Congratulations to All the Winners at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival!
Category: 5 Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer - 72 Entries
Silver: Pangaea, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Category: 7 Specialty Beer - 21 Entries
Gold: Red & White, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Bronze: Palo Santo Marron, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Category: 14 American-Belgo Style Ale - 36 Entries
Gold: Xtra Gold, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Pleasantville, NY
Category: 17 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer - 79 Entries
Bronze: Golden Delicious, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Pleasantville, NY
Category: 21 Smoke-Flavored Beer - 31 Entries
Gold: Rauch Bier, Sly Fox Brewing Co., Royersford, PA
Category: 39 Golden or Blonde Ale - 40 Entries
Gold: Steelhead Extra Pale Ale, Mad River Brewing Co., Blue Lake, CA
Category: 48 American-Style Amber/Red Ale - 65 Entries
Gold: Dry Hopped Red, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR
Bronze: American Amber, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR
Category: 50 Bitter or Pale Mild Ale - 42 Entries
Bronze: Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO
Category: 60 French- and Belgian-Style Saison - 37 Entries
Bronze: Luciernaga, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI
Category: 69 American-Style Stout - 23 Entries
Bronze: Troegs Dead Reckoning, Troegs Brewery, Harrisburg, PA
Category: 72 Imperial Stout - 44 Entries
Gold: BORIS The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout, Hoppin’ Frog Brewing
Co., Akron, OH
Bronze: Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Introduction to Beer Styles
With a dizzying array of production methods and ingredients, beer is likely the most diverse beverage on earth, with tens of thousands of unique variations brewed worldwide. While categorizing beer can be overwhelming, we try to simplify things by employing a combination of our own experience and the guidelines established by two of the industry's most respected sources; the Brewers Association and the Beer Judge Certification Program.
Great Brewers.com recognizes 25 unique beer styles, and 135 sub-styles that can accurately categorize the 20,000+ individual beers that are commercially available in the United States. Before you can truly appreciate the incredible variety of beer selections that are offered, you should familiarize yourself with the family tree of styles from which they originate.
Enter our Beer Styles tutorial by clicking below. Anytime you are browsing our product catalogue, you can see a quick reference guide to a specific style or sub-style by simply clicking its highlighted name.
** Please note that our style guidelines are designed to describe all commercially available beers as specifically as possible while keeping the number of styles manageable. If we wanted to take this chart a step further in an effort to define every single variety of beer, we would generate close to 1,000 unique varieties. Here are a few examples:
Fruit and Vegetable Beer: The fruit beer and fruit lambic sub-styles do not specify a specific fruit, however there are beers produced with at least twenty unique types of fruit (i.e. raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, peach, apple, black currant, pomegranate, cherry, orange, lemon, lime, etc.). The same concept holds true for vegetable beers.
Herb and Spice Beer: This sub-style is wide open in the specific types of herbs and spices used, particularly by Belgian-style brewers. Examples include but are not limited to coriander, clove, Curacao orange peel, grain of paradise, allspice, ginger, saffron, cinnamon, rosemary, juniper, vanilla bean, nutmeg, salt, and mustard seed.
Wood Aged Beer: Since the early middle ages, Europeans have fermented, conditioned, and matured beer in wooden vessels. Today, many brewers are taking this practice to the next level. While some brewers utilize raw or toasted oak as a refining agent, many mature their beer in wooden casks that have been previously used for bourbon, scotch, sherry, port, calvados, and a variety of red and white wines. The use of various types of barrels impart a distinctly unique quality to a particular beer, and could justify their own separate style definition.
Vintage Beer: Despite the popular misconception that fresh beer is always better, there are some beers that significantly improve with age for several years. In order to evolve over time, a beer must be non-pasteurized and bottle conditioned. Generally, the beers that improve with age must also have a substantial alcohol content (at least 7% ABV) and have a relatively mild hop presence (botanical material does not hold up well over time). Some purveyors of vintage beers believe that a barley wine, imperial stout, or Baltic porter from three years ago is substantially different than a newly brewed example of the same beer, and therefore deserves its own style definition.
Brewer's expansion plan wins approval
Friday, July 25, 2008
By ANDREA EILENBERGER
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG | Town planners Thursday approved Hunterdon Brewing Co.'s plan to merge its building with a neighboring building, expanding its warehouse and office space.
The company has operated out of 45 Howard St. for a handful of years, but is planning to merge the building with 55 Howard St.
Last year, the company received board approval to build an addition onto its existing building. Shortly after appearing before the board, the company learned the neighboring property would be up for sale.
The company has since purchased that building.
The booming distribution business can use the additional space, company President Mike Short said earlier this week.
"We were concerned that that addition alone would not allow us to stay here for that long," Short has said.
The company plans a 9,500-square-foot warehouse on the back of 45 Howard St. They are also adding two small pieces -- with a courtyard in the middle -- to connect the two buildings.
The company is a distributor for establishments in New Jersey that sell microbrews, imported beer, wine and spirits.
When the business first started in 1996, it was based in Califon, Hunterdon County.
As the company's name indicates, the original intent was to operate as a brewery. Tough times that microbreweries faced at that point and a change in the distribution system were some reasons why they turned to a different business plan.
Distribution wound up being a more efficient and lucrative model, Short said.
They also had a Stockton Street location before moving to Howard Street.
Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
7-10-2008
7-8-2008
LATEST NEWS
6-12-2008
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L. Knife & Son, Inc., Kingston, MA) – The board of advisors of L. Knife & Son Inc., one of America’s oldest and most respected beverage distributors, has unanimously elected Timothy G. Sheehan to succeed Gerald V. Sheehan as its CEO. Tim brings with him more than 25 years of successful leadership within the organization, serving as a past general manager at four of the sister companies, and most recently as chief administrative officer and chief operating officer at the company’s headquarters in Kingston, Massachusetts.
“It is truly a privilege to take the helm from one of the industry’s visionary leaders,” Tim Sheehan said today. “Jerry has set the bar extremely high for leadership, and I am very proud to carry on his legacy with L. Knife,” added Tim.
Since joining L. Knife in 1982, after two years with Anheuser-Busch, Tim has been a catalyst for success within the company. Tim’s enthusiastic approach to the business can be summed up with his credo: “simple plans, ruthless execution.”
Said advisory board member Dan Dillon, who headed up the succession committee, “selecting, coaching and evaluating a candidate for the CEO position is perhaps the most important responsibility of the independent directors of the board. The board is very pleased with its decision to promote Tim to the CEO position, made after a five year deliberative process.”
“Tim has proven his talent as a passionate leader of this company, and I am both proud and reassured to hand over the reins,” stated Jerry Sheehan. “Tim has a deep passion for the industry, and he has permeated a culture of excellence throughout this company,” Jerry added.
“L. Knife has been a labor of love for me since I started working for the company as a salesman in 1956,” explained Jerry, “and it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as its CEO for the past 45 years. We have helped to shape the industry into what it has become today, and the opportunities that lie ahead of us are immense.”
Under Gerald Sheehan’s tenure, L. Knife has grown from a single operation in southeastern Massachusetts to a nine-division company comprised of eight unique wholesalers and an importing company. With over 750 employees in four states, the L. Knife & Son Companies have become the largest craft beer distributor in America, and the seventh largest in overall beer sales.
L. Knife’s vision is more applicable today than ever before, and is embodied in the substantial growth and innovation the company has become noted for under Jerry Sheehan’s direction.
According to John Sheehan, chairman of the board of advisors, “while Jerry has relinquished his title to Tim, he assures all L. Knife stakeholders that his presence will remain, and he will serve as council to the management team. He will also be available to assist in any strategic planning initiatives.”
Throughout Jerry’s tenure, L. Knife has distinguished itself in the industry for a forward-thinking approach to business strategy, and an unparalleled dedication to employee benefits. Tim’s primary objectives as CEO are to ensure that L. Knife remains on the cutting edge of industry trends and continues seeking creative growth opportunities, while maintaining its steadfast commitment to its employees.
With today’s announcement, Tim becomes chief executive officer of a company with a rich history, an exceptional team of employees, a clear path, and its finest days ahead of it.
