Three Predictions for Beer in the New Year
Here are a few predictions for beer in the New Year:
1. It will cost more.
Duh! Already there have been articles warning that a shortage of hops, competition for grain, and the dollar’s weakening position will combine to drive up the price of good beer. Most prognosticators call for a hike around $1 a six pack hike after the holidays. How to cope? I don’t think I will drink less beer in the New Year, but I might sip it more slowly.
2. More green beer.
The urge to go organic is strong. Magic Hat and Clipper City and even Anheuser-Busch have released beers that are certified organic. The leap from inorganic to organic beer making is not a giant one. Beer, after all, is made with basic God-given ingredients. But it can be a hassle for a brewery. The brewery must be cleaned without harsh chemicals. Snagging organically grown hops is costly. But the way the regulations are written you can have an organic beer and still use inorganic hops, as long as 95 percent of the ingredients are organically grown. Some of this rush to make an organic beer is marketing; nothing wrong with that.
3. Recycling beer bottles in Baltimore is going to be dicey.
The city was woefully unprepared Dec. 15 to accommodate residents who wanted to buy plastic bins for its new one-stream recycling program. Starting Jan. 8, we can no longer put our empty beer bottles out in the alley in blue bags. Now they have to be put either in one of those hard-to-acquire yellow bins or in a container plainly marked as holding recyclables. Those of us who got shut out at the Dec. 15 fiasco will have to put out our empty beer bottles in something that looks like a trash can but is labeled "recycling." Then we will keep our fingers crossed that the bottles get hauled away to recycling central.
Any other predictions?
I wonder, can you taste the difference between an organic and inorganic brew?
And any creative ideas for how to mark up the cans holding our empty beer bottles?
Comments
Perhaps more craft beers sold in cans?
Hugh Sisson of Clipper City Brewing Company once explained after a tour that packaging beer in cans is better, because it doesn't experience the oxidation that bottled beers do ... and they're lighter, so they require less energy to ship.
Unfortunately, I'm guessing beer in cans will probably face the same negative connotations as screw-top wine.
Posted by: Dancing Monkey | December 26, 2007 7:18 PM
any creative ideas for how to mark up the cans holding our empty beer bottles?
Fallen Soldiers....handle with respect, they were well served.
Posted by: David Lansinger | December 27, 2007 11:52 AM
$1 per 6-pack? Man, that is harsh. Is it justified? Is it likely?
Posted by: Kyle B | December 27, 2007 3:40 PM
How about a bin filled with.....beer bottles! It has always worked for me.
Posted by: Jason | December 27, 2007 4:09 PM
My prediction is beer drinkers are going to understand beer prices are going up because of ethanol subsidies.OK, It is wish full thinking that the average beer drinker will understand that large Agra- business are raising the price of beer.
Posted by: cheflovesbeer | December 27, 2007 10:02 PM
A number of groups, including the Baltimore Harbor Watershed Assoc. and Sierra Club are working to pass a bottle bill in Maryland. It would be great to see the craft brewers get behind this effort and dedicate the uncollected deposits to making other recycling work.
http://www.baltimorewaters.org/
http://mdbottlebill.blogspot.com/
http://marylandbottlebill.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Patrick | January 1, 2008 4:57 PM
When decent craft beers hit $30 a case, I dusted off my homebrewing gear and started brewed my own again. For that same $30 I can get a yield of 5 gallons or about 2 cases and it's always fresh. Bottles from craft brewers are great for refilling.
Posted by: Ken | January 7, 2008 6:52 AM
1. Slowed craft erosion of macroswill market share. The increase in price coupled with the coming recession will slow down the craft growth.
2. Better beer in restaurants. Matching quality, expensive brews with food is easier than with wine.
3. Increased recycling. You now can put them out with everything else. Even without the yellow can, I used a cardboard box, filled with all the unused Examiners. With recycling every two weeks, it is now even easier.
Hopes:
1. A good session brew in cans. Dales pale ale is good, but I'd like to have a local.
2. On that note, an increased availability of both Brewers Art and Oliver's brews in bottle. If that happens, I may never buy from a regional or macromicro ever again...
Posted by: Mike | January 15, 2008 4:16 PM
Kasper - for 2008 I am striving to go to one brewery per month (more when I can). I will be up near Cooperstown, NY this holiday weekend and would like to hit up some local joints for a taste or tour (preferably both). I already have info on Cooperstown Brewery and Ommegang, but since I have been to both, I can't really count them. Any suggestions?
Posted by: TS | January 16, 2008 5:03 PM