Brewing some mango tango
By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge
The folks at Tango Bay at Broadway at the Beach like to hang out at the nearby Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery, and a recent conversation between the clothing store and the brew pub gave birth to a collaboration, a shirt, and a beer.
Eric Lamb, brewmeister at Liberty, said Tango Bay will make a special Liberty shirt, and Liberty will make a special Tango Bay beer.
It was just a crazy idea that folks from the two companies hatched together, Lamb said.
Mango Tango beer, a one-time offering, will be a peach- and mango-flavored wheat beer. Look for a tapping party on July 18.
Stay tuned for details on the shirts.
The Beer-conomy
Dave Epstein is holding out. He doesn't want to increase prices on his kegs before he has a clearer vision of where the market is going, but a bump on prices from New South Brewing Company of Myrtle Beach is inevitable, he said.
Last Tuesday (June 17), Epstein said he had just received his first shipment of barley following the recent 8-cent per pound jump in prices on that essential ingredient in beer-making. When I spoke with him, he hadn't yet received the invoice.
He said he would rather raise prices once this year than make an increase too soon, and have to bump them up again. He might hold his prices steady during the summer months, and then make the increase in the fall.
Here's how beer prices go up.
First, high demand and low supply for hops. You don't need a lot of hops to make beer, but you must have them to add floral, herbal, or spicy touches. Hop prices have recently tripled, thanks primarily to a drought in Europe, along with a recent decline in the number of U.S. farmers who were willing to grow them because of a glut in the market several years ago. Although, luckily, Epstein said prices on hops dropped down just a little recently.
Second, high demand and low supply for barley, the main grain in beer-making - you need a lot of it to make beer. Epstein, and Lamb of Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery, buy around 22,000 pounds at a time, so every penny increase on the pound will add up.
Third, you have to factor in the record-breaking gasoline prices, which impact the hauling of kegs and bottles to your local watering hole.
Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery's prices went up earlier this year, brewmeister Lamb said. The brew pub added 50 cents to its pints, bringing Happy Hour prices to $2.50 and regular prices to $3.75. Liberty also added $1 to its growler prices, making a new one $11.95 and a refill $8.95.
Lamb said he doesn't expect to increase the prices again this year.
Our two other local brewers - Josh Quigley of Quigley's Pint and Plate in Pawleys Island, and Pete Velez at Gordon Biersch in Myrtle Beach - were unavailable to comment for this column, but the pinch on brewers is nationwide. Eric Ottaway, general manager for the Brooklyn Brewery in New York, recently told The Early Show on CBS about his 10-percent price hike, which amounted to $1 more per six pack. "In the beer world, that's a gigantic increase," he said.
If you're northbound
If you're heading to the Washington, D.C., area this summer, look for an Old Dominion Brewing Company location. The Old Dominion brew pubs have a seasonal on tap called Beach House Pils. Loaded with tons of flavor, this summer-time pilsner is big on refreshing citrus flavors and has a crisp finish.
Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com