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March 31, 2021 at 10:30PM
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Your daily dose of wine could be keeping the cataracts away - starexponent.com
Each week we round up the best and biggest Buffalo beer news and events happening in Buffalo and Western New York. Here’s what’s đ„:
Want to share your Buffalo/WNY beer news with us? Email buffalobeerleague@aol.com!
1. Double Barrel Aged Releases From 42 North Brewing This Weekend
42 North is bringing back two barrel-aged projects this weekend – Krupnik Barrel-Aged Quad, a Belgian-style quad aged in Buffalo Distilling Polish Krupnik honey vodka barrels, a honey-forward quad with subtle notes of caramel and plum, and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Maple Porter, made with locally-sourced maple syrup and aged in maple bourbon barrels from Buffalo Distilling. Pre-order at theoutpost42n.com and pick-up on April 3 (12pm). While the taproom is currently closed, the 42GO Drive-Thru will be open April 3 (12pm-6pm).
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2. First Line Brewing Set to Reopen Their Taproom
After months of being closed to the pandemic, Orchard Park’s First Line Brewing will reopen their taproom to customers. Starting on April 8, the taproom will reopen for indoor seating as they wait for their brand new two-story addition to be done. On days where the weather allows for it, they will have their garage doors open with seating out front.
3. WNY Women Join Forces on Pink Boots Collaboration Brew
A number of women in the Western New York beverage industry, including members of Pressure Drop Brewing, Rusty Nickel Brewing, Live Edge Brewing, Lilly Belle Meads, Windy Brew, Content on Draft, and students from Erie Community College’s Brewing Sciences Program, joined forces on “Hazy Girl,” a light bodied and soft NEIPA with low bitterness that was brewed with the 2021 Pink Boots Society hop blend from Yakima Chief Hops. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Pink Boots Society. 4-pack 16oz. cans will be released at Rusty Nickel on April 2 (5pm).
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4. National Beer Day Celebration, Adult Easter Egg Hunt at Southern Tier Brewing
Southern Tier Brewing’s The Empty Pint will be holding an “Adult Easter Egg Hunt” on April 3 (11am). While not a traditional egg hunt, you’ll instead hunt for the “mystery beer” to receive your egg (limited amount available). Order the correct mystery beer to receive an egg with a prize inside that could include $1 off your drink, a free app, and more (one per customer).
The Empty Pint will also be celebrating National Beer Day on April 7 (3pm). They will have $4 pours (3pm to 9pm) honor of the day that the Cullen–Harrison Act was enacted in 1933, which led to the Eighteenth Amendment being repealed and Prohibition ending. President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous words still ring true – “I think this would be a good time for a beer.”
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5. New Collaboration Coming Thin Man Brewery, Equilibrium
Thin Man will release Equipoise Double Dry Hopped DIPA, their latest collab with Middletown’s Equilibrium Brewery, on April 2 at all locations (Elmwood, 3pm, Chandler & Transit, 4pm). Brewed with wheat, Equipoise pops with pineapple, orange and Juicy Fruit gum notes, while Cashmere, Talus and Galaxy hops provide a pungent mix of tropical fruits.
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April 01, 2021 at 03:25AM
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5 Buffalo Beer Briefs to Know This Week: March 31 - Step Out Buffalo
Knowing a few tricks of the trade will keep you from feeling foolish in the wake of a multi-billion dollar fraud industry
A 1969 recreation of an April Fools' joke played on Norwegian wine lovers.
hoaxes.org
On April 1, 1950, Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper, ran a story that shocked every wine lover in the country. Vinmonopolet, the government-owned wine monopoly, was is possession of a large shipment of French wine, still in barrels. The problem: they had run out of bottles. The solution? Practically give it away to anyone willing to tote it. An announcement on the newspaper’s front page promoted a tax-free sale offering a 75-percent discount. Buyers were to bring their own “buckets, pitchers and the like” for the ultimate take-away. Thirsty, bargain-hunting Norwegians lined up outside the Vinmonopolets at 10am, the opening time, with buckets. And, well, you can guess the outcome.
If you can read Norwegian, let us know what this says!
Aftenposten
We wine drinkers might not be that gullible in these times, but there are plenty of ways in which we can get hoodwinked buying wine—some of which cost way more than the price of a hardware-store bucket and a morning’s lost wages.
Wine fraud represents a $3-billion business in the industry, says Maureen Downey, founder of Winefraud.com, and a global authority on wine counterfeiting. The San Francisco-based wine detective has advised the FBI and the US Department of Justice in a number of high-profile cases. She also played a feature role in the 2016 docu-film, “Sour Grapes,” about Rudy Kurniawan’s $30-million-plus counterfeit operation and the New York auction house, Acker Merrill & Condit, that sold record amounts of his wines at auction.
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“There are many ways of conducting wine fraud,” she said, adding it affects people all through the distribution channel—from high-end collectors and ordinary consumers to merchants and second-market sellers such as auction firms. Even producers, especially highly desirable names, bear the burden now having to consider anti-fraud devices such as special seals, embossed bottle designs, RFID or other embedded technology.
It’s an additional liability for producers in a highly aesthetic industry where visual branding is so closely tied to heritage and prestige. Technology such as that offered by TruTag can help disguise fraud-protection devices, making it harder for counterfeiters to detect and copy, while also keeping the packaging’s appeal.
“Fraud is such a diverse, fragmented industry and there’s a huge biodiversity of solutions,” says TruTag CEO Michael Bartholomeusz. His company specializes in covert protection for merchandise (think sneakers), and the food, pharma and now wine industries. In the latter, TruTag technology can be “integrated into the wine bottle label itself in the ink, a varnish or a barcode, so the elegance of the existing label will not be impacted.” Thus “tagged,” the bottles are tracked through the supply chain right down to a consumer-friendly app.”
But the trained, naked eye and some honed intuition can go a long way in spotting fakes.
“Being able to authenticate a bottle of wine, vet a seller, and get a counterfeit bottle proven as [fake] so that the consumer can get their money back all helps keep fraud down,” Downey says. But she warns, “with 3-D printing, higher printing capabilities at home, and information more accessible via the Internet, we are seeing some really remarkable counterfeits.”
Here are some basic tips for being your own detective.
You probably already know your [wine] farmer, but it’s good to know your vendor, too. Establishing a relationship with a reputable shop or auction house and inquiring about their acquisition methods helps you understand the risks involved (and perhaps puts them on notice that you’re a savvy buyer). A reputable shop will have the same apprehensions as a buyer of fine and rare wine that you, as a consumer do, and will carefully vet older bottles. Jamie Wolff, a partner at Manhattan’s Chambers Street Wines, says “I do my due diligence on the person selling the bottle. If they’re coming to me with just a single bottle or two of [ChĂąteau] Latour, that’s a red flag.”
"Too consistent" is a red flag. Here, fill levels and the labels are too similar to be credible—to ... [+]the expert eye.
Chai Consulting/Winefraud.com
If an aged bottle looks too beautiful—either it’s pristine or the lovely patina on the label is too uniform in color or shape, then you might be looking at a fake. Super sleuths use a UV flashlight to detect the luminous “ultrawhite,” a paper component introduced in 1957. If that ’45 Mouton glows in the dark, then you won’t be in the dark! Downey also recommends giving bottles a sniff: Many fraudsters stain labels with wet tea bags, coffee and tobacco. If they did, you might still detect the odor.
Heritage Auctions' inventory supervisor Isaac Estrada examines a bottle for authenticity.
As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “You can fool all of the people some of the time; you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time.” Lincoln, the son of a bourbon distiller, was a teetotaler, but were he a fine-wine buyer, my bet is that he’d be nobody’s fool. And now, neither will you.
While the tentative reopening date is set for June 1, a Twitter post by the Twin Cities brewer says the date may change as "public health guidelines evolve."
MINNEAPOLIS — A home-grown Twin Cities brewer is announcing news that will make thirsty folks REALLY happy.
Surly Brewing said in a Twitter post that its popular Beer Hall and Beer Garden will reopen, with a target date of June 1. "This date may change as public health guidelines evolve."
The brewer credited "remarkable progress" in Minnesota's vaccination effort as the reason for the decision to reopen.
Thanks to the remarkable progress being made on the vaccination front in MN, the Surly Beer Hall and Beer Garden will tentatively reopen on June 1st. This date may change as public health guidelines evolve. More updates as they become available. We look forward to seeing you. pic.twitter.com/E6GxgJJEV5
Surly shut down the Beer Hall and Garden on November 2, 2020, citing a precipitous 82% drop in revenue caused by the pandemic. In a statement, the brewery called the decision to close indefinitely "gut-wrenching."
But some, including a group of Surly employees, were not so sure. The announcement of the intent to close the Beer Hall in September came just two days after Surly Beer Hall hospitality and kitchen staff announced their intention to unionize. Organizers were expressing concerns about COVID-19 safety and seeking to have "a say in changes that affect our compensation, health insurance, and employment."
The push to unionize Surly's hospitality staff would come up one vote short in early October.
Several months later, things appear to have calmed down and Surly patrons will soon be welcomed back with open arms.
"We look forward to seeing you," reads the Surly Twitter post.
April 01, 2021 at 02:41AM
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Surly announces plans to reopen Beer Hall and Garden - KARE11.com
The Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation (CAEDC) starting Thursday will launch its next iteration of the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail, this time through mobile devices.
The updated Beer Trail rewards patrons for supporting local restaurants, breweries, distilleries, and wineries in the Cumberland Valley, which is vital during the pandemic.
The digital passport will allow participants to use their mobile device to check-in at their locations and win prizes, a press release said. Prizes include a bottle opener for 5 locations and a T-shirt for 15 locations.
Users can add a web-based shortcut on their devices and enter in a special pin number at each location to check-in, according to the release.
“The Cumberland Valley Beer Trail has been a great conduit for bringing new and current patrons into our establishment,” said Angella Howard, Marketing Manager at Ever Grain Brewing Company. “We hope with our expansion, new brews, and amazing food that everyone will continue to enjoy our food and beer for years to come.”
This year’s passport includes 23 local establishments, including newly opened spots like Hemauer Brewing, Isaac’s Brewhouse, Big Hill Cider, Watershed Pub, and Wolf Brewing Company, according to the release. Find a list of all 23 participating locations at this link.
CAEDC Marketing Manager Ashley Kurtz said in the release that “the timing of the launch of the passport is perfect with upcoming relaxed restrictions on our restaurants and bars across the Cumberland Valley and the entire commonwealth. We look forward to a time when friends and family are reuniting at these locations and checking off their passport.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CAEDC created the Come Back Cumberland Valley campaign in partnership with our four local chambers and the Cumberland County Commissioners, aimed at promoting businesses in the county, and encouraging travel when people feel safe.
CAEDC is partnering with Bandwango to provide the technology for the mobile passport, the release said.
CAEDC launched the first iteration of the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail in April 2017 with yearly additions since.
A VB Solar Exchange van is seen in front of a house with solar panels, in this undated handout image obtained March 31, 2021. Victoria Bitter via REUTERS.
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - How about a cool beer in exchange for your excess solar power?
That’s the offer from Asahi Group’s Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) in Australia, serving up Victorian Bitter to households who have rooftop solar power to spare, in what the companies involved believe to be a world first.
Along with putting solar panels on its Melbourne brewery and buying power from a solar farm, CUB is looking to buy excess solar power from households, paying in cans of beer instead of cash, to help meet its target to use 100% renewable power by 2025.
“The only thing better than drinking the Big Cold Beer in the Aussie sun is earning beer while you do it,” said Brian Phan, general manager marketing for Victoria Bitter.
Beer drinkers would have to switch to energy retailer Diamond Energy to get in on the deal.
For every A$30 ($23) of credit Diamond Energy books for feeding solar power back into the grid, Asahi’s Carlton & United Breweries will deliver a slab of beer - 24 cans - worth A$50 to your home.
The offer is equal or better than the standard feed-in tariff across the eligible states, said Power Ledger, a blockchain-enabled energy trading platform, which will track how much power customers feed to the grid.
“You can see how many bottles of beer you’ve earned every 30 minutes,” Power Ledger founder Jemma Green said.
The standard feed-in tariff ranges between 6 cents/kilowatt hour and 10.2 cents/kWh, depending on the state.
Reporting by Sonali Paul. Editing by Mark Potter
March 31, 2021 at 04:27PM
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Power drinkers - Aussie brewer offers beer for excess solar energy - Reuters
