First Time in Cans!

Why do some states go out of their way to find ways to make if difficult to run a small brewery?

I received an email this morning from a small brewery in Georgia that essentailly said "our new beer is out & here's where you can find it." Shortly thereafter, I got another email that said the following:

"We've just been notified we are no longer able to post a map of where you can find the El Dorado, or any other beer style. It is a law on the books which the DOR is now cracking down on. We've had to remove the map to avoid being fined. The DOR is viewing a map as "Advertising for a Retail Location", which is against the law in Georgia. So from now on we (or any other brewery) are no longer able to reply to tweets asking where you can find our beer, give maps of where you can find our beer, or even tell you which locations serve our beer."

Seriously? A manufacturer cannot tell you where you can purchase their product? What about free speech? Not knowing the history of the law, I am just making a guess here but it sounds to me like something that a large brewery with their beer in every supermarket, gas station and convenience store would push for.  Just like Florida's growler regulations.

Contast this to the Indianana which between the State and the local government are giving almost $3 million in asistance to Sun King Brewing based on the expanded facility’s potential to create jobs.

I'm not against regulations that make sense.  Regulating against 64 oz. growlers and retailer lists is stupid.  Why not focus on legitimate problems?

It's time (well actually way past time) to speak up and tell your elected officials to stop trying to regulate the small breweries out of existence and ultimately eliminate jobs just to keep the multinational breweries happy.

Available Daily Starting Monday, August 12

Fill up or stay in. OTC Brickell’s endless rotating craft beer menu is now offering their beers to go. Beginning Monday, August 12, Brickell’s craft beer destination will offer 32-ounce growlers for an entry fee of $10. Pay the one time fee for your first growler (plus the cost of the beer) and every time you come in the growler will be cleaned and refilled with your craft beer of choice.

Anderson Valley Brewing Company announced today it will release its first bourbon barrel-aged pumpkin ale as part of the acclaimed Wild Turkey® Barl Series.

Swamp Head has broken ground on their new 13,000 sq. ft. facility that will be located at 3650 SW 42nd Ave, Gainesville, FL. Scherer Construction of Gainesville is managing the ground up design/build project.

GrassLands Brewing Co. received the award for Entrepreneurial Startup Business of the Year from the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce

By now everyone has heard that Pincho Factory was on the TODAY Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda on Tuesday, March 25th.  If that weren’t exciting enough, the Pincho Factory family has announced even more good news. They’ve just picked up the keys to what will become their third location in Hialeah, Florida!

This week, Pincho Factory will submit their proposal to the City of Hialeah outlining their plan to convert the well-known Koky’s Barbecue Ranch, located at 4950 W 12th Ave, Hialeah FL 33012.  This will be Pincho Factory’s first free-standing building.  It will also be larger than the first and second restaurants combined, with a seating capacity of 100.

Brewery in-planning will join Tallahassee's newly revitalized Gaines Street District

GrassLands Brewing Company, a Tallahassee, FL brewery in-planning set to launch in Summer 2014, made its future site location public last week. GrassLands will call 603 West Gaines Street its home. As the first tenant in the building, GrassLands will initially operate in 5,000 sq/ft of space with room to expand as brewing capacity grows.

Due South Brewing Co., located in Boynton Beach, FL, has won the award for Best Large Brewery in Florida 2014. Results were announced this past weekend at the Brewers Ball in Tampa, FL for the 14th annual Best Florida Beer Competition. In addition to winning Best Large Brewery in Florida, Due South's Mariana Trench Imperial Stout, Category 5 IPA, and Asylum Harbor Red Ale all brought home gold medals with Cafe Ole Espresso Porter winning silver and Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Pico Duarte winning bronze. The Category 5 IPA won second runner up for Best Beer in Florida out of over 380 entries.

Due South Brewing Co. announced its first international collaboration brew which will be with a new brewery, Edge Brewing, in Barcelona, Spain. Founder and head brewer Mike Halker will be crossing the Atlantic in February to brew two different styles of beer. In addition to the beer production, other things on the agenda include various events around Barcelona introducing locals to Due South's beers, beer dinners which will pair local food with Due South beers, and question and answer sessions with local brewers to provide insight on the growing craft beer industry in the United States as well as the brewing process in general.

Houston brewery's world-class beers now available to craft beer fans in four states

Saint Arnold Brewing Co., the oldest craft brewery in Texas, has finalized agreements with distributors in Florida and will enter markets along Florida¡¦s Gulf Coast this month. Florida is just the fourth state where Saint Arnold beers are available, joining Texas, Louisiana and Colorado.

Saint Arnold, which is named for Saint Arnold of Metz, the patron saint of brewers, is ranked 45th on the Brewers Association list of top craft breweries. It operates out of a 104,000 square foot 3-story brick building originally constructed in 1914. Saint Arnold's brewhouse was imported from Klosterbrauerei Raitenhaslach, a Bavarian monastery.