Sunday, April 28, 2013

Big Brew

What: Big Brew, a worldwide event celebrating National Homebrew Day
Who: You, the brew lover
Where: Singleton Park, 695 N. Curry Road, Roseburg, OR
When: Sat., May 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Host: Umpqua Valley Brewers Guild
Sponsor:  American Homebrewers Association

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Springtime Promises

Springtime bine climb

April Hop Crop Report: Yep, up they grow with a little Umpqua Valley soil below and April rain and sun from above!

Genus: Humulus
Species: lupulus
Cultivar: Centennial

Genetic Composition: 3/4 Brewers Gold, 3/32 Fuggle, 1/16 East Kent Golding, 1/32 Bavarian and 1/16 unknown
First Created: 1974
Released: 1990
Alpha Acid Rating: 9.5%-11.5%
Works Well In: Pale Ales and IPAs
Source: Beer Advocate

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Top 50 American Craft Breweries


    Craft brewers made
    13,235,917 barrels of beer
    last year, which means publicans
    poured plenty of pints!
    • Boston Beer leads the list of Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies.*
    • California leads the states with 11 breweries in the Top 50; Going up the West Coast, Oregon has four, and surprisingly, Washington has none. 
    • Colorado outranks Oregon with six breweries.
    • No Portland brewery is in the Top 50, but Widmer, as part of the Craft Brew Alliance merger with Red Hook and Kona, is #9 in the Top 50 Overall U.S. Brewing Companies.
    West Coast Breweries in the Top 50

    California: 
    #2 Sierra Nevada (Chico)
    #6 Lagunitas (Petaluma)
    #10 Stone (Escondido)
    #20 Firestone Walker (Paso Robles)
    #21 Anchor (San Fransisco)
    #34 Bear Republic (Cloverdale)
    #38 Lost Coast (Eureka)
    #39 Karl Srauss (San Diego)
    #40 BJ's Chicago Pizza & Brewery (San Diego)
    #42 North Coast (Fort Bragg)
    #46 Ballast Point (San Diego)

    Oregon:
    #5 Deschutes (Bend)
    #22 Rogue Ales (Newport)
    #24 Full Sail (Hood River)
    #31 Ninkasi (Eugene)

    Washington:
    None
    • Craft brewers sold an estimated 13,235,917 barrels of beer in 2012, up from 11,467,337 in 2011. 
    • Growth of the craft brewing industry in 2012 was 15% by volume and 17% by dollars.
    • Craft brewers provide an estimated 108,440 jobs in the U.S., including serving staff in brewpubs.
    Statistics provided by the Brewers Association.
    * The Brewers Association defines a craft brewery as one with an annual production of beer less than six million barrels.

    Wednesday, April 10, 2013

    Long Live the King!

    Cheers to you, Patron Saint of Beer
    It's that time of year when humulus lupulus rhizomes once again begin to send their green shoots out of the earth on their ascent to hop heaven.

    Celebrate Spring and  King Gambrinus, who is credited for adding hops to beer.


    "My name is Gambrinus,
    King of Flanders and Brabant.
    I made malt out of barley
    And was the first to conceive beer
    So the brewers
    Can proudly proclaim
    That it was a King
    Who invented Beer!"

    Friday, April 5, 2013

    Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Closeup of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
    When magnified a whole bunch of times,
    as pictured above, it becomes apparent that
    this little guy and billions of buddies do their business
    with a smile after being pitched into the brew kettle.
    Oregon has an official state insect and an official state crustacean, so why shouldn't Saccharomyces cerevisiae be the official state microbe? At least that's the proposal of state representative Mark Johnson of Hood River. According to House Concurrent Resolution 12, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is "essential to the production of alcoholic beverages, such as mead, wine, beer and distilled spirits," making it officially worthy of honor and recognition as the state's itsy bitsiest, teeny weeniest symbol.

    Scientific Name: Saccharomyces cerevisiae 
    Translation: "Saccharomyces" is geek speak for "sugar mold" or "sugar fungus," and Cerevisiae means "of beer."
    Nickname: Mr. Happy, a.k.a. Brewer's yeast
    Purpose on Earth: To magically convert sugar into alcohol
    Size: Really, really small; in fact, even smaller than a flyspeck
    Economic Impact: Really, really large--$2.4 billion dollars a year in the Oregon craft beer business

    Tuesday, April 2, 2013

    Agua from Thin Air

    Lima, Peru’s capital city, receives less than one inch of rain each year, forcing some residents to get their water from dirty wells. Despite the lack of rain, the high humidity makes it possible to harvest water directly from the city’s air, providing a sustainable, alternative source of drinkable water.



    Peruvian researchers have collaborated with an ad agency to create an unusual billboard that generates drinking water from thin air. 

    While fulfilling its traditional role as an advertising tool, the billboard also harvests moisture directly from the air, which is then processed through a filtration system. 

    Capable of producing 25 gallons (96 liters) of water a day during summer, the billboard has provided 9,450 liters of clean drinking water for a nearby community in the three months since it was first installed.

    Source: Inhabit.com