Our friends at The Happy Hour Guys made for the Short Pour Fest at GABF this year. Cheers!

A Public Apology: June 24th, 2010 from stonebrew on Vimeo.

The small brewery excise tax story hits ABC
In good news for the craft beer sector, ABC covers the proposed bills in Congress regarding the excise taxes and small brewery status that I blogged about last week. How will you help small brewers? (Bonus video of Rob Tod from Allagash and Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head, of course!) Local rumblings whisper that Rep. Heath Shuler will not respond nor co-sponsor H.R. 4278 because he is a teetotaler, but let me stress: This is NOT an issue about alcohol, it’s about economics and jobs. Write him!

Abita is brewing S.O.S. (Save Our Shore), a benefit beer for the Gulf
Abita Brewing—yet again—is brewing on behalf of the Louisana Coast with S.O.S. (Save Our Shores), a benefit beer for the oil spill disaster. ‘”We just thought that hit home more than anything. Cause what it is, is a distress call. And we’re in distress,” said David Blossman of Abita.’ Seventy-five cents of each bear sold and 100 percent of merchandise sales go directly to charity, which will then be managed by the Northshore Foundation. The beer will available in mid-July.

Beer sales down overall; craft beer sales up
NPR covers the same story year after year, but nonetheless, good news for craft brewers.

Sierra Nevada gets TTB approval for the third in the Pioneer Series
Label approval for the third beer in Sierra Nevada’s anniversary series, Jack & Ken’s Ale, has been approved. (Jack McAuliffe is the brewer at New Albion Brewery.) We are absolutely stoked about this beer, an American-style barleywine brewed with 100% Cascade hops. Also available mid-July.

La Trappe > Koningshoeven > La Trappe
In the ongoing naming battle of the only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium, Beernews.org reports that after Isidor, Koningshoeven is once again going to be La Trappe in the U.S. and Canada. Getting your Trappist designation back also let’s you return to your beer brand! Win.

Things not to do, part #3867
Imbecile.

Thanks for featuring Beer City, USA!

Now… remember what day it is.

Brewdog / Stone Luciferin Golden Imperial Stout from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Google is having a national competition for communities to “win” a Google fiber-optic network. Thus began the Asheville Google Fiber Network Initiative. We’re now on the tail end of the first round—Friday, March 26. Will you help us to bring Google Fiber to the Asheville community?

Asheville is already prevalent on numerous lists for travel—historic sites, the Blue Ridge Parkway, food, music, the arts, and craft beer. Imagine: Super-sexy high-speed internet access for businesses large and small. A wide network reaching even the most rural of communities, bringing us together. An school system as a network pioneer offering the best in education, plugged directly into the community. Musicians working at lightning speed. Our diverse, active and creative arts organizations benefiting for the über-hip HATCHfest, TEDx, the 48-hr Film Project, Twestival. A bigger and booming addition to Asheville’s high-tech sector. Live-streaming of Asheville’s very cool, consistent calendar of events and fundraisers. Maybe we could stream from Brewgrass or LEAF Fest? LAAFF? BeleChere? And think of the possibilities this has with tourism? I know, it’s the “dirty t-word,” but tourism is a big part of who we are. And for many, it pays the bills. But we’re warm people and we open up the mountains year-round and invite people to share in our world for just a week (or a day). I say: It’s time to show the world in REAL TIME who we are.

The GoogleAVL page is up with lots of helpful information. Please refer there for any questions, then click on the big, red “NOMINATE ASHEVILLE” button and tell Google why they need to bring Google Fiber to Asheville, North Carolina.

We’ve done all five. Will you?

1. Nominate Asheville. This is really, really, important.
2. Ask your friends to nominate Asheville in a sincere, really-do-it, kind of way.  This is also important.
3. Put a badge on your website to show your support for bringing Google Fiber to town.  Now you are doing something extra.
4. Publicly endorse Asheville’s effort to attract Google fiber.  You have become cool.
5. Write about why you want Google fiber in Asheville using your web site, your blog, or a youtube video. You are radically cool.

2010 Charleston Brewvival from chrys on Vimeo.

Courtesy of Twitter feeds today, here’s a clip of Conan O’Brien drinking beer with the late, great Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson.