DRAFT Magazine

Really?

They want to give us a week to celebrate American craft beer… we’re in.
The Florida Beer Company decided it’s time once again to salute one of the things that makes our country great: beer. (As if we needed another reason to bask in our own glory…)

To honor American Craft Beer Week, Florida Beer has some incredible specials at its taproom starting on May 12. That day, cases of Beachside Beer will only cost you $15. Daily appreciations of Kelly’s Hard Cider, Hurricane Reef Beer, and Key West Beer will follow.

Florida Beer is also releasing a special German-Style Doppelbock with an eight percent alcohol content, but this tasty new beverage is only available to sample.

The best part of American Craft Beer Week comes last, as on May 16 customers will receive a free pint glass with any purchase.

No excuses will be accepted for not breaking in your new glass.

The “man” has found another way to hold us down, and this time he has struck our beloved beer labels. Stevens Point Brewing released its Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat for the second summer in a row and for the second time in a row the brewery has riled the feathers of the powers that be.

Stevens Point altered the label appearing on the brew, and Michigan’s Liquor Control Commission deemed the image, which depicts a nude-beach scene, to be “detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the general public.”

But the brewers are welcoming the free publicity — which they received last year from USA
Today — and have even doubled the production of their most successful new product. Nude Beach will also be available in a 12-pack so one can enjoy it in the privacy of his or her own home.

Of course, this beer should taste just as good whether it’s enjoyed on a clothed or nude beach.

Becoming a teenager typically includes the passage into adolescences marked by a streak of rebellion until eventually one reaches adulthood, calms down, and realizes what’s important.

Luckily for breweries that’s not the case.

To celebrate its 13th anniversary the brewers at Pelican Pub and Brewery have bypassed the possibly chaotic time period in the brewery’s life and took it upon themselves to release three very adult-like brews.

The first, La Fleur Amère (The Bitter Flower), is a new Belgium-style IPA that exists as a cross between an English-style IPA and exotic Belgian-style yeast. The light color and cohesive flavors of the more than one pound of hops per barrel combine with the smooth texture followed by the snap of malts to make this beer one you’ll want to wrap your taste buds around like a pollinating bee and bring it back to the colony.

But why stop when your having fun?

Pelican is also releasing two of its popular summer ales: Heiferweizen and Surfer’s Summer Ale.

The unfiltered delight that is the Heifer has just the right amount of spice, orange peel, and coriander to get you through the summer — if you’re seeking refuge from the sun, just hold this hazy delight in front of you for shade.

No summer is complete though without a trip to the beach and Surfer’s Summer Ale will get you there no matter how far away you find yourself from the ocean. The smooth honey-golden flavor combined with Glacier hops finishes clean and fresh so that you can kick back and brush the sand out from between your toes no matter where you are.

Teens and adults alike can appreciate that feelling.

Every day more and more beers go green, not just for St. Patrick’s Day but for the environment. Sierra Nevada, one of the nation’s most forward-thinking breweries, has stepped up again, and will ship its beer by ground using state-of-the-art hybrid trucking.

The company recently purchased one of the first-ever model 330 Peterbilt Hybrid Tractors. The very latest in green innovation, this truck is ideal for short haul pickups and deliveries.

Traditionally, ground-based delivery is one of the most environmentally unfriendly aspects of the brewing industry but this new technology allows the vehicle to charge the truck’s batteries as it slows down and stops, similar to traditional hybrid cars.

Certified as a “Clean Idle” vehicle, the model 330 will begin leading Sierra Nevada’s enhanced fleet of trucks as the brewery explores efficiency upgrades in the coming future.

In addition to reducing its fossil fuel usage, Sierra Nevada also owns the nation’s largest private solar installation, which generates a majority of the brewery’s electrical needs.

The meaning behind the green Sierra Nevada label just got a whole lot deeper.

With the expansion of beer pong leagues and tournaments, we thought the game couldn’t get more interesting. We were wrong.

Today, the infamous Howard Stern turns the beer pong world on its ear with the introduction of Strip Beer Pong. This update on a “classic” could innovate the entire nation of beer pongers.

Players follow all official beer pong rules with the addition of three pink “Strip Cups.” Dancers from Rick’s Cabaret — one on each team — disrobe if… well, we’re sure you get the point.

We’ll all “learn” how this new version of beer pong works when it airs on Stern’s Howard TV On Demand channel, premiering today. Shuli, a comedian reporter from the Howard 100 News on Sirius XM Radio, will host the three-part series.

If you can’t wait, there’s a Virtual Strip Beer Pong Game available online.

In the end not everyone can be a winner but we can certainly taste one, or two, or three. The Boston Beer Co. announced the winners of its annual home brewing competition and this year’s winners are doozies. Claiming the prize for themselves Californians Mike McDole and Alex Drobshoff individually produced a Double IPA perfect for those who are addicted to hops and a Traditional Bock that rings home with malty flavors easy to enjoy.

But the most interesting creation was Carissa Sweigart’s Cranberry Wit. Using ingredients from Cape Cod, this white beer has all the distinct flavors one would expect but also treats your palate to deliciously refreshing cranberry rush. Sweigart is employed by the Boston Beer Co.; we’re not saying she had help or inside information but it is awful peculiar how good this beer is.

The LongShot’s will be available in six-packs and put you out about $10 — not a bad price to pay to feel like a winner.

When CEO of Scotty’s Brewhouse, Scott Wise offered $150 of his own money to employees “that ran, walked, or crawled across the finish line,” of the One America 500 Festival Indianapolis Mini Marathon, he probably didn’t realize how much lighter his wallet was about to get.

Taking on the challenge of their CEO, employees have already begun training to complete one of the largest half-marathons in the country. Some were lured in by all the beer they could purchase with the extra money while others decided to go at it for the much-needed exercise.

But the brewhouse does more than just bribe its employees to run marathons they offer a $40 reimbursement for any athletic activity the staff chooses to participate in. Gym memberships, kick boxing classes, and even Jenny Craig are all reimbursable in order to keep the worker bees happy and healthy.

Scotty’s has the right idea for helping improve the state of obesity in the U.S., now if we could just get the CEO’s of McDonald’s on board with this we might have something.

The winos are at it again. Tired of the expenses of popping corks all day to let several bottles of wine go to waste by the age old enemy of vino, oxygen, several restaurants have elected to go “old school” and keep their wines in kegs and run tapping systems so that they can now pour wine by the glass without losing any of their delicious product.

Wine connoisseurs may turn their noses up at this new discovery made by the general public because barrel and tap methods of serving wine have existed for centuries in places that produce this spirit livening beverage — still available in this form in many places in Europe.

In order to deliver wine by tap, a low-pressure nitrogen system pushes the wine from the keg through the tap to a perfectly filled single glass for you to enjoy. Thus keeping the wine fresher by not exposing the precious drink to the air while providing a quintessential ingredient to one’s dining experience, alcohol.

Watch out for wine on tap at your favorite establishments, the new keg wine craze has already become popular in Los Angeles and San Francisco and is slowly circulating around the country.
The companies save money on wasted wine and everyone else benefits from a cheaper glass of wine.

What will they think of next?