Meow (purr) brew, with a twist of lime
Greetings, beer lovers! Happy Friday, and yes, ‘tis chingchongchinaman once again as your FNBB guest blogger tonight, with esquimaux taking a well-earned rest from FNBB duties. The title for this FNBB pretty much says it all, as the 15th incarnation of American Craft Beer Week began this past Monday (natch) the 10th, and continues through this Sunday the 16th. More details are available from this Brewers Association press release, which drolly notes:
“Of legal drinking age adults in the U.S., 85% live within 10 miles of a brewery”
3CM’s loser snark aside, the press release also points out:
“As loyal community supporters, many craft breweries responded quickly to the pandemic by producing hand sanitizer for local first responders and collaborating to raise funds for frontline and hospitality workers…craft breweries serve as community gathering places and job creators – providing more than 138,000 direct full and part-time jobs in 2020.”
From the Patch website, Tim Moran had this article from Wednesday last week, with this tiny bit of back story that I didn’t realize:
“Craft breweries in the United States date back to the late 1970s, the first opening shortly after President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that made home-brewing legal in 1978.”
I didn’t find any obvious signs of STL activities specifically in honor of American Craft Beer Week, although STL Craft Beer Week has traditionally occurred in the summer. However, some YT videos from scattered around the country get into this year’s version of American Craft Beer Week, e.g.:
Sioux Falls, SD (and yes, the sound is tremendously out of sync with the video):
Texas:
Utah:
BTW, being the loser that he is, 3CM has the following pointless stats on the “Cheers Across America” video from the Brewers Association press release:
Different breweries: 114
States represented: 38
Distribution numbers with numbers of breweries from each state:
9: CO
8: NC
7: FL
6: VA, WA
5: ME
4: NM, CA, OR, MN, NY, OH
3: HI, IN, IA, WI, MI, GA, OK, SC
2: PA, AR, TX, AK, NV, KS, TN, MT
1: MA, DE, UT, LA, KY, IL, SD, NJ, AL, ID
States not represented: AZ, CT, MD, MO, MS, ND, NE, NH, RI, VT, WV, WY
Not sure why the video couldn’t capture representative microbreweries from all 50 states, unless the video makers just didn’t get responses from any in those 11 states. That aside, if you watched the video, you may take note of the glass in the opening photo (no prizes for guessing the connection to the video). There is, however, a bit of a disconnect between the glass and 3CM the loser’s choice of beer, since the beer is clearly a local STL, MO brew, but poured into a glass affiliated with a CO brewery. However, the presence of that CO microbrewery as one of the “Cheers Across America” greeters was too good a connection not to miss, as I just happened to have a glass tied to said CO establishment. And since I’ve semi-artfully hidden the CO microbrewery’s name from the picture, bonus FNBB brownie points for anyone who guesses said CO microbrewery from the glass. You have 9 choices, after all :) .
But about said beer: so this particular 2nd Street Brewery Sunny Cat hazy pale ale is one of the two ‘fruit flavors’ of Sunny Cat that I hadn’t yet tried, namely the lime flavor. The overall feel is the same as with the tangerine and grapefruit flavors of Sunny Cat that I’ve tasted before, but the lime does take some getting used to, at my 1st experience of this version. There’s one more can in the mix, so maybe I’ll have gotten used to it after the 2nd can :) . The 4-pack Sunny Cat mixer also has one more variation in the mix, but that’s for a future FNBB.
With that, time to turn the floor over to you folks. Any particular choices in honor of American Craft Beer Week? Or is anyone brewing their own? Inquiring minds, etc..
PS: BrueTube Live! video from YT on American Craft Beer Week 2021, which just ended its livestream a few minutes ago:
