Craft Beer & Brewing – Podcast Episode 163: Getting Political and Getting Through the Pandemic with Julie Verratti of Denizens

Julie Verratti discusses how brewers and brewery operators can lobby for laws that support their business and the industry, and talks about Denizens’ strategies for keeping beer flowing while keeping customers and staff safe.

JAMIE BOGNER Nov 29, 2020

Before she was cofounder and chief brand officer of Denizens Brewing in D.C.’s Maryland suburbs, attorney Julie Verratti worked for the US Small Business Administration. Her working knowledge of government can be a valuable for brewery owners and operators across the country as they chart a course through a difficult and heartbreaking winter wave of COVID.

In this special episode, Verratti offers a crash course in connecting with elected officials to lobby for the support that breweries need—from the federal down to the local level. She also takes a deep dive into the operational measures that Denizens has put into place to continue serving customers while keeping staff safe. https://beerandbrewing.com/podcast-episode-163-getting-political-and-making-it-through-the-pandemic/Listen.

Wawa announces its holiday coffee beers

Bill DoylePublished: November 23, 2020

For the third year in a row, Wawa has released coffee-based craft beers for the winter. There are three this year: Holiday Reserve Stout, Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and Reserve Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Coffee Stout, all based on Wawa’s famed coffee.

Wawa says that they are “Special winter beers created, in collaboration, by 2SP’s master brewer and Wawa’s coffee guru — a brewmance that has resulted in three silky smooth stouts, all made with Wawa Winter Reserve Coffee.”

The beers are brewed by 2SP Brewing Company of Aston, Pennsylvania, and Wawa says they will be available at select distributors and beer retailers in Southeastern PA, New Jersey, Delaware, and Eastern Maryland. Read More: Wawa announces its holiday coffee beers 

We deserve ‘nouveau’ wine in 2020 — a vintage meant to be fun and drunk right away

By Dave McIntyreNovember 20, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. EST

The weather’s chilly, the leaves have fallen, and the holidays are fast-approaching. We’re about to commemorate the end of the growing season — and the imminent end to a year that has been difficult on so many levels — with Thanksgiving, a traditional celebration of the year’s bounty.

There’s a wine for that: A wine of this vintage, fresh as the memory of harvest and raw as the experience of the year, unpolished by time, a reflection of the emotion of the moment. Read more.

Baltimore Spirits’ Latest Epoch Rye Gets Bottled-In-Bond Recognition

By Nino Kilgore-Marchetti / November 20, 2020

Baltimore Spirits Company, based in its namesake city in Maryland, is celebrating its fifth anniversary as it continues to release batch after batch of its flagship Epoch rye whiskey. Now, in a variant offering from this one, it has made available at the distillery a limited number of bottled-in-bond whiskeys.

The new Epoch Rye Wooden Anniversary Limited Edition, according to those behind it, is said to be the first bottled-in-bond Maryland rye whiskey to be distilled and aged in Baltimore in at least 50 years. In following the guidelines for bottled-in-bond, this whiskey is the product of one distillation season that has been aged for at least four years and bottled at exactly 50% ABV after maturing in a federally bonded warehouse under government supervision.https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styles/american-whiskey/baltimore-spirits-latest-epoch-rye-gets-bottled-in-bond-recognition/

Md. winery’s new labels a reflection of how it has been ‘evolving in a very positive way’

Updated Nov 18, 2020; Posted Nov 18, 2020

While the anticipated celebration around Boordy Vineyards’ 75th birthday was muted by the coronavirus pandemic, it hasn’t stopped one of Maryland’s top producers from using the year to lay the groundwork for the years ahead.

One will involve renovating some of the older structures on the 240-acre farm in Baltimore County, which includes its Long Green Vineyard where some of its 46 acres of grapes grow. Read more.

TENTH WARD DISTILLING COMPANY ENTERS NEW VENTURE WITH READY-TO-DRINK CANNED COCKTAILS

Tenth Ward Distilling Company has entered the world of ready-to-drink beverages with the release of two new canned cocktails: The Corpse Reviver No. 10 and the Smoked Whiskey Sour. Both flavors will be available for retail purchase at Tenth Ward’s Cocktail Lab located in Downtown Frederick, Maryland and for wholesale purchase to liquor stores and restaurants throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Both the Corpse Reviver No. 10 and Smoked Whiskey Sour started out as popular year-round cocktails on Tenth Ward’s Cocktail Lab menu. “The introduction of canned cocktails could not have come at a better time, when so many people are choosing to stay at home, away from COVID-19 threats, rather than venturing out to bars and restaurants,” said Monica Pearce, Tenth Ward’s founder/owner. Read more.

Guinness Head Brewer Hollie Stephenson Is on a Mission to Make More Than Stouts (but Also Stouts)

by: JULEKHA DASH

Most beer drinkers associate Guinness with its dry Irish stout, brewed at St. James Gate in Dublin for the past 261 years. A lot has changed since 1759, including the debut of the first Guinness brewery outside Dublin, the Guinness Open Gate Brewery near Baltimore. The iconic Irish brand debuted the $90 million brewery in 2018. It welcomed more than 400,000 visitors its first year.

While the Maryland brewery produces several stouts — after all, it is Guinness — head brewer Hollie Stephenson says it has been her mission to “challenge people’s perception of Guinness as a traditional stout brewer.” She’s done this by leading its experimental brewing program, which has produced its signature light golden ale, Guinness Blonde, along with the fruity Guinness Salt and Lime Ale, and the citrusy Guinness Galaxy IPA. Indeed, the 4,000-square-foot taproom introduces visitors to about a dozen experimental beers at any given time, Stephenson says. Read more.