Advertise with Googlier.com All About Beer https://allaboutbeer.com Beer News, Reviews, Podcasts, and Education Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:33:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 https://i0.wp.com/allaboutbeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-Badge.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 All About Beer https://allaboutbeer.com 32 32 159284549 How Eckhart Beer Continues the New York Lagering Tradition https://allaboutbeer.com/eckhart-beer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=eckhart-beer Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:32:54 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62478 On the weekend that Oktoberfest kicked off in Munich the real fun was happening in Brooklyn. Eckhart Beer celebrated it’s one year anniversary and held a proper celebration of lager. John Holl was there and hosted a panel that covers all the fun of the season, what it means to brew lager in New York […]

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On the weekend that Oktoberfest kicked off in Munich the real fun was happening in Brooklyn. Eckhart Beer celebrated it’s one year anniversary and held a proper celebration of lager. John Holl was there and hosted a panel that covers all the fun of the season, what it means to brew lager in New York City in 2026, and ways to make the most out of hospitality.

Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast.

Or download via Overcast, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you download shows.

This episode is sponsored by:

This episode is brought to you by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, innovators in craft beer since 1980 and still 100% family owned. Experience the finest quality and purest ingredients in person by visiting the iconic Sierra Nevada breweries in Chico, California – where it all started – or Mills River, North Carolina, the country’s only Platinum LEED certified production brewery. Visit Sierra Nevada dot com to learn more. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Still Family-Owned, Operated & Argued Over

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At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post How Eckhart Beer Continues the New York Lagering Tradition first appeared on All About Beer.

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The Surprising Agronomics of Hop Farming https://allaboutbeer.com/virgil-gamache-farms-sorachi-ace/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=virgil-gamache-farms-sorachi-ace Sun, 27 Sep 2026 20:08:20 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62475 Virgil Gamache Farms was founded in 1913 in Yakima Valley. Originally named Sunshine Ranch, hops was not the industry it is today, so that farm grew other crops. But when prohibition ended, the Gamache family saw an opportunity. Some of the hop fields planted then are still in production today. Virgil Gamache Farms is named […]

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Virgil Gamache Farms was founded in 1913 in Yakima Valley. Originally named Sunshine Ranch, hops was not the industry it is today, so that farm grew other crops. But when prohibition ended, the Gamache family saw an opportunity. Some of the hop fields planted then are still in production today.

Virgil Gamache Farms is named after the second-generation Gamache to farm the lands. And today, Darren Gamache, with his brother Andy, are the fourth generation to work the Yakima Valley farm. Virgil Gamache Farms helped popularize Sorachi Ace hops and were the first to cultivate Amarillo hops.

Suffice it to say, the Gamache family has seen a lot, including the rise of the hop-obsessed craft beer industry. All About Beer recently chatted with Darren Gamache on the farm during hop harvest and gathered some interesting tidbits about hop farming.

How A Landrace Hop Emerged At Just The Right Time

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While most of the popular hops today are purposefully bred for the specific characteristics sought by brewers—oils and thiol precursors are sought today, while alpha acids were highly sought a couple of decades ago—one popular hop variety was simply found.

Amarillo was introduced commercially in 2000. But it was simply found on the Virgil Gamache Farm. Hop farms go to great lengths to ensure only female bines grow. If male plants are present, they can fertilize the female cones, causing them to produce seeds, which are unwanted by the beer industry. So how did a new variety of hop simply appear on the Gamache farm?

“It doesn’t really speak highly of our roguing crew,” laughs Gamache. In agriculture, the removal of unwanted plants is known as roguing. “So somebody screwed up, and now we have Amarillo.”

Gamache is joking, but it is a bit of a guess as to what exactly happened. “At the time, we did not have powdery mildew as a disease in the valley… And so we would take the hop choppings right out, and we would spread them in the field to rejuvenate the soil… So all the seeds would be shaken out of the cones. Even if you have a 1% seed count, you’re talking millions or hundreds of thousands of pounds of hop seed.”

One of those seeds took hold and grew with vigor. “It was discovered in a field that was of a Hallertau variety,” says Gamache. “At the time  there was a movement towards the super alpha varieties, and that had a specific structure in the field. We were looking at the physical structure of how it grows, and everything else was columnar…Nothing looked like this plant, other than these supers, and so we saw that, and we’re like, ‘Oh, that looks different.'”

That first Amarillo plant, though it was not so named at the time, “overtook this hill because it’s a very vigorous grower, and because the variety that was planted there isn’t,” says Gamache. “So we thought, we’ll just let it fruit to cone, and then when we smelled it, Mom and Dad were like, ‘Oh my God, I wish beer tasted like this.'”

At the time, craft brewing was still nascent. Interest in and the infrastructure to test new hop varieties was not like it is today. “We hand picked it and dried the samples, and sent the samples off to the company that was known as Hop Union at the time,” says Gamache. “And also to OSU [Oregon State University] to a hop scientist there by the name of Gail Nickerson, who was brilliant… And so we ran an analysis, and it was described as a high alpha Cascade or Centennial type, which we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s weird. What’s a Centennial?'”

The Gamache farm gave samples away in the following two years to the small group of people promoting hops to craft breweries. Craft beer was almost a distraction to hop growers. At Hop Union, one person needed to get permission to pursue the craft business. The hop industry only looks the way it does today, thanks to the handful of people who saw the potential of craft beer.

Poor agricultural practices and a curious mindset led to a serendipitous discovery, at just the right time, that led to the development of Amarillo hops. To this day, Virgil Gamache Farms holds the exclusive trademark to that variety.

The Good And Bad Of Protecting Germplasms

Amarillo is not the only hop variety Virgil Gamache Farms helped popularize. But the story of Sorachi Ace is different.

“I would routinely go down to the Washington State University Experiment Station down in Prosser, and down there they have a germplasm repository that had representative samples of multiple varieties from around the world,” says Gamache. Germplasm repositories are like seed banks or yeast banks. By keeping germplasms in different parts of the world, they can be saved if disaster or disease were to strike somewhere.

“I was just looking for something new because I was very interested in supporting craft,” says Gamache. “We had just come out with Amarillo, and it was starting to gain legs and traction… This is at a time when you were mostly growing high alpha for the big brewers.” But Gamache took a personal interest in craft beer, “because it was so much more interesting.”

“I pulled a cone off this plant,” recalls Gamache. “I smelled it, and it literally stopped me in my tracks. And I turned around and I said to Dr. Stephen Kenny, ‘Ooh, I want some roots off of this plant.’ And the reason it was so striking to me is that it had a dill and lemon aroma note, and that is something I had never smelled in hops before. Everything I had smelled up to that point in time were Cascade-based, Centennial-based, Amarillo, Liberty, Crystal, Ultra, high-alpha Cluster. I’d never smelled anything like that, and it blew me away.”

“It was used commercially by Sapporo for a couple of years in ’81 and ’82, I believe,” says Gamache. “But they moved away from it and went to another varietal. But you don’t necessarily like to see varieties go away. And if there was an outbreak of disease in Japan … they had the comfort of knowing that this germplasm was on a different continent and was protected.” So Gamache discovered Sorachi Ace and repurposed it for craft beer just because someone wanted to save the germplasm of a hop nobody was using anymore.

Protecting germplasms from extinction is a noble endeavor, and it led to the discovery of Sorachi Ace in craft beer. But there could be a downside to sending hop germplasms across the world.

When Amarillo was discovered, there was no powdery mildew in the valley, which is why they laid the hop choppings in the field. Might sharing germplasms also spread disease?

“I do know that for powdery mildew, we didn’t have it in the valley until sometime in the mid ’90s,” says Gamache. “That came in on a susceptible varietal that was part of an exchange that occurred, so those risks exist.”

Why Hop Farmers Don’t Rotate Crops

In grain farming, it is important to rotate crops. One crop might take nitrogen from the soil, so other crops are planted in other years to return nitrogen to the soil, for example. Also, new varieties of those grains are constantly in development so that they can continue to resist diseases, which also mutate and try to infiltrate the grains.

For the most part, crop rotation and varietal replacement does not happen in hops. Why not?

“Crop rotation in hops generally comes from market conditions because it’s a perennial plant,” explains Gamache. “Sometimes farms will do a replant program to rejuvenate the germplasm to start over again because you may have like a virus or something…”

But when the hop market is soft, farms might idle some fields. If they think hop markets will return, they may leave the poles and wires up, and plant a crop in between.

“Beef prices are up. Beef herds are profitable,” says Gamache. So, some hop farmers have turned to growing feed corn. In Yakima today, it is not uncommon to see hop fields, readily identifiable by their poles and wires, but with crops that are obviously not hops.

Those intermittent crops are agronomic reality; farms are businesses, too. But the crop rotation that happens as a result benefits the land. Absent those economic reasons to change crops, there is not as much risk of monoculture disaster, as there is in grain farming.

“When you’re farming hops, you’re trying to perform in the top two to three percentile of the performance of what that plant is capable of,” says Gamache. “So, you’re taking care of the nutrient needs, the fertility needs, the water needs. You’re watching that thing!”

“From a brewer standpoint, when you find something that works, you don’t really want to change it,” says Gamache. Thankfully, the valley is home to farms growing a multitude of other crops, from peaches to apples to berries. That breaks up the monoculture and the farms naturally diversify geographically.

“If you look at the Amarillo varietal, just as an example, we have a farm that we work with up in North Idaho,” explains Gamache. “We have farms that we work with down in South Idaho. We have farms that we work with up and down Yakima, Moxee, down in Woodburn, Oregon, and then we also have growers that we work with over in Germany. It’s interesting because you’re trying to protect a variety.”

“I think barley farmers don’t care so much about the variety,” says Gamache. “They just want disease resistance and agronomics. The brewers don’t care if it’s a Copeland. What they care about is the protein levels, the diastatic power, that sort of thing. Whereas it’s important for you to protect Amarillo as Amarillo.”



At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post The Surprising Agronomics of Hop Farming first appeared on All About Beer.

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Beer or Juice? The Great American Beer Festival Offers to Pay NFL Millionaire’s Fine https://allaboutbeer.com/gabf-kyle-juszczyk/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gabf-kyle-juszczyk Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:45:23 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62470 Last weekend, San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk celebrated a touchdown over the Miami Dolphins by doing an end zone gesture that the NFL called an “imitation of chugging a beer” that “constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste.” The 14-year league veteran was fined $14,926. Juszczyk, who […]

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Last weekend, San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk celebrated a touchdown over the Miami Dolphins by doing an end zone gesture that the NFL called an “imitation of chugging a beer” that “constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste.” The 14-year league veteran was fined $14,926.

Juszczyk, who goes by the nickname “Juice,” has in the past, according to The Athletic, pantomimed drinking from a juice box, including the insertion of a straw. A recent hand injury has limited his mobility for the signature gesture, however, which could be why the celebration wasn’t interpreted as being juice-related this time, the outlet reported.

An appeal hearing is set for this coming Tuesday.

Should he lose the appeal, however, Juszczyk still might not see his bank account balance drop.

Hopsteiner

Late on Thursday, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) entered the discussion with a four-panel Instagram post to its 53,900-plus followers that read ”Kyle Juszczyk, We’ll pay your fine. Yes, all $14,926 of it.”

It went on to note that while it might have been juice in the imaginary cup, “we believe enjoying your beverage of choice in celebration of a job well done is something worth doing. Not fining.”

The festival, run by the Brewers Association (BA), encouraged Juszczyk to slide into their DMs to make it happen.

BA members respond to the offer

The comment section on the Instagram post was mixed, with some offering virtual high fives and cheers for the marketing ploy to others questioning why the BA, a not-for-profit trade group, would bail out an NFL player who last year signed a two-year deal with the 49ers for $7.5 million.

Brooklyn’s Eckhart Beer Co. posted that they wanted their entry fee to the festival returned. “He can afford to pay his own damn fine,” the brewery wrote.

Others pointed to the overall state of the craft beer industry and how many are struggling, or how this could have been spun to support the BA members or small breweries.  

“This is incredibly tone deaf,” posted Brandon Jones of Embrace the Funk in Tennessee. “Nearly $15k could make a real difference helping small breweries afford to participate in GABF. Using it to pay an NFL player’s fine is a pretty dumb message to send to the brewers who support the festival, pay the Association dues and keep on keeping on to survive. You’re showing all your members you’ve officially lost the plot.”

In response to several questions from All About Beer, BA President and CEO Bart Watson responded via email that he always “welcome member feedback and input on our programs and promotions.”

“When I was hired as CEO I talked with hundreds of member breweries about what they wanted to see out of the BA,” he wrote. “One of the resounding themes was “defend beer and push back on all this negativity around beverage alcohol.” So when we saw a national story framing drinking a beer as an “offensive demonstration” as opposed to joyful and celebratory, we saw an opportunity to push back in a lighthearted way. Beer is fun and celebratory!”

He also said that he instructed the social team get him a list of brewers and breweries who commented and will be reaching out to all of them in the hope they want to discuss more. 

A time of change for the GABF

This is a transition year for the GABF. After more than two decades at the Colorado Convention Center, the BA announced it would leave the cavernous indoor space for Denver’s Levitt Pavilion, an outdoor park six miles to the south.

The pavilion, as previously reported, has a capacity of 6,500 people, according to its website. Even at a sell-out over the two sessions announced — Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 from noon to 4 p.m. — that’s less than a quarter of what this festival once brought in during its heyday. 

Saturday general admission tickets sold out in August. Sunday session tickets are still available for purchase.

“In terms of positive attention – this is by far the most liked post with the most impressions of this GABF cycle and I’m getting more positive feedback from members than negative,” Watson said in an email. “That’s not to diminish people who don’t think this hit the mark, and I’m looking forward to hearing more on that perspective and how we can continue to improve next time!”

Watson said that the association has not yet heard back from Juszczyk.

If the transaction happens, it would make for odd bedfellows.

This thanks to what Adam Schefter, the ESPN Senior NFL Insider, posted on X:

“49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk has celebrated touchdowns and first downs his entire NFL career in his own chugging way, an ode to his nickname “Juice”. This is the first time he has been fined. “And I don’t even drink beer!” he texted.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from an original version to reflect comments from Brewers Association President and CEO Bart Watson. 



At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post Beer or Juice? The Great American Beer Festival Offers to Pay NFL Millionaire’s Fine first appeared on All About Beer.

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How Trillium has Evolved as a Brewery https://allaboutbeer.com/trillium-brewing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trillium-brewing Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:01:46 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62467 On this episode of Brewer to Brewer Dino Funari of Vitamin Sea interviews JC  Tetreault of Trillium. The two discuss the evolution of IPA and the brewing business over the last decade. For insight on how Trillium has evolved and continues to grow, give this episode a listen. Listen to the whole conversation on the […]

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On this episode of Brewer to Brewer Dino Funari of Vitamin Sea interviews JC  Tetreault of Trillium. The two discuss the evolution of IPA and the brewing business over the last decade. For insight on how Trillium has evolved and continues to grow, give this episode a listen.

Listen to the whole conversation on the Brewer to Brewer Podcast. Download below, or on Amazon, Pocketcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Visit AllAboutBeer.com for more podcasts, to read original articles, and to get info on upcoming events.

Click here to support independent journalism covering the beer industry.

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This Episode is Sponsored by:


RahrBSG
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At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post How Trillium has Evolved as a Brewery first appeared on All About Beer.

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Chris and Jessica Whaley on Building Back Whaley Farm Brewery https://allaboutbeer.com/chris-and-jessica-whaley-on-building-back-whaley-farm-brewery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chris-and-jessica-whaley-on-building-back-whaley-farm-brewery Wed, 23 Sep 2026 06:50:36 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62463 As Western North Carolina marks two years since Hurricane Helene, we have a guest episode from On the Blue Ridge, a podcast by former All About Beer Managing Editor Jon Page. He recently sat down with Chris and Jessica Whaley of Whaley Farm Brewery in Old Fort, a town of fewer than 1,000 people about […]

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As Western North Carolina marks two years since Hurricane Helene, we have a guest episode from On the Blue Ridge, a podcast by former All About Beer Managing Editor Jon Page. He recently sat down with Chris and Jessica Whaley of Whaley Farm Brewery in Old Fort, a town of fewer than 1,000 people about 25 miles east of Asheville, just off Interstate 40.

The brewery was severely damaged by the storm, and their conversation looks back at what happened, the long road to rebuilding, the support they received from their community, and what it took to finally return to brewing.

You can learn more about the brewery at whaleyfarmbrewery.com, and you can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram where they’re @whaleyfarmbrewery.

And you can listen to more episodes of On the Blue Ridge wherever you get your podcasts, or at ontheblueridgepod.com.

Sennos


At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post Chris and Jessica Whaley on Building Back Whaley Farm Brewery first appeared on All About Beer.

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One Iconic Beer: Pliny the Elder https://allaboutbeer.com/one-iconic-beer-pliny-the-elder/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-iconic-beer-pliny-the-elder Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:10:26 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62459 American IPAs have been brewed up and down the West Coast for over 45 years. In that time, they changed a lot. One of the most important moments for the style’s evolution came in 1999, when Russian River released an early example of a double IPA. Pliny the Elder used techniques we now consider completely […]

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American IPAs have been brewed up and down the West Coast for over 45 years. In that time, they changed a lot. One of the most important moments for the style’s evolution came in 1999, when Russian River released an early example of a double IPA.

Pliny the Elder used techniques we now consider completely standard, but which were uncommon and even controversial then. On this episode of One Iconic Beer, we hear from the beer’s creator, Russian River co-founder Vinnie Cilurzo, and another West Coast legend, former Stone brewmaster and author of the book IPA, Mitch Steele.

They tell the story of Pliny the Elder and the development of IPAs in the United States.

Listen to the whole conversation where you download podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and Overcast.

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This episode is sponsored by:

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This episode of the One Iconic Beer podcast is supported by RahrBSG – trusted supplier to brewers, distillers, and beverage makers across North America.  From the barley field to your brewhouse, we’re proud to support the people behind great beer with the ingredients, expertise, and service they depend on.  Whether you’re brewing the next great American Double IPA or crafting an award-winning continental lager, RahrbSG provides the industry’s finest quality, selection, and support. Behind every great – or even iconic – pint, there is a partner who knows what it takes to make it happen. RahrBSG is proud to keep the beer flowing with you. 


At All About Beer, we’re honored to share the stories that define the beer community, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of our underwriting sponsors. Their commitment helps sustain independent beer journalism, allowing us to highlight the people, places, and passion behind every pint. Their partnership ensures these stories continue to inspire, connect, and celebrate the craft we all love. Join our underwriters today and help make an impact on independent journalism covering the beer industry.

The post One Iconic Beer: Pliny the Elder first appeared on All About Beer.

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Highland Brewing Celebrates 18 Years of Clawhammer with First-Ever Clawtoberfest Beer Dinner Featuring James Beard Award-Winning Chef Taylor Montgomery https://allaboutbeer.com/highland-brewing-celebrates-18-years-of-clawhammer-with-first-ever-clawtoberfest-beer-dinner-featuring-james-beard-award-winning-chef-taylor-montgomery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=highland-brewing-celebrates-18-years-of-clawhammer-with-first-ever-clawtoberfest-beer-dinner-featuring-james-beard-award-winning-chef-taylor-montgomery Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:51:35 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62451 ASHEVILLE, N.C. | September 17, 2026 – Highland Brewing is raising a stein to one of its most beloved seasonal brews with the debut of the Clawtoberfest Beer Dinner, a special culinary event on Friday, September 25. The dinner will showcase traditional Bavarian-inspired cuisine crafted by Taylor Montgomery of Montgomery Sky Farm, recipient of the 2026 James Beard […]

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. | September 17, 2026 – Highland Brewing is raising a stein to one of its most beloved seasonal brews with the debut of the Clawtoberfest Beer Dinner, a special culinary event on Friday, September 25. The dinner will showcase traditional Bavarian-inspired cuisine crafted by Taylor Montgomery of Montgomery Sky Farm, recipient of the 2026 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast.

Chef Taylor Montgomery is known for his hyper-seasonal approach to Appalachian cuisine at Montgomery Sky Farm, a regenerative farm and culinary destination just outside Asheville. For the Clawtoberfest Beer Dinner, Montgomery will create a festive buffet inspired by classic Bavarian flavors. The menu is thoughtfully curated to pair with German-style beers and to complement the rich malt profile of Highland’s Clawhammer Oktoberfest Märzen Lager.

“Clawhammer has earned a loyal following over the last 18 years and remains one of our most anticipated seasonal releases,” said Marissa Burns, Marketing Manager at Highland Brewing. “We wanted to celebrate that legacy in a way that feels special, and collaborating with Chef Taylor Montgomery brings a new dimension to the Clawtoberfest experience. His thoughtful approach to food makes him an ideal partner for highlighting the flavors and traditions behind this beer.”

The event builds on an already successful partnership between Highland Brewing and Montgomery. For the past two years, Montgomery has helped elevate Highland’s popular Cold Mountain Beer Dinner experience, bringing his distinctive culinary approach to one of the brewery’s most anticipated annual events. He will return this November for Highland’s 30th Anniversary Cold Mountain Beer Dinner.

Hopsteiner

At the Clawtoberfest Beer Dinner, guests can enjoy a full Oktoberfest experience, including a traditional Bavarian-style dinner, a commemorative stein and live music from Lagerhosen, plus a lineup of Oktoberfest-inspired games, contests and festive entertainment.

This dinner is part of Highland Brewing’s annual Clawtoberfest celebration and honors the 18-year legacy of Clawhammer Oktoberfest Märzen Lager. Tickets are available now and expected to sell quickly.

For event details and tickets, visit: https://highlandbrewing.com/calendar/clawtoberfest/

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The World’s Longest Wedding Reception is a Celebration of Beer  https://allaboutbeer.com/oktoberfest-facts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oktoberfest-facts Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:34:32 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62440 It is possibly the world’s longest wedding reception. According to Dr. Jörg Lehmann, director of the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus Munich and former president of the German Brewers Association, “The background of Oktoberfest here in Munich is that it goes back to a royal wedding…. And since more than 200 years, we are now celebrating this wedding. […]

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It is possibly the world’s longest wedding reception.

According to Dr. Jörg Lehmann, director of the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus Munich and former president of the German Brewers Association, “The background of Oktoberfest here in Munich is that it goes back to a royal wedding…. And since more than 200 years, we are now celebrating this wedding. But for sure it’s no more about the wedding. It’s a big party. It’s a big event, and especially for this, we are brewing our Oktoberfest beer.”

Hofbräu is one of only six Munich breweries allowed to pour their beer at Oktoberfest. The only beer served during Munich’s Oktoberfest, explains Lehmann, “has to be brewed inside Munich from a Munich brewery with Munich water.”

A Special Party Deserves A Special Beer

Rahr Malting Co.

Historically, beer served at Oktoberfest was of a märzen style, brewed in March and then served at the festival in September. But today, Hofbräu brews a festbier to serve in its Oktoberfest tent. The beer is made “with lots of love,” says Lehmann, only half jokingly. “That’s really the fact because the Oktoberfest is such a big mark on the calendar here that every brewer knows which tank goes to the Oktoberfest, which is then also handled a little bit in a special way.”

Ignoring whether the addition of love is Reinheitsgebot compliant, what else goes into Hofbräu’s Oktoberfestbier? 

“So first of all, it has to be about 13.5 degrees Plato per definition to be an Oktoberfest beer,” says Lehmann. Typically, a beer of this gravity might yield a beer between 5.3% ABV and 6.0% ABV, but Hofbräu’s ends up with slightly more alcohol, evidence of the high degree of attenuation.

“We are using our own wells here on the property to get the Munich water, and this is also audited to be called Munich beer,” says Lehmann. “For the Oktoberfestbier, we are using not just the normal pale barley malt. We are also using a little bit of the darker Munich malt, which gives a little bit more character, a little bit more flavor. Also in terms of color, it’s a little bit darker, and gives you these caramel and honey flavors that you then have in the final beer.”

Beer at Oktoberfest is traditionally served in one-litre Maßkrugs. It is designed to be drunk in quantity. “It’s quite high drinkability, which is also part of the beer style,” says Lehmann. “It’s a little bit stronger than a normal lager beer, but it’s not that strong if you have a strong beer like bock beer or a doppelbock. I think this is really a nice balance between full-bodied and on the other hand, together with the hops and the high fermentation degree, that it’s getting a high drinkability.”

“In the past, we used a decoction mashing process, and now we changed to infusion process to underline a little bit more this lighter character,” says Lehmann.

“We are using three different strains of hops, which is Hercules, Perle and Select,” says Lehmann. “To give [the beer] on the one hand a kind of bitterness, and at the other hand, also these more floral hoppy notes and the hoppy nose…. We have about 25 bitter units.”

“Then we’re getting for sure lager fermentation, so bottom fermented yeast strain,” says Lehmann. “Doing more or less a normal-for-Germany fermentation and maturation process, which is more or less cold, starting at about nine to 10 degrees, then during fermentation going up to 12 degrees Celsius.”

The move from the more traditional märzens to the lighter festbiers served today occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. That move was to improve the drinkability of the beer. The change apparently worked. Hofbräu typically sells over 750,000 liters (200,000 gallons) of beer in their Oktoberfest tent each year, with each customer drinking two or three Maßkrugs.

Oktoberfest Beer In America

Since 2020, Goldfinger Brewing Co. has served up world-class lagers in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Also since 2020, the brewery has hosted an annual Oktoberfest to showcase its German-style beers.

Unlike Hofbräu, Goldfinger offers both a märzen and a festbier at its Oktoberfest celebration. Tom Beckmann, owner and head brewer at Goldfinger, explains the difference. “The way we designed our [festbier] was based on what you would consume at the Theresienwiese in Munich nowadays, which will certainly be paler and lower alcohol than a märzen. It will be a more akin to a helles or export beer in terms of that sort of honey malt character, and would finish a little bit drier and be pretty light on the hops. Depending on the style, you might have a little bit of noble aroma on the nose, but certainly a beer designed to consume liter upon liter of.”

“I would think the main quality of a märzen is in its malt character and layered malt character,” says Beckmann. “Something that we try to do is make sure that the beer is quite malty, but not cloying and still very drinkable, which isn’t an easy feat given that märzen should also be higher alcohol. So ours usually falls anywhere between 6% and 6.2% ABV. But we combine some Munich and Vienna malts along with some pilsner, do a double decoction on it just to bring out some nice body, and have more of the biscuit and bready, slightly caramel, a touch of toast, and even that similar kind of chocolate character you can sometimes get from a dunkel that comes out of the Munich malt, but not an actual like chocolate malt…. We’re focusing predominantly on how we can make that layered malt character.”

Beckmann does like to adhere to tradition—to the point of even brewing Goldfinger’s märzen in March for service in September—but that doesn’t mean he can’t have a little fun. Goldfinger experimented with different hops and even played with a thiolized yeast strain. But when his team found perfection, they stopped tinkering.

“The festbier is a simpler malt bill. It has some Munich in it, but it’s predominantly pilsner malt. For a few years, we were rotating different hops in our festbier. We saw it as a cool canvas to every year present a subtle but different version of the festbier until we made our festbier with Callista hops,” says Beckmann. “We just loved that version so much, and so did the customers. So we stopped changing it. It’s a little bit of Hallertau Mittelfrüh and Callista, but that little punch of Callista fruitiness was really nice and a good contrast from the märzen, which is Tradition and Hallertau Mittelfrüh.”

Like Hofbräu, Goldfinger brews its festbier with an infusion mash, while its märzen is decocted. And as they would in Germany, everything is naturally carbonated—krausening for dry-hopped beers, but spunding valves otherwise. Everything is conditioned in horizontal tanks. Other than occasionally playing with a specialized yeast, like the time they tried the thiolized strain, Goldfinger ferments all of its beers with the same lager strain.

Party Like It’s 1810

The original wedding celebration of 1810 in Munich doesn’t really resemble Oktoberfest today. Even a country as traditional as Germany evolves over time.

Oompah bands play in all of the Theresienwiese tents. While they play traditional German songs like “Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit,” they also play crowd favorites like “Sweet Caroline” and “Country Roads.” Though records are incomplete, most believe those latter two songs were not played at the inaugural Oktoberfest celebration in 1810.

“What’s really important is that you have the atmosphere that you’re together with friends, that you’re spending a good time around the table, enjoying a beer or two, and having music and/or singing,” says Lehmann. “For example, I was in the Hofbräuhaus in Las Vegas just one week ago. And in America pretzels are served with mustard. It’s not common here. But if the people like it, why not? It’s just about having together with the beer and have fun about it.”



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The post The World’s Longest Wedding Reception is a Celebration of Beer  first appeared on All About Beer.

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Using Grassroots Promotion to Create Brewery Recognition https://allaboutbeer.com/using-grassroots-promotion-to-create-brewery-recognition/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=using-grassroots-promotion-to-create-brewery-recognition Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:22:48 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62417 On this episode of the Brewer to Brewer Podcast Ryan Lavery of Widowmaker Brewing interviews Dino Funari of Vitamin Sea Brewing Co. Listen to the whole conversation on the Brewer to Brewer Podcast. Download below, or on Amazon, Pocketcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode is sponsored by: Our Tropics yeast is based on a […]

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On this episode of the Brewer to Brewer Podcast Ryan Lavery of Widowmaker Brewing interviews Dino Funari of Vitamin Sea Brewing Co.

Listen to the whole conversation on the Brewer to Brewer Podcast. Download below, or on Amazon, Pocketcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This episode is sponsored by:

Our Tropics yeast is based on a London Ale strain, but we added a new gene to its genome that codes for a unique thiol-releasing enzyme. The enzyme converts the precursors in barley to free thiols that smell and taste like passionfruit and grapefruit. It’s super clean. No off-flavors like burnt rubber or other sulfurous notes. Just tropical aromatics. You don’t have to do anything unusual either, like mash hopping. Just pitch dry Tropics and supercharge your hazy IPA.


What if the secret to a better batch of beer started before fermentation ever began? By understanding the way water chemistry impacts the sensory quality of finished beer, and by analyzing fermentation and other data, brewers can control sensory aspects of their product like never before. Sennos put together a free eBook that breaks down water chemistry fundamentals every brewer should know — no fluff, just the fundamentals. Download Water Chemistry for Brewers at sennos.com

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Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the craft beer and distilling industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, MMC’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring breweries and distilleries of any size can create the finest beverages on the planet. Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how MMC can support your malting needs. Contact MMC at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.

The post Using Grassroots Promotion to Create Brewery Recognition first appeared on All About Beer.

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Shelley and Eric Desmarais Talk About Life Among the Hop Fields https://allaboutbeer.com/shelley-and-eric-desmarais-talk-about-life-among-the-hop-fields/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=shelley-and-eric-desmarais-talk-about-life-among-the-hop-fields Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:27:59 +0000 https://allaboutbeer.com/?p=62413 A conversation with Shelley and Eric Desmarais of CLS Farms in Moxee, Washington about the 2026 hop harvest and what life is like for families during the regions busiest time of the year. Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast. Or download via Overcast, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you download shows. This episode is […]

The post Shelley and Eric Desmarais Talk About Life Among the Hop Fields first appeared on All About Beer.

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A conversation with Shelley and Eric Desmarais of CLS Farms in Moxee, Washington about the 2026 hop harvest and what life is like for families during the regions busiest time of the year.

Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast.

Or download via Overcast, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you download shows.

This episode is sponsored by:

This episode is brought to you by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, innovators in craft beer since 1980 and still 100% family owned. Experience the finest quality and purest ingredients in person by visiting the iconic Sierra Nevada breweries in Chico, California – where it all started – or Mills River, North Carolina, the country’s only Platinum LEED certified production brewery. Visit Sierra Nevada dot com to learn more. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Still Family-Owned, Operated & Argued Over

Hopsteiner

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