The Beer Association has mixed news; first, overall sales of beer are down in America some 1.3% beer in a mugin the first 6 months of 2009. But the news isn't all bad. The craft brewing industry grew 5% by volume during the first half of 2009, and 9% in terms of dollars. In the same time period, imported beer sales dropped 9.5%. But the really good news is that the United States Brewery count at 1, 525 breweries as of July 31, 2009, is the highest it's been in 100 years. That count includes:

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Abita Beer is pretty much synonymous with New Orleans, but even if I didn't have all sorts of positive associations with Abita and New Orleans, I'd still be happy to drink Abita brews. The Abita Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Abita Springs, Louisiana, about 30 miles north of New Orleans. They've been brewing beer since 1986. One of the reasons for the location of the brewery, and for the quality of their beer, is that the brewery uses artesian well water fed by the Abita springs. They make a variety of beers, some of which you ought to be able to find locally in bottle if not on tap. I note that the best place to find Abita on tap outside of Louisiana are restaurants that offer Cajun or Creole cuisine.

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California's Pyramid Brewery has just released their new Fall seasonal; Juggernaut Red Ale. It's a copper red American Red Ale. Juggernaut is made with 2 Row, Carared, C-120, Crafa II, and Roasted Barley (hence the lovely red). This is one of those beers that's even better in a glass; it really does make a difference. The hops used include Simcoe and Cascade hops. The first impression is of caramel, but there's a strong, robust hoppy finish. This is definitely a fall ale; one that can stand up to hearty stews and roasts.

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There's a story behind Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis Hefeweizen beer. It's one of two new all-year beers introduced by Chico, California Sierra Nevada Brewery in March of this year. The story begins with the brewery sierra nevada hefeweizen labelobtaining a rather special Bavarian yeast strain, not otherwise available in the U.S. The yeast inspired them with a desire to make a traditional Hefeweizen, but to make a Hefe that stood out as a special beer. Sierra Nevada experimented for several years making small batches of beer with the yeast, but weren't creating something that impressed them. They decided to go on a pub crawl research trip to the heart of Hefeweizen country, Bavaria.

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Widmer Brothers' Hefeweisen was the first large scale, commercially produced Hefeweisen I tried. It was on tap, in a restaurant in California, though the Widmer Brothers brewery is in Oregon. widmer hefe I like it. I liked it quite a bit, both with and without the wedge of lemon, though I confess to liking it better with lemon. It's a light amber gold, and clearly a Hefe. As is the tradition with Hefeweizen, it's unfiltered, and made with both wheat and malted barley—the malts are Pale, Munich, Wheat, and Caramel 40L. The hops used are Willamette and Cascade, for the aroma, and Alchemy for bittering. This is an emininently drinkable beer; I confess to drinking large quantities at that same restaurant with a variety of food, but especially, with pizza.

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Hefeweizen, ancesterally speaking, is a German variety of beer. The word means "yeast" and wheat, in the plural. Associated very closely with Southern Germany, Hefeweizen is beer that's brewed using wheat in addition to the more usual malted barley and hops. There are many varieties of hefeweizen but most fall into one or the other of two basic types. Those from Germany are often sold as Weißbiere or "white beer," named for their lighter color, a color that's derived from the fact that in German tradition, Weißbiere is at least 50% wheat, in addition to the traditional malted barley. The other main tradition is Belgian witbier, which also translates as "white beer." Belgian witbier in addition to using wheat adds subtle fruit and herb flavorings, for instance coriander, citrus oils, or orange peel. Hefweizen in Germany is usually an unfiltered wheat beer; the same beer once it is filtered is termed Kristallweizen.

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Michelob, one of the American Macro brews, is actually made by and owned by Anheuser-Busch. I've written about being unable to find anything besides Michelob Ultra locally, though Michelob (or Anheuser-Busch) still makes the brew that started it all in 1896, now known as Original Lager—which is the beer I was initially trying to find. Michelob, who has now adopted the slogan "Crafting a better beer," seems to have been quite seriously attempting to woo the "micro" and "craft" beer markets since at least 1991, when they introduced Michelob Golden Draft," mostly as a regional beer in the Midwest, where, I'm told, Michelob Genuine Draft was doing better than other Anheuser-Busch brews, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Then, in 1997, Michelob released:

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Hale's Ales is in Seattle, Washington. Technically, the brewery is north of Downtown, between Fremont and Ballard. Hale's Troll porterAles have been around quite a while; I'm not sure how I've missed hearing about them, or seeing their beer in six packs, but I have. This year they're celebrating their 25th anniversary. The other night at a local Seattle eatery, Hale's Ales Troll Porter was on on tap as a special; I tried it, intrigued by the name, since it immediately evoked images of the Fremont Troll, a beloved area landmark.

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Deschutes Brewery began as a small craft brewer in Bend, Oregon in 1988. They now have two brew pubs as well, the original one in downtown Bend, Oregon, and a a newer one that opened this past May in Portland's Pearl district, where they offer several exclusive just-for-Portland brews on tap in addition to their full suite of seasonal and year round brews. Black Butte was one of their first two offerings, and it remains one of their most popular. I first heard about Black Butte (named after the very visible outcropping over Oregon's Metolius River) from a friend who was occasionally able to snag a six-pack in Alaska. He's not alone in waxing enthusiastic about Black Butte Porter; it's earned more than a few awards, including several Golds.

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According to Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail's brewmaster, "Session Black is short, dark ansession blackd totally drinkable." It's a dark, and I do mean dark, companion to the gold-medal winning Full Sail Session lager. At 5.4 ABV, Session Black has a slightly ABV than some session beer experts see as typical of session beers, but for my money, it's an extremely drinkable session beer. While it is dark—rich with malt, and chocolate overtones, with an amazing odor—Session Black is not even a little bit "chewy." This very much isn't a meal in a glass, but it really is full of flavor. The finish is a little different than I'm used to in dark beers; it's got a definite impression of hops at the end.

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