🏆 Cheers to the Great American Beer Festival’s winners 🍻

PLUS: The rise and fall of Anchor Brewing

🍻🍷🍸 Welcome to Bottle & Barrel! Dive in as we uncork this week’s top beverage tales and tips! 🥂🥤🥃

In this week’s edition:

  • 🏆 Cheers to the 2023 Great American Beer Festival winners

  • 🍺 An update on Anchor Brewing closing after 127 years

  • 🍹 Reviving the Brown Derby Cocktail with a new twist

  • 🇩🇪 Oktoberfest essentials: what you need to know

  • 🌸 Get spritzy with this Rosé Margarita recipe

  • 👀 3 of our top craft beverages for the week

🍷 Links and Drinks

The Great American Beer Festival has once again spotlighted the crème de la crème of the brewing world, awarding 303 medals to the most outstanding commercial breweries in the U.S.

This prestigious event, conducted by the Brewers Association, is the largest professional beer competition in the nation and a revered emblem of brewing mastery.

With 99 beer categories, over 9,000 commercial beer entries, and an exceptional showcase of brewing talent—this year's Great American Beer Festival was a true celebration of American craft beer.

Curious about which breweries stole the show and which brews were crowned the best in the nation? Check out the full list of this year’s winners here to see who came out on top! 🏆

In case you missed it, San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing, the oldest craft brewing company in the nation, officially closed in late July after surviving 127 years, earthquakes, the Great Depression, Prohibition, and two world wars.

With the impacts of the pandemic, inflation, and a highly competitive market, they were left “with no option but to make this sad decision to cease operations.”

The renowned brewery, owned by Sapporo Breweries, turned over all assets to a liquidator, causing a stir among employees who expressed interest in purchasing the company and its cherished legacy.

Several Anchor employees were interested in buying the company to keep it running, but claim that Sapporo won't share financial records for them to make an offer.

Sapporo says the employee bid came too late after a liquidation deal was already made, but workers can still bid on assets through the liquidator.

Now, employees have legal representation and funding sources, and aim to keep Anchor's legacy alive, with support from loyal customers.

Four local breweries near Anchor Brewing have pledged their support, and will help the union’s mission to buy it back.

For now, it’s the end of an era, and you can no longer buy their beer. But supporters are hopeful that the legacy of Anchor Brewing will be revived by passionate stakeholders.

If you’d like to support the Anchor union and their mission to buy Anchor Brewing back, you can check out their GoFundMe page here.

This week, an old classic – the Brown Derby – gets a refreshing update, unlocking its full flavor potential! 🍹

A fusion of sweet, sour, and velvety smooth, this classic hits new heights with this reimagined twist.

With Oktoberfest taking place through October 3rd, we couldn’t leave it out of this week’s Bottle & Barrel edition!

This video, “Oktoberfest: Answering Your Burning Questions”, is your go-to guide for all things Oktoberfest!

From the history to the customs, it covers everything you need to know to enjoy the festivities to the fullest, or just to learn more about it.

🍹 Cocktail of the Week

This week, we're shaking things up with a splendid concoction that’s a cross between zest and fizz.

Three cheers for today’s cocktail of the week: the Rosé Margarita! 🌸

It's a glamorous infusion, bringing the lively zest of a classic margarita together with the effervescent charm of sparkling rosé.

It’s like sipping on sunshine with a sparkly twist! 🌞✨

Here’s everything you need to know:

Ingredients for the Rosé Margarita:

  • 1 ounce tequila

  • 1 ounce lime juice

  • 1 ounce simple syrup

  • 2-3 ounces of sparkling rosé

How to make it:

  1. In a shaker with ice, combine tequila, lime juice and simple syrup

  2. Shake for 30 seconds until chilled.

  3. Strain into a glass over fresh ice.

  4. Top with 2 to 3 ounces of sparkling rosé.

  5. Serve and enjoy!

This might be the most sparkly drink out there. Bottoms up! 🍹✨

🍻 Craft Cravings

Let’s dig into this week’s Craft Cravings, with three of our favorite craft beverages right now!

Hunger Action Month Highlight: Simple Spirits is fighting hunger one drink at a time 🍸= 🍽️

Did you know that 1 out of 9 people in America go hungry every day? Since Simple launched, they’ve helped provide more than 1,000,000 meals to those in need through local and national hunger relief organizations. 🥘❤️

Every 750ml bottle of Platinum Award Winning Simple Vodka is made of 9.5lbs of Idaho Russet Potatoes and fresh water piped in directly from the Snake River aquifer.

That’s it – no added sugar, flavors, preservatives, or other funny stuff. Just potatoes and water, how the vodka gods intended. 🥔💧

Most importantly, for every drink of Simple Vodka poured, a meal is donated to local food banks. 1 drink = 1 meal, it's that simple. 😊

Grey Sail Brewing's Autumn Winds is a malt-forward lager that truly captures the spirit of Oktoberfest, combining rich, toasty flavors with a balanced sweetness and satisfying finish, showcased through a brilliant garnet red color and dense, creamy head.

Featuring premium German malt and noble hops, it brings forth a symphony of bready, nutty, and biscuit-like aromas, complemented by hints of caramel.

Available in 12-ounce cans or on draft, enjoy this full-bodied, seasonal delight from September to November. 🍁🍺

The beer that started it all! Patina is Austin Street Brewery's flagship, hop-forward pale ale that has a bit of a reputation in New England!

Patina provides the perfect harmony of punchy American hops and balanced bitterness, which keeps this 5.3% ABV pale ale light and crushable.

Austin Street Brewery just launched its online beer store and is offering 10% off when you order six or more 4-packs. Click below, build your dream order, and we'll take care of the rest!

For sponsorship and paid media inquiries, email: [email protected] 👋

Stay Boozy-

-Your friends at NIPYATA!

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