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Weekly Online Newsletter Vol. 82

Bergseth Bros. is proud of our Craft Beer Brands – so let’s celebrate American Craft Beer Week together with some promotions, tastings, tap invasions, etc.

Below is several ideas for American Craft Beer Week May 15-21, 2017 from our partners at the Brewers Association. If you need any help coordinating events, setting up events or additional event ideas do not hesitate to contact your Bergesth Bros. Sales Representative. You can also contact me directly via this email.

What is American Craft Beer Week?

For the 12th year in a row, the Brewers Association invites you to celebrate American Craft Beer Week®, the nationwide celebration of U.S. small and independent craft brewers. The weeklong tribute provides an opportunity for craft brewers to share their diversity, creativity and passion for the beverage they love.

From May 15 – 21, 2017 all 50 states will be holding events including exclusive brewery tours, special beer releases, beer and food pairings, tap takeovers and more to celebrate America’s ever-advancing beer culture.

Check out “CraftBeer.com’s American Craft Beer Week” by Brewers Association on Vimeo.

Resources & Ideas

Ideas for Retailers

• Organize a craft beer pairing dinner.
• Craft beer pairing using 2017 ACBW materials.
• Celebrate with a craft beer tap takeover night.
• Brewers Night – invite the local brewery to host a tasting!
• Week-long beer bingo – encourage patrons to try everything on tap or in bottles for prizes.
• Brew master Dinner
• Beer history dinner – tell the story of American craft beer.

Off-Premise Recommendations

• Advertise and promote craft beers that week
• Display more craft beer that week
• Set up a distinctive Craft Beer display area for the week – put it in an early – high traffic location
• Put up shelf POS to highlighting Craft Beer Week
• Use a Craft Beer Week border in your ad to highlight the week
• Have a staff person or brewery personnel work with customers – Thursday pm, Friday pm and Saturday afternoon
• Put up beer style, ingredients and brewing POS during the week to encourage consumer awareness and trial

On-Premise

• Craft beer tap takeover/tap invasion
• Craft beer specials for the week
• Flights special of different craft beers
• Vertical style tastings – all lagers, all IPA, etc. during the week
• Wait-staff programs – incentives, education, etc
• Large poster announcing the week and table tents
• Food and craft beer specials all week
• Promotions with brewers or brewery reps
• Promotions about beer, brewing, ingredients and tasting
• Around the country card – try all featured craft beers and get a prize, certificate, t-shirts

Promote Your Event on CraftBeer.com

• Enter your event into the ‘official’ American Craft Beer Week database to stand up and have your celebration included with hundreds of others!
  • https://www.craftbeer.com/news/american-craft-beer-week/add-event
• Be sure to choose the Event Type: American Craft Beer Week.
• Include all the details you can about how , when and where craft beer enthusiasts can participate.
• Photos are welcome or at least upload your business logo with your post.

Special Thanks to CraftBeer.com and the Brewers Association!

 Please check with your Bergseth Bros. Representative on Availability and Pricing (Some products not available in certain markets)

CHEERS!

Online Weekly Newsletter Vol.80

As the weather starts getting warmer outside our palates change with the season too. Instead of desiring the hearty, robust stouts and porters by the fireplace in the dead of winter. We reach for something more refreshing and sessionable. Typically, the summertime beers are wheat based beers with citrusy overtones or crisp, clean easy drinking lagers.

Fargo Brewing Company has a few beers that fit these exact flavor profiles.

Anyone of these beers, would make a great addition to your tap line-up.

Kenny’s Lemonade Radler – We took Fargo Original, our award winning Helles Lager, and infused it with our homemade lemon soda to create this delightfully refreshing summertime beer. Only Available in Draught.

Wind Swept Belgian-Style Witbier – This spiced ale is our take on a Belgian style wheat beer that remains crisp while pouring a cloudy straw color with thick, creamy head. The aroma and flavor remain subtle with sweet orange, coriander, and spicy yeast character, pairing perfectly with wheat malt, while an effervescent body keeps the wit delightfully refreshing for any season! Available in 4/6/12oz Cans.

Original Lager – This traditional un-filtered German style helles lager pours a brilliantly clear light gold color and is capped with a head of white foam. The aroma is lead by clean pilsner malt paired with subtle spicy hop notes and a clean lager yeast character. The flavor is well balanced between the pils malt sweetness, the restrained bittering, and the crisp finish from the extended lagering. This is the perfect beer for when you want something light, crisp, and uncomplicated. Prost! Available in 4/6/12oz can & Draught.

CHEERS!

Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.78

The makers of the top-selling, highly awarded Not Your Father’s Root Beer introduced a new collection of artisanal brews that put a fresh spin on three classic American flavors.

The brand new lineup includes Not Your Mom’s Apple Pie, Not Your Mom’s Strawberry Rhubarb and Not Your Mom’s Iced Tea.

The idea for Not Your Mom’s was driven by consumer demand for fruit and tea flavors, which currently place within the top three most popular flavors across the beverage industry, two of which are crafted in an on-trend dessert style.

Not Your Mom’s Apple Pie boasts crisp apple and light cinnamon; Strawberry Rhubarb is the perfect balance of sweet and tart; and Not Your Mom’s Iced Tea, made with real brewed tea, serves up the comfort of home with a delicious twist.

“As the category leader, we are always looking to innovate to meet our consumers’ evolving needs,” said Gleb Lifshits, CEO, Small Town Brewery. “With their immersive flavors and homemade appeal, Not Your Mom’s fruit- and dessert-inspired brews represent the next generation in flavored craft,” he added. “We look forward to consumer response on this unique brand extension; the pre-launch excitement on our social channels has been phenomenal.”

Not Your Mom’s Apple Pie (5.9% ABV), Strawberry Rhubarb (5.5% ABV) and Iced Tea (5.2% ABV) are perfect straight from the chilled bottle, or serve Not Your Mom’s Apple Pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a decadent twist on Apple Pie a la Mode. The possibilities are limited only by one’s imagination.

**Click on the Play Button Below to Watch the Video**

CHEERS!

Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.76

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, in fact, its Friday.  I’m sure everyone is well aware of this being in the alcohol industry. St. Patrick’s Day is a great boost in sales for both on and off premise.  One of my favorite articles is perfect for this week written by Heather Galanty from Craftbeer.com “Forget Green Beer – 2 Styles with actual Irish Roots”.

Everyone, likes to joke about green beer but the truth of the matter is during St. Patrick’s Day we sell a large quantity to accounts and the public is asking for it. If you took a look around our warehouse you’d know who is injecting the green dye into the kegs – their green hands and arms are a dead giveaway. I’ve also included a video on St. Patrick’s Day Beer & Cheese Paring.

If you don’t like dealing with green food dye or having green kegs in house, ask your Bergseth Bros. sales representative about our cold activated plastic glassware. The glasses are sensitive to the change in temperature; the clear glasses turn  green from the coldness of the beer. We only have a limited amount of these plastic glasses so if you’re interested, let your rep know today.

I come from a background with the belief of drink what you enjoy, whether that’s green beer or an authentic Irish style of beer. Either way Bergseth Bros. has you covered – Bergseth Bros. is your Irish Beer Headquarters with iconic brands such as Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s, Murphy’s, and Kilkenny. Bergseth Bros. also carries Guinness Nitro IPA, Guinness Blonde, Finnegans, Killians Red and of course GREEN Beer.

Forget Green Beer—2 Beer Styles with Actual Irish Roots

By Heather Galanty

There are two main beer styles that we typically think of in connection with the Emerald Isle: dry stout and red ale. Stouts are an offshoot of the porter family, and originally the word “stout” was used to refer to a stronger version of a porter.

The most famous Irish-style dry stout, of course, is Guinness, which serves as the template for most modern stouts, but Arthur Guinness actually began by brewing ales and porters. It wasn’t until 1819, with the introduction of Daniel Wheeler’s black “patent” malt, that stouts began to be brewed. The words “dry” or “Irish” are often tacked on to “stout” in order to differentiate it from English and American sweet or milk stouts, which usually contain oatmeal or lactose.

There is a bit of contention surrounding the Irish-Style Red Ale, with some debate as to its historical past and true characteristics. We are told that the Celtic ales brewed in Ireland in the Middle Ages had a recognizably red tinge, although the modern version of what we consider the “Irish-style red ale” is most likely very different from the style of this early account.

Traditionally, Irish red ales focus on strong malt flavors with slight nuttiness and light hoppiness. This style seems to have originated with the birth of Smithwick Brewery in 1710 in Kilkenny, Ireland. Today, red ales enjoy more popularity in the U.S. than Ireland, and despite the style’s unclear origins and somewhat contentious history, I think we can agree that it’s a darn good beer.

This Saint Patrick’s Day, deviate from the stereotypical green beer and try a craft-brewed dry stout or red ale.

Irish-Style Dry Stout

Irish-style dry stouts are black in color, typically with an SRM of 35-40. Their character is mostly defined by coffee-like roasted barley and a roasted malt aroma. Despite the focus on malt, hop bitterness is typically medium to medium high. Dry stouts are often served from nitrogen taps, which create a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

• Guinness Irish Stout Draught
• Guinness Extra Stout
• Murphy’s Irish Stout

Irish Red Ales

Irish Red Ales are usually well balanced and are brewed with a moderate amount of kilned malts and roasted barley to give them their reddish hue. This style may contain adjuncts such as corn, rice and sugar, which help dry out the finish and lessen the body. Low roasted notes can be present thanks to the use of roasted barley in the grain bill. With notes of caramel and toffee, this style can be reminiscent of lightly toasted and buttered bread.

• Smithwick’s
• Kilkenny
• Killian’s Irish Red

CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW to WATCH:

St. Patrick’s Day Beer and Cheese Pairings

POSTED 9:58 AM, MARCH 4, 2016, BY CHRISTIANNE KLEIN AND MAE FESAI

CHEERS!

Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.74

What a great weekend for sports! NCAA hockey is getting real interesting, with the Fighting Hawk fans barely holding on. If you like seeing cars crash, the Daytona 500 was your cup of tea. NCAA basketball teams are moving up or down in the rankings as they prepare for March Madness.

One thing for sure, this is a sign that spring is just around the corner. We even had spring weather, and then Mother Nature had its own plans for us with a dropping of snow. As the seasons change so does the flavor profiles of beers offered by many of the breweries that we carry. I wanted to showcase two of those beers today; Odell Runoff Red IPA AVAILABLE NOW and Samuel Adams Fresh as Helles COMING SOON.

NOW AVAILABLE – Odell Runoff Red India Pale Ale

COMING SOON – Samuel Adams Fresh as Helles, Helles Lager w/Orange Blossom

PRESS PLAY BELOW – To Watch Jim Koch taste Fresh as Helles Lager w/Orange Blossom

Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)

CHEERS!