Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 4/5, 2014.

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

Weeks 4/5
19 January 2014 - 1 February 2014

• 2014.02.01
  Virginia small brewery changes its name to avoid copyright infringement. Ocean City brewery, Shorebilly Brewing, now Backshore Brewing. Via DelMarVaNow.





• 2014.02.01
  Frank Baillie, U.K. beer pioneer of the 1970s, author of The Beer Drinker's Companion, has died. Via YFGF (Roger Protz).


• 2014.01.31
  Alexandria, Virginia brewery, Port City Brewing, celebrates its 3rd anniversary. When it opened in 2011, Port City was only the first production brewery to operate in the Washington, D.C.-suburb city since 1916. Via YFGF.


• 2014.01.28
  TIME on-line reports that SABMiller is brewing a beer that "rests somewhere between a craft beer and a light lager." "Miller Fortune is brewed with Cascade hops to give it its bourbon-like flavor." [An obvious error, as hops are an herb, and impart grassy, herbal, citrusy aromas. Any bourbon-like flavor would come from the use of the distilled spirit itself, or from the use of formerly-filled bourbon barrels. The reporter did not respond to attempts to correct the error.]


• 2014.01.28
  SAVOR returns to Washington, D.C. Via YFGF.


• 2014.01.28
  Pete Seeger has died at age 94: troubadour, folk musician, and populist activist. Via NPR.


• 2014.01.27
  Mark Thompson —owner of Starr Hill Brewery —elected to succeed Mike Killelea —brewer at Center of the Universe Brewing— as chair of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild. Killelea had been the organization's original chairperson. More, via Richmond Beermeister.


• 2014.01.27
  Full list of 2014 Grammy Awards (56th annual) winners. Via New York Times.


• 2014.01.27
  Lost and stolen kegs cost U.S. 'craft' breweries nearly $15.8 million annually. Via Craft Beer.


• 2014.01.27
  "In the USA, casks are now being treated routinely as pseudo randalls." A British expat, in Atlanta, Georgia, bemoans the state of cask ale in the U.S.


• 2014.01.26
  According to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), U.S. beer distributors, last year, created 323,493 jobs, added $50 billion to the economy, and paid $9.8 billion in taxes. PDF.


• 2014.01.24
  Today in beer history. The first-ever beer-in-a-can was released 24 January 1935 in Richmond, Virginia. Via YFGF.


• 2014.01.24
  Why the Brewers Association 'discriminates' against certain U.S. breweries. And why it shouldn't. Via The Street.




• 2014.01.23
  "Relax; don't worry; have a homebrew." Charlie Papazian —homebrew guru, craft beer pioneer, president of the Brewers Association— turns 65. Via YFGF.


• 2014.01.22
  Apple's "1984" Super Bowl advertisement for the Mac, aired thirty years ago, 22 January 1983, only once during the Super Bowl, and became iconic. Via American History Museum.


• 2014.01.21
  After only a few months since brewery opened, Megan Parisi resigns as brewmaster for Washington, D.C.'s Bluejacket. Via Washington Post (Going Out Guide).


• 2014.01.21
  Arlington, Virginia, cheesemonger wins "America’s Best Cheesemonger", in San Francisco, California, competition. Via Cheese & Champagne.

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• Clamps and Gaskets is a (usually) bi-weekly wrap-up of stories on beer (or wine, or whisky); although some are not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from twitter.com/cizauskas.
• The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.