Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 21/22, 2013

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

Weeks 21/22
19 May - 01 June 2013

• 2013.06.01
  How a massive volcanic eruption 200 years ago may have put American hops in the original IPAs shipped from Britain to India. The story of biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history —Mount Tambura in Indonesia— and how it impacted the English hop harvest. Via Martyn Cornell at Zythophile.
  
  
• 2013.06.01
  Cask Ale: "Draught Beer At Its Best." Essay by Hugh Sisson of Heavy Seas Brewing, via CraftBeer.com.
  
  
  
• 2013.06.01
  Dates for DC Beer Week 2013 announced: 11-18 August 2013. Via DCBeer.
  
  
• 2013.05.31
  The Catch-22 absurdity of "gluten-free" beer regulations from the FDA (U.S. Federal Drug Administration) and the Brewers Association. Via Win Bassett at All About Beer.
  
  
• 2013.05.31
  Beer writer Jeff Alworth proposes state-by-state beer championships, with a small number of beer styles, judged by accredited professionals and consumers panels. Via Beervana.
  
  
  
• 2013.05.31
  Philly Beer Week returns for its 6th year, running 31 May to 9 June 2013, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  
  
• 2013.05.30
  The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issues ruling allowing alcohol beverage manufacturers to place nutritional information on beverage labels. Via BeerPulse.
  
  
• 2013.05.29
  Igor Stravinsky's orchestral work and ballet, The Rite of Spring, was first performed 100 years ago on 29 May 1913 —to a near-riot in the theater. Via Wikipedia.
  
  
• 2013.05.27
  Local government forbids a Fredericksburg, Virginia, brewpub from offering cicadas on the menu because they were not "from a registered source." Via Musings Over A Pint. [Although numerous elsewhere, Brood II cicadas absent in large portions of northern Virginia. Via Fairfax Times.]
  
  
• 2013.05.27
  Washington D.C.-area food critic defines "craft beer" as beer not sold in supermarkets. Others differ in opinion. Via DCBeer.




• 2013.05.25
  Slavish reproduction or ale-like "wacky lager." Jonathan Reeves —brewer for Port City Brewing of Alexandria, Virginia— muses about the difficulty of producing 'craft' lager.
  
  
• 2013.05.25
  The growth of 'craft' brewery openings continues in Virginia. Stories via Northern Virginia Magazine and Washington Post.
  
  
• 2013.05.24
  The burgeoning scandal of Rudy Kurniawan and his counterfeit Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, and its effect on the high-end wine business. Via Decanter.
  
  
• 2013.05.24
  German brewers unite against fracking, citing the Reinheitsgebot -the German beer purity law. Via Bloomberg News.
  
  
• 2013.05.24
  A 2012 snapshot of the business of 'craft' brewing in the United States. Via YFGF.
  
  
• 2013.05.21
  The U.S. government's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) publishes rules for alcoholic beverage companies use of 'social media.' Via YFGF.
  
  
• 2013.05.20
  48 killed by Oklahoma tornado and violent storms; great property damage. Via Huffington Post.
  
  
• 2013.05.20
  Yahoo board approves $1.1 billion cash acquisition of Tumblr (via TechCrunch); re-designs Flickr (via Huffington Post).
  
  
• 2013.05.20
  Craft brewery in Delaware divests itself of Anheuser-Busch InBev connection. Dominion Brewing, via YFGF. 
  
  
• 2013.05.19
  Florida woman wins highest Powerball jackpot in history, of $590.5 million. Via CNN.

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• Clamps and Gaskets is a weekly wrap-up of stories, many of which deal with beer (or wine, or whisky). Most are re-posts from Twitter @Cizauskas.
• The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.