Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Week 52, 2014, and Week 1, 2015.

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

Weeks 52/1
21 December 2014 - 3 January 2015

• 3 January 2015
  U.S. to renew diplomatic relations with Cuba.
  —Via Daily Beast.
  
  
  
• 3 January 2015
  The 10 top stories of 'craft' beer in 2014, according to Brewbound.
  —Via Brewbound.
  
  
  
• 31 December 2014
  Notable obituaries of 2014.
  —Via Washington Post.
  
  
  
• 31 December 2014
  The top 33 beer bars in the Unites States, according to Thrillist.
  —Via Thrillist.
  
  
  
• 30 December 2014
  Who owns what beer? A graphic depiction of the largest beer companies and the beers they own or produce.
  —Via Gizmodo (as referenced and updated by Brookston Beer Bulletin).
  
  
  
• 29 December 2014
  Distribution contracts, trademark applications, more. The top 'craft' brewing legal advice and concerns in 2014.
  —Via Candace Moo (as reported by Craft Brewing Business).
  
  
  
• 29 December 2014
  The cautionary tale of big money and a small, 'craft' distillery. Chip Tate, founder of Balcones —pioneering Texas 'craft distillery— forced out by board.
  —Via New York Times .
  
  
  
• 28 December 2014
  Air Asia Flight from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Singapore crashes, killing all 155 passengers and 7 crew on board.
  —Via Wikipedia.
  
  
  
• 25 December 2014
  When war actually was stopped for Christmas Day, a century ago, today, in the trenches during World War I.
  —Via NPR (National Public Radio).
  
  
  
• 23 December 2014
  The 19th-century history of Fuggles, an English hop variety, still widely prized and use.
  —Via Martyn Cornell ay Zythophile.
  
  
  
• 23 December 2014
  The top 10 books on beer in 2014, according to Brooklyn Magazine.
  —Via Brooklyn Magazine.
  
  
  
• 22 December 2014
  75% of Americans now live within 10 miles of a brewery.
  —Via Yahoo Finance .
  
  
  
• 22 December 2014
  Founders Brewing Company's founders on why they sold a 30% stake: To grow, "it was important to partner with a brewer, not a bank."
  —Via Craft Brewing Business.
  
  
  
• 21 December 2014
  Why is the U.S. national drinking age 21? English common law, FDR, Vietnam War, Amethyst, MADD, and the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.
  —Via Mental Floss.
  
  
  
• 21 December 2014
  The cautionary tale of 'craft' breweries and local laws. A Virginia farm-brewery to shut down or face fines from Loudoun County inspectors as the local government had not yet developed farm-brewery regulations to coincide with a state law passed earlier in the year.
  
  —Via Leesburg Today .
  
  
  
• 21 December 2014
  The State of Pennsylvania v. 2,447 Bottles of Wine. A Pennsylvania couple says that the state's seizure of its wine collection was unconstitutional and seek to force Pennsylvania to return the entire collection. Pending the suit, the state plans to destroy the wine.
  —Via Reason.
  
  
  
• 21 December 2014
  The American Homebrew Association offers lifetime membership to President Obama —the only president known to have brewed beer in the White House.
  —Via Craft Brewing Business.

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• Clamps and Gaskets is a bi-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 twitter.com/cizauskas.
• The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.