After reading Pop The Cap this morning, we see that Charlotte’s Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival, held last Saturday on the Symphony Park lawn in wealthy South Park, didn’t go over so well. Seems that folks had the pleasure of long lines, unable to get beer and food with some even resorting to leaving and returning with smuggled beer.

Unlike other beer festivals (such as the one in October), this is not an event that is attended by different breweries from across the country, rather, it looks like the sponsors went to Costco and bought as many different beers as they could and set them up at different tables. Most of the good (ie: expensive beer) ran out early and therefore most of us were forced to drink Bud or Bud Light. 

Festivals always seem to go awry when outside hands are in the pot, so to speak. As PTC points out, we do pretty well in North Carolina with our beer festivals, almost all of which are planned locally, but the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival is a standard event offered by the Moorea Marketing Group in Maryland, which holds the same event in other locales.

Sure, this one guy’s opinion, but that statement is enough for me to feel his pain. (By the way, even Moorea Marketing admits that some things weren’t well-thought-out.) Granted, this was a fundraiser for The WCD Foundation (World Congress and Exposition on Disabilities), but people should still get their money’s worth. If we were promised this, and ended up with Bud, we might be a little annoyed, too.

We realize that festivals are a lot of work, but there’s got to be some local flavor to a local festival. Or is that just a wee bit too obvious? 

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, rumors of the merger of Anheuser-Busch and InBev are getting louder as a recent analysis by Citibank says the two will merge “within the next two years.”

A group of seven analysts wrote: “The attractions of emerging market growth and a desire to reclaim leadership in the global beer industry, the potential for cost savings and other commercial synergies, leads us to expect an alliance between Anheuser-Busch and InBev, to which we attach a 70% probability of occurring within the next two years.”

The analysts also raised A-B’s stock rating from “sell” to “hold” and InBev’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We do not make up the rules of Bele Chere, but we do make up the rules in our humble storefront. And, so for Friday and Saturday of this week, please honor the following when visiting Bruisin’ Ales:

No one under 21 allowed. Festival bracelets required. No exceptions.

No public restrooms. No exceptions.

No on-premise consumption. This means no outside beer allowed in the store; No purchased beer opened in-store. No exceptions.

No strollers, no backpacks and large bags should be checked at the front of store. No exceptions.

Be prepared for crowd-control, if necessary. We only have one register, as some of you know, so we are allowing 15-20 people maximum, depending, in the store at one time—one in, one out, one in, one out and so on. Finally, please be respectful. Don’t take advantage of the businesses (especially bars and restaurants) that are staying open this weekend. We are saddened that so many business owners have been burned by Bele Chere with theft and destruction of property that they not only close shop, they leave town. This is Bruisin’ Ales’ first festival and we are looking forward to serving folks this weekend, hoping we won’t be disappointed. Just be kind to others, and most importantly, enjoy your beer in moderation so you don’t make a silly butt of yourself.

*shoves soapbox under counter*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, let us first say for the record that we have been walking a very fine line on this issue for some time and having not been completely sold on either the pros or cons—and despite it wreaking havoc on inventory—we ultimately decided that we are responsible to our customers. And customers typically get what they want around here. (We mean that affectionately, of course.)

And so, since more than enough of you asked for it, starting today, Bruisin’ Ales is a full bottle shop. Mix and match anything. Get wacky with your six-packy. (And you can still purchase a full sixer or case, of course.) Judging from this afternoon, we think it’s already worth it just to watch the glee on your face when we say “Yes, you can break that six-pack.” 

The Montreal Gazette has been having a little summer fun with their series 26 Tales of The City: Montreal From A to Z (pronounced “zed”). As the series winds up, the penultimate article celebrates something very dear to us—yeast. In “Y is for Yeast,” writer Ryan Bergen celebrates Montreal’s booming brewpub culture, gives a good general outline about fermentation, and quotes perhaps one of the best lines ever written about the process.

“Beer is yeast poo,” Larry Kress explains, as he slowly works his slotted canoe paddle through a vessel full of steaming beer ingredients. …

Source: The Montreal Gazette