The Bar

Also known as, What is Happening in the World of Beer and Wine. Sometimes newsworthy, usually noteworthy, always interesting, information about our favorite subject, beer and wine.

Brewers Association Cancels In-Person Great American Beer Festival; Event and Competition Move Online

Justin Kendall - - Brewbound

The largest beer festival in the U.S. will not take place in-person in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

For the first time in the festival's nearly 40-year history, the Brewers Association (BA) has canceled the 2020 edition of Great American Beer Festival, which was slated to take place September 24-26, and will instead move the event "to an immersive online experience" from October 16-17.

PSA: Drunk, Belligerent Wasps Are Terrorizing Beer Gardens

Hannah Keyser - - Vice

How much cider does it take to get a wasp drunk is not, as it turns out, a riddle. Rather, it's a real problem, considering the answer is "very little" and the result is irritable, sting-happy wasps.

Recently, the Daily Mail (stay with me) proclaimed that, "Britain is under attack from 'lager lout' wasps who are going on stinging rampages after getting drunk on fermented fruit and leftover pub-garden cider," which is big, if true. Their story cites the Sussex Wildlife Trust, so we reached out to the British conservation charity ourselves to find out whether this was indeed a whole new way that the world just sorta sucks.

Cannabis Surpasses The Wine Industry In Southern Oregon

Miroslav Tomoski - - Herb

Wine country in Oregon's southern counties of Jackson and Josephine is slowing becoming weed country. The legal cannabis market has overtaken the region in both sales and employee salaries, according to a report from the Mail Tribune.

The two counties alone are home to more than a quarter of the state's cannabis license applicants, the report states, with nearly 1,000 applications in the region filed with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), the main regulatory body for the state's legal cannabis market.

With just over 40 wine-related businesses operating in Jackson County, including wineries and vineyards, the cannabis industry has surpassed its boozy rival. It's established 37 farms and nearly 20 dispensaries now employing 439 people, 89 more than the wine industry.

The craft beer industry’s buzz is wearing off

Rachel Siegel - - Washington Post

Has craft beer peaked? In one sign that the industry has grown less frothy, more craft breweries closed in 2017 than any time in the past decade.

And while the craft beer makers saw more growth in production than the overall market last year, their pace is slowing.

A new report by the Brewers Association — a trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers — showed that craft brewers saw a 5 percent rise in production volume in 2017. Yet with that growth comes an increasingly crowded playing field, leading to more closures of small craft breweries. In 2017, there were nearly 1,000 new brewery openings nationwide and 165 closures — a closing rate of 2.6 percent. That's a 42 percent jump from 2016, when 116 craft breweries closed.

Myth-busting the taste of Arizona wine

Carly Oseran and Reed Wallace - - Arizona Sonora News

If you think Arizona wine doesn't compare to wine made in Sonoma or Napa Valley, you're right.

Arizona wine doesn't compare, but not for the reasons you may think.

Robert Leopardi, Southern Arizona director of sales for Quench Fine Wines, has been working his way up the wine industry for 40 years. In his current role, he represents wines from around the world, including Arizona.

"I think you have to understand what Arizona wines are, what their history has been and how young the industry is," said Leopardi. "And rather than compare it to someplace like Napa or necessarily the old world, you compare it to places like maybe the Pacific Northwest."

Canarchy Expands Distribution of Cigar City to Arizona

- Brewbound

TAMPA, Fla. — Cigar City Brewing continues to expand the reach of its world-class beers with the addition of Arizona to the Florida-based brewery's distribution network. CCB has partnered with Crescent Crown Distributing, Canyon Distributing Company, Finley Distributing and Legacy Beverage to distribute its portfolio of unique ales and lagers, including the award-winning Jai Alai IPA, throughout the Grand Canyon State. Kegs and twelve ounce cans of Jai Alai IPA, Maduro Brown Ale and their newest year-round offering Guayabera Citra Pale Ale will be available throughout Arizona beginning in February.

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