Dry enough for ya?

An N/A beer confession, to-go beer returns, and things get dark

It’s January, and you know if there’s a newsletter about beer, the conversation will likely stray this month into the topic of Dry January. I’m not taking one this year, but I will never be prickly toward someone who chooses to abstain from alcohol for a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime. I’ll likely choose to lay off beer a bit this January, but I’ll tell you one thing I won’t be doing: I won’t be replacing my beer with non-alcoholic beer.

I have a confession: I do not like non-alcoholic beer. I’ve tried. I really have. I’ve dabbled in virtually every brand out there, from Athletic to Partake to Wellbeing to BrewDog’s AF to Brooklyn Brewery’s Special Effects. But even the ones that are bombarded with hops are just shallow imitations of the real thing. I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a simple reason for this: I don’t like sweet things. I don’t drink sugared sodas. I don’t eat desserts. I eschew pastry stouts for lagers. I’ve watered down my fruit juices since I was a teenager. And beer, in general, is just sugar-water, but without any alcohol bite, that’s really all it tastes like to me.

What I do enjoy, however, is hoppy carbonated water. As a hoppy beer fan and a regular [non-alcoholic] seltzer drinker, I’ve really enjoyed Hoplark Water, Lagunitas’ Hoppy Refresher, and even Athletic’s fruit-flavored Daypack Seltzers. Sierra Nevada just announced their entrant into this category, a seltzer with Citra and Amarillo hops called Hop Splash. These are more my speed. If you’re an IPA drinker and you’ve been turned off by the non-alcoholic beer you’ve had, might I recommend giving some of these a try?

Anyway, as always, the bottom line: drink what you like. If you enjoy sipping on an N/A beer, more power to you! Enjoy your Dry January! If the concept of a Dry January seems silly to you, that’s totally fine! Enjoy a Moist January! (Sorry to use that oft-hated word, but “Wet January” seems a bit excessive.)

Hochul opens door for temporary brewery permits, to-go drinks

Gov. Hochul’s pose accompanying her office’s announcement about to-go alcohol yesterday

For forthcoming breweries, the waiting can be the hardest part. The State Liquor Authority’s turnaround time on new brewery applications can often be measured in months, and was exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But new rules will go into effect in March that will make the waiting for brewery license approval much easier, thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in late December.

The bill, first introduced by Hudson Valley State Senator Michelle Hinchey and approved by the Assembly and Senate last year, creates a new temporary manufacturing permit for alcohol makers, including breweries, that can be applied for while their full manufacturing permit is in process. The application for this temporary permit is $125, and is valid for six months or until their full permit is approved. The new law mandates that the State Liquor Authority approve or deny the temporary permit application within 45 days.

A temporary permit will help to shorten the amount of time a brewery has to wait to open, often losing potential revenue for half a year for their license while paying operational costs like rent and utilities. The new rules go into effect 90 days from being signed into law, so temporary permits will be available by the end of March.

Meanwhile, in yesterday’s State of the State address, Hochul made clear that restoring the pandemic-era policy of allowing restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic drinks to-go would be a priority this year. This practice was abruptly stopped after disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo rescinded his executive order in June, giving businesses less than 24 hours’ notice of the rule change.

In her address, Hochul called to-go drinks “a critical revenue stream during the lean times last year,” and insisted that a key initiative within a larger billion-dollar plan to help small businesses is restoring the pandemic-era rule to allow to-go drinks. “So cheers, New York,” she added. The rule change will have to go through the legislature, where a bill has already been introduced to restore the practice. The in-person legislative session is scheduled to being next week.

Brewery Tracker

Total brewery count: 2,529
Total breweries in 2021: 455
Breweries visited in California: 254
New breweries visited in California in 2021: 49

Brewery Visit of the Week

Brewery #2520, Pond Farm Brewing Co., San Rafael, California (Visited 28-Dec-2021)

It’s always a good sign when multiple people point you in the direction of a brewery that wasn’t on your radar, even if they assume you have access to a car and can drive there. On the recommendation of several people at breweries I visited in Sonoma County, I took a train down to Marin County and walked 20 minutes through San Rafael’s charming downtown to Pond Farm Brewing. The airy, welcoming space was already busy for a spot that had just opened 30 minutes earlier, which I took as a good sign.

I asked for the staff favorite to start, which was naturally a schwarzbier called Dark Mast. This phenomenon seems to be everywhere — when people who work at breweries want to drink their own beers, they seem gravitate to dark lagers. It was a good recommendation, and delivered on being rich and roasty and smooth with coffee notes. Next I went with the Devil’s Gulch, a hazy IPA that won bronze in the Hazy/Juice IPA category at Great American Beer Festival in 2019. I can understand why — it was flawlessly soft and fruity. My arm was twisted into trying one more beer, so I went with the Esme, a light, estery saison that hit on all the right notes you’d expect from the classic style, with orange peel and bubble gum flavors.

It’s also worth noting that Pond Farm was the only brewery I visited over the course of ten days that required proof of vaccination for indoor drinking. In my book, that’s a pretty good sign that they care for their staff and customers as much as they care for the beer itself.

Social Posts of the Week

I’m not judging you for choosing to observe Dry January, and Austin Beerworks won’t, either.

Austin Beerworks @AustinBeerworks

Hey everyone! We've been seeing lots of 'Dry January' shaming on the socials - notably from some breweries. Just want you to know, from a company who relies on alcohol sales to pay the bills, we support you 100%!

Austin Beerworks @AustinBeerworks

With as stressful as life's been lately, it's easy to overdo it. Taking a break from booze, whenever and for however long, can be really important. Take care of yourselves!

Austin Beerworks @AustinBeerworks

Our apologies in advance for releasing so many awesome beers in January that might make it more difficult for you. But, our Quality Control is top notch so it'll still all taste great in February.

Beer of the Week

Onement
Grimm Artisanal Ales (Brooklyn, New York)
Imperial Stout aged in Basil Hayden Bourbon Barrels
12% ABV

Let’s go big. On the urging of my friend Tony who works at Grimm, I got a bottle pour of this gorgeous but boozy stout at the taproom last night. This was for sure a slow sipper, with a pronounced bourbon and oak character but not in a sharp, stinging way. It’s smooth and chocolatey but not cloyingly sweet. Not all imperial stouts drink this easy, and that’s probably a good thing.

Long Read of the Week

In last week’s superlatives, I called all of the challenges in the beer industry in 2021 the “Reality Check of the Year.” But Dave Infante did a great job recapping those challenges at Vinepair last week, calling it “craft beer’s no good, very bad year.” While you’ve still got a few retrospectives of last year left in you, it’s a worthwhile read.

One More Thing

Do you have an N/A beer that you swear I’ll actually like? I’m open to your opinions and suggestions. Leave them in the comments below. Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Chris