There is all sorts of beer things happening and I’m here to get you up to date. Grab some tickets to a beer festival, have a beer and a cupcake, or drink a cold one on your flight. It’s all possible and I’m showing you how, when, and where in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

 

World Cup: Germany Beats Brazil

Sorry Brazil, you can’t beat DAS BOOT.

…Then beats Argentina

…Then takes over the world? Congratulations to Germany on winning the World Cup!

North Carolina’s Craft Beer Boom

I think it’s safe to say that North Carolina has emerged as the coolest new place to start/move a brewery. With breweries like New Belgium, Oskar Blues, and Sierra Nevada in the area, the state has the chops to back up this claim.  Here I was thinking Colorado was the best! Silly me, I guess I’ll have to move now.

 

Upcoming Festivals:

Beer Camp Across America (July)- hosted by Sierra Nevada, but not limited to only their beer, this traveling caravan of beer awesomeness will hit 7 cities across the U.S. Click the link to see if they will be stopping near you!

San Diego Festival of Beers (September 19) – Celebrate the 20th anniversary of this festival in one of the best beer cities in the world. Also, I know it’s far off but if you buy tickets now, they are cheap! Get at it!

LA Beer Week (September 20-28) – Straight from the press release: “The Los Angeles County Brewers Guild (LABG) has taken the reins of organizing Los Angeles Beer Week to bring you the first-ever LABW hosted by breweries, for beer people.” That’s some pretty exciting news!

Craft Beer Rising Festival, Glasglow (September 19-21) – For all of our European readers, we didn’t forget about your craft beer needs! This festival is expected to bring in 3000 attendees and you could be one of them. What’s in it for you? Oh, just 200 beers from 45 local and international breweries.

Carytown Cupcake Law

This is really awesome and right up my alley (because I cook with beer on Drink and Spoon). Some bakery owners wanted to sell craft beer, which they already cook with, along with their baked goods – so they made it possible! Owners of Carytown Cupcakes, based in Virginia, lobbied their local senators to expand the law on types of alcohol a bakery can serve. Senate Bill 502 passed and as of July 1st, Carytown Cupcakes is selling beer and wine with their sweet treats.

Craft Beer Taking Over the Skies

This is a nice, little article about how craft beer is now being added to many in-flight menus on airlines such as Delta and Southwest. The one set-back is that the high altitude affects the way your taste buds and the beer interact. So, the beer may not be as great as it is on the ground but it’s probably still better than the mass produced fizzy, yellow, beer-water being served on board.

Self-Serve Beer Station at Target Field

Say whaaaaat? Although they are boasting it as a ‘novelty’ and some people prefer the ‘beer guy’, this is still a pretty cool invention. You buy a beer card and pay for your brew by the ounce. That’s a pretty nice option if you only want half of a beer or want to try them all. Did you ever make suicides at the soda fountain when you were a little kid? You know, where you poured all the sodas in one cup….I could see this happening.