Top 5 Craft Beer Headlines: A Week In Review
At Craft Beverage Jobs, we spend many hours each week researching current events within the craft beer industry. News about industry growth, new business, job openings and personal profiles helps keep us up to date on what’s happening in craft beer across the world.
At the end of each week, that adds up to a lot of information. So, we thought we would share with you our picks for the Top 5 Craft Beer Headlines from each week! Here is Craft Beer Headlines: A Week In Review.
1. New York: The 2014 Craft Act
NYS Brewers Association: Craft Act Cliff Notes
The New York State Brewers Association take a close look at the recent Craft Beverage legislation signed into law by 
Governor Andrew Cuomo and its benefits for the growth of Craft Beer in New York.
Craft breweries are a significant sector in our agricultural and tourism industries, and when they do well, our economy does well. I encourage New Yorkers to sample all of what our craft brewers have to offer. – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
- The NYS Brewers Association takes a look at:
- Passing of the Small Brewers Bill
- Protecting Tax Benefits for NYS Breweries
- Exempting Small Breweries from State Liquor Authority Fees
- Creating the Farm Brewery License for Craft Breweries
- Exempting Breweries from Burdensome Tax Filing Requirements
2. Black Market Craft Beer?
Black market craft beer is bad for business, by Christian Nilsson – HuffPost Live via AOL
With all the things you can buy on the black market, from stolen Picassos to the occasional vital organ, you probably didn’t think something as ubiquitous as beer could be covertly bought and sold.
But the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage made its way to the black market and that could really screw up your enjoyment of your favorite craft brew.
CNN Money reports that the influx in demand for specialty beer is causing small batch brewers to sell in secret and online at high mark ups.
The demand is certainly there, and people are stepping in to fulfill that need in unsavory ways.
“Whether it’s a top-rated brew or one with new or seasonal ingredients, everyone wants to get their hands on exclusive batches,” beer ciceroneAnne Becerra told CNN Money.
The overpriced sale of bootlegged beer isn’t good for the breweries or the consumers — it just lines the pockets of the seller. So, as much as you might be dying for a bottle of that fall harvest specialty brew, do you fellow beer drinkers a favor and skip the back alley buy.
3. Hops Farm Meeting Michigan’s Craft Beer Demands
Top Hops Farm aims to grow with Michigan’s booming craft brew industry, by Roberto Acosta – Michigan Live
When Sean Trowbridge breaks the seal on the latched door to a walk-in freezer storing bags of varying sizes, a hoppy blast slaps you in the nostrils.
The aroma is wheaty, flowery and distinct to Top Hops Farm in Atlas Township, a commercial hops farm that’s looking to grow in 2015 and build relationships with local brewers and capitalizing on the industry’s growth in the state.
“My parents and I we were kind of interested in trying to find something that would work here on the farm, as far as farming produce,” he said of the 55 acres purchased a few years back by his father Mark Trowbridge, a retired engineer.
“With the way the craft beer industry had been going, we’d already been growing crops for a couple of years and we just visited some other hop farms in Michigan to get an idea of what it’s really like,” said Sean.
“We started out with a few plants next to the corn crib out here,” Mark Trowbridge said. “Sean went out and bought some rhizomes off of Craigslist and put them in. They actually took off and grew quite well. I think that helped to motivate us to take the next step.”
Sean Trowbridge said he grew 10 to 15 plants on the side, eventually moving to a trial yard of around 200 “When we were really serious about looking at commercial production” and planted five and a half acres in spring 2013.
Witnessing the craft beer industry flourish, he said, “We decided we’d commit to putting in a commercial amount of hops that would be substantial enough that the brewers could use it and that there could be a supply year-round and not just a couple brews.”
The craft brew industry saw $14.3 billion in sales nationwide in 2013, up 20 percent from the previous year, according to figures from the 
Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo.-based membership organization started in 1978.
The state of Michigan had 131 craft breweries in 2013, the fifth-most in the nation, producing nearly 583,000 barrels of craft beer that equaled $1.005 billion in economic impact.
Jason Moon, public information manager for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, said there are 133 licensed micro brewers in the state in 2014, as well as 43 pending applications.
In terms of production, Moon said micro brewers are allowed to produce up to 60,000 barrels of beer in one year for consumption on-site, for take-out or sale to a licensed wholesaler.
4. China Loves Craft Beer But Not Craft Brewing
China is getting a taste for craft beers, but not for craft brewing, by Rebecca Kanthor – PRI’s The World
There’s no shortage of beer in China. In sheer volume, China produces more beer than any other country. It’s even expected to overtake the US as the most valuable beer market in just a few years. The problem, according to a lot of beer aficionados, is that most of it isn’t very good.
Chinese people joke that the local lagers — stuff like Tsingtao or Snow — could easily pass for water. Some people even drink it to rehydrate after getting drunk on other alcohol. But tastes here are starting to change.
Craft beer is now a fast growing trend in China, and not just in Shanghai and Beijing but also smaller cities around the country. Along with wine, travel and cars, imported beer is a luxury buy for locals looking to show off their good taste.
The Shanghai International Beer Fest, held this fall, drew 40,000 people ready to try a wide variety of different beers. Gao Meng, a 26-year-old who came with her husband and son, was sampling a lager from Brooklyn Brewery.
So is making great beer in China getting as easy as finding great beer?
“No. I can tell you 100 percent no,” says Gao Yan, the brewmaster who wrote the book on beer in China — a Chinese language manual for homebrewers.
His Baby IPA is one of the few local craft brews to be bottled in China, but his brewery has twice been shut down by the government. Why? Because of the crazy red tape and import restrictions that make brewing here frustrating at best. Brewers tell stories of smuggling in American hops in their luggage. One local brewery actually bottles its beer in the US and then ships it back to China to sell.
5. BrewDog Brewery Needs A Master Brewer
Craft Beverage Jobs Featured Job Listing
Typically, job listings don’t make the headlines, but when its BrewDog AND they are looking for a Master Brewer, then its definitely front page news!
Master Brewer Job Description:
As things ramp up here at BrewDog, we’re looking for someone with a brilliant attitude, a thirst for great beer, a technically flawless CV to head up our brewing team as our Master Brewer. Reporting directly to our 2 founders, you will steer the good ship BrewDog towards innovative and ever expanding craft beer horizons. A phenomenal leader who can do more than just talk the talk, you will be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get elbow deep in hops as you train, facilitate and inspire our production crew in the brewing, packaging and supply of outstanding craft beers. You’re not one to shy away from a challenge because you quite simply love what you brew, believing that the people on your time are your greatest assets and their achievements the best reflection of your success. You will be a perfect balance of shrewd and personable, with a great head for figures, a discerning eye for opportunity, and a brilliant track record of innovation and development within the brewing industry. We are looking for someone with a strong craft beer CV with a huge focus on the beer itself. Experience for this role is absolutely essential; we’re looking for a high calibre candidate to ensure BrewDog remain at the forefront of innovation and development in the craft beer industry. Things at BrewDog have been progressing at a phenomenal pace since the brewery began in 2007, and we anticipate the years ahead to be one incredible and rewarding experience as we continue to go from strength to strength in our determination to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are.
Other BrewDog Job Listings Include:
Come Back Next Week!
This is an article for the Craft Beer Geek! You know who you are! Craft Beer Headlines: A Week In Review, will be a weekly article published each Saturday morning. So, come back each Saturday when we highlight another Top 5 Headlines in the world of Craft Beer.
Everybody should believe in something — I believe I’ll have another drink. – W. C. Fields
Featured photo credit: The Facey Family via photopin cc
Photo credit: Charles Henry via photopin cc