Yuengling on NPR

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Al

I’m a fan a D.G. Yuengling & Son. Since it’s the first brewery I ever toured it will always have special place in my heart. And, of course, I’m an NPR junkie. And on a recent Morning Edition, these two things intersected.

Yuengling, Oldest U.S. Beer Maker, Eyes Expansion

When you think American beer, you might think Budweiser, or Miller. But neither of those is American-owned anymore. Like many big-name brews, they’ve been bought up by overseas companies.

One of the biggest American beer makers is a lesser-known regional beer company, D.G. Yuengling and Son — the country’s oldest beer maker. Founded by a German immigrant in Pennsylvania 181 years ago, it’s still run by the Yuengling family, and it’s still growing.

It’s worth a listen.

NPR on shift in beer sales

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Al

As you probably know, I’m an NPR junkie. (Infer from that what you like.) Although this certainly shouldn’t be news to any of you, sales of the domestic industrial light lagers is down yet again, but craft beer sales are still up in spite of the economy, and NPR has a story about it.

NPR: Changing Tastes Drive Shift In Beer Sales

Here’s an excerpt:

But Harry Balzer of the NPD Group market research firm suggests [new packaging] may not be enough to boost sales over time. “The only benefit you provide me is novelty,” Balzer says of new packaging. “And the problem with novelty — in the end — is that once I try it, it’s no longer new. It’s old.”

And another:

Craft beers are just a tiny piece of the overall beer market, but at a time when overall consumption has fallen, craft beer sales have risen. Sales were up about 7 percent last year — and appear to be doing as well or better this year.

NPR: Craft Beer in a Can

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Al

National Public Radio‘s Weekend Edition Saturday has a piece on the success of craft beer in cans. This is especially true in Anchorage, Alaska, which recently stopped recycling glass, resulting in a surge of canned beer sales.

Craft Beer In A Can? A Gutsy Move Is Paying Off

[John] Burket is an early believer in the potential of good canned beer. He’s a beer lover and a local beverage distributor in Anchorage. Burket thought cans would be easier than bottles to take camping, fishing or hiking. They’re lighter to ship. And he says the beer actually tastes better, too. Cans protect the ingredients from sunlight and oxygen, which degrade the flavor over time.

“The product is every bit as good in a can, possibly even better,” he says. “Everybody who does try it is shocked — and loves it.”

But Burket didn’t have many converts in Anchorage until early this year, when the city stopped recycling glass. Since then, he’s watched the market for good canned beer explode. In Anchorage, the cans often cost a dollar or two more a six-pack than similar beer in bottles. But Burket says even that doesn’t seem to matter.

We have long been proponents of not shunning cans. Oskar Blues makes some really good stuff (an eighty percent increase in sales is outstanding) and I was just tickled to death when I discovered that Brooklyn Lager comes in cans.

It’s always nice to see (or hear) a positive beer story in the mainstream media. It’s worth a listen.

(via my lovely wife)

NPR: Pairing beer and jazz

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Al

I’m not a fan of jazz music, but I am a fan of National Public Radio. The idea of pairing beer with music isn’t new, but this is an interesting approach, pairing a particular song with a particular beer (and vice versa).

The Six Pack: Pairing Summer Jazz And Beer : NPR Music

On porches everywhere this summer, people are soaking up the sticky heat with beer in hand and music in the background. Jazz and beer are natural companions, but no one wants to mix the two inappropriately. So I [Lars Gotrich] approached the Washington City Paper’s “Beerspotter,” Orr Shtuhl, to pair bottles with Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and more.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Shtuhl and I picked up a selection of delectable, summery beers. Back on my front porch with two willing participants (thanks, Mark and Kelly), I would describe the artist and the song we were about to hear, play it and then ask The Beerspotter to pair the song with a beer based on its attitude, its backstory and its notes (and, yes, that does work both ways). Three hours later, we matched up six impeccable pairings.

Interesting. At the very least I have a few beers that I’ve not heard of that I need to try to find.

What’s a perfect beer/song pairing for you?

Beer: doing well in a bad economy

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Al

I am a big fan of National Public Radio and love when beer appears in places I didn’t expect. Today on All Things Considered was a piece by John Burnett about the fortunes of brewers from the very small to the absolutely enormous. Specifically, that while beer isn’t recession-proof, it certainly is recession-resistant.

Brewery Business Hopping Despite Tanking Economy

“The American public is the biggest beer market in the world,” says Juan Manuel Prado, health and safety manager at the new [Grupo Modelo] brewery. “Drinking beer is part of your culture. Other products might be affected by the economy, but everything revolves around beer. When you’re sad, you have a beer; when you’re content, you have a beer.”

Worth a listen.

Small Brewers Caucus runs afoul of ethics rules

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Al

The Small Brewers Caucus is a group of 35 U.S. Representatives who

…recognize the importance that America’s small brewers hold in our communities and their unique contributions to our culture and economy…

This may restore my faith in government. But, anyway, apparently the newly-adopted ethics rules are too esoteric even for the people who passed them. I heard a short piece about the Caucus’ efforts on my local NPR station recently.

WAMU: Metro Connection – The House Small Brewers Caucus

The precarious state of the U.S. economy is a top concern for citizens and we just marked the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq – but we open the show today with members of congress fighting for the right to party. Over thirty five U.S. representatives are members of the House Small Brewers Caucus. Nearly a year after that chamber passed new ethics rules, these lawmakers are now fighting for an occasional free beer. Matt Laslo reports from the Capitol.

Real Audio and Windows Media formats available.

One of the coolest parts of the piece was the information that several of the Caucus members are themselves homebrewers.

The fate of Dixie Beer

Posted on January 19, 2008 by Al

I am a National Public Radio junkie. I don’t get to listen to it as much as I used to, since my one-and-one-half-hour commute is no longer by car. But, I do tune in on the trip to and from the train station and whenever I’m running about.

The family and I were headed out last night to run a few errands. Marketplace was on, but I was only half listening. My ears perked up when I heard the intro to this story:

Marketplace: Couple keep heady hopes for Dixie Beer

In the interview, Kendra Bruno (who owns the brewery with her husband, Joe) talks about how they are trying to bring their beer back to market. It is currently being contract brewed in Wisconsin and, Kendra admits, isn’t as good as when it was brewed at “home”.

The brewery was pretty much destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and what the floods didn’t get, the looters did. And not just desperate people trying to survive, but well-organized criminals.

This isn’t the first time Dixie has been profiled on NPR. Back in June, 2006, Peter Breslow profiled the Brunos and what they were dealing with.

Couple Vows to Get Beer Flowing Again in ‘Dixie’

I try not to be cynical, but hearing what other human beings did to Dixie’s brewing equipment shakes my faith in humanity. Small brewers have it tough enough, what with rising hops and barley prices, kegs being stolen and sold for scrap, and all the rest of the bad news that’s come out in the last year. But stealing the kettles and pipes? How do you recover from that? (I’ve seen anecdotal evidence that they were underinsured, as well.)

I guess buying some Dixie Beer (if I can find it around here) is one way to help a small, struggling brewer.

Some other coverage of Dixie Beer post-Katrina:

A Good Beer Blog: Dixie Brewing Company, New Orleans, USA (February 26, 2006) – Some of the comments are quite telling

What’s On Tap: A column about New Orleans and Dixie Beer (November 7, 2007)

Associated Press: Brewer Works to Bring Back Dixie Beer (November 18, 2007)

National Public Radio: Pairing beer with food

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Al

National Public Radio I am an NPR junkie. I can’t listen to commercial radio any more. I can’t even listen to music on the radio any more. If I don’t get to hear Morning Edition and/or All Things Considered I feel like I don’t know what’s going on in the world.

This past Sunday, Bonny Wolf (host of ‘Kitchen Window,’ NPR’s food podcast) did a piece on the emergence of craft beer and pairing with food. While she is primarily channeling author Lucy Saunders, it is certainly nice to hear something even-handed and educational about beer.

Stout and Szechuan? Marrying Beer and Food

Everybody knows that beer goes well with hot dogs.

Some people even know that dark stout is better than champagne with oysters.

But Imperial IPA with creme brulee? This is a new one — at least to me.

Give a listen.

Hop Talk

Beer. Life. Blog.

Tag Archives: npr