I’ve created a monster, it seems. A friend of mine informed me yesterday that a brewery he visited this weekend — a brewery we visited together, in fact — was his 500th brewery. He created a Google map to track this. Another friend has been carefully tracking his brewery visits, keeping an alphabetical list (mine is chronological, as after over 2,500 breweries, I’m more likely to recall when I was at a brewery than the name of the brewery itself). Several readers of this newsletter have written to inform me that they track their brewery visits as well. And of course, there are others on social media who do the same. I thought I was a total nerd for doing this, and I guess I still am, but at least we’re all nerds together in this.
Anyway, for those nerds who do and don’t count their breweries, here’s the State of the States — a chart showing what percentage of breweries I’ve visited in each of my top ten states for brewery visits, based on my current stats and 2021 data of operating breweries from the Brewers Association:
I’m one brewery short of my total New York count eclipsing California again (they’ve gone back-and-forth for years), but I’ll take care of that in the next week, now that Root & Branch has opened their new brewery off the Copiague stop on LIRR. I also need to venture up north once or twice more before the weather turns colder.
Speaking of New York breweries, the New York State Brewers Association is holding a contest for the design of their annual Pint Days glass, which is sold at breweries throughout the state every Thanksgiving week to raise money for the association. The winning designer will get a $500 prize and recognition in all promotions around the glass, but hope your creative wheels are already turning — the deadline is this Sunday, August 1st.
Trillium makes can drop in New York
A sought-after Boston brewer will be easier to seek this week in the city, as Trillium Brewing is making a can drop at venues across the region, with the bulk of it hitting town today and tomorrow.
Among the cans you’ll find here: Launch Beer, a Pale Ale with Citra and Mosaic hops; Mosaic Cutting Tiles, a Double IPA with Mosaic hops and wildflower honey; Vicinity, a hazy Double IPA; and Summer, Congress, and Melcher Street, all IPAs in the brewery’s “Street Series.”
Today, the cans will drop at venues like Beer Street South in Brooklyn and Carmine Street Beers in Manhattan, just to name a few. Up in Westchester, you’ll find Trillium cans at Beer Noggin and DeCicco’s locations in Eastchester, Pelham, Ardsley, and Larchmont. Keep your eyes peeled for cans at some of your favorite beer shops and bars in the next few days. And on Friday, The Grand Delancey is making an event out of the drop, with five beers on tap and four beers in cans for take-away starting at 5pm.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,745
Total breweries visited in 2022: 216
Total breweries visited in Kentucky: 25
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #2739, Atrium Brewing, Louisville, Kentucky (Visited 22-Jul-2022)
I try not to latch on to hype beast breweries, but this space seems to be where I find them before everyone else is talking about them. And that’s totally okay.
Atrium was a new entrant to Louisville since my last visit in 2019. They opened in the midst of the pandemic in September of 2020, and I figured out quickly that they were yet another brewery doing “the thing.” The taproom was doing a steady business for a Friday afternoon, and most folks had a glass of something hazy or colorful at their table. The menu board was full of NEIPAs and fruited sours, with a trio of lagers thrown in for good measure.
The Commonwealth Lager was crisp and easy-drinking and delightful. The Opossums Can’t Read, an IPA with Strata and Galaxy hops (pictured above) was pillowy and full of tropical fruit and berry flavors and a touch of dankness. The BBL Cake Boy was one of those pastry sours that beer purists would scoff at, but it features the blueberry and lemon cake flavors in a way that was fun and vibrant, but not overwhelming. Among a group of beer geeks, we tried a little bit of everything and were really impressed.
“Who the hell runs this place?”
Based on the quality of the beers, I somehow expected someone with a place like Three Floyds or Other Half or Treehouse on their resume. But no, it’s just a group of folks with some local experience and some passion for beer and service in and around Louisville who pulled this all together. And it’s not only a place with lovely beers, it’s a lovely place to drink, with the feel of a corner bar-meets-brewery taproom. Bourbon may have put Louisville on the map, but places like Atrium are helping get the city on the beer map, too.
Social Post of the Week
Just a reminder that it’s late July.
Long Read of the Week
Out last night at a beer bar, it seemed like everyone was buzzing about news that Night Shift Brewing was laying off its brewing staff at its Everett, Massachusetts facility, citing a CO2 shortage as “the straw that broke the camels back.” Kate Bernot at Good Beer Hunting has the details. The CO2 shortage portion of the story seemed to get the most attention, though it seems to be overplayed — Night Shift was vastly overextended, and considering that they sold off their distribution business earlier this year, it’s clear that other factors are at play in their downsizing.
One Last Thing
Is it me, or is Triple IPA having a vicious comeback? Seems like there have been a lot more NEIPAs being classified as triple lately, with the 10+% ABV to boot. With the lager craze in full effect, it feels like the trends are being pulled in opposite directions at once. Do you see this? Is it just me? Let me know in the comments.
Cheers,
Chris
Double & Triple hazies are +128% in off prem sales this year… you have a keen eye as always!
Haven’t seen any triple IPA’s here in KC, but I’d welcome them!