Beers And Hops

Bees are nature's pollinators, honey makers,
and wing shakers. They're one of man's
greatest resources but they are constantly
under attack by pests, including the Varroa
destructor mite: a parasite that infests a
honey bee colony and is believed to
contribute to colony collapse disorder. There
are ways of handling these pests, though
they've mostly been synthetic chemical
based, through physical means, or derived
from herbal essential oils until now. Beer, or
at least a component of it has recently been
developed into another tool in the fight
against pests with the creation of a
hop-based pesticide.

The Protection Agency just released it's final
ruling on the use of hop derived pesticides
giving it full approval.  Let's hope this
doesn't add to the hop shortage.

Notes From The Great American Beer Festival

GABF isn’t a cheap ticket. The retail price of each one was $80, but once you’re in,
you’ve got 4.5 hours to choose from 3,500 different beers. Some may require longer waits
than others, but you’re free to have as much as you’d like – one ounce at a time, of course.
Scalpers were asking more than $500 per ticket in the weeks leading up to the Festival, but
as the show got underway, there was a liquidation sale on the street – though, as with any
major event, a fair number of those were likely counterfeit and the festival had very prominent
signage warning people not to buy from brokers.

GABF attendees drink their beers in one-ounce samples – and pouring each one from a
tap makes no sense. Brewers keep pitchers filled with their offerings to keep the lines
moving. It helps though in some cases the lines still are long and slow.

Many brewers try something new at GABF, but no one has pushed the envelope quite as
much as Dad & Dude's Breweria  has this year. with their Indica Double IPA is made
with cannabidoil - cannabis that has had the mind-altering THC removed. It doesn’t alter
the taste of the beer, says co-founder Mason “Dude” Hembree, but it sure does turn
heads (including, at one point prior to the show, those of federal officials).

Small Town Brewery, maker of the hit Not Your Father’s Root Beer, had plenty of foot traffic
at its booth at GABF – offering a version of the product with 10.7% alcohol by volume.
And it expanded its nostalgia line of beers with Not Your Mom’s Apple Pie, Not Your Mom’s
French Toast and Not Your Mom’s Strawberry Rhubarb.  We didn't try any of those.

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Feature News  
from  beernexus.com
Edited by Jim Attacap
BEERNEXUS
the crossroads of the beer world
Blue Moon Is "Craft" Says Judge

MillerCoor's Blue Moon is a now a  legal "craft
beer" after a judge threw out a lawsuit saying
that there are no  truly definable standards for
what is a ‘craft’ brew.  That’s ruling from a U.S.
District court in dismissing a class action lawsuit
that sued MillerCoors for labeling Blue Moon
(which they produce at a rate of over 70 million
barrels a year) as a craft beer.

The lawsuit was filed in California by lead
plaintiff Evan Parent who also alleged that
Blue Moon was conspicuously over-priced in
comparison with the rest of the MillerCoors
portfolio,  that it does not meet requirements
agreed upon by the Brewers association, and
that it misleads customers by disguising the
ownership. Judge Curiel denied that last claim,
referring to the company’s website where it is
clearly labeled. He also rejected a claim that Blue
Moon’s grocery store shelf placement (mixed in
with all the craft brews) has misleading intent..