by Michael Wren
ALBANY, NY – Thursday, March 7 kicked off the second year of the NYS Craft Brewers Conference at the Desmond Hotel in the Empire State’s capital. Brewers and suppliers came together to exchange ideas and conversation about the craft beer market in New York.
(more…)Experts speak on disease defense and pest populations at Grape Expectations Conference
by Richard Skelly
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ – Dr. Peter Oudemans, a Rutgers University plant pathologist who specializes in blueberries and grapes out of Rutgers’ Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research, spoke recently on disease management and new threats vineyard owners may face in 2019. Oudemans spoke at the 21st “Grape Expectations” Conference, held annually in New Jersey the first Saturday in March.
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by Courtney Llewellyn
Chemistry can be so much more than a class in high school in which you have to (try to) memorize the periodic table of elements. It can also be a very useful field of study when it comes to the safety of craft beverages.
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by Richard Skelly
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ – Lucie Morton, a Virginia-based international viticultural consultant, spoke in early March at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service’s “Grape Expectations” annual conference for Garden State wine makers and grape growers. The conference is a massive celebration of New Jersey wines.
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by Sally Colby
Josh Brewer started brewing beer in his mother’s basement in 1995 and hasn’t stopped yet. After spending time at breweries in various locations, he served as the assistant brewer at Moon River in Georgia.
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by Enrico Villamaino
Anyone who didn’t sleep through U.S. history class knows Prohibition was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages. For most of the United States, this ban lasted from the adoption of the 18th Amendment in 1920 to its repeal with the passage of the 21st Amendment in 1933.
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Some call it a strategic centering point – a single, encompassing statement which consolidates everything about an operation. I prefer “gathering point,” as it defines the action that is inclusive to everyone within a business. Gathering denotes a welcoming of people who come together for a specific reason, and isn’t that what many direct marketing operations are established on? Farmers market vendors I’ve spoken with more specifically call it “esprit de corps,” or a common issue which bonds a group of people together.
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by Courtney Llewellyn
Much like Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day seems to only exist for certain people as an excuse to drink – which is a shame, because both holidays have much richer meanings.
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Where are hard cider consumers purchasing your product? In a 2015 Mid-Atlantic survey, more than 50 percent of consumers reported purchasing product at bars, restaurants and tasting rooms. Tasting room assistants, bartenders, pouring experts and waitstaff – those who work directly for you and those who do not – are, in many cases, your sales force. How well do they know your product, how often do they recommend it and are they attuned to your sales goals? Who, behind the scenes, are you depending on to champion your business?
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by Tamara Scully
Kombucha, in certain circles, is the go-to drink for providing health benefits. For thousands of years, kombucha, a fermented tea, has been revered for its healing properties, called “the tea of immortality.” With today’s focus on probiotics and functional foods, kombucha has once again joined the mainstream, found in major grocery stores – not just health food or specialty stores. A minority of kombucha brands fall instead into the category of alcoholic beverage.
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