Happy Anniversary to BGH!

Yeah...I can't believe it either.  I've been pumpin' out this garbage for a whole year? My wife has finally stopped accusing me of turning every trip out of the house into a blog-able event, but that's probably cause she seems to have given up on this whole beer geek thing just being a phase. And that's true, cause I've had too many awesome brews and met too many cool people to go back now. I'm sure you know what 'back' means (if not it's initals are BMC).  I think it actually started with a Pete's Wicked Ale about 15 or so years ago, with some Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to really get it rolling.  Maybe some Leines Red thrown in, back when that was the closest thing we got to craft beer.

Amazing where we have gotten to since then, with what's left of the free enterprise system allowing craft breweries to meet the demand of what the customer wants with a slow growth of microbreweries nationwide.  I knew the transformation was complete when my hometown of Tampa, formerly a law-inhibited, beer wasteland, fostered the growth of one of the better small craft breweries in the country, Cigar City. Now, head brewers for sought after breweries are rock stars and the beer geek nation chases after every small batch release with the vigor of a dog humping your leg. Craft beer fans now know much more about the ins-and-outs of the convoluted 3 tier distribution system simply by having to deal with the difficulties of getting the beers they want to try.  Every trip to another state includes a stop at a liquor store to find stuff they can't get at home.  Every trip to another city includes a stop at their best brewpub (it's not just me, is it?). All this interest then seems to lead to more knowledge of the mind-boggling array of different styles, which leaves some saying, "Hey, I want to try to make some myself". And there you have a boom of homebrewing and home brew clubs.  Interest in good beer seems to be increasing by the day, which makes those sought after brews that much harder to get, with our logical step being a blog to keep our customers in the know and our phone from ringing off the hook.  That was a year ago on Febuary 11th.  Wow...a friggin year. (I think the tradition for a 1st anniversary gift is paper...aren't beer labels made of paper...?...aw, you shouldn't have...)

But I'm not gonna go back and talk about all the crap that happened in the last year or complain about snarkism on BA or come up with some list of the most important craft beer events "as I see it" from the last year. I'm gonna look forward, cause there's some cool beers coming out and some cool stuff we've been working on for the store.

-It's gonna be a big month for New Glarus, with their next seasonal, Road Slush Oatmeal Stout, reaching the store next Thursday, the 11th, and the next Unplugged, Cherry Stout, getting here the following Thursday, the 18th.  Their new year-round Moon Man Pale Ale should be here around the end of the month.

-I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of Bell's Batch 9000, an Imperial Stout.  Bell's makes many spectacular Stouts and I have high expectations for this one.

-Surly doesn't package distribute outside of Minnesota, but I can't wait for 16 Grit (Abrasive Ale) in cans and the Four release.

-We're being told that Dogfish Head's new brewery expansion will result in all of their beers being available to us at some point in the future.

-On the Founders front, we've haven't gotten any feedback on Nemesis availability, but we have been guaranteed a case of KBS (March 13th release).  That won't last long.

-Oskar Blues will be releasing a new seasonal, Gubna, a single hop (Summit) Imperial IPA, around March 1st.  It will available through November to offset Ten Fidy.

-David Anderson from Dave's BrewFarm will finally be practicing his love on the world (thanks President Bush) with his first 6-pack release, Matacabras, coming next week.  All the green/wind/sustainability stuff aside, Dave's a great guy who makes great beer. He's gonna be huge!

-Ale Asylum and Great Lakes are hoping to extend their distribution to us early this year.  I'm looking forward having some Hopalicious, Triple Nova and Edmund Fitzgerald in my fridge.

-I've been hounding Lincoln Anderson from Three Floyds, who seems to have graciously knocked some heads together, resulting in at least some level of availability on their tasty seasonal bombers...soon hopefully. Dreadnaught baby!

-Furthermore will have a new brew coming out this year, and we're hoping to get a case of Thermo Refur, Aran's ode to his favorite vegetable, the beet.

-We're working feverishly on the 2nd Annual Casanova Beer Cave Festival, which will be held in the caves on Saturday, May 1st.  We already have some very cool commitments, including something special from The Bruery.

And all of that is just in the next couple months.  I see no reason that this barley pop roller coaster won't keep rolling forward with innovative brewers creating new brews for us to enjoy.  And isn't that what it's really all about?