Boos for A-B

This is the first year I attended the awards ceremony at the Great American Beer Festival during the Saturday afternoon session. The past two years I gave tours during that time, which I love, but I always missed out.

Even though we didn't win at Bull and Bush, it was really great getting to watch people win medals for all of their hard work. Of the 78 categories, I just had to chuckle at a few. Such as watching Keystone Ice get a gold medal for American Style Specialty Lager. Not a category that many craft breweries care about.

While I expected Dogfish Head, Avery and some of the others to medal, what I didn't expect was to hear boos. Every time an Budweiser labeled beer won a medal there was either dead silence, or a considerable amount of boos. I didn't realize there was that amount of animosity toward the Belgian owned brewery. Anheuser-Busch-Inbev needs to do something to mend their relationship with American brewers, or it could be a slow, downward spiral for the brewing giant. Better come up with something better than the Foozie.

GABF Week vs. Shark Week

Superman vs. Batman? Pirates vs. Ninjas? Soup vs. Salad? These are questions that are so tough that they may never go answered. I'm actually convinced that the world will go in to some sort of black hole if Pirates of the Caribbean took on the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles. Lets look at something a little safer, but maybe more controversial. Seriously.

Shark Week

VS

Great American Beer Festival Week

(Erie Music) Dum, Dum Dum!

I'm actually not one of these Shark Week fanatics like some. But, when I'm flipping through the channels and I see a Great White chewing on the head of a baby seal, I can't resist. After 2 or 3 hours I will have forgotten to call my fiance back and left the chicken on the grill to the point it has disintegrated. But why would it win a battle with the Great American Beer Festival? Well, it is on for like 168 straight hours, never gets a hang over, and the sharks could eat any brewer's face off in the water.

The Great American Beer Fest is sort of like the super bowl for beer people. Besides Octoberfest in Munich, there is no bigger gathering for a beer event. There are about 2000 different beers on festival floor to try, a very prestigious medal ceremony, and different events around Denver all week. It has promoted beer to a level where it now competes with wine. But, going against shark week would be a totally different opponent. If GABF were in a cage fight with Shark Week it's only defense would be the elements. Sharks don't like being out of water. GABF would just hang out, drink a beer, and wait until Shark Week dies from the air.

Advantage to Great American Beer Festival.

Home Draft = More Dollars

What are you buying when you purchase a Coors Light or Miller Light Home Draft System? Packaging. It contains the same beer that is purchased in a can, bottle, or at the bar. So why is MillerCoors using this package for their product? And, how can they get away with making it cost 15-20% more than the canned variety?

MillerCoors says they are trying to tap the market that prefers draft beer over bottled beer, of which they claim is 30% of consumers. Brewers, on the other hand, like draft beer because they don't have to use as much packaging, which usually lowers the price point for the buyer. Not in the case of the Home Draft System. They are using the trendiness of "draft beer" as a marketing scheme rather than to save consumers money and cut down on waste.

One home draft system is said to be in the range of $17 to $20 for 1.5 gallons. This equals 16 twelve ounce cans. An eighteen pack of cans will cost about 14 bucks. Thus, the draft system is less beer for the money. If you really want true draft beer, a 15.5 gallon keg will cost around $80. This will yield about 165 twelve ounce beers, less than half the price of the "Home Draft." You're welcome.

But, if your really have your heart set on one of these, check out this LINK to rig it up with better beer.