Honey, I Shrunk the Piney River Cans

Today was a cloudy, rainy day on the Piney River Farm; not too different from the cloudy, rainy night in 2011 when Piney River first canned craft beer in the Ozarks. Today’s first–12 ounce Piney River cans.

Those of us that have been canning beer on the Farm are still trying to adjust to these smaller cans in our hands, but we’re doing what many of our consumers and our distributors have asked us to do by putting our beer in a smaller can.

Waaay back in 2011 when Piney River was the first microbrewery in the state to can beer at their brewery, we were following suit with the 16-ounce pint can like our craft beer brothers and sisters in the Midwest—Tallgrass, Surly, Sun King. We’re in the Show Me state, why not show our customer a true pint? Plus, it was perfect—the Piney Pint.

Back then, there wasn’t much canned craft beer on the shelves in 2011 and 2012 or even 2013, but now canned beer is growing by leaps and bounds, and breweries that were once only bottling their beer are now canning it, too. Twelve-ounce cans are easier to source, plus, if you were a brewery already packing 12-ounce beers, it only makes sense to continue that in a can form. And now, it’s easier to find 12-ounce cans on the shelf here in the Ozarks than it is possible to find 16-ounce cans on the shelf.

I even had a conversation with a fellow brewer that packaged beer in 16-ounce cans and started packaging certain beers in 12-ounce cans for grocery stores. He thinks that it will ultimately lead to the demise of his 16-ounce canned beers.

Our distributors were also asking for 12-ounce cans from Piney River. For those distributors that sold 12-ounce/6-packs and 16-ounce/4-packs, they felt like they could sell more cases of 6-packs than 4-packs. Truly, a case of 6-packs equals four purchases to be empty the case, and a case of 4-packs require six purchases to empty the case. Plus, we’re hearing about this issue that the consumer can’t generally do the math that even though a 4-pack usually costs less than a 6-pack, all the consumer sees is 6 beers versus 4 beers.

And while we love floating down the Big Piney with pint of Piney in our koozie, we have heard from some of you that your 16-ounce beer gets warm before you finish it. Can we suggest here that you drink just a wee bit faster, perhaps? Just an idea….But never fear, your warm beer concerns have also been heard!

So, raise those Piney pints high in the air (or save them for your beer collection); either way, they are going away.

Today, we canned Piney River’s Black Walnut Wheat in 12-ounce cans, and that will be followed up by 12-ounce versions of all of our core beers in the coming weeks. Depending upon your distribution market and the stock of 16-ounce beers your distributor has in place, you will see 12-ounce 6-packs of Piney River beer in your favorite drink-buying place very soon or shortly down the road.

In the upcoming months, you will also see us release “Raise a Ruckus” (an Imperial Stout) and 2017 Mule Team Imperial IPA in 12-ounce 4-packs. We thought 10% ABV might be a little more easy drinking in the smaller sized can, and we can keep it at a good price point, too.

Four brands will remain in 16-ounce cans until we run out of the blank pounders. Masked Bandit IPA and Old Tom Porter are two brands you already know well. Two new Piney River offerings in 16-ounce 4-packs will be River Access Ozarks Lager and Aux Arcs Dry-Hopped Saison.

Same delicious Piney River beer. Same commitment to quality. Same love of what we do…just in a smaller package and lots more of them.

Cheers!

Chchchchanges Coming in 2017

We are so excited to bring you the Piney River Brewing Company 2017 release calendar!

Twelve ounce cans are headed your way! There will be more information about that later, and actual 12 oz cans sooner rather than later, too. Stay tuned for that!

We are releasing–in limited quantities–new canned beers throughout the year. They are Raise a Ruckus Imperial Stout, River Access Ozarks Lager and Aux Arcs Saison. 

And that foeder, those barrels, the original BARn is officially where we’ve got the funk going on.  The first of our Farm Raised Funk was Lizzie Twister, the first funkified beer from the BARn.  We plan to release even more Farm Raised Funk in 2017.

Thank you so much for raising a pint with us in 2016.  None of this would be possible without your incredible support. Let’s raise a few more together in the upcoming year!

Cheers!

Party Like It’s Been Five (?!) Years on the Farm

Piney River Brewing Company is celebrating their fifth anniversary on Sat., Mar. 19^th at the brewery in Bucyrus.

The “5th Aleiversary” party will be held at the BARn—the brewery and tap room located off Junction ZZ—from 12 to 7 p.m.

“Once again, we are looking forward to enjoying a beautiful spring day in the Ozarks at our upcoming Aleiversary,” Joleen Durham, co-founder and owner, said.

Durham described the Aleiversary as “the biggest event in Bucyrus”. Last year’s event brought in almost 1,000 people from across the region to the Piney River Farm.

“The event is family-friendly, and there is no charge for admission,” Durham said. “Many Piney River fans look forward to this day at the BARn all year long.”

The Piney River tap room will pour several beers that are available year round in the tap room including Float Trip Ale, Black Walnut Wheat, McKinney Eddy Amber Ale, Bronzeback Pale Ale, Old Tom Porter, Missouri Mule India Pale Ale and Masked Bandit IPA.

Crankbait Cream Ale, the brewery’s spring seasonal will also be available. Paw Paw French Saison will be poured again for the day, and some yet-to-be-named beers may also be available.

“Our most anticipated limited release beer to be available at the Aleiversary will be our Mule Team India Pale Ale,” Brian Durham, co-founder and head brewer, said.

Mule Team IPA is an imperial India pale ale that was first brewed for Piney River’s 2014 anniversary event.

“This year’s Mule Team IPA has strong hop flavor and aroma,” Brian Durham said, explaining that the 2016 imperial IPA will be 10 percent alcohol by volume.

“All of the brewing staff is very excited about releasing this year’s version of Mule Team IPA at the Aleiversary,” Brian Durham said.

Mule Team IPA takes almost a month to complete from brewing to packaging. The “5th Aleiversary Limited Release” Mule Team label thanks the team—“dedicated employees, partnerships with distributors, support of friends, neighbors and craft beer lovers”—that has helped the brewery achieve success over the past five years.

Mule Team IPA and the other beers will be available all weekend long, beginning on Friday afternoon when the tap room opens and going through Sunday evening, if they do not run out.

“Saturday’s party can be a little too busy for some people, so we will plan to have enough Mule Team IPA available to last all weekend long,” Joleen Durham said. “You will be able to enjoy a pint in the tap room or purchase a four-pack to take home.”

Durham noted that because Mule Team IPA is only released once a year, many people purchase multiple four-packs to ration it out throughout the year.

“Mule Team IPA is a beer that can be enjoyed a few months down the road if it is cellared properly,” she said.

In addition to the handcrafted ales, the Aleiversary will feature two bands providing live music—Casey Lynne and the Dealbreakers and Deep Fried Squirrel, both from Springfield. Both bands feature multi-talented instrumentalists and singers that perform Americana, folk and rock covers and original songs.

Two food trucks will be available on the 19^th. Mike and Julie’s Smoked Meats of Huggins will provide unique handmade foods such as Irish nachos and smoked meat sliders. Twisted Mikes Food Truck of Springfield will provide a tasty twist on traditional sandwiches, tacos and fries.

Piney River Brewing is located on Durham’s 80-acre farm, operating out of a restored 70-year old barn. Durham founded the brewery with his wife, Joleen, in 2010 with a 10-gallon brewing system.

In 2015, Piney River Brewing produced over 2,200 barrels of beer. A $1.2 million expansion was completed on the farm, allowing the brewery to increase production with a new brewhouse, canning line and cold storage.

The brewery has distribution throughout most of Missouri and Arkansas.

Getting Ready for GABF 2014

Our first Piney River toast with our Gold medal winning Old Tom Porter.

You may have heard that at the Great American Beer Festival in 2013, Piney River took home a gold medal. Yep, we’re still kind of in shock about that win. But after our Gold Award experience at the World Beer Cup in April, it’s safe to say that we are really excited about entering in the 2014 GABF Competition. The chances are much greater that we will come away empty handed than with any awards, but our level of excitement for the competition is much higher in 2014 than it was when we shipped off a slew of Piney Pints in 2013.

So, if you happen to be in Denver the first week of October, come see us! We are thrilled to have the opportunity to represent craft beer made in the Ozarks again, and since many people have been asking, here’s the Piney River line up:

Float Trip Ale, 4.5% ABV, 18 IBUs  The 2014 World Beer Cup Gold Award for American-Style Wheat Beer, Float Trip Ale is a wheat-based blonde ale featuring subdued fruitiness a light hop bitterness and a crisp, smooth finish.

Black Walnut Wheat, 4.5% ABV, 18 IBUs  Black Walnut Wheat is an American style wheat beer with a black walnut aroma and a crisp, black walnut finish.

Sweet Potato Ale, 6% ABV, 24 IBUs  Sweet Potato Ale is our fall seasonal.  It is a malt forward blonde ale featuring the flavors of roasted sweet potatoes, spices and vanilla with a balanced hop profile, a subtle vanilla and spice aroma and a smooth finish.

Last year on Friday night we had to stop serving Sweet Potato Ale because we were into our second keg, and we were asked not to run out.  On Saturday the Sweet Potato Ale ran out in the first session.  We thought we should bring back this crowd pleaser for another go round, since beers made with sweet potatoes aren’t easy to find in the GABF hall.

Old Tom Porter, 5% ABV, 25 IBUs  The 2013 GABF Gold Medalist in the Brown Porter Category, Old Tom Porter is full of roasted malts featuring chocolate and coffee flavors with a balanced hop profile for a smooth finish.

Masked Bandit India Pale Ale, 7.5% ABV, 70 IBUs  Masked Bandit IPA features full-flavored dark malts and spicy rye combined with citra, centennial and amarillo hops to create a rich, full-bodied and complex India pale ale.

This year we have the awesome opportunity to share our Old Tom Porter at Friday’s GABF Media Lunch.  Old Tom will be paired with one of the courses at the lunch, and we’ll have a chance to share a little bit of our story with those present.  How cool is that?!

Let’s just say, the Piney River crew will work our way through the next few weeks, and we’ll be hopping on a plane bound for Denver.  We’re so excited about yet another trip to Denver.  We’re excited about pouring our beer for over 40,000 craft beer lovers. We’re excited about being with “our people” for four days.  We’re excited about the possibilities at GABF 2014!

 

American Craft Beer Week–Piney River Style

Since 2012 we have celebrated American Craft Beer Week with events throughout our distribution area.  American Craft Beer Week is the official week that craft beer is celebrated across our nation, and we love taking part in this nationwide celebration.

This year is no different for us.  Tuesday night we will be at Flying Saucer in Little Rock with one of the extremely limited kegs of Mule Team, our 3rd Aleiversary Imperial IPA, to share at their #ACBW event.  On Thursday night, we will be at Mama Jean’s Market in Springfield (the Sunshine location) at a special craft beer tasting event.  To celebrate #ACBW, Mama Jean’s is putting many of their craft beers on sale, too!

Friday and Saturday are our own brainchild for American Craft Beer Week.  For us, American Craft Beer Week is about celebrating craft beer that’s brewed in the Ozarks, craft beer that celebrates the Ozarks, and craft beer that’s meant to be consumed in the Ozarks…preferably while enjoying our great outdoors.

American Craft Beer Week–Piney River Style begins Friday night at Dawt Mill in Tecumseh, MO.  Join us and some of the Piney River crew for a tap takeover.  Old favorites will be available as well as some never before served beers, including at least one special tapping of a cask of a Piney River beer–a Piney Pin.  Hobby Farm, our honey basil ale, will make it’s 2014 seasonal debut on Friday night, too.

Dawt Mill is known for their talented chefs, and Chef Ryan Van Winkle is hosting a special “Chef’s Table” dinner in his private kitchen.  This Chef’s Table event will feature foods that are paired with Piney River beer, and a member of the Piney River crew will be there to talk with you about our beer and our brewery, too.

The view from the Gravel Bar at Dawt Mill.

On Saturday, you can join Brian, Andy and I on an official Piney River float trip on the North Fork of the White River.  We are leaving Dawt at 10 a.m. and plan to put in at Blair Bridge and meander our way back to the gravel bar while sipping on our very own Float Trip Ale.  Althea  Spring, rainbow trout, cold, clear Ozark water, limestone bluffs and gravel bars make a complete American Craft Beer Week experience when you’re in Piney River Brewing country!

Concert HERE on Saturday night!

Saturday’s fun will be topped off by an 8 p.m. concert at the Gravel Bar with a band we love so much–The Hamburger Cows.  Steve Ames, Jeff Sowards & Bo Brown from Springfield will bring original tunes and covers of classic tunes  creekside on the North Fork of the White.  We expect that general merriment and more Piney pint consumption will ensue.

ALL of these events are open to the public, and we hope to see you in Little Rock, Springfield or at Dawt Mill!

If you are interested in part of the events at Dawt Mill, but cannot attend the entire weekend, please feel free to join us for part of the weekend.  The tap takeover on Friday night and the concert on Saturday night are open to everyone, reservations are not required.  The Chef’s Table event is open to the public, too, but reservations are required.  The dinner spaces are filling quickly.  You can bring your own canoe, kayak or tube to Dawt and put in with us on Saturday morning, or join us somewhere along the way and end the afternoon with a Piney Pint at the Gravel Bar after you take out.

I should also add that this is a family-friendly event!  We love that we are celebrating craft beer, and we can include our son, Andy, in this weekend.  He would be very sad if we did not include him in our stay at Dawt and our float trip!

Lodging is available for one or both nights.  Dawt Mill has rooms and cabins available as well as campsites.  Registered guests for the weekend package receive special Piney River swag, Piney Pints, discounts on Piney Pints.  For additional information or to make a reservation for the Chef’s Table or for lodging at Dawt, contact them at 1-888-884-3298  or  417-284-3540 or dawtmill@dawtmill.com.

Just like the saying on the BARn bar–“Don’t forget to have a good time”–wherever you see Piney River during American Craft Beer Week, we promise you will have a good time!

I’ll close with this photo–Piney River’s official “American Craft Beer Week Selfie”.  The Brewer’s Association asked all of us to take selfie featuring someone from the brewery wearing something with a brewery logo, with a bottle or can of our brew in a location that represented the area we brew in.  So, in early March, we were driving down to Gaston’s to do an event with the Brew Belles, and we drove past Hodgson Mill, which is VERY well known in our neck of the woods.  We stopped to look at the water, and Brian said, “We could do our selfie here.”  Perfect idea!  Brian grabbed one of the canned beers we brought along for the tasting…little did we know it was a future World Beer Cup Gold winner.  Couldn’t be a more perfect way to say, “Cheers!” to American Craft Beer Week 2014!

 

Piney River Brewing Wins Gold at the World Beer Cup®

Piney River Brewing Company in Bucyrus, MO claimed a gold award in the 2014 World Beer Cup, a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding brewers and their beers.

Gold, silver and bronze awards in the competition’s 94 beer style categories were presented April 11, 2014 during the World Beer Cup award ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Denver, Colorado.

Piney River Brewing was awarded a gold award in the American-style wheat beer style category for its Float Trip Ale, a wheat-based blonde ale featuring pale wheat and malted barley with balanced, light hop bitterness and a smooth finish.

“We are truly honored to receive this gold award which recognizes our little brewery for brewing the best American-style wheat beer in the world,” Brian Durham, co-founder and head brewer at Piney River Brewing Company, said.

Float Trip Ale has been brewed since the brewery opened its doors in March 2011. In May 2013 the brewery began packaging the beer for distribution in kegs and 16-ounce pint cans. The beer highlights the Ozark experience of “floating” in a canoe, kayak, raft or tube on a Missouri stream.

“Around the world, people of all ages enjoy activities on streams, rivers and lakes, but in the Ozarks we are known for using the term ‘float trip’, which describes what many men, women and children do every year in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways,” Durham said, explaining that the brewery seeks to highlight the Ozarks with its beer.

Durham noted that when he and Joleen, his wife and brewery co-founder, decided to start a craft brewery in the Ozarks, they planned to package their beer in outdoor and river friendly aluminum cans.

“It was only natural that we highlight the quintessential Ozark experience—a float trip—with one of our beers,” Durham said. “Joleen and I love floating, and we developed this beer as something that could be enjoyed all day long while floating or doing anything fun in the Ozarks.”

Piney River Brewing is located on the Durham’s 80-acre farm, operating out of a 70-year old barn. The brewery was founded in 2010 with a 10-gallon brewing system. Today the brewery has a seven-barrel brewhouse which turned out 1,100 barrels of beer in 2013. In addition to draft beer, the brewery cans all of their beer in 16-ounce aluminum cans. The brewery has distribution in Central and Southern Missouri and Arkansas.

Last October, Piney River Brewing received a gold medal for their Old Tom Porter, a brown porter style beer, at the Great American Beer Festival—a national competition.

“We are thrilled to again shine the spotlight on our brewery and the beer that we’re brewing right here in the Ozarks,” Durham said. “To receive the top award for one of our beer styles at national and international competitions within less than one year’s time is a huge recognition for us.”

The Float Trip Ale was brewed by Lucas Clem and Amber Powell, the two full-time brewers at the brewery. Four additional part-time employees also work at the brewery.

“I cannot say enough about our brewery team and their commitment to quality,” Durham said. “Our mission at Piney River Brewing has always been to brew high quality beer that celebrates the Ozarks, and this World Beer Cup gold award for Float Trip is the realization of our brewery’s mission on an international stage.”

World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 219 beer judges from 31 countries. Regarded as the “Olympics of Beer Competition,” the World Beer Cup saw an impressive field of 4,754 entries from 1,403 breweries in 58 countries.

Presented by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup has been held every other year since 1996, to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. For more additional information, visit the World Beer Cup website.

Piney River Brewing received their gold award at the 2014 World Beer Cup held in Denver on Friday night. Shown here, left to right: Brian Durham, head brewer and co-founder; Joleen Durham, co-founder, and Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewer’s Association.

Music, Moonshine & Craft Beer in the Ozarks

Music, Moonshine & Craft Beer in the Ozarks

Seth Kugel, the New York Times “Frugal Traveler”, is traveling from Louisiana to North Dakota this summer, and of course he had to stop for a short time in the Ozarks. Part of his trip included a Dawt Mill float trip on the North Fork of the White River. Our Float Trip Ale makes an appearance at the end of this video. We got a little write up here: http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/travel/music-and-moonshine-in-the-mellow-ozarks.html?ref=frugaltraveler&_r=0

Looks like Seth had a perfect day in our neck of the woods!

Craft Beer for Your Next Float Trip

It was just about 3 years ago that one of our friends asked, “Are you insane?” when she heard we were starting a brewery in a barn on our farm.

We said, “No, we’re not insane, we’re having the time of our lives!”

And it’s true, this industry is a fun one. There’s great camaraderie among the folks that make beer and sell beer. It’s very rewarding to pour your heart and soul into a vision of crafting high quality beer that celebrates the Ozarks and to people snapping up your products as soon as they hit the shelves. (Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!)

But it has been a little insane lately.

Piney River products seem to be selling better than ever in the areas where we distribute our beer. Plus, we introduced a new beer this spring…Float Trip Ale. We added two new fermentation vessels to help us better manage the demand for Piney River beer, but we probably should have added four…or six…and more brewers…especially since we introduced Float Trip Ale.

We can our beer because we wanted to provide a beer in the Ozarks that could be enjoyed in those great places that make the Ozarks…the Ozarks. Even better is a canned craft beer that’s named after something that we all would rather be doing.

People have been sending us photos all summer of their Float Trip Ale in their tube, their canoe, their kayak. It’s awesome. I like to say that Float Trip Ale is what you drink when you’re on a float trip or would rather be on a float trip.

The first pallet of Float Trip Ale didn’t even end up on a float trip. It ended up on the Katy Trail for the big Pedaler’s Jamboree on Memorial Day weekend. Turns out that bicyclists love craft beer, AND they need beer that’s portable in nature, too.

Our friends at Dawt Mill in Ozark County have Float Trip Ale in their General Store and they have it on draft at The Gravel Bar. There’s so much Float Trip Ale goin’ on float trips at Dawt Mill that some people think Float Trip Ale is Dawt Mill’s house beer.

We have found as a small craft brewery in the Ozarks that many people that try our beer are new to the craft beer scene. They want to drink local beer, but they can’t jump in with an IPA or stout. That’s okay because we didn’t start out drinking IPA or stout either.

We have found that with our Black Walnut Wheat a full-flavored but easy drinking beer will win wanna-be craft beer drinkers over every time. Why not make something else that’s easy drinking…the kind of beer you would want to drink all day while floating down the river?

And Float Trip Ale was born.

A float trip is the quintessential Ozark experience. A canoe, kayak, raft or tube and a pristine spring-fed Missouri stream creates a lasting memory of our wild and beautiful outdoors. Our hand-crafted blonde ale is the perfect accompaniment to your day on the river or to simply bring back float trip memories.

Stay tuned…the Float Trip Ale story isn’t over. There’s something about Float Trip Ale that makes it distinctly different from the other beers we’ve canned.