Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 23/24, 2013

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

Weeks 23/24
2 June- 15 June 2013

• 2013.06.15
  Does beer's provenance matter? Rumination by Jeff Alworth at Beervana.
  
  
• 2013.06.14
  The amazing and uplifting story of a daughter's discovery of her father, and the resurrection of America's original craft beer. Renée M. DeLuca, Jack McAuliffe, and New Albion Brewing. Via Cleveland Scene.
  
  
• 2013.06.14
  Maryland Wine Week: 14 June through 24 June 2013 Via Maryland Wineries Association.
  
  
  
• 2013.06.14
  Twenty craft breweries ask President Obama to take action on long-delayed safeguards of Clean Water Act. Via Natural Resources Defense Council.
  
  
• 2013.06.13
  The U.S. produced 61.2 million pounds of hops in 2012; of those, 218,000 pounds were organic (up from 70,000). Via Jeff Alworth at Beervana.
  
  
• 2013.06.13
  A study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology finds that sugary soft drinks increase kidney stone risk; beer, wine, and coffee reduce risk.
  
  
• 2013.06.12
  The story of the Twitter #hashtag and its creator, Chris Messina. Via Wikipedia. Facebook has announced support of hashtags. Via Mashable.
  
  
• 2013.06.12
  How state beer excise taxes hike six-pack prices. Via MSN.
  
  
• 2013.06.12
  The 2013 U.S. Wine Blogger awards announced.
  
  
• 2013.06.11
  Australian winemakers have begun to package some of their wines in 187-ml cans. Will the French be next? Via France 24.
  
  
• 2013.06.10
  Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton joins Twitter. Via Huffington Post.
  
  
  
• 2013.06.10
  Former Baltimore Orioles closer, baseball pitcher Chris Ray finds new career as owner of a craft brewery: Center of the Universe Brewing,in Ashland, Virginia. Via Baltimore Sun.
  
  
• 2013.06.10
  Brewmaster Garrett Oliver reflects on the 25th anniversary of Brooklyn Brewery. Via Brooklyn Magazine.
  
  
• 2013.06.09
  Professor Patrick McGovern —of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology— finds evidence of the 2,500 year-old origins of French wine-making. Via NPR Science Friday.
  
  
• 2013.06.08
  Canned beer accounted for 53% of all beer sold in U.S. in 2012. Via CNBC.
  
  
• 2013.06.08
  Terrible flooding in Europe wreaking havoc on Austrian vineyards. Via Austrian Wine USA.
  
  
  
• 2013.06.06
  Bad news for hopheads. New Zealand 2013 hops production falls below earlier projections. Via Stan Hieronymus at Appellation Beer.
  
  
• 2013.06.05
  Mid-May frost caused considerable damage to many Virginia and Maryland vineyards. Via Dave McIntyre in Washington Post.
  
  
• 2013.06.05
  China officially recognizes the geographical origin (AOC) of France's Champagne. Via Just-Drinks.
  
  
• 2013.06.04
  The Wine Spectator Magazine announces its list of the "40 Most Powerful People in Drink for 2013." Mostly wine folk, but some beer, including Julia Herz of the Brewers Association, whom the magazine named "the pied piper of craft beer."
  
  
• 2013.06.04
  The world's largest brewing company just got bigger. AB Inbev now owns 95% of Mexico's Grupo Modelo (Corona). Via Just-Drinks.
  
  
• 2013.06.04
  The U.S. government approves nutritional labeling for beer, wine, and spirits. Via YFGF.
  
  
• 2013.06.02
  Essay on changing tastes and growing choices of beer in the United States. "In praise of American beer," by Rod Dreher in The American Conservative.
  
  
• 2013.06.02
  Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of hard-rock band Iron Maiden, contract brews his own beer, called Trooper. Via Pete Brown.

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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.