Guinness has whisked away the curtain from its experimental brewery.
Guiness brewers Jason Carroll, Fedora Heavey and Aisling Ryan at the Open Gate Brewery.
The brand’s St. James’s Gate brewery has opened The Open Gate Brewery to the public.
There has been an experimental brewery at St. James’s Gate for over a hundred years, the company says. Here, brewers are given license to explore new recipes, reinterpret old ones and experiment freely on new recipes. But for the first time in its history, Guinness has opened its doors to the general public and introduced the world to its brewers and their area of experimentation.
The Open Gate Brewery, the hub of this intimate brewing experience, will welcome visitors from early December.
As well as pouring Guinness stout and the latest innovations from the Brewers Project — such as Guinness Nitro IPA, Hop House 13 Lager, Guinness Dublin Porter and Guinness West Indies Porter — the brewers will be sharing early, small-batch versions of their experimental beers to taste. These brews will only be available at The Open Gate Brewery.
A selection of other new Guinness beers from around the globe — which until now, have never been available under one roof — will also be exclusively available to visitors in The Open Gate Brewery.
“The Open Gate Brewery is set to become a global destination for beer enthusiasts who are eager to discover, collaborate and experience a deeper connection to beer innovation, in a truly authentic environment,” the company said.
The Open Gate Brewery will be open to the public every Thursday and Friday night from 5.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Guests will have a chance to meet Guinness brewers in their place of work, discuss the brewing process and sample the latest brewing innovations by Guinness.
The Other Guys, Inc., has announced a transition to a new name, 3 Badge Beverage Corporation, effective January 1, 2016.
The new name also includes the company’s spirits division, 35 Maple Street Spirits.
“The new name reflects our family’s history, and it underscores our connection to Sonoma and our commitment to producing a quality wines and spirits portfolio,” noted President August Sebastiani (pictured above). “I’d like to emphasize, however, that this corporate name change will not affect our brands themselves, nor does it affect operations. We felt it appropriate to start a new chapter with a new name that unified our varied businesses and that connected more directly with our family history and new home.”
This past June, 3 Badge Beverage purchased the old Sonoma Firehouse – originally constructed in 1948 – and converted it to company offices. While researching the old building, Sebastiani discovered a number of documents that told the story of his family’s involvement with the building, the company said.
One story specifically was that of his grandfather, and namesake, as a volunteer firefighter who had worked out of the same building. Subsequent conversations with family led Sebastiani to uncover the three service badges from his grandfather’s time as a volunteer (Active, Retired and Honorary). Therefore, they chose the name 3 Badge Beverage Corporation to speak to their roots in the community and in their new home.
Under 3 Badge Beverage Corporation, the company’s wine division will become 3 Badge Enology (no longer The Other Guys, Inc.) and the spirits division will become 3 Badge Mixology (no longer 35 Maple Street Spirits). The company’s wine brands include Leese-Fitch, Plungerhead, Pennywise, The White Knight, Hey Mambo, Moobuzz and Gehricke; its spirits brands include, Uncle Val’s Gin, Kirk and Sweeney Rum, Bib & Tucker Bourbon and Masterson’s Whiskey.
The company’s new headquarters and offices are located at 32 Patten Street, Sonoma, CA.
The digital alcohol delivery landscape continues to grow.
Minibar Delivery, a provider of on-demand alcohol delivery, announced today that they will be expanding into San Antonio as of November 20, 2015.
After launching in 2014 and rolling out to cities across the U.S., Minibar will now offer the city of San Antonio on-demand delivery of wine, beer, spirits and more.
San Antonio will be the nineteenth city in Minibar’s portfolio.
Available on web, iOS and Android, Minibar provides consumers with a digital way to shop for wine, beer, spirits, and more, by connecting users with a local liquor store. The platform provides tasting notes, pairing recommendations, cocktail recipes, gift delivery, and is the only provider to offer a subscription service, the company says.
The “Auto Refill” option, which launched last month, allows users to arrange for items within an order to be delivered at a selected interval of 1,2,3, or 4 weeks. Minibar also features a Party Planning Tool on their website which allows users to determine how much of each spirit is needed to plan a get-together.
Deliveries in San Antonio are free for the first month of service. A fee of $5.00 will be applied to every order after that.
Minibar is currently serving the Greater San Antonio area, with plans to expand further into Uptown and North Central.
If American beer drinkers most crave what’s new to them, then perhaps the next trend will be craft from foreign countries.
Think about it. How much international craft are we currently drinking? Beyond Belgium and the British Isles, where else do Americans think of for craft beer?
And yet, many countries have craft scenes as diverse as ours. Chile, for example. The South American country, better known for wine and pisco, is producing a great deal of interesting beers.
The growth in market there is similar to what’s fueled America’s micro boom. Modern drinkers, especially Millennials, seek variety. And this opportunity has been recognized by entrepreneurs (again, many Millennials) who have launched a new wave of microbreweries.
Like in America, this has produced diverse beer selection in Chile. Where before it was predominantly a summer drink, beer has now become a year-round beverage, explains Mauricio Banchieri, Trade Commissioner of Chile in New York.
Tasting Chile
I had opportunity to sample 21 brews at a Beers of Chile event yesterday at . The seven breweries featured were Guayacán, Szot, Royal Guard, Tübinger, Kunstmann, Rothhammer and Quimera.
My experience was similar to drinking much of craft from out of country.
The American palate has its understandings: IPAs are sharp, barleywines are thick, etcetera. When foreign recipes diverge, the taste can be confusing. Nearly all the Chilean beers were less intense, or a bit off in flavor, than the American recipes.
Which is not to knock the product. Of course, other countries produce different styles. How this will fit within the greater American palate is to be seen. With our thirst for variety, it could be exactly what we want.
Although this marks a steady rise in volume, the category’s compound annual growth rate between 2014 and 2020 of +0.6% will be noticeably slower than the previous five-year CAGR of +3.6%.
Growth is expected to be more conservative than previously, as many markets experienced strong recovery of volumes in the aftermath of the global recession. The lion’s share of the growth will stem from Asia, with China and India outperforming all other markets.
However, growth in North America, Africa & Middle East and the duty-free markets will all contribute to the category’s overall expansion, explains IWSR global trends and innovation consultant Sophia Holliday in The IWSR Forecast 2015-2020 Global Review.
Population growth and rising disposable income levels in many emerging markets will aid growth in spirits consumption, but also mature markets such as the US and the UK are set to draw back some of the attention from less-developed regions with attractive opportunities for volume and value development.
Total annual consumption of whisk(e)y will rise to 467.4 m cases, overtaking vodka to become the second-largest spirits category behind national spirits by 2020. Whisky and tequila are forecasted to be the fastest-growing spirits categories, with a CAGR from 2014-2020 of +3.8% and +2.9% respectively.
Consumption of imported spirits is forecast to rise with a CAGR of +1.6% between 2014 and 2020 adding 37.5m cases, with gin and tequila showing the fastest growth.
The Ballast Point a beer portfolio includes more than 40 different styles of beer, led by its popular and ubiquitous Sculpin IPA and Grapefruit Sculpin IPA.
The partnership with Ballast Point “provides a high-growth premium platform that will enable Constellation to compete in the fast-growing craft beer segment, further strengthening its position in the highest end of the U.S. beer market,” Constellation Brands said in a press release.
Ballast Point started in 1996 as a small group of home brewers. It will continue to operate as a stand-alone company with its existing management team and employees running the day-to-day operations. The Ballast Point team will continue to build on its successful expansion across the U.S., the company said, and will now have access to Constellation’s strong financial position and willingness to invest in growth.
“We started this business nearly 20 years ago with a vision to produce great beer that consumers love and to do it the right way,” said Jack White, founder of Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. “To achieve that vision, we needed to find the right partner. The team at Constellation shares our values, entrepreneurial spirit and passion for beer, and has a proven track record of helping successful premium brands reach the next level of growth and scale.”
Ballast Point is on pace to sell nearly 4 million cases in calendar 2015, the company said, which would represent growth of more than 100 percent versus calendar 2014. Net sales for calendar 2015 are expected to approximate $115 million. Volume and net sales growth from calendar 2012 to calendar 2014 averaged over 80 percent.
Ballast Point employs more than 500 employees, produces beer in four facilities in the San Diego, CA area, and sells its beer in over 30 states.
The $1 billion purchase price values the acquisition multiple of the projected calendar 2016 Ballast Point EBITDA in the mid-to-high teens range, the company said. Constellation estimates that on a comparable basis, the acquisition is expected to be neutral to diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2016 and $0.05 to $0.06 accretive for fiscal 2017.
The transaction will be financed with cash and debt, and is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.
Collingwood has updated the bottle for its blended Canadian whisky.
In an effort to improve overall functionality and increase sustainability, the extra black cap from the previous packaging has been removed, the company says. The new front and back labels display a “premium appearance,” the company adds, and focus on the brand name.
“In conjunction with the new package, we’ve completely repositioned the brand to focus on craftsmanship, the vigor of the Canadian landscape, and the artisanal world, said Collingwood Brand Manager Heather Howell.
Collingwood is made at Canada’s longest continuously owned and operated distillery, the company says, in the town of Collingwood, Ontario. It is made from water from the Georgia Bay and grains sourced primarily from Canadian farms. The whisky is finished with an extra maturation step of resting with heavily toasted Maplewood staves.
The new Collingwood bottle is available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $28.99 for a 750-ml. bottle.
New from Don & Sons, The Big Smooth is a 2013 old vine zinfandel.
The wine is sourced from the grape-growing appellations Lodi, Sonoma and Napa, and features a velvet purple label with fishnet stocking detail and a leg lamp image. It was aged for 14 months in French, American and Hungarian oak.
The wine features aromas of dried currant, plum, fig, pepper and cinnamon, the company says, followed by flavors of black cherry, raspberry and hints of spice, coconut and vanilla from the oak aging.
The blend breakdown is 76% zinfandel, 11% petite sirah, 8% merlot, 2% primitivo, 2% petit verdot and 1% cabernet sauvignon.
The Big Smooth is 15.5% ABV, and available in select cities for a suggested retail price of $17.99. Launches took place in California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Illinois. Additional market expansion is expected in 2016.
Jose Cuervo reunited the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix last week — in spirit, at least.
The tequila brand launched its special edition “The Rolling Stones Tour Pick” bottle of Reserva de la Familia on Thursday. The release, which I attended, celebrated Jose Cuervo’s relationship with the British rock band during the Stones’ 1972 North American tour. Jose Cuervo brought in two speakers who took part in that ’72 tour: publicist Carol Klefner and photographer Bob Gruen.
Electric Lady Studios hosted the event. Hendrix opened this recording studio in Greenwich Village, NYC, during the summer of 1970. A month later, he unexpectedly passed away.
Thus, there was a meeting in spirits of legendary rockers Thursday night: of those regrettably gone, and those still making music.
There was also plenty of fine spirits being poured. Reserva de la Familia is a premium tequila that does not require a cocktail for enjoyment. Rather, we drank it neat from a flute glass.
Reserva de la Familia is a blend of tequilas aged anywhere from three to 30 years. The recipe is a Cuervo family heirloom, handed down through generations. Only the inner parts of the agave plant, the piñas, are used in making this spirit. It’s a smooth, nuanced extra-añejo, with wonderful herbal and wood notes. At $150 per bottle, Reserva de la Familia is a worth checking out for the discerning tequila drinker.
Publicist Carol Klefner and photographer Bob Gruen swap stories about the ’72 tour.
Guests could sample all they wanted of it as they packed into the basement recording studio. Memorabilia from the ’72 Stones Tour was displayed in Electric Lady Studios, including Klefner’s original tour shirt. She and Gruen eventually took the stage and for an hour swapped stories from their experiences during and around the tour.
“This tour really was like nothing before it,” Klefner recalled with a laugh. “We liked to say that we were a pirate ship on the move with its own airplane.”
The tour included 54 dates over a two month period. In the first week, the Stones sold a million copies of Exile on Main St. The last show was Mick Jagger’s 29th birthday.
“Mick and Keith ended up in jail one night after a fight with an aggressive photographer,” Gruen remembered. “And they were bailed out by the Mayor of Boston. There were riots going on then in Boston, unrelated. And the mayor was worried that the riots would escalate if The Stones missed their tour date in the city because some of them were in jail.”
The Rolling Stones Tour Pick bottle of Reserva de la Familia.
Jose Cuervo was also along for the tour, as a go-to drink. “There was a lot of tequila on the tour,” Gruen said. “We were drinking a lot of Cuervo, because it was the white line down the middle of the road for tequila. It was synonymous back then for tequila.”
The tour took on a signature cocktail during a stop at The Trident bar in Sausalito, California. The band wanted to try a new drink and the bartender gave them a Tequila Sunrise: orange juice, tequila, and a touch of Grenadine syrup.
“It wouldn’t mix well, so you have the yellow on top of the orange, like a sunset,” Klefner explained. “It was the most beautiful looking drink. It really took off for us.”
The raucous, often-debaucherous tour culminated in a classy final party. At the bar atop the St. Regis hotel in New York, the band drank with the likes of Zsa Zsa Gábor, Woody Allen, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, record executives and other members of high society.
“That’s the kind of party where, had this tequila, the Reserva de la Familia, been invented yet, they’d have really liked it,” Gruen said.
Photography by Bob Gruen made the cover of Time during the ’72 tour.
Grain-to-glass craft spirits distiller Spirit Works Distillery has announced the release of their first whiskeys.
As of this month, visitors to their Sebastopol, CA tasting room will get a first sip of both their Straight Wheat Whiskey and Straight Rye Whiskey. Beginning December 1, these will both be on store shelves and back bars throughout California and select states, just in time for holiday imbibing.
The grains for each whiskey are milled, mashed, fermented and distilled entirely on site at the distillery in Sonoma County. Each batch is aged for a minimum of two years in 53-gallon, charred, brand-new American White Oak barrels, the company says, then non-chill filtered in order to “preserve the full aromatic complexity of this uniquely American spirit.”
Spirit Works Straight Wheat Whiskey is made from 100% organic Red Winter Wheat, the company says, that results in a rich, caramelized-sugar palate rounded out with notes of sweet tea and toasted walnut, finishing with graham crackers and subtle smoke
The Straight Rye Whiskey has notes of bright baked apple, coffee and sweet golden honeycomb, the company says, with a warm spice finish.
Both whiskies are bottled at 45% ABV / 90 Proof and have a suggested retail price of $65.
Spirit Works Straight Wheat Whiskey and Straight Rye Whiskey are distributed in CA, OR, IL, CO and AZ. Visitors to Sebastopol, CA can stop in at the distillery and tasting room and sample the entire grain-to-glass portfolio – and buy up to three bottles, beginning January 1, 2016.
For more information on Spirit Works Distillery and where to purchase, visit their website or call 707-634-4793.
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