Why does Anheuser-Busch Need a Small Batch Series?

While going through my morning Twitter ritual I stumbled upon this article on Beerpulse covering AB's plans to release a small batch series, and the first and only thing that popped in my mind was "WTF???" Whether it's what-the-fuck, why-the-fuck, or who-the-fuck is inconsequential, I'm sure many of you craft people share my initial reaction. It's bad enough that ABInBev bought out Goose Island, owns a large portion of the CBA(Widmer,Redhook,Kona) stock and tries to market garbage like Shock Top as "craft". Why do they feel the need to continue encroaching into a market that really wants very-little-to-nothing to do with them. Truth be told, how many fans of craft and industry folk are going to make the switch over to small-batch Bud from whatever they brew or craft consumed on a regular basis? Most likely, not many, if any. I admit, I'll try it once, but I guarantee its not going to beat even the worst of locally-produced beers. On the other hand,ABInBev could be shooting themselves in the foot by releasing a Brewmasters series. What if the desire for better beer causes Average Joe Bud to seek out more better beer? We all started somewhere. It's likely to happen, but not on such a scale to affect there business dramatically, but there is always wishful thinking

Staff Draft Picks

If memory serves me well, today the Growler Station is celebrating 3 months of life on West 8th. As for the staff draft picks, if record stores can do it, why shouldn't beer stores?

First Time In Philly

This past Monday I took a day(and night)trip to a city about 80 miles north of the Big Apple that in some hip circles is jokingly referred to as "The Sixth Burrough", Philadelphia. Having had friends who lived there in the distant past, and didn't have many nice things to say about the City of Brotherly Love, I've never looked at it as much of a destination for myself until recently. Most likely due to my obsession with taking the 90 minute trip by bus just for a real cheesesteak lunch. Since I've been working in the craft beer industry, I've been hearing a great deal of good things about Philly, mainly from industry folk. Rumors like "Philly has better beer availability than NYC" and "Cantillon provides most of their imports to Philly". All I could think to myself as a NYer was, "Nonsense, New York is the best city in the world, it can't be." Truth be told....It can. I was in Philly for less than two hours before I happened upon a bottle of Russian River, one of the most coveted breweries in America. i have known for a while that Philly is really the only place on the Eastern Seaboard, but I had always thought it would be ridiculously expensive and rare. Some bottles were a little too pricey for my taste, but I was able to grab a bottle of Damnation for about 8 bucks. Not to mention, i was drinking the Russian River, Pliny the Elder,for less than 5 bucks a glass at Monk's Cafe. Monk's has a beer list over 300 long placed on every table referred to as "The Bible" that had close to 10 different bottles of Cantillon available for purchase. That's crazy, considering the Blind Tiger never has more than a couple at any given time. I was amazed to say the least. Aside from some of the local beers I had the pleasure of pouring into my face, namely Weyerbacher and Yards, I also had the pleasure of consuming one of my new favorite beverages that will probably NEVER have a NYC availability, Bell's Hoplam. I was surprised to actually find a bottle at POPE, which is a spectacular craft beer bar located in South Philly. Not only were the prices right, but it's the kind of place I could see myself spending a LOT of time in if I lived in the neighborhood. My short trip obviously left me craving more, so it won't be long before I take a longer trip up to my new favorite East Coast destination. As far as crafty beer culture is concerned, Philly gets it better than any other city in the East in all aspects. Donnie of Beer Frontiers compares Philadelphia's beer vibe to cities on the West Coast, and I would have to agree. Hopefully it won't be long until my nest weekend trip. Until then, i'll be regularly buying my Yards and Voodoo in Jersey City.