The TTB Wants Your Feedback About Unfair Trade Practices

Back in July of 2021, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 14036, addressing competition in the beer, wine and spirits industry. The goal of the executive order is to uncover the challenges that suppliers face in entering the industry. After an extensive request for information (RFI) period open to the general public and industry members alike, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Trade Commission, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General of the United States determined that unlawful trade practices need to be a more prominent focus for lawmakers if they want to level the playing field for new and existing beverage brands.

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Colorado Springs Beer Community Fundraises for Club-Q Shooting Survivors

Last week a shooter opened fire at Club Q, an LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs killing five people. Richard Fierro, an Army combat veteran and co-owner of Atrevida Beer Co., was one of the two men who subdued the shooter, preventing further casualties.

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FIRST LOOK | Public Offering Brewing Opening on South Broadway

As a resident of West Wash Park for the past 16 years, Cody Higginbottom feels a deep kinship with his neighborhood. But that communal bond will be further deepened today when he officially opens Public Offering Brewing at 1736 South Broadway.

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BREAKING | New Laws Bring Relief to California Breweries

The end of September brought great news out of Sacramento, California, as Governor Newsom signed the final bills of the ’21-’22 congressional session. Among the various bills signed were AB 2301 and 2307, which have removed several hurdles for the ever-expanding brewery industry in California. The first added some nuance to the three-tiered system to allow breweries some self-governance, and the second allowed breweries to continue to expand the communities they serve.

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The Craft Beer Industry Has A Labor Problem

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Mark Twain

For most craft beer industry workers, this couldn’t ring more true. The idea of turning a homebrewing hobby or a passion for craft beer into a flourishing career seems like a dream scenario. The way other people’s eyes light up when someone mentions they work in craft beer is priceless. Feeling like you have a job that others outside of the industry can only wildly dream about makes beer folks feel as though they have something really special, but are things really that great, or is the beer labor force being gaslit by the false pretense of job satisfaction, security and just plain fun? As the industry matures and evolves, being one of the “cool kids” in the beer industry isn’t all backslaps and beer shots, it’s become more about workers’ rights, workplace safety, and earning a living wage.

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California Craft Beer Week Returns This July

California craft beer week returns! Craft beer guilds across the state have come together to bring California Craft Beer Week (CCBW) to fruition. Read More

College Names Brewing Lab To Honor Charlie Papazian

Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) will soon begin construction of the Charlie Papazian Brewing Education Lab. The lab is named in honor of Charlie Papazian, the retired founder of the American Homebrewers Association, the Great American Beer Festival and the Brewers Association. Papazian is recognized as the Godfather of homebrewing and the resulting craft beer industry. Read More

Dry Dock Brewing Expands to Kansas

After 16 years of exponential growth, first in the Denver area and later across Colorado, Dry Dock Brewing of Aurora, CO, is sharing the love with its eastern neighbors. Kansas craft beer lovers can now find Dry Dock beer at retailers, restaurants, and bars. Read More

Competition in the Beer, Wine & Spirits Industry

Back in July 2021, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 14,036 focused on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” An Executive Order is a broad directive from the Executive Branch that sometimes can act as an immediate law. The goal of Biden’s EO last year was to draw attention to consolidation and competition in various industries in order to provide benefits to consumers in the form of better service, more product choices, and lower prices, as well as provide guidance for regulatory agencies to provide a more level playing field for small businesses. In this instance, Executive Order 14,036 specifically addresses competition in the beer, wine, and spirits industry.

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Modern Times Beer To Close Four Locations

Modern Times Beer announced on Monday via their Instagram accounts and a blog on their website that they will be closing four of their satellite taprooms. Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, and Santa Barbara will all be closed for good after Friday, Feb 18.

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BREAKING | McWhinney Purchases Great Divide Brewing Co.’s Barrel Bar

Great Divide Brewing Co. announced today that its Barrel Bar facility in Denver’s River North Art District was purchased by Colorado-based real estate investment, development, and management firm McWhinney. Service … Read More

SweetWater Brewing Celebrates Grand Opening in Fort Collins, Colorado

For a while, the trout was their only clue.

Driving past the former Red Truck Beer Company taproom and distribution center in Fort Collins, Colorado, it was clear that whatever … Read More

Native Land Beer Project | A Celebration of Indigenous Lands

Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. out of Albuquerque, New Mexico opened in 2016 and is the first Native Women-owned brewing company in the country. Being a part of the .1% of breweries in the U.S. owned by Native Americans, they wanted to use their platform to make a difference in their community.

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2021 Craft Brewers Conference External Events Guide

The Craft Brewers Conference is back! Returning to Denver, CO this year, CBC will be held from September 9 through September 12 at the Colorado Convention Center. Touted as America’s Largest Craft Brewing Industry Gathering, this event is an annual show that travels to different cities each year. It serves both on-premise breweries and packaging breweries and is a great way to meet other craft beer industry professionals.

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Laughing Monk Brewing | Sister Britney Hazy IPA

Pop Culture references are always a hit in the beer scene. Whether references to songs, or puns on band names, or pivotal cultural events, there is no shortage of choices. You’ll usually catch a few eyes and maybe a chuckle or two when people remember where they were, or all the words to a song they forgot they knew. But every once in a while it lands with more serious tones. In February of 2007 Britney Spears, overwhelmed with being constantly scrutinized by the paparazzi and public, walked into a Salon and took an electric razor to her hair.

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Odell Brewing Co. Celebrates Grand Opening of OBC Wine Project

“Less snobby, more sippy.”

This is the mantra of OBC Wine Project, Odell Brewing Co.’s latest adventure of craft and creativity. Though cans of their wine have already hit distribution across Colorado and several other states, May 5 marked the official opening of their tasting room and patio located directly across from the well-known brewpub in Fort Collins, Colorado. And when we say directly, we mean directly: it takes about a dozen steps from Odell Brewing Co.’s famous patio stage to the front door of the OBC Wine Project. But despite this proximity, upon entering it is immediately clear that a great deal of thoughtful effort went into carving this space its own personality.
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BREAKING | Boulder Beer Rolls Out Updated Look, Brand Refresh

Boulder Beer Company has opened another chapter in its long and storied history with a relaunch and refresh of the brand. This includes new can designs, realignment of the beer portfolio and a new partnership to help roll out the refreshed brand.

Boulder Beer will reduce core beers from six to five and eliminate its seasonal program to make the lineup more accessible to distributors and consumers. It will also resurrect old favorite Buff Gold as SKO – Buff Gold and introduce a new crossover brew named Bubbly by Nature. Read More

Tired Hands I VOTED TODAY Beer Encourages Craft Beer Drinkers to Vote

It is no secret that the 2020 Presidential Campaign is an unprecedented one. There has never been such an emphasis on people exercising their right and democratic duty to vote. Everyone from athletes, to singers and actors, to craft breweries are encouraging the public to vote this election season.

To encourage craft beer drinkers around the country to vote, Tired Hands Brewing in Ardmore, PA created the I VOTED TODAY nationwide voter awareness beer initiative.

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Election 2020: Reminding Myself “The West Wing” Isn’t on the Ballot

Quick aside, so my editors don’t have to put a note in: I speak only for myself in this post. PorchDrinking staff and contributors do not have any official political stance that I’m aware of, and I have no animosity for people on this site or in our country who respectfully disagree about matters of policy. Also, sorry to die-hard “West Wing” fans if I do the show a disservice. All that said… go vote.

A millennial is about to write 1,000 words arguing that a television show from 21 years ago isn’t real life. It’s the kind of groundbreaking content that’s going to save this country. You’re welcome, America! Read More

903 Brewing’s Voted Beer Series | A Bipartisan Call-To-Action

With National Voter Registration Day just behind us and a mere seven weeks until the 2020 Presidential Election, there couldn’t be a more appropriate time for a brewery to highlight the need for all U.S. citizens to get out and vote. 903 Brewing, based in Sherman, Texas, is in the process of brewing its second bipartisan call-to-action I Voted beer. The blueberry-raspberry-cherry Berliner-Style Weisse follows the raspberry-blueberry sweet Cream Ale that kick-started the project during the May Primaries. 

The I Voted beers sport equally red-white-blue packaging and are designed to encourage voters of all persuasions to make themselves heard on Election Day. With the original batch of I Voted having sold out swiftly, 903 is releasing an expanded run of its new Berliner-Style Weisse. The latest release will hit supermarket shelves in mid-October in time for early voting, and should be available for Election Night consumption.

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