Brooks at For more food and drink coverage follow us on Flipboard.As things are progressing, more and more Americans want craft beer, and more and more Breweries are built in the US. Now would be an excellent time to drink a toast.Ĭontact Jay R. Think about the fidelity of that consumer relationship… It’s an enduring model.” “Brewers, for centuries, have been making beer locally, fresh, affordable, high-quality, delivering it to their friends. “Beer has been the social lubricant of civilization since the beginning of time. Craft beer was created by people who believed in it and continue to do so. We need to own who we are, which is great American craft brewers who changed the world of beer.” “We need to be thinking like Scottish whisky makers, French Champagne makers, Mexican tequila distillers. “Our story is the artisanal narrative, rooted in beer culture,” he said. His speech touched on the challenges facing breweries, of course, but he had a more hopeful, stirring message too. The summit keynote speech was given by David Walker, co-founder of Paso Robles’ Firestone Walker Brewing, one of those top 10 breweries I mentioned. Of course, that’s the doom and gloom scenario. It’s not unexpected that California would have more wineries than other states, but we now have nearly twice as many distilleries as the next two states combined.Įconomics, distribution woes, labor market issues and changing tastes may mean rocky waters ahead. Brewery openings have slowed, just as winery and distillery openings are rising. The annual BA survey asked respondents why they drink less craft beer. The rest of the summit was not as celebratory, as you might imagine from the first California Craft Brewers Association gathering since the pre-pandemic era. Other Bay Area breweries that picked up awards include San Jose’s Strike Brewing and its Clandestine Brewing, Santa Cruz’s Humble Sea, Soquel’s Discretion, San Francisco’s Laughing Monk and San Rafael’s Pond Farm. And Buck Wild Brewing brought home a hat trick, winning gold, silver and bronze medals for its gluten-free beer. Ghost Town Brewing won two golds, for itsYokai, a sake-yeast beer, and Pythia, a Belgian-style fruit beer. In Oakland, Original Pattern Brewing won gold for Can’t Win ’em All (which in this case proved untrue) among international-style pale ales. Vacaville’s Solano Brewing won in the hazy double IPA category for Hazy on the 80, and in San Francisco, Fort Point’s SHW, a Korean-style lager collaboration with San Ho Won, won in the international-style Pilsener category. Other Bay Area gold medal winners included Half Moon Bay Brewing for its Saison, Sunnyvale’s Faultline Brewing for its Oktoberfest and Danville Brewing for its Chocolate Raspberry Royale. Humble Sea Brewing now has taprooms in Santa Cruz, Pacifica and Felton. Named Brewery of the Year, Morgan Territory won eight medals, including two in a single category, a gold for Lubricator and a bronze for Big Bock Energy, both bocks. Let’s start with that rosy news, because out of 246 medals awarded in 83 categories at the festivities held in mid-March in Sacramento, the champion that emerged was Morgan Territory Brewing in Tracy - and soon in Pleasant Hill. But there was some very good news for the Bay Area breweries who triumphed at the summit’s 2023 Brewers Cup. The recent California Beer Summit offered plenty of news - ranging from cautious optimism to woeful doom - on the state of the craft beer world.
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