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Covering the latest stories in social news, entertainment, travel and community experiences on all things beer, whiskey & spirits. Bringing our listeners everything from entertainment and entrepreneurship, to philanthropy, education,...
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Covering the latest stories in social news, entertainment, travel and community experiences on all things beer, whiskey & spirits.
Bringing our listeners everything from entertainment and entrepreneurship, to philanthropy, education, interviews and community outreach when it comes to craft breweries and distilleries across the nation, and the arts of their craft.
We’re laying it all out on the drinking table. Let's start a conversation.
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Bringing our listeners everything from entertainment and entrepreneurship, to philanthropy, education, interviews and community outreach when it comes to craft breweries and distilleries across the nation, and the arts of their craft.
We’re laying it all out on the drinking table. Let's start a conversation.
Libation Nation Podcast
Libation Nation Podcast
25 FEB 2022 · In this episode we’ll be talking about Beerflation: How Inflation will eventually make your favorite craft beer more expensive (if it hasn’t already).
Well it looks like our worst fears are coming true: inflation is no longer temporary, or what economists have been calling transitory. No, inflation is here to stay. For how long though still remains to be seen.
Inflation news is ever-changing, but at the time of this recording inflation jumped its fastest pace in nearly 40 years last month to a whopping 7%. Cars, gas, food, and other commodities saw substantial price hikes. This is starting to worry many Americans — and this fear isn’t misplaced.
We can point to many things contributing to inflation right now. Supply chain backlogs, labor and raw material shortages, pandemic fears, wage increases, and even some of President Biden’s recent economic policies are to blame. What’s more, most Americans think Washington DC isn’t doing enough to stave off this new expensive reality.
If this problem’s left untouched, the American dollar will be worth less and less over time. This means your money won’t go as far, easily draining savings accounts and hampering overall economic progress for everyday people.
The Federal Reserve is left with no choice but to raise interest rates. In an attempt to curb inflation Fed chair, Jerome Powell, told Congress, “If we see inflation persisting at high levels longer than expected [and] we have to raise interest rates more over time, we will.”
Powell even hinted they might raise rates as early as March, and up to three times this year. (Ouch). But many wonder if this government action is too little too late, or simply not enough to tackle a mounting concern like this one.
With that being said, we most certainly can expect inflation to affect our favorite craft beer prices soon (if it hasn’t already). Wage increases for brewery employees, higher costs for raw beer ingredients, greater transportation and distribution demands, and slower turn around of parts for brewery equipment will all contribute to more expensive craft beer.
Craft breweries will inevitably pass this extra cost onto the customer. Likely this will either be through raising prices for the same size beer, or keeping prices the same but beer offered in smaller fluid ounce sizes. Any way you pour it, beer is going to get costlier.
And this won’t be the breweries fault either. Prices are going up everywhere, just look at your local grocery store. Craft beer is merely collateral damage in a much bigger economic problem. (Sniff sniff, I’m not crying).
But don’t worry, craft beer isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon. These days imbibing great beer with even better community is practically an American pastime. It’s an easy, accessible, and fun way to escape the woes and throes of inflation — a chance to just live in the moment. Just don’t make it an excuse not to drink responsibly.
Let’s keep calm and drink beer. Here’s to hoping this whole inflation thing gets sorted out sooner than later.
Next episode we’ll talk about Monster Beverages’ plan to enter the craft beer game.
Until then, cheers to beers.
2 FEB 2022 · In case you missed the last 4 podcast episodes, this episode puts them together into 1 easy listening (and drinking) experience. This episode's packed with a lot of beer content, such as climate change and its impact on the craft beer capital of America, a new celebrity brewery in New York, illegal craft beer in 15 states, and 5 new beer and brewery trends to expect in 2022. Enjoy.
Stay thirsty. And cheers to beers.
New Instagram name change: https://www.instagram.com/libationnation.tv
©2022 Libation Nation™ An Alcohol Media Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Libation Nation LLC
31 DEC 2021 · This decade has started off on the wrong foot. A global pandemic, economic downturn, inflation worries, culture wars, and a growing political divide have dominated news cycles for months now. But within all the chaos plaguing the 2020s thus far, it’s nice to take a reprieve when one can find it. For many, craft beer has taken on that role.
It’s actually not a far fetched idea. On the face of it, some may say it’s just beer. But it’s really not just about the beer is it? People (particularly Americans) have always gravitated towards these little luxuries, especially in times of uncertainty. Going to the movies, grabbing a Starbucks coffee to go, or even enjoying a craft beer, these are just some examples of temporary escape — a moment of bliss. It’s really no wonder then we reach for a cold one every once in a while. Craft beer is always great, in good times and in bad.
With that, predicting the future can be a tricky business. Going into the next year is a chance for something new.
Here’s our predictions for craft beer in 2022:
1) Getting Creative with Water. Water shortages will continue to hit drought-stricken territories (especially states like California). This directly impacts brewery operations and craft beer production. A need for water conservation and reuse, more integrated technologies and other self-sustainable methods will continue to be necessary for craft beer “survival.” Breweries will need to continue to flex their resourcefulness.
2) Weird Beer Gets Weirder. Craft beer (like anything else) can have a certain one-upmanship about it. Hence we get some funky ingredients and pretty weird flavors. Some examples of odd-ingredient beers include Avocado Honey Ale by Island Brewing Company, Coconut Curry Hefeweizen by New Belgium Brewery, and even Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout by Wynkoop Brewery (I think I’m gonna be sick). We expect this trend to continue even more as new breweries continue to take root throughout our libation nation. (see what I did there)
3) AI Takes Over Beer…Sort of. There’s a burgeoning field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. It’s expected to permeate more and more into business operations. Breweries are no exception. While we shouldn’t expect drastic changes next year, AI will continue to automate lower-level tasks. This should free up more time and resources for breweries to exploit such as broader expansion into new and existing markets, enhanced beer production, or improved quality control. However, some have taken the power of AI in beer making a little too far: IntelligentX uses artificial intelligence to create different varieties of beer. (artificial intelligence making beer? So this is how robots take over the world.)
4) Craft Beer Popularity Boom Rises. The craft beer industry will continue to boom in popularity. The 1990s had around 300 craft breweries at the time. Today we have almost 9,000 breweries nationwide. That’s around 30x more breweries now than just 3 decades ago. Or to put it another way, that’s an average of 250-300 new craft breweries every year. While the COVID pandemic may have slowed things down a bit, Americans still prefer to imbibe with good company rather than alone. Hence, we continue to seek out new places to gather; and what better place than a brewery.
5) New Tasty Beer Hotspot...Dallas-Fort Worth Over the past decade, DFW has seen an explosion in new craft breweries. The catalyst for this is almost entirely due to its rapid population growth and business-friendly environment. This has made DFW the fastest growing area in the nation (several years running now). As new residents continue to flood the metroplex (mostly fleeing from states like California, New York, and Florida), beer tastes and preferences have naturally followed as well. The confluence of new residents from all walks-of-life has created this unique brewery freedom — a beer experimentation of sorts. This little part of the country was primed and ripe for a craft brewery revolution. As a result, new beer styles and flavors have been birthed into the brewery scene that exists there today. But don’t just take our word for it. You’ll have to visit the Dallas-Fort Worth area for yourself.
And there you have it: 5 Craft Beer & Brewery Trends for 2022. If history has taught us anything it’s that you never know what the next year has to offer. And beer can take us there.
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https://ourlibationnation.com/news/5-craft-beer-trends-for-2022/
The people & scenes depicted in this video are purely to convey the story, and do not in any way serve as an endorsement to any personal or professional entities, or companies/organizations/institutions mentioned within this report.
©2021 Libation Nation™ An Alcohol Media Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Libation Nation LLC
15 DEC 2021 · In this episode we’ll be talking about the controversy surrounding Samuel Adams’ new beer release. Spoiler alert: it’s not entirely legal.
Last month, Samuel Adams announced its biennial launch of its limited-edition beer, Utopias. It hit shelves early October — about 13,000 bottles brewed in total.
Utopias is touted as “an extreme barrel aged beer that pushes the limits of barrel aging.” A delicious batch blend through a painstaking brew process, the end result is a specialty beer at a whopping 28.0% alcohol by volume (ABV).
To put it in perspective, craft beers average around 5-7% ABV, making Utopias about 4-5x stronger than your average suds.
On their website it states:
“We make Utopias to challenge the perception of what beer can be. This boundary bending, barrel-aged beer blurs the line between beer and fine spirit. At 28%, it’s the badass of our brewery. Its reputation puts it on every beer drinker’s bucket-list.”
And it’s because of this higher-than-normal alcohol content that makes this particular beer “not-so” legal — at least not in every state.
Broadly speaking, alcohol sales have a long and complicated history here in the United States. To make a long story short, quite a handful of states have legally capped the alcohol content in beer that’s purchased and sold within its borders. These local statutes are all well below Utopias’ 28% ABV. In fact, they don’t even come close.
Any sale or purchase of this specialty beer would thereby be illegal, with varying degrees of enforcement and punishment by state.
So you may be asking yourself by now, “Which states technically outlaw Samuel Adams’ Utopias?” Well, there are 15 states actually:
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Idaho
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Even if you don’t live in one of these states, Utopias will still set you back about $240 for an oversized 25.4 ounce bottle. Now that’s a lot of beer mula!
Well worth it we’re sure. But we’re still waiting on Samuel Adams to send us a bottle to review (cough, cough, hint, hint).
At least with Utopias you’re getting a limited edition specialty beer, in a generous size bottle, and with huge fanfare. And needless to say, it certainly doesn’t skimp on the alcohol content either.
Usually less is more, but in this case more is more with Samuel Adams.
For more information on Samuel Adams’ Utopias, visit www.samueladams.com/utopias
Cheers to beers!
Next episode we’ll talk about 5 Craft Beer Trends for 2022.
Until next time, stay thirsty Libation Nation.
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Website:
https://ourlibationnation.com/
Read the Article:
https://ourlibationnation.com/news/samuel-adams-new-beer-isnt-exactly-legal/
©2021 Libation Nation™ An Alcohol Media Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Libation Nation LLC
6 DEC 2021 · Much of the Southwest has been experiencing extreme drought conditions for the better part of two decades now. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has declared a water shortage in Lake Mead, and Lake Powell, of the Colorado River for the first time in recorded history.
This is actually a really big deal considering this water provides for more than 20 million Americans in much of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and of course our most populated state, California.
Overall the United States doesn’t have a water supply problem but rather a water distribution one. But Western states need solutions now.
California, having served as the unofficial epicenter of climate change in America, has felt the water pinch since the early 2000s.
Between being the largest populated state in the country, lack of new reservoir creation or revamping of existing water supply infrastructures, very high energy demands, and poorly regulated public congestion matters, California has found itself in the perfect storm of an unmitigated megadrought disaster.
Don’t misunderstand, much of California’s predicament isn’t entirely their fault. Climate change is a global event. Be that as it may, California also has a long and notorious history of reactive (versus proactive) approaches when it comes to governing itself well in an ever changing environment. Until recently it's been a lot of talk without the walk.
So does the outlook of the craft brewery capital of the world look like for the coming decade or two?
California breweries need one essential ingredient that’s becoming increasingly scarce: water. And they need a lot of it.
Water is basically the new gold rush in “The Golden State.” People and businesses require it for overall business operations, sanitation, and, well, survival.
This makes our beloved Californian beer a precious commodity in its own right – a liquid gold even. And breweries know this fact all too well.
No way around it, craft breweries need water. Some are waiting on political solutions from the top-down. Quite a few legislative proposals have been discussed. These include everything from water importing and water recycling methods, to desalination from the Pacific Ocean and extreme water conservation efforts. Even water capturing technology in fog patterns has been floated around in the San Francisco Bay Area.
However, others aren’t waiting on Sacramento to solve its problems. This isn’t the first time Californian craft breweries have had to get creative during massive water shortages.
While difficult to get an exact figure, each gallon of beer requires about 4-6 gallons of water. On the face of it, this seems pretty wasteful from a water conservation perspective.
Other ingredients in beer like grain, hops, and yeast largely come from out-of-state agriculture where rain is not an issue.
Even with all that in mind, a report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) surprisingly concluded that the craft brewery industry in the state posed “little to no impact on California’s drought.”
So if grain, hops, yeast, and California water (all the main ingredients in beer) are not negatively impacting its water shortage concern, then is there a problem here?
Well some water conservationists and activists have criticized those quick to jump on the PPIC bandwagon. They fear true water usage to make California beer is far more complex than what this report would suggest, making it difficult to fully assess the actual water costs and environmental toll.
Either way, these are just some of the reasons breweries are taking matters into their own hands. Waiting on state government action could leave too much to chance (and possibly too little help in the end).
California breweries have gotten creative though.
Meticulous water tracking, new wastewater treatment systems, drilling their own wells, and even enhanced technologies are just some of the unique innovations they’ve already started implementing into current batch production and overall operations — with most already reporting positive results and cost-savings in some circumstances.
Does this mean we have to cut back on our favorite Golden State-produced suds? No, not at all.
It would seem California’s amazing craft brewery scene is safe for now.
In the meantime, let’s continue enjoying delicious brews from the beachside coastline all the way to the tops of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Cheers to California beers!
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Website:
https://ourlibationnation.com/
Read the Article:
https://ourlibationnation.com/news/megadroughts-and-the-future-of-californias-breweries/
©2021 Libation Nation™ An Alcohol Media Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Libation Nation LLC
17 NOV 2021 · We talk about the significance of actor Kelsey Grammer starting his own brewery.
Not exactly news anymore, but actor Kelsey Grammer has launched his very own brewery called Faith American Brewing Co. in Upstate New York. That’s right, everyone’s favorite fictional psychotherapy radio host, played on the wildly popular sitcom Frasier, is now playing a real-life beermaker in Margaretville, Delaware County.
Pretty cool in its own right, what Kelsey Grammer did was not only perfectly fitting but quite admirable too.
Why? Because he did this for selfless reasons.
For one, he simply doesn’t need the money. Kelsey is worth somewhere to the tune of $80 million. Plus, starting a brewery from scratch isn’t exactly the huge moneymaker many dream it to be. It takes a lot of time and dedication to reach those levels of monetary returns. Frankly, he just doesn’t need to do any of that. There are plenty of other more profitable business ventures to explore.
Second, he purposely chose this seemingly indiscriminate location to place his brewing company. Delaware County isn’t an obvious choice for a microbrewery undertaking. In fact, it’s a place close to Kelsey’s heart.
On their website he writes:
“Having visited the Catskills as a boy and spent some of my most precious days here, I always suspected I would have a future with these mountains. Twenty-six years ago, the land was bought that is the home to Faith American. Here in Delaware County, times have been challenging and the once prosperous region has suffered considerably; it was a dream of returning this land and even this region to prosperity, a dream that commerce could restore this magnificent corner of the world to a thriving and vital place in America's economy that gave birth to the idea of a brewery. It is our hope that Faith will create and sell beautiful beers of all varieties. We will brew at the old dairy farm site and explore this marvelous craft, living in harmony with the land and the people here, harvesting our potential together as Faith American Brewing Company brings joy to our customers and revenue to the community.”
Kelsey could’ve started a brewery anywhere in America; heck, he could easily start any business anytime, anywhere in the world.
But the Catskill Mountains hold a different kind of value for Grammer: sentimental. This is where his roots are.
It doesn’t meet his celebrity status today, but rather his kindred spirit of a not-so yesteryear.
He wants to bring economic life and communal determination back into this little piece of Upstate New York.
And lastly, Kelsey’s brewery is literally a motif of America’s soul. The name alone elicits patriotism, of faith and country — Faith American Brewing Company. It’s identity is, in a strong sense, detached from his.
Don’t get us wrong, he’s spoken about his brewery quite publicly. But he’s taken the virtues of capitalism, in the purest sense of the word — the grit that built this country through good old fashioned hard work — and put it back into the place and people of Delaware County. This is where his brewing company belongs.
Kelsey Grammer didn’t just build a brewery. He rebuilt his former community and gave them a “hopeful tomorrow.” Because they gave him something much more: his identity.
Without those years, who knows where Kelsey would be today. For all we know, America could’ve missed out on countless hours of intimate humor, laughter, and thoughtful insight over these past few decades — broadcasted in wonderful full color magic, all the way from “La La Land.”
For more information on this great, new American beer institution, visit their website: www.faithamericanbrewingcompany.com
Next episode, we’ll be covering the California megadrought and the future of its breweries.
Until next time Libation Nation, cheers to beers!
Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/our.libatio...
Website:
https://ourlibationnation.com/
©2021 Libation Nation™ An Alcohol Media Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Libation Nation LLC
Covering the latest stories in social news, entertainment, travel and community experiences on all things beer, whiskey & spirits. Bringing our listeners everything from entertainment and entrepreneurship, to philanthropy, education,...
show more
Covering the latest stories in social news, entertainment, travel and community experiences on all things beer, whiskey & spirits.
Bringing our listeners everything from entertainment and entrepreneurship, to philanthropy, education, interviews and community outreach when it comes to craft breweries and distilleries across the nation, and the arts of their craft.
We’re laying it all out on the drinking table. Let's start a conversation.
show less
Bringing our listeners everything from entertainment and entrepreneurship, to philanthropy, education, interviews and community outreach when it comes to craft breweries and distilleries across the nation, and the arts of their craft.
We’re laying it all out on the drinking table. Let's start a conversation.
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| Author | Libation Nation |
| Organization | Libation Nation |
| Categories | Entertainment News |
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| ourlibationnation@gmail.com |
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