Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 17/18, 2012

A non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 17/18
22 April - 5 May 2012

• 2012.05.05
  'El Día de la Batalla de Puebla, ' otherwise known as Cinco de Mayo. More about this date in Mexican history, via Wikipedia.
  
  
• 2012.05.05
  The 'Super Moon' appears the 5th and 6th of May in 2012. Also known as the Perigee Full Moon, because the full moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to the Earth during the year. NASA says the moon will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than during any other full Moon of 2012.
  
  
• 2012.05.05
  The Craft Brewers Conference —annual trade and business show for small breweries— in San Diego, California, 2-5 May. From Paul Gatza —Director of the Brewers Association: "If your number one concern as a craft brewer isn't quality, get out right now." —and— "Only 1 of 84 regional craft breweries did not increase production in 2011."
  
  
• 2012.05.04
  Fight for your right. RIP Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch, dead at age 47. Via ABC.
  
  
• 2012.05.02
  The state of gluten-free beer in the Untied States. Via Washington Post.
  
  
  
  
• 2012.05.02
  Mega Purple? Egg whites? Dimethyl pyrocarbonate? Truth in labeling: what goes into your wine. Via Dsve McIntyre of the Washington Post.
  
  
• 2012.05.02
  Oskar Blues Brewing of Longmont, Colorado, to open 2nd brewery in ... Brevard, North Carolina. Via Boulder Daily Camera.
  
  
• 2012.05.02
  Wine buyer for chain-store COSTCO sees little difference between purchasing wine or toilet paper. Via Eater.com.
  
  
  
  
• 2012.05.01
  In the U.K., May is Mild Ale Month. Why not, in the U.S.?
  
  
• 2012.05.01
  Thirty-one cities were nominated to be on the ballot for the 2012 Beer City USA poll. Voting is 'live' from 1 May through 13 May. Via Charlie Papazian at Beer Examiner.
  
  
• 2012.04.30
  Wine buyer for chain-store COSTCO sees little difference between purchasing wine or toilet paper. Via Eater.com.
  
  
• 2012.04.30
  A Pre-Prohibition-era law may fall, if Congress allows U.S. Postal Service to ship beer and wine. Via TIME.
  
  
• 2012.04.30
  Comprehensive look at status of current, new, and future Washington D.C., breweries and brewpubs. Via Lagerheads of the Washington City Paper.
  
  
• 2012.04.30
  A look at Richmond, Virginia, brewery-in-planning Ardent Craft Ales. Via Greater Richmond Grid.
  
  
  
  
• 2012.04.30
  Baltimore Beer: A Satisfying History of Charm City Brewing: new book written by long-time beer writer and Baltimore Sun. Via The History Press.
  
  
• 2012.04.30
  Pianist/bandleader/composer Herbie Hancock launches International Jazz Day. Via CBS and Jazz Times.
  
  
• 2012.04.28
  Some of the top names in U.S. wine writing to attend the fourth annual DrinkLocalWine Conference on April 28 in Denver, Colorado. Via DrinkLocalWine.
  
  
  
  
• 2012.04.26
  American Craft Beer Week runs May 14th through 20th. Read more via the Brewers Association.
  
  
• 2012.04.26
  New York bill to allow breweries to opt out of distribution contracts, but provide wholesalers protection agaisnt loss of business. Via Syracuse Your News Now.
  
  
  
  
• 2012.04.26
  Ten women in 'craft' beer you should follow. Via The Beer Wench.
  
  
• 2012.04.26
  A brewery is a factory. Caution is imperative for safety. A worker at Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is killed by an exploding plastic keg. worker injured by exploding keg has died. Via Brewbound.
  
  
• 2012.04.25
  Why a less-than-7-barrel system is undersized for commercial success at a brewery or brewpub. Via Soundbrew.com.
  
  
• 2012.04.25
  California winemakers found organization called "In Pursuit of Balance" to promote "elegance, balance, non-manipulation, and site specificity" in California Pinot Noirs. of Via Dave McIntyre of Washington Post.
  
  
• 2012.04.25
  Happy birthday, Hubble Space telescope: 22 years of "stunning space images." Via Brain Pickings.
  
  
• 2012.04.24
  "On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved the appropriation of $5,000 for the purchase of 'such books as may be necessary for the use of congress.'" Happy 212th birthday Library of Congress.
  
  
• 2012.04.23
  SAB/Miller CEO Graham Mackay -who in 2007 predicted that it was inevitable that craft beer would fade- rewarded with promotion to Chairman of the Board. Via JustDrinks.com.
  
  
• 2012.04.23
  The state of Alabama bans Founders Brewing's Dirty Bastard beer, while allowing Fat Bastard wine. Via HuffPostFood.
  
  
• 2012.04.23
  Happy 496th birthday! Today, in 1516, the Bavarian Beer Purity Law was promulgated. "In the original text, the only ingredients that could be used in the production of beer were water, barley and hops." Known as the Reinheitsgebot, it would eventually be extended throughout a united Germany. Via Wikipedia.
  
  
  
  
• 2012.04.22
  Happy 42nd birthday, Earth Day!
  
  
• 2012.04.22
  Sailor Matt Rutherford welcomed home in Annapolis, Maryland, after first-ever solo non-stop sail around the Americas. After 309 days, he asks for hot shower and cold beer. Via Washington Post.

***************************

• Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories  not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from this blog's accompanying Twitter feed: @cizauskas.
• The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.