Beer Signs and More

ROCK HILL, SC (WBTV) - York County voters take to the polls this fall to decide whether to allow Sunday beer and wine sales at convenience stores and other retailers.

It took 7,500 of signatures to get the referendum on the ballot but the county received well more than that.

If passed, it would mean folks wouldn’t have to stock up early for big events like the Super Bowl.

Right now, signs on doors like O’Darby’s Fine Wine and Spirits reads “Closed Sunday.” Lines were long at both the Riverside and Newport store with folks buying up for the big game.

Owner Moe Hinson estimated half of the sales Saturday were from people who planned to watch the Super Bowl at home.

“For us it could obviously mean an improvement on our business but it’s more about customer choice. We feel like customers should have the choice to shop whatever days are available for them,” Hinson said.

“People are not buying ahead a lot..so it’s more like when I need it I’ll go get it but I’m not getting it a week in advance,” Chet Miller said.

Miller helped get the issue placed on the ballot. He was also part of a group that helped extend Sunday alcohol sales at restaurants a few years back.

Miller says he’s not a drinker, doesn’t own a restaurant or retail store – but hates to see money travel north across the state line. He says if the number of places that could sell beer and wine each applied for $1,000 license, with $50 dollars going to the state and the rest staying in York County, the county could expect around $212,000 in license fees alone

The vote does not cover liquor sales. It would still be prohibited to sell it on Sunday.

In the past some religious leaders have opposed extending sales to Sundays and some worried it would increase drunk driving incidents. Miller says that’s not happened.

Miller notes places like Tega Cay have seen an uptick in sales since passing a similar referendum in 2008. Some York County restaurants he says have seen huge jumps in revenue. He hopes it will eventually led to more big named restaurants to move south.

Lancaster County also approved a referendum for the 2012 ballot to decided whether or not to extend beer and wine sales on Sundays in restaurants.

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2012 is pushing full steam ahead for the beer in D.C. Our once fledgling scene is evolving into one of the premier beer destinations in the country and shows no signs of slowing anytime soon.

Neighborhood Restaurant Group, famous for their beer mecca ChurchKey, recently hired Megan Pirisi, formerly the head brewer at Cambridge Brewing Company in Massachusetts. CBC’s small footprint in the Boston burbs is not representative of the world-class beer they have produced under Pirisi. Her credentials speak volumes and include the General Certificate in Brewing and Packaging from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London, the Professional Brewer’s Certificate from UC Davis, and the Master of Beer Styles sensory course at Siebel and has won multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival.

Oh yeah — this Masshole can attest to her beers being delicious.

Working with NRG’s beer director Greg Engert, the focus of the new full-production brewery—which will include a brewpub for some post Nats game drinks—will be barrel-aged sour ales. Their facility will include a coolship, which is a traditional way to simultaneously cool the beer down after boil and allow wild yeasts from the air to impart complex flavors that make sour and “funked” beers so intriguing. Currently, there are very few coolships in the U.S., and these beers are highly sought after by those who love wild beers. While this brewery at the Yards is only starting to take shape and has no concrete timeframe, some of the most important pieces are now in place to give more beer options to the city.

While NRG has gained Pirisi for their brewery, they recently lost Churchkey’s assistant beer director Nahem Simon as he has assumed beer director duties at Jack Rose Dining Saloon. His arduous maintenance of the revered Churchkey draft system was no small feat, and now it looks like he will be able to take his knowledge of draft line upkeep and place the beers in Jack Rose as he sees fit.

D.C.’s first production brewery in half a century, DC Brau, has finally been able to get their cans back into the city. The Public Citizen and Corruption are available in bars and restaurants throughout the District, and stores should have them very soon. Meanwhile, 3 Stars has continued collaborations and is set to release the B.W. Rye #3, a saison rye made with Oliver ales. Their own facility is close to being ready and should be in operation within two or three months.

Thor Cheston, formerly of Brassiere Beck and DC’s own beer knight, will be opening up a brewpub with Nathan Zeender and focus on Belgian-inspired ales and lambics. Their hope is to have their location in the Shaw neighborhood ready at some point in 2013. Hellbender and Low Brau are also making plays to hit the beer scene running soon much like Baying Hound has done up in Maryland. Finally, Cabinet Artisanal Ales, who took over the Shenandoah brewing facilities in Alexandria last year in order to brew beer for Philadelphia’s Farmer’s Cabinet, is working on getting their tasting room ready in order to bring some innovative barrel-aged beers to the area.

Finally, with all these new breweries coming to the city, the national beer community will be even more focused on this year’s SAVOR and week-long celebration of American craft beer. While many breweries would love to participate in the second largest beer event in the country, a drawing is help for participants in order to make it as fair as possible. Locally, Port City and DC Brau made the oh-so-coveted list. However, as DCBeer reported, next year our hometown fermenters may have to travel to SAVOR as there is a strong possibility that it will be held as D.C. will be hosting the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference.

More breweries, brewpubs, and events coming in 2012. Not a bad second-tier city to live in.

Les Amigos and the Toronto Generals — two Port Credit, Ont., men’s beer league teams — were informed that they would be the subject of a documentary about adult rec hockey. They agreed for their Dec. 21 match to be filmed under that pretense. Little did these know that they were being set up.

Just when you thought the whole flash-mob-as-marketing-campaign thing might have run its course, Budweiser pulls a joyful stunt on two Canadian rec teams that makes you think otherwise.

What begins as your typical league game between a bunch of washed-up or never-were pros — a bored girlfriend or two making up the entire arena attendance — suddenly turns into a raucous affair with all the bells and whistles: commentators, Jumbotron replays, belly-painted fans, mascots, handmade signs, and, yes, a T-shirt gun.

Stunned and thrilled, the Amgios and Generals (watch below) rise to the occasion, pushing the game to overtime.

“Not that I was ever in a professional league anywhere, however, this is how I would imagine it to be,” beams a bald member of the Generals.

The surprise commercial is scheduled to debut during Sunday’s Super Bowl.