HOT TRUB@BEER BASICS.COM
Vol. 03
No. 02 --- 09 January 2002
A
newsletter of special interest to brewers,
members of
the brewing community, chefs, restaurateurs,
and
members of the media that cover the beverage alcohol business.
If
you wish to be dropped from this list please respond to this posting to peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com
include the word “remove” in the Subject: line.
(The subscriber
list is the sole property of the publisher and will not be sold, given or
otherwise distributed.)
===========================================
Editor: Claire
Zuckerman
==================================================
=================================
LATEST NEWS:
Tax Hike For Brewers?
=================================
SPECIAL REPORT:
By Priscilla
Estes, An American Expat in Antwerp
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NEW PRODUCTS:
=================================
PROMOTIONS - EVENTS – DINNERS: From this issue
through one calendar year.
(All are invited to send events to be included: date,
event name, brief description,
contact name & phone/web address.)
I invite your comments and criticism.
Cheers!
Peter LaFrance
Publisher
Published
by: Peter LaFrance peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com
Journalist,
covering the beverage alcohol industry since 1985.
Author
of:
Beer
Basics (ISBN 0-471-11936-9)
Cooking
& Eating with Beer (ISBN 0-471-31879-5)
visit www.beerbasics.com
===================================
LATEST NEWS:
===================================
Tax Hike For Brewers?
The
January 7, 2002 issue of Beverage World reports that, “US brewers are facing
the prospect of alcohol tax hikes as state governments struggle to find ways to
deal with revenue shortfalls, according to a report by CBS Marketwatch.”
The report goes on to point out that tobacco, the
traditional whipping boy of the sin-tax crew, has taken the heat for the
brewing industry in the past.
The present recession gives legislators an opportunity to go after demon alcohol, especially with the placement of liquor ads on television and the increase in the “concoction” products waiting in the wings (see following story).
The prospect of increases in alcohol tax was discussed last
year, as revenues began to fall, but ultimately only Arkansas acted on the
idea. However, despite fears that tax increases would be more damaging now than
ever before, the CBS report couldn’t find, “… any major warning flags on Wall
Street or among most investors.”
=====================================
The Reuters news wire reported yesterday afternoon that the
marriage of beer and spirits has developed into a new “concoctions” market,
“Bacardi Silver, a joint product from Anheuser-Busch Co. Inc. and rum giant
Bacardi USA, is set to launch in February and SKYY Blue, a drink with vodka
from Philip Morris' Miller Brewing Co. and Skyy Spirits, is expected to make a
March debut, facing "non-beer" competitors such as Diageo Plc's
Smirnoff Ice.”
The recent airing of liquor commercials (NBC’s Smirnoff
vodka ads) is making about as much of a splash as the first airing of the “lady
in the bra” that put the old Playtex “Cross Your Heart” on the sidelines.
It looks like the liquor industry might be trying to
“coat-tail” on those “concoction” ads because beer is still the king of
advertising. According to the Reuters report, “Liquor makers spent $17.1
million on television commercials in the first nine months of 2001 according to
media tracker CMR. How much did their beer counterparts spend? A whopping
$606.7 million.”
In short, follow the money.
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Stokes
announced Tuesday morning that sales of A-B malt beverage products in 2001
reached “…an all-time high of 99.5 million barrels in 2001 - increasing 1.2
million barrels or 1.2 percent over 2000." Bud Light led in the sales
figures, followed by flagship brand Budweiser.
The company
also reported that, “…for the first time, total domestic shipments plus exports
exceeded the 100 million barrel milestone.”
Anheuser-Busch
Companies, Inc. continues to expect 12 percent earnings per share growth for
2001 and has set initial earnings per share growth target of 10 percent for
2002.
By
Priscilla Estes, An American Expat in Antwerp
Every beer writer should have such
luck, I thought, as I sped east along E313, driving from Antwerp to Martens
Brewery in Bocholt. Not only was I visiting a Belgian brewery on a sunny
November day, but I was meeting up with three beer greats: Pierre Celis,
“Wicked” Pete Slosberg and Belgian journalist Christian Deglas, author of The
Classic Beers of Belgium.
I am not worthy, I thought, taking
exit 25 at the town of Ham, onto route 73 toward Bocholt. Charming villages and crisp-golden
cornfields dotted the 21 miles of two-lane road. Our rendezvous point was the
church in the tiny village of Bocholt, about 30 miles north of Maastricht, The
Netherlands. As I neared Bocholt, I headed toward the towering steeple.
Beneath the shadow of the steeple,
dark-bearded Pete and Belgian-blond Christian were waiting in the parking lot,
already searching for Pierre. I was to discover over the next two days that
popularity considerably slows his progress.
Combining forces, we squinted against the sun that bounced off the
windows of Marten’s old copper-kettled brew house (only for show nowadays), and
soon met with success. There, across
the street, stood a slight, short man dapperly dressed in gray suit and
trademark string bolo tie. He appeared to be deep in conversation with a
stranger. As we got within hearing range, we discovered the stranger was a
visiting Frenchman who aspired to open a microbrewery. Like many before him, he
was taking full advantage of Pierre’s considerable knowledge and advice.
Extracting Pierre took a while,
but finally we entered the sprawling brick building of Martens Brewery, one of
the largest independents in Belgium and still a family concern, founded in
Limburg province in 1758. Flemish
Limburg, one of Belgium’s 10 provinces, is also home to the Trappist brewery
Achel (St. Benedictus Abbey), which lies about 10 miles north of Bocholt in
Hamont-Achel. In fact, Achel’s beer is bottled at St. Jozef’s brewery (owned by
a relative of the Martens family), located five miles south of Bocholt in tiny
Opitter.
Our VIP tour began on the right
foot: with beer. In a roomy front office, the domestic sales manager (who was
too modest to offer his name) poured Christian, Pete, Pierre and me some
Martens Pils, a golden beer, surprisingly full-bodied for a pilsner, with a dry
finish courtesy of Saaz hops. Martens is known primarily for its pils, and they
sell 90% of it outside of Belgium, said the sales manager. Much of their pils
is exported to Germany, a discriminating pilsner market indeed, under the name
Karlsquell Edel Pils, where it is sold in the large Aldi supermarket chain. As
we appreciatively sipped the Martens Pils, the sales manager told us that the
German pils uses a different formula, resulting in a more bitter taste that
pleases the German palate.
Refreshed, we trooped into the clean, modern brew house, where
computers churn away 24/7 and brewing volume can reach 42,000 liters six times
a day. Apart from the pils, Martens also produces table beer and a most
interesting Sezoens Blond and Sezoens Quattro.
Table beer is so low in alcohol that it is drunk in Belgian primary
schools, and true to the style, Martens tafelstout (which I once bought in a
grocery store in Antwerp) is a sweet, malty concoction of about 3% alcohol,
suitable for pouring over ice cream, in my opinion. On the other hand, the
Sezeons Blonde (6%) and Sezoens Quattro (Four Seasons, 8%) pack a more powerful
punch, but more on those when we reach the tasting room later on.
THE GRAND TOUR:
We took the traditional tour,
wandering through the malty-sweet fermenting area and on to the bottling house.
There, the sales manager explained, two bottling lines can produce up to 36,000
bottles or 80,000 cans in one hour. From the galley overlooking the hectic
swirl and clink of bottles, we admired the Italian machinery in action before
heading back outside into the crisp November day. As we cut through the
courtyard to our next attraction (Martens’ impressive brewery museum), we
passed a rumpled old farmer in stained pants carefully positioning his
well-worn pick-up truck under a silo overhanging an archway. A load of spent
grain for his pigs was about to fall into the truck bed, the sales manager
explained, adding that the farmer pays for this feed.
Before we could see the grain-dump in action, we were distracted by shouts of “Pierre!” that boomed through the courtyard. We watched with amusement as a large, white-haired man swooped down on the diminutive Mr. Celis. Amidst handshakes and kisses, this dapper gentleman in sweater vest and tie introduced himself as Jean Martens, uncle of Managing Director Frans Martens. With a swiftness that belied his 80-something years, Jean Martens led us across the way to Martens’ brewery museum, the biggest brewery museum in Europe, he said, and open to the public.
THE MUSEUM:
As we entered the first of four
sprawling floors, Jean explained the museum was once a small farm, which was
partially burned by the Germans, and is now a 5000-square-foot museum
displaying brewing equipment and art from the 1700’s on. Pride swelled Jean’s voice as he led us on a
two-hour tour through time that included ancient filters, faded posters, wooden
tuns 12 feet wide, copper kettles painted with age, compressors, steam engines,
pulley cranes and more. All exhibits are well lighted and lovingly tended,
making the tour a joy for even the non-memorabilia buff.
We lingered by an oversized wooden
keg bearing an especially striking rendition of the Sezoens (“seasons”)
trademark: a man in a white, hooded
jacket shaking hands with a man in short sleeves who sported a blazing, smiling
sun in place of a head. Jean explained
that this graphic represented winter shaking hands with summer; historically,
Sezoens was a beer made in the winter to drink in the summer. (Like many
formerly seasonal beers, it’s available all year long today.) Another
eye-catcher was a bright red, 1700-liter wooden beer barrel mounted on a
horse-drawn dray, which Pete especially liked.
MORE TASTING NOTES:
One could easily spend a day in
the museum, but we finally bade adieu to Jean and headed into another red brick
building that is part of the sprawling arms of the Martens complex. Here, the
hallway was lined with old family portraits, including a picture of Jean’s
grandmother, who once ran the brewery for 20 years. We took a right into a
large tasting room, furnished in dark wood and leather, where an impressive
ceramic tap, fully three feet high and as wide as a hug from my arms, commanded
the oversized bar. To the left was a beautiful stained glass window that
portrayed the Martens family tree from 1758 through 1958.
We were joined by several other
thirsty souls, including Dr. Guy Derdelinckx, brewing professor at the
University of Leuven and collaborator with fellow writer Christian Deglas of The
Classic Beers of Belgium. Derdelinckx is also head of the prestigious P.F.
Martens Chair at the University of Leuven. After waiting while Pierre got
engulfed yet again with hugs, kisses and handshakes, we began our tasting in
earnest.
First, we primed out palates with
more Martens Pils, a 5% alcohol brew that is hoppy, dry and not too bitter. Now
we were in for a treat, said Managing Director Frans Martens. From behind the
bar, he produced a clear glass bottle filled with liquid of a strange orange
hue. Frans explained that this was an experimental, high-alcohol pils,
developed for a potential supermarket client. At 8.6% alcohol, Pete, Christian
and I agreed that the lager tasted more like a liqueur than a beer.
Next was
the Sezoens Quattro, a full-bodied, amber-colored, top-fermented beer of 8%
alcohol with a wicked bite of hops.
Many serve this heavy, filtered beer as an aperitif. Note:
Sezoens from Martens is not to be confused with a Saisons beer,
historically a summer-brewed beer for winter drinking (but now available all
year long) and typically found in the French-speaking Walloon region of
Belgium.
Sezoens
blond followed and was an excellent palate cleanser. We all admired its soft,
dry taste, with just a hint of bitterness on the back of the tongue. At 6%
alcohol, it’s a highly drinkable beer.
While we
sipped, I brought up a rumor I had heard from an expat friend from Brazil, that
the monastic head of Chimay Brewery (Abbey de Scourmont) had run off with a
nun. Everyone got a good laugh from that one, even while denying it.
STAY TUNED:
Pierre took
his leave in a flurry of the kissing/handshaking rituals unique to Belgium,
while Christian, Pete and I stayed behind, sharing beers with various Martens’
employees filtering in from a long day on the job. But before Pierre departed,
we discussed our plan for tomorrow: a guided tour of Pierre’s Grottenbier-aging
caves in Kanne, a 10- mile labyrinth of limestone dating to1736, which has
hosted potatoes and German tanks and now sports underground beer and bars.
Watch this spot for the continuing story of my two happy days on the road with a
most delightful trio.
Martens Brewery, Reppelerweg 1, 3950 Bocholt, Belgium.
www.bocholterbrouwerijmusuem.be
Open by appt. for groups of 10 or more.
Tel: (011-32)89-47.29.80, fax (011-32)89-47.27.00.
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Share your
fondest beer memory with HOT TRUB@BEER BASICS. I would be glad to offer you the
bandwidth to do so.
================
NEW
PRODUCTS:
(All
products provided by breweries.
Tasting
notes are done by the publisher in beer-clean 2 oz.
straight
edged tasting glasses between 0900-1000 in an aroma-neutral environment.)
(NO
TASTING NOTES THIS ISSUE.)
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On February 2, 2002, Stone Brewing Co. will release the first of eleven Stone
Vertical Epic Ales, brewed to condition and improve with age. Each of the
eleven Vertical Epic ales will be released one year, one month and one day
apart. Next year’s edition will be released March 3rd, 2003, followed by April
4th, 2004, all the way to December 12th, 2012.
Each will be brewed in a surprisingly different style from the previous
year, and since it will be bottle conditioned (naturally carbonated in the
bottle) the brew will mature when cellared, providing the beer enthusiast with
something to look forward to on 12/12/12 when the last edition is released.
The first edition is limited to a scant 300 cases of 22
ounce bottles. Stone plans to release a detailed home-brewing recipe and
tasting notes for the beer one month and one day after the 02/02/02 release.
Stone Brewing is located at 155 Mata Way in San Marcos, CA. For more info, go to www.stonebrew.com or call the brewery at (760)471-4999.
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PROMOTIONS - EVENTS - DINNERS
* NEW LISTING
===================================
On Monday, Hops Restaurant, Bar & Brewery, a casual
dining microbrewery concept, announced that it is featuring a new Caribbean
themed menu promotion. The promotion is scheduled to run from January 7th
through March 31st and will be tied to a regional television, print and radio
advertising campaign to promote sales through the first quarter of 2002.
The new feature item
is the Spicy Caribbean Trio, three skewers of Hops signature Walker's Wood
Shrimp, jerk chicken and spicy sirloin steak. This entree is served with
tropical apple-mango salsa and spicy Walker's Wood sauce. The Spicy Caribbean
Trio is available at all 74 Hops locations.
The Spicy Caribbean Trio is featured on Hops new commercials
running on broadcast and cable television throughout the country and radio
advertising in most markets Hops Restaurant Bar & Breweries are located.
In some locations,
Hops has released two new beers available through February: Flying Squirrel Nut
Brown Ale and Lumberjack Oatmeal Stout. Flying Squirrel Nut Brown Ale will be
available in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Mississippi & Louisiana. Lumberjack Oatmeal Stout is available in
Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Missouri &
Virginia.
Hops home office is
located in Tampa, Florida. Hops Restaurant, Bar & Brewery is owned by Avado
Brands, located in Madison, Georgia. There are currently 74 Hops locations
operating in sixteen states. The first Hops opened in Clearwater, Florida in
1989. For more information on Hops contact: www.hopsrestaurants.com .
=====================================================
*18-19 January - The 8th Annual Great Alaska
Beer and Barleywine Festival
at the William A. Egan Convention Center,
downtown Anchorage, Alaska.
A Benefit for the American Diabetes Association.
The event is
being coordinated by Aurora Productions. Call:
907-562-9911
======================================================
22 January
2002 –
AS
REPORTED IN THE BOSTON HERALD: INSIDE TRACK Monday, January 7, 2002
Side Tracks: Monday missives:
· No wine
snobs allowed when Boston Cooks! throws a beer dinner Jan. 22 at (where
else?) Jacob Wirth's. Beer expert and author Peter LaFrance and
Jacob Wirth chef Phyllis Kaplowitz will demonstrate dinners pairing beer
and food. Burp.
For
Full Story: http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/inside_track/track01072002.htm
==============================================================
*The Anthony Spinazzola Foundation Celebrates
Friends of Spinazzola Grand Benefit Dinner and
17th Annual Gala Festival of Food and Wine
WHAT:
The Friends of Spinazzola
Grand Benefit Dinner
An intimate dinner featuring celebrity chefs from New York City. Each
course is complemented with specifically chosen fine and rare wines.
The 17th Annual Anthony Spinazzola Foundation Gala Festival of Food and
Wine
A black tie celebration of food and wine, featuring 120 of Greater Boston’s
best restaurants and 90 winemakers from around the world.
DETAILS:
Grand Benefit Dinner
Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 6:30 PM
Four Seasons Hotel, Boston
$500 per person
Gala Festival of Food and Wine
Friday, February 1, 2002 from 7:30 PM to Midnight
At the World Trade Center, Boston
$175 per person ($125 is tax-deductible)
PARTICIPATING CELEBRITY CHEFS:
Kirk Avondoglio – Perona Farms, New York, NY
Daniel Boulud – Restaurant Daniel, Café Boulud, New York, NY
Terrance Brennan – Picholine, New York, NY
David Burke – Park Avenue Café, New York, NY
Michael Ginor – Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Great Neck, NY
Charlie Palmer – Aureole, New York, NY
Alfred Portale – Gotham Bar & Grill, New York, NY
Marcus Samuelsson – Aquavit, New York, NY
TICKETS: Call: 781-344-4413
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EVENTS:
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2002
JANUARY
Wednesday evenings – (9, 16, 23,
30) – Ommergang Film Festival – Call: 607-547-8184
12 - Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, Vail,
CO. Call: 970-524-1092
Contact: LLLodge@hotmail.com
24-26 -- National Winter Ales Festival, Upper Campfield
Market, Manchester, UK.
Contact: www.camra.org.uk
26 – Ommergang Beer Dinner – Bump Tavern, Cooperstown, NY.
Call: 607-547-1400
31 -- The Friends of Spinazzola Grand Benefit Dinner, Four
Seasons Hotel, Boston, MA.
Call: 781-344-4413
FEBRUARY
1 -- Gala Festival of Food and Wine, from
7:30 PM to Midnight, World Trade Center, Boston, MA. Call: 781-344-4413
2 - Chicago Beer Society Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout, IL.
Call: 847-692-BEER
Contact: http://www.chibeer.org
9 - Bock Fest, August Schell Brewing, New Ulm, MN. Call:
800-770-5020
Contact: www.schellsbrewery.com
9 - Food & Froth 2001 - A Taste of Milwaukee, Milwaukee,
WI. Call: 414-278-2722
9 - 2nd Annual Double IPA Festival, Hayward, CA. Call:
510-886-8525
10 - CT Real Ale Festival, New Haven, CT. Call: 203-729-5445
or 203-495-8924
10 - Beer Can & Breweriana Show, Kenosha WI. Call:
262-551-8706
Contact: http://home.fuse.net/mries/shows.htm
10 –24 - Lucky Baldwin's Belgian Beer Festival, Pasadena,
CA. Call: 626-795-0652
13 – Omergang Beer Dinner – C.I.A., Hyde Park, NY. Call:
607-547-8184
14 – Hennepin Goes To Caves – Howe Caverns, NY. Call:
607-547-8184
15 - Rocky Mountain Microbrewing Symposium, Colorado
Springs, CO. Call: 719-460-0418 Contact: www.brewingscience.com
16 - Valhalla Winter Microbrew Festival, South Lake Tahoe,
CA. Call: 530-542-4166
Contact: www.valhalla-tallac.com
16 - 23 -- Toronado Barley Wine Festival 2002, San
Francisco, CA. Call: 415-863-2276
23 - Third Annual Winter Beer Festival, Seattle WA. Call: 206-860-1920
Contact: www.elysianbrewing.com
23 - Manitowoc Jaycees 5th Annual Beer Lovers Brewfest,
Manitowoc, WI. Call: 920-683-3926
24 –26 - New York Restaurant & Foodservice Show, New
York, NY, 888-334-8705
Contact: www.newyorkrestaurantshow.com
28 -- March 2 -Real Ale Festival, Chicago, IL. Call:
773-665-1300
Contact: www.realalefestival.com
1 – 2 - Harpoon St. Patrick's Day Festival, Boston, MA.
Call: 888-427-7666 ext. 3
Contact: www.harpoonbrewery.com
2 - 28th Annual Chapter Breweriana Show, Toledo OH. Call:
419-472-1691
Contact: http://home.fuse.net/mries/qcc.htm
2 - 4th Annual Main Line Brew Fest, Malvern, PA. Call:
610-296-9800 ext.2222
Contact: www.desmondgv.com
2 - Santa Anita Microbrew Festival, Arcadia, CA. Call:
626-574-RACE
Contact: www.santaanita.com
2 – 5 - BierExpo 2001, Lille, France.
Call: 00-33 3 21122988
Contact: sunexpos@nordnet.fr,
or j.balistaire@package.fr
5 – 8 - PIVEX 2002 International Brewing and Malting Fair,
Brno, Czech Republic.
Call: 312-781-5180
Contact: www.mdna.com
09 - 7th
Annual Kona Brewers Festival, Kailua-Kona, HI. Call: 808-936-2009,
808-331-3408, Contact: www.konabrewing.com
09 - 10th Annual International Beer Fest, Peoria, IL. Call:
309-673-1100
Contact: www.jaycees.com
09 - 12 Hour Belgian Beer Party, Carlsbad, CA.
Contact: brewboy1@aol.com
10 - Milwaukee Beer Festival, Milwaukee, WI.
Contact: www.milwaukeebeerfest.com
13 –16 - 26th Annual Luck O' The Irish Mini-Canvention &
Breweriana Show, Fort Mitchell, KY. Call: 859-371-4415
Contact: http://home.fuse.net/mries/qcc.htm
16 - Schultz and Dooley Spring Breweriana Show, Clifton
Park, NY. Call: 518-895-2550
16 - 6th Annual Fairfax Brewfest, Fairfax, CA. Call:
415-453-5928
Contact: www.fairfaxchamber.org
16 - 3rd Annual Whiskies of the World Expo, San Francisco,
CA. Call: 888-748-2400
Contact: www.celticmalts.com
22 –23 - Beer Advertising and Collectibles Show, Augusta,
GA, www.bccaatlantic.org .
23 - Northeast Wisconsin Beer Festival, Appleton, WI,
800-261-2337, www.homebrewmarket.com
23 –24 - 9th Annual Great Arizona Beer Festival, Phoenix,
AZ. Call: 602-231-0500
Contact: www.azbeer.com
29 – 30 - 12th Annual Easter Seals Micorbrew Springfest,
Eugene, OR
Contact: jsprague@oregonseals.org
30 – Seventh Annual York County Micro-Brew Fest, York, PA.
Call: 717-600-8933
Contact: www.ggpromotions.com
30 - Split Thy Brooklyn Skull (barleywine tasting),
Brooklyn, NY. Call: 215-765-8765
Contact: www.beerphiladelphia.com/events
06 – 6th
Classic City Brew Fest, Athens, GA, 706-254-BREW,
http://www.classiccitybrew.com/
10 – 13 --
National Craft Brewers Conference, Cleveland, OH, 303-447-0816,
12 – 13 --
6th Annual Okanagan Fest-Of-Ale, Penticton, British Columbia, 250-492-4355,
13 - Reggae
on the Mountain Microbrew Tasting Festival, Bear Valley, CA, 209-753-2301,
19
- 21 -- 2002 Spring Beer & Wine Fest, Portland, OR.
27 – 28 --
Tap New York: 4th Annual Hudson Valley Beer & Food Festival at Hunter Mountain,
Hunter, NY
518-263-4223,
04
-- Zymurgist Borealis National Homebrew Day Celebration - Fairbanks,
AK, Scott Stihler - 907- 474-2138. Contact: stihlerunits@mosquitonet.com
26 - 28 --
2002 Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland, OR
7 – 8 --
Tavern Days Celebration, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 800-656-1212
http://www.belgianexperts.com/
26 - Beer
2001, Brussels, Belgium, 32 (0) 2 474 85 38,
http://www.beerexportexhibition.com/
21
- October 6 --2002 Oktoberfest Munich, Munich - Germany
3 – 5 --
Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO, 303-447-0816,
18 – 20 --
MBAA Annual Convention, Austin, TX, 414-774-8558,
8 – 9 --
The 6th Annual Great Northeast Beer & Cider Competition/ 9th Annual Great
Northeast International Beer Fest, Providence, RI.
Contact:
Competition Director: Gregg Glaser, 203-834-0800,
Festivals
of America: Maury Ryan, 401-272-0980,
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