This content was originally published by The Hop Review, a digital magazine that joined the Hop Culture family in March 2020.
This piece was written by Tom White.
In this week’s Hoplinks, an American brewing pioneer goes green, a major retailer looks to enter the alcohol delivery space, a brewery and amaro maker get together, and the best beer cities in America are quantifiably ranked.
CHICO, CA — Continuing in their already impressively green tradition, Sierra Nevada announced plans to install Tesla’s Powerpack 2 installation at their Southern California brewery. The huge solar facility will allow the brewery to store power during off hours to be utilized during peak brewing times. [Electrek]
OHIO — Residents of the buckeye state may soon be able to order their beer from the comfort of their couch. Amazon has filed applications for alcohol permits in Columbus and Cincinnati through their Prime Now instant delivery service. While other companies have seen some success with similar offerings, the reach of Prime Now would take this to another level. [WLWT 5]
WEST TOWN, CHICAGO — Chicago’s botanical brewery Forbidden Root brewed up quite the collaboration with the first ever beer made with Italian amaro producer Fernet-Branca. With help from the Branca family, Forbidden Root deconstructed the bitter digestive to concoct Fernetic. The beer will be released at the brewery on January 19th and will hit limited city shelves the following week. Be sure to check out our interview with Forbidden Root head brewer BJ Pichman. [THR Wire]
RAVENSWOOD, CHICAGO — The Lincoln Square chamber of commerce unveiled details for it’s annual Winter Brew 2017 beer festival. While offering a smaller lineup than many of the big budget festivals, the intimate setting at the Dank Haus German American Cultural Center, along with food pairings from several local restaurants, give this one a unique twist. [THR Wire]
USA — The title of best beer city in the US is certainly up for debate in this constantly changing beer landscape. SmartAsset attempts to quantify what makes each beer city the best and comes up with a few surprises. It seems we have more than a little traveling to do. [SmartAsset]
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Photo of the Forbidden Root brewery system in West Town, Chicago from our winter 2016 interview with head brewer BJ Pichman — by Jack Muldowney.