BREWTECH HEADLINES...

BREWERS SUPPLY RELEASES SUMMIT DWARF HOP

ACE CHEMICAL LAUNCHES BREW CITY SOLUTIONS FOR CRAFT MARKET

AOB & BAA TO COMBINE

SIERRA NEVADA FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY

MID-AMERICA BREWING SUPPLY ACQUIRES BREWER'S SUPPLY GROUP

TODD ASHMAN JOINS MID-AMERICA

HOP UNION CROP REPORT 2004

BRIESS NEWS


BREWERS SUPPLY RELEASES SUMMIT DWARF HOP NEW HIGH ALPHA, US DWARF HOP VARIETY NOW AVAILABLE
Appropriately named, the new hop variety, “Summit” boosts alpha acid values between 17-19%. A new concept to the U.S. hop industry, Summit is a dwarf variety grown using a low-trellis system. Because dwarf hops are picked gently in the field, as opposed to their taller cousins which must be cut and transported, dwarf varieties are of the highest quality.
Recent trials have discovered strong orange and tangerine citrus notes in its flavor. Ideally suited for brewing American style IPA’s and Double IPA, Summit is an excellent bittering hop. Cohumulone levels are low at 25-28% of alpha.
The 2005 Summit hop harvest has been pelletized and ready for shipment in 11 pound vacuum sealed pouches. They can be ordered from any Brewers Supply Group warehouse. Go to www.brewerssupplygroup.com to find the warehouse nearest you.


ACE CHEMICAL LAUNCHES NEW DIVISION & NEW CRAFT BREWERY SUPPLIER WEBSITE

John Kretsch – Vice President/Technical Director of Ace Chemical Products, Inc. in Milwaukee, announced the creation of Brew City Solutions, a web- based division to provide cleaning and sanitation products, and technical information to the craft-brewing and micro-brewing industries.
“We have extensive knowledge and experience in brewery cleaning and sanitation, and conveyor lubrication. Our goal with Brew City Solutions is to provide the same materials and expertise to smaller brewers on a scale that is affordable”.
Since it’s founding in 1935, Ace Chemical Products has been supplying cleaning and sanitation chemicals, conveyor lubricants, and dispensing equipment to the brewing industry. “We provide technical service to the industry that’s backed by nearly 70 years of experience. A number of craft brewers have told us that they not only have difficulty obtaining products in smaller package sizes and order quantities, but they’d also like to have access to the technical support that’s typically available to larger breweries.”
“We want Brew City Solutions to be a technical resource for the smaller brewer. We’re here to answer your questions, whether you buy from us or not. If you’re having a quality problem or have a question related to sanitation send us an email or give us a call. Our primary mission at Brew City is to solve your problem. If you buy a product in the process, that’s great. If you don’t, we’re glad to be of service and will continue to be there for you.”
Brew City Solutions offers a wide range of cleaning compounds and sanitizing agents in smaller package sizes up to drum lots, sold over the internet. Although the volumes used by a craft brewer are small compared to large national breweries, Brew City Solutions realizes that the need for a clean kettle, a properly sanitized tank and clean packaging equipment can be even more critical to a craft brewer producing a fragile, un-pasteurized beer.
As it says on their home page “...It's about the beer, and it's about the craft. It's the desire to provide your customers with the best beer they've tasted....allow us to help you put your best brew forward, each and every time.”
The Brew City Solutions website is set up in an easy-to-follow format, offering access to Technical Literature, FAQ, Safety Information and MSDS, a Shopping Cart, and a Contact Us page. It can be accessed at www.brewcitysolutions.com.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the MBAA Midwest Technical Conference that was held in October at Moosejaw Pizza and the Dells Brewing Company in Wisconsin Dells.


AOB & BAA TO COMBINE TO FORM THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION
The Boulder-based Association of Brewers and the Durham, NC, based Brewers Association of America today announced they have reached an agreement in principle to join their groups into a new organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the interests of America’s small brewing industry.
The new organization will be named The Brewers Association and based in Boulder. It is expected to begin functioning on Jan. 1, 2005. The parties also envision establishing a legislative affairs office in the Washington, D.C. area.
The Boards of Directors of both organizations have approved the agreement, subject to due diligence by special committees of both groups.
The agreement is subject to approval by the membership of the BAA, the nation’s oldest association of brewers, formed during World War II to insure that small brewers got their share of war-rationed materials like tin and barley. The BAA Board unanimously has recommended the membership approve the merger, subject to due diligence and appropriate amendments to the AOB by-laws.
“We believe that a combined organization will result in a stronger voice for small brewers in the media, in the nation’s capital and in state legislatures,” said Gary Fish, Chairman of the BAA and President of Deschutes Brewery in Bend, OR. “We are part of a government-regulated industry, and we need to marshal all the support we can to represent the interests of small brewers. The goals of both organizations are to promote and protect the industry. Together, we will do a much better job.”
“There now are more than 1500 breweries in the United States, more than any other country in the world, and a united voice will enable us to tell our story to the world more effectively,” said Charlie Papazian, founder and president of the Association of Brewers, formed in 1979 to promote the then fledgling small brewing industry.
In 1975, there were fewer than 40 brewing companies in the United States, down from more than 2500 before Prohibition devastated the industry in the 1920s. The giant brewing companies that resulted from consolidation of the industry were all brewing light lager beers.
The Boulder-based Association of Brewers was formed to showcase the brewing renaissance that blossomed in America beginning in the late 70’s. Yearning for more flavor than was available from the mass market beers, thousands of Americans began homebrewing after President Carter legalized the practice in 1978. Papazian is author of “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing,” a best-selling how-to book that inspired many small brewers.
The AOB now runs the American Homebrewers Association, the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup, the annual Craft Brewers Conference, and publishes “The New Brewer” magazine and other publications.
In the past decade the BAA, which represented America’s dwindling regional brewing industry, enlisted many of the new brewing companies that sprung up across the country in the last two and a half decades. The new breweries brought new life to the BAA. As the new industry developed, the two organizations began searching for ways to better represent the interests of small brewers.
“This merger represents the best of the new and the best of the heritage of small brewing in America,” said Papazian. “A merger will greatly strengthen our marketing and our political initiatives.”
BAA President Daniel Bradford has been offered the position of Legislative Director.
“No one expects this to be an easy year as we work to integrate these two organizations into a single, stronger and more dynamic one,” said Papazian. “But with the energy and dedication of everyone involved—from staff to board members to the membership as a whole—this will be a great new day for the small brewing industry.”
The agreement consists of the following points, which will be reflected in a definitive agreement between the parties and in the by-laws of the new organization:
· The AOB and the BAA will combine to form a single organization named The Brewers Association
· The headquarters will be in Boulder, CO, with a legislative affairs office to be set up in Washington, D.C.
· Ongoing programs of both organizations will be carried forward
· The new organization will use the existing 501c6 corporate structure of the AOB as a base, with substantial amendments to reflect the changes required by the agreement. It will do business as The Brewers Association.
· The new board will consist of a minimum of 13 directors and a maximum of 15 directors, serving staggered three-year terms.
· Directors will be elected as follows:
o There will be 11 board seats for Professional Brewers, 7 packaging brewers and 4 brewpub brewers. All will be elected by the membership.
o There will be up to 2 at-large members elected by the membership.
o There will be two homebrewer members, elected by the membership of the American Homebrewers Association.
· Papazian will be president of the new organization and will not serve on the board.
· A transitional board composed of seven members from the AOB and seven from the BAA has been selected and will serve one year.
· The new board plans to develop a strong committee system to develop policy for the Brewers Association programs and initiatives. The committees will be made up of board members and others with relevant expertise and interests.
The Transitional Board is:
Jim Koch, Boston Beer Corp. (MA)
Stephen Hindy, Brooklyn Brewery Corp. (NY)
Gary Fish, Deschutes Brewing Co. (OR)
Richard Doyle, Harpoon Brewery (MA)
Kim Jordan, New Belgium Brewing Co. (CO)
Nick Matt, F.X. Matt Brewing Co. (NY)
Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (CA)
Chuck Skypeck, Bosco’s Brewing Co. (TN)
John Carlson, Colorado Brewers Guild (CO)
Ralph Olsen, Hop Union (WA)
Randy Mosher, American Homebrewer’s Association (IL)
Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Brewing Co. (DE)
Steve Bradt, Free State Brewing Co. (KS)
Brock Wagner, St. Arnold’s Brewing Co. (TX)

Based in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A., the Association of Brewers (AOB) is a not-for-profit educational and trade association for small and craft brewers. Its mission is to make quality beer and brewing knowledge accessible to all. Visit the website: www.beertown.org to learn more. The Association of Brewers has an additional membership division of 9,000+ homebrewers: American Homebrewers Association.
The association's activities include events and publishing: World Beer Cup®; Great American Beer Festival®; Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®; National Homebrewers Conference; National Homebrew Competition; American Beer Month (July); Zymurgy magazine; The New Brewer magazine; and books on beer and brewing.

SIERRA NEVADA FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY
FUELCELL ENERGY AND ALLIANCE POWER TO PROVIDE FOUR 250-KILOWATT POWER PLANTS TO SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO.
Second Brewery Application Will Be FuelCell Energy’s First Food Processing Application in the United States
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM: FCEL) and Alliance Power have entered into an arrangement by which Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. of Chico, Calif. is expected to purchase four 250-kilowatt Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plants in late 2005 or early 2006. Until that time, a joint venture of FuelCell Energy and Alliance Power will supply electric power and heat to the brewery’s production processes. The power plants are expected to be delivered and operational in the first calendar half of 2005.
Alliance Power is the turnkey provider to the project and FuelCell Energy will provide the DFC power plants and operations and maintenance services. After Sierra Nevada purchases the units, FuelCell Energy will provide maintenance services under a long-term service agreement.
The DFC power plants will initially operate on natural gas. Sierra Nevada is exploring the possibility of supplementing the fuel supply with anaerobic digester gas.
"The heat and power derived from these fuel cell power plants will reduce our energy costs compared with what we were paying from the grid,” said Ken Grossman, founder and owner of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “We could have saved even more by going with traditional, combustion-based natural gas generators, but we are willing to pay a premium for the environmental benefits delivered by the FuelCell Energy power plants.” Grossman added, “This is part of our ongoing commitment to keeping Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. as green a facility as possible.”
“This transaction is evidence that customers are willing to pay a premium for clean and efficient power,” said James Michael, President of Alliance Power. “The good news is that with state support from California, this still provides a more economical energy alternative for Sierra Nevada versus grid-delivered power.”
FuelCell Energy’s DFC300A Designated as ‘Ultra-Clean’ Technology in California
In May 2003, FuelCell Energy’s DFC300A power plants were state certified to meet CARB’s stringent new distributed generation emissions standards for 2007. By meeting this standard, the Company’s sub-megawatt DFC power plants are categorized as an ‘ultra-clean’ technology, exempting them from air pollution control or air quality district permitting requirements by CARB. In addition, this certification qualifies the Company’s products for preferential rate treatment by the CPUC, such as the elimination of ‘exit fees’ and ‘standby charges’ for customer electric generation utilizing ‘ultra-clean’ technologies.
About Direct FuelCells
Direct FuelCells efficiently generate clean electricity at distributed customer locations, including hospitals, schools, universities, hotels and other commercial and industrial facilities, as well as in grid-support applications for utility customers. Direct FuelCells operate similar to large, continuously operating batteries except they utilize a fuel to generate electricity, such as natural gas or digester gas from wastewater treatment facilities.
About FuelCell Energy, Inc.
FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut, is a world leader in the development and manufacture of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation, currently offering DFC power plant products ranging in size from 250 kilowatts to 2 megawatts for applications up to 50 megawatts.
About Alliance Power, Inc.
Alliance Power, Inc. has developed economical and environmentally acceptable distributed generation (DG) facilities ranging in size from 1 MW to 49 MW. Alliance Power's headquarters are located in Littleton, Colorado with regional offices across the U.S. More information is available at www.alliancepower.com.
About Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has a proud history as one of the pioneers of the craft brewing industry and as a brewer of award-winning beers since 1981. The Brewery is driven to operate in an efficient and environmentally sound manner. Sierra Nevada considers resourcefulness a philosophy and has pioneered efforts to integrate environmental values into management decisions and practices. More information is available at www.sierranevada.com.

MID-AMERICA BREWING SUPPLY ACQUIRES BREWER'S SUPPLY GROUP
June 1, 2004 Mid America Brewing Supply, a Minnesota-based distributor of brewing ingredients that is wholly owned by Rahr Malting Company of Shakopee, MN, announced today the purchase of Brewer’s Supply Group, a wholesale distributor of brewing ingredients with operations in Newport, RI (Brewer’s Wholesale Supply), San Leandro, CA (Premium Brewer’s Supply) and Yakima, WA (Brewer’s Lemmens Hops). Mid America has also purchased an interest in Superior Malt Handling of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.
“By conjoining the sales, distribution and manufacturing efforts of Rahr Malting, Mid America and Brewer’s Supply Group, our collective vision of providing our customers with the best brewing ingredients is nearly complete” said Kelly Kuehl, Mid America’s Vice President of Sales. “With our newly acquired distribution centers on both coasts, our current distribution center in the Midwest and our future distribution center in the Colorado area, we’ll be well positioned to service breweries of all types.”
“William Crisp and his sales team, Dr. Ian Ward, Gerard Lemmens, Jeff Loranger and all of the other Brewer’s Supply Group supporting staff deserve to be extremely proud of the company that they have built” stated Gary Lee, President of Mid America Brewing Supply. “Our customers can look forward to receiving the same great service from the same great people.”
“Our facility in St. Hyacinthe will play a key role in Mid America’s new vision,” stated Helen Knowles, a representative of Superior Malt Handling. “Our facility has the ability to import, export and distribute malt in a much more efficient manner for customers around the world.”
As a reflection of the company’s newly formed national focus, the Mid America Brewing Supply name will be retired in the near future and the Brewer’s Supply Group name will be adopted. “The strength of Mid America Brewing Supply will live on in the Brewer’s Supply Group name” remarked William Crisp, founder of Brewer’s Supply Group. “I will be very pleased to remain on as a business consultant with the group and to further building our new business.”
Brewer’s, Mid America and Premium Brewer’s customers may continue to place their orders through the individual company’s toll free order lines.


BRIESS NEWS
BRIESS 4 PAGE PRODUCT INFORMATION BOOKLET
Briess's new, four-page product information booklet is now available. The flyer is available online as well.
CARAPILS®
Carapils® and Cara-Pils® are both registered trademarks of Briess Industries, Inc. Briess has owned Cara-Pils® for decades, and just last year also had Carapils® registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. (Cara-Pils® is celebrating it’s 55th birthday, and it got a second name for its birthday present!) Look for more information this year about its 55th birthday and what makes this such a unique malt.

May your beer mug always be full…cheers!

Bernadette Wasdovitch
Marketing Manager
Briess Malt & Ingredients Company
A Division of Briess Industries, Inc.
625 South Irish Road
PO Box 229
Chilton, WI 53014 USA
Tel 920.849.7711
Fax 920.849.4277
Email: bwasdovitch@briess.com
www.briess.com


TODD ASHMAN JOINS MID AMERICA BREWING SUPPLY
Mid America Brewing Supply, a Minnesota based distributor of brewing ingredients, is pleased to announce the appointment of Todd Ashman as Sales Coordinator/Technical Director. Ashman was most recently employed as master brewer at the Titletown Brewing Company of Green Bay, WI and had previously served in the same capacity at the Flossmoor Station Brewing Company of Flossmoor, IL.
Ashman’s “true to style” discipline in the brew house coupled with an “everything but the kitchen sink” sense of adventure has earned him a solid reputation as innovator and leader in the craft brewing industry, particularly in the area of wood aged beers. Over the course of his seven years at Flossmoor Station, Ashman earned 11 Great American Beer Festival medals, three World Beer Cup medals and eight Real Ale Festival medals and most recently won two medals at this year’s World Beer Cup competition as a Titletown employee.
“Todd is the secret ingredient we’ve been missing in our customer service area” said Mid America’s Vice President of Sales Kelly Kuehl. “Todd will be available to assist our customers with their brewing questions, beer recipe development and will be able to offer first hand product knowledge. We feel extremely fortunate to have someone of Todd’s caliber on our team.”
Ashman will office out of Mid America’s Kasota, MN warehouse and may be reached at 1-800-374-2739 or todd@midamericabrewing.com

HOP UNION CROP REPORT
By Ralph Olson – Hop Union
In January, the U.S. just had, the 48th annual Hop Growers of America (HGA) convention in San Diego, California. It was overall a pretty quiet convention, but there were a few topics of interest.
One of the speakers was David Hysert from the JIH Company. He gave a talk on the spontaneous combustion of hops. He looked at varietal composition, drying techniques, moisture and warehousing as important factors to consider. Much work is being done to try and simulate a situation that can lead to combustion and learn to keep it from happening in a real situation.
Another topic that was discussed was the potential reorganization of the structure of the various hop industry organizations. The reasons for looking into this are the result of acreage reduction, which is the major source of funding. Another reason, is of course, the lack of enough people to serve on all the various boards. Doug MacKinnon from the HGA mentioned in his talk, that he sees further acreage reduction in the future for the US hop industry of 3,000- 5,000 acres to come into balance with the needs of the brewers. So funding problems for hop organizations will get worse in the future. There has been a committee formed of fifteen growers and the hop merchants to look into how this can be accomplished. All are in agreement that reorganization needs to happen. Several ideas have been brought forth on how this might be accomplished. During the course of the next 6-8 months, there will be much work done to help implement changes for the good of the industry. There is an attempt for restructure, but not to lose any of the services currently being provided. Some of the organizations being looked at are the Washington, Oregon and Idaho commissions, Hop Growers of America, Hop Growers of Washington, Hop Research Council, and HIPPSY. Basically all organizations are up for discussion. The overall goal is to design a structure that provides the services that the industry needs from the ground up.
Also discussed at the convention was the 2003 hop statistical report. This will be put onto the HGA website www.usahops.org. It contains good information on both the US and world figures. It does show that the US had a 33% reduction in acreage grown over the past 10 years. In 1993 it was 43,099 acres grown, as compared to 2003 with just 28,669 acres. The US seems to be keeping pretty close pace with world acreage, which has gone down 26% during the same period. Hop production was shown to be 54,565,100 pounds for 2003. Washington State remains the overall leader in acreage having 19,492 acres compared to Oregon with 5,748 and Idaho with 3,429. The 2003 crop faired very well with regards to how clean it was. The average leaf and stem was .08% and average seed was .50%, making one of the better years on record.
The move to potentially introduce a new Marketing Order is currently in a limbo state. Hearings were conducted this past October. Many people spoke for and against having a Marketing Order. It does appear to be almost a 50-50 split. After the hearings a judge gave a deadline of January 31, 2004 to have the transcripts reviewed and any corrections made. The USDA will then review the information gathered. Lots of procedural things must happen before a vote can be made for or against having and “order”. The USDA has the power to nix the entire proceeding if they feel the current proposal isn’t equitable to all growers. Should it fail to get to the vote making process, there is possible recourse to go and resubmit a new or modified proposal and start over. If to have or not to have an “order” does come to a vote, many think it will happen sometime this year. The timing of the vote can determine what year a crop would start being regulated by the government. If a vote were held toward the end of the year it could make it very difficult to have everything in place in time to regulate the 2005 crop.
With the poor crop in Europe this past year, the US aroma crop did find some markets into some breweries that typically don’t buy from them. It will be interesting to see if the exportation of US aroma hops continues into foreign markets. Europe also might have some problems this year with the crop although it is too early to really say much. What is of concern is that many of the early aroma hops in Europe that had to be picked early, because of draught and heat. It is feared, this might have hurt the plants to be picked so early and they might need more than a year’s time to get back into the proper growing shape.
On the whole the US is getting a good start for the next crop season. We have had a pretty cold winter that should have helped keep some of the insects and diseases in check for a while. We also have so far, a good amount of snow in the mountains which is needed to feed the reservoirs and give water for the crop during the summer. Powdery mildew, which caught us off guard a few years back, has been minimal this past year in its ability to cause havoc. Growers are learning to live with powdery mildew and its affects are manageable. With better protectants and better growing techniques, the US industry is getting a pretty good handle on how to fight this tough opponent. Other pests and diseases were of minimal problem to the grower this past season.