Michigan Beer
A TDE reader sent me this great story last week: The Top 50 Brewers in America. It's a list of the top-selling craft breweries in America. The list is based on 2010 sales, but hey, it's only 2011, so it's not too stale.
I was glad to see my hometown favorite, Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, make the top ten. If you ever have a chance to try a Bell's product, don't pass. They make some great stuff. A TDE reader from Pittsburgh was in the area last October, and he made a pilgrimage to Bell's, as well as a few other breweries in SW Michigan. He wrote to me later, saying that he envies the craft beer scene in my area. He said Bell's is the crown jewel, but we have plenty of other great small breweries, too. He's right. Michigan has screwed up a lot in the past 25 years, but it has gotten beer right, and that forgives a lot of sins.
18th Amendment Repeal Continues
Chipping away at Volstead, one chip at a time: "Ohio craft brewers hope a new state law allowing production breweries to open tasting rooms and sell their beer by the glass without buying a second costly permit will help boost beer tourism by bringing breweries more in line with winery tasting rooms." Link.
