Americans continue to reach for a beer more often than wine or liquor, a new Gallup poll says.
Forty-one percent of U.S. drinkers usually opt for a beer, while 31 percent choose wine and 23 percent pick liquor.
“With an 18 percent growth in volume in 2013, craft beer continues to provide a significant contribution to the American beer industry,” National Beer Wholesalers Association President and CEO Craig Purser said in a news release. “Additionally, the explosion of new, innovative products and the rapid growth of imports are giving consumers more choice in the beer category than ever before.”
The poll shows that beer is rebounding in popularity from its low point in 2005, when only 36 percent favored a brew.
Back then, wine had overtaken beer. Gallup notes that the popularity of beer still is nowhere near as high as it was in the 1990s, when nearly half of Americans preferred it. Gallup offered no theory on why beer is rebounding in its survey.
It should come as no surprise but men were most likely to choose beer (57 percent), while most women opted for wine (46 percent) as their favorite alcoholic beverage.
The poll also showed that 64 percent of U.S. adults drink alcohol. The remainder reported that they totally abstain.
Other interesting facts:
• 67 percent of respondents who drink reported that they had at least one drink within the past week. Twenty-seven percent had a drink within the last 24 hours.
• Drinking spikes on the weekends.
• Americans consume about four drinks a week.
New Hoppin’ Frog beer
Insanely hoppy. That’s how Hoppin’ Frog Brewery describes its latest brewery exclusive beer: Infusion B Double I.P.A. The Akron brewery, 1680 E. Waterloo Road, will release it starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“It’s like dipping a hop into our double IPA, putting the hop in your mouth, and sucking out the beer — it’s insanely hoppy,” owner and brewer Fred Karm said in an email.
“This is a one-off beer, made specifically for our loyal customers,” he said. “It is all the flavors of our super-intense Mean Manalishi Double IPA, that has been brilliantly double-dry-hopped.”
Infusion B — which clocks in at 8.2 percent alcohol by volume — is Mean Manalishi infused with Citra and Cascade hops. It’s part of the new Tower Tuesday Series of small-batch beers available exclusively at the Hoppin’ Frog Tasting Room. The series is an offshoot of the brewery’s popular Tower Tuesdays program, in which beers are run through a giant tower filled with various ingredients that infuse the beer with new flavors.
A 22-ounce bottle is $12.99.
Top Ohio brewery
Speaking of Hoppin’ Frog, the website FlipKey, a division of TripAdvisor, has chosen the best brewery or winery in all 50 states. Hoppin’ Frog was selected as the best in Ohio.
To read the full list, go to: tinyurl.com/kr42emh.
New Fat Head’s beer
Fat Head’s Brewery in Middleburg Heights will release its Hop Stalker Fresh Hop IPA in 16-ounce cans later this year.
The wet-hopped IPA — made with fresh Yakima Valley hops flown in especially for the brew — previously has been available only on draft.
Co-owner and brewer Matt Cole said he expects the beer to be brewed in September and available in four-packs starting in October. It clocks in at 7 percent alcohol by volume and 80 IBUs.
Cole has yet to determine the specific hops that will be used. But they will be the freshest and best available, he said. The hops are harvested, shipped to Fat Head’s immediately and in the brewery kettle within 48 hours.
“You really get a nice juicy hop character,” he said about the freshness.
The Hop Stalker name stems from a trip he made with another Fat Head’s brewer to Washington. Cole travels out West at least twice a year to scout hops. He also has his three main hop growers on speed dial, and has his smartphone set up to keep an eye on the Yakima Valley weather.
In other words, he’s obsessive about his hops.
“We were out in a really late harvest in Yakima one year and we were driving around and chasing around some of the hop trucks to follow them back to the farms,” Cole said. “I looked at him and said, ‘We’re a couple of hop stalkers here.’
“That’s what I do. I go out and stalk the freshest hops we can get. Not all hops are created equal. Not all growers are created equal. Not all fields are created equal.”
Hop Stalker is the second Fat Head’s beer to be released in a can. Earlier this year, Fat Head’s released Trail Head Pale Ale in 12-ounce cans with the help of Buckeye Canning, a mobile canning operation. Buckeye Canning again will work with the Hop Stalker, Cole said.
Collaboration brews
A Berliner Hopfen-Weiss. An English mild ale. A saison. A black India pale lager. And a grisette ale.
Those are the five collaboration beers planned for Cleveland Beer Week, which runs Oct. 10-18.
Organizers announced the brews last week. All the beers are less than 6 percent alcohol by volume.
Each year, Cleveland Beer Week has showcased collaboration beers made by local brewers. This year, five local breweries were teamed up with award-winning breweries from out of state.
The teams and beers are:
• Great Lakes and Oskar Blues: Yadig?, a Berliner Hopfen-Weiss.
• Buckeye and Saugatuck: OH-MI!, an English mild.
• Thirsty Dog and Brooklyn: Brooklyn Dog, a saison.
• Fat Head’s and Devils Backbone: Fat Devil, a black India pale lager.
• The Brew Kettle and Full Pint: Full Kettle Dead Canary, a grisette.
Blues & Brews reminder
Blues & Brews, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, runs from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Lock 3 Park in Akron.
The event will showcase more than 70 breweries and 250 beers, with live music and food available from the Winking Lizard.
General admission tickets are $40. Brewers Circle tickets — which get you into the event at noon — are $60. Both include 25 tasting tickets and a souvenir glass.
For more details or to buy tickets, go to: http://tinyurl.com/l5ss62g.
Best Ohio beer contest
The Fantasy Ohio Beer League is returning for a second year.
If you recall, the Ohio Beercast, a podcast and blog in Cincinnati, launched the friendly competition last year to determine the best beer made in Ohio.
It assembled 32 beers and pitted them against each other in a round robin format, allowing readers to determine which brew moved on. Blank Slate Fork in the Road took home the inaugural trophy.
The Ohio Beercast is now gathering another list of 32 beers and is asking for online nominations, which are due Aug. 15. The head-to-head competition begins Sept. 8.
For more details or to nominate an Ohio-made beer, go to: http://theohiobeercast.us.
Beer on TV
The History Channel has launched a new 12-episode series focusing on Dark Horse Brewing Co. in Marshall, Mich.
Dark Horse Nation premiered Tuesday. Promotional materials say the show “is not only about crafting beer, it’s a way of life.”
TV on beer
Star Trek-themed beer Klingon Warnog made its debut last week in Indiana and Washington.
The beer, made by the Indiana-based Tin Man Brewing Co., is a Danish rye that “captures the warrior essence of the Klingon culture with its bold and unique taste.”
Klingon Warnog is expected to be rolled out for national release.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at www.ohio.com/beer. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.