-Hound Aleworks.)