“I think it’s definitely something that may become important to people, particularly when new ways to analyze the data are developed,” said Jason Spaulding of Brewery Vivant.  In the six months the brewery was part of the program, the smart meter raised awareness of energy usage in their facility.  The microbrewery and restaurant in East Hills opened just over a year ago, and with a capacity to brew about 5.000 barrels of beer annually, Brewery Vivant also operates a packaging line that fills 16 ounce cans with its specialty brews.

“The biggest thing we found was when our brewing schedule overlaps a busy day in the restaurants, t creates big energy spikes.” Spaulding said.  “So now we schedule brewing and packaging days for slower days at the restaurant.” Spaulding conceded that Brewery Vivant didn’t get a change to change its behavior based on energy us much, because it was involved in the test for only six months and he was busy launching new businesses.  But he believes that this tool will dramatically benefit small business.

Article contributed by IB staff writer Matthew J. Scott

Food is art.  At Imperial Beverage, we couldn’t agree more! Through exploration, this art is constantly transforming, as food lovers everywhere are continuously looking for new ways to blend ingredients and discover new tastes. Historically, the best way to accent a meal has been to pair the dish with a complementary beverage. Until recently, that pairing of choice was always wine, but in the midst of the craft beer movement a shift is occurring.  No matter your choice, the following offers a guide for pairing your favorite foods with a delicious, complimentary beverage.

When pairing wine or beer with food the possibilities are vast and everyone’s palate is different. However, we submit the following suggestions:

• Don’t overpower a light meal with a strong libation or vice versa. (match strength with strength)
• Acidic wine pairs well with acidic food.
• Try to match characteristics such as a similar scent or a smoky flavor. (find harmonies)
• Contrast or compliment, don’t settle in-between.
• Match origins, they have been drinking those beverages with that food for centuries for a reason.
• Tannic wines pair well with fatty dishes.
• When pairing beers with food, study the seasonality of the ingredients of each.  Stick to a single season.
• Consider sweetness, bitterness, carbonation, heat, richness, and texture. There are more elements at play than strictly taste.

The following websites may further your understanding of the pairing process.

Wine Beer

Pairing with Wine

Food and wine should stay balanced, but this doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun with it. Rather than matching flavors, try to contrast flavors as to counteract one another and create contradicting harmony. For example, think of a sauce such as mango habanero. Although the flavors are wildly different, the outcome is well balanced and very interesting. This same concept can work with wine, a spicy dish with a sweeter wine, or a dessert with a bold Port.

Pairing with Beer

Wine can definitely make a meal, but if you are looking for complete customization, craft beer is a choice option. Though there are plenty of grape varietals and blends out there, the endless possibilities of unique and even wacky craft beers opens up the door for some really specific, sometimes off the wall pairing options.

When pairing beer with food it is important to have fun, experiment, and realize people like what they like. If someone hates porters it doesn’t matter how well it is matched, it will not be appreciated.

Whether to pair with wine or beer is a labyrinth of thoughts that can leave you baffled. The best way to go is work with what you have and again it all depends on preference. If you’re interested in a true challenge, why not try both a craft beer and wine pairing with a dish and decide for yourself which you prefer.

Can’t decide? Here is yet another reference.

Although this querry of wine versus beer will never be resolved, it creates a great opportunity to use the debate to stir things up. A new craze in the world of fine dining is wine vs. beer dinners. These pre-planned displays of culinary expertise provide several courses that are paired with both a hand selected wine and beer that they feel best compliments the dish. The customers are then asked to decide which beverage they prefer and a tally is kept throughout the night. Simply enough, the beverage with the most votes wins.

Ask this writer, and I’d say everyone wins, gourmet food paired with exceptional wine and craft beer. Sign me up! Imperial Beverage has teamed up with many restaurants around the mitten recently to make this happen, and the outcome is nothing short of success.

Using Beer and Wine as Ingredients to enhance the Pairing

Cooking with beer and wine can add another element to food that takes it from superb to stellar. Both beer and wine can be used in sauces, as baste, a marinade, an injection, a reduction sauce, or simply poured overtop a dish. When cooking with beer or wine choose carefully and understand the characteristics of the beverage are going to change due to the cooking process. Be careful when using hoppy bitter beers such as IPA’s when cooking because it brings out the bitterness while undermining the malts, and can result in an overly bitter and unpleasant result. This same affect can occur with the smokiness of porters and the creaminess of Belgian style ales.

Examples of cooking with beer

Now that the road is paved, use this information to come up with your own unique pairings or dishes prepared with beer and wine and feel free to share them with us here at Imperial Beverage!  We always love your feedback and comments on our blog entries.  Speak up!

ADDED TO POST: 2.22.12
Just found: a fun video featuring Wolfgang Puck on this topic.  Check it out!

The AHA, an official organization for hobbyists established in 1978  after President Jimmy Carter signed the bill that legalized homebrewing, offers support, networking and other benefits to its membership.

Read what the Brewer’s Association has to say on the topic.

Announced January 24, 2012, these honors recognized the investment and reinvestment that Imperial Beverage has made in the area and in the state.  Of the recognition, Imperial President Joe Cekola said, “Kalamazoo is our home.  Imperial Beverage continues to grow within the city, as evidenced by our recent building acquisition and increasing staff.  We can’t imagine basing our business anywhere but here.”  Further, Cekola’s business was named among  other notable local companies.  “To be named among other tremendous businesses like Styker Corporation, Schupan and Sons, Mann+Hummel USA and others is such an honor.  It’s energizing to be part of such a group; one with such a spirit for growth and community connectedness.”

An eccentric atmosphere paves way to pleasantly bizarre brews when entering one of the most unique craft breweries in operation, Odd Side Ales. A cozy place tucked away in downtown Grand Haven, Odd Side Ales, offers an off the wall selection of craft brews ranging from Pineapple IPA, to Peanut Butter Cup Stout, and the taps change perpetually. Visionary, Brewer, and Co-Owner Chris Michner transforms his passion into beer using a small brewing operation housed in the historic Story & Clark Piano Factory of Downtown Grand Haven. The result is then offered to the public through Odd Side’s inviting brew pub.

A former accountant and the Assistant Dean at Hope College seems an “odd” couple to start up a brewing operation, but gladly they did and our taste buds are the beneficiary! Chris and Alyson Michner started OSA about a year ago and are drawing a lot of much deserved attention. Their beer is exquisite and the brew pub is one of a kind. With a coffee house feel and laid back atmosphere, the brew pub offers a pleasant experience for beer drinkers from novice to connoisseur. The homemade bar is a work of art utilizing different grains to create obscure patterns that will keep your eyes busy for hours. For the regulars Odd Side teamed up with local Ceramic Café to initiate a Mug Club. Customers can purchase their own mug that they can personalize and keep as their own, hanging behind the bar on the coveted Mug Wall. Joining the Mug Club also offers perks such as reduced beer cost! With live music, a very knowledgeable staff, and an uncommon selection, the brew pub is a place to hang out, relax, and geek out on beer!

With over 50 varieties brewed and many more to come Odd Side’s portfolio is almost as vast as it is unique. Everyone knows it is quality over quantity but what about both? The people have spoken and the conclusion is clear! Receiving overall scores of 93 points, exceptional, on beeradvocate.com, and a 5 star world class rating on ratebeer.com, Odd Side Ales has earned a spot among the elite of the brewing industry, and at only a year old that’s pretty dang impressive.

The near future of this brewery is in plain sight as they are currently looking to lease more space to add more tanks and a bigger brew house. Currently only a few kegs are available for purchase including Morning Wood (Bourbon Barrel aged Dutch chocolate coffee stout) Colossal Oversight ( a 14% barely wine aged in Cognac barrels) One Bourbon, no scotch, one beer ( a bourbon barrel aged porter) and Lucid Dreams (a Belgian Dubble aged in red wine barrels). Hopefully soon these masterful barley treats will find homes in bottles and ultimately in stores state wide with a little help from Imperial Beverage.

Until then we will have to patiently wait, or take an occasional trip to Grand Haven to curve the craving for kooky beer concoctions. When you leave your old life behind to pursue a dream it is bound for greatness. Great beer is brewed for the brewer, others just reap the benefits. Chris says it best himself, “We like to Geek out on beer, it is our passion. We produce a variety of different beers with some truly unusual ingredients.” Implementing a business strategy based on great beer, a lot of variety, friendly bartenders, and a terrific atmosphere. I’d say they have the right idea!

Recently, Imperial updated our website to include public job postings. Visit for yourself, and see what’s available.  You may just parlay your love of beer and wine into an industry position!

Click here to view Imperial Beverage’s Job Postings.

Together, that group, comprised of competitors (but friends!) across all facets of the craft beer business, has developed Kalamazoo Beer Week 2012.  January 14-21, 2012 will be host to sixty-plus events, in nearly 20 locations across the city.  Breweries are planning their own events with accounts.  Bar owners are conceiving of great plans and becoming part of the lineup.  The event is taking on a life of its own.

From 16 to 60+, from a single entity to a group of planners, from a tiny series of events to something that people are “seeing everywhere!”, Kalamazoo Beer Week is coming.  What a time to live in Kalamazoo.  What a time to be a craft beer enthusiast.  (Kalamazoo Beer Week can be found online at www.kalamazoobeerweek.com, or www.kalamazoobeerweek.wordpress.com.)

Tweeting about Kalamazoo Beer Week?  Please use the hashtag #KBW2012.  We’d love to follow your tweets!

The Business of Beverages is the official blog of Imperial Beverage of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and is written by its staff and where noted, special guests.  Please bookmark this blog and visit often, as regular entries are made here on items of note related to the beverage and distribution business.  Or visit Imperial Beverage online, at www.ImperialBeverage.com.

At the end of each year, in the midst of winter, magic brews within our hearts. That magic then ferments and is released upon the earth in the form of holiday cheer.  This same spirit and passion is encompassed in every bottle of a true Grower Champagne. Grower Champagnes have been described as “artisanal winemaking” with terroir being at the forefront for each wine. They are sparkling wines made in the Champagne region of France, with a singular distinguishing factor:  they are produced from grapes grown on a single estate or a small group of vineyards within a village.  This gives them unique character and allows the producer to put their heart, as well as the love and flavors of their land into each bottle. Large Champagne producers use up to 80 different vineyards to supply their grapes for a single batch. This creates a lost identity from the products origin and results in a generic product that relies on advertising for sales, instead of quality.

Luckily, during the holiday season, Champagne is available just about everywhere. While this opens the door for endless shelves packed with generic offerings, it also makes the elite Grower Champagnes as accessible as ever. Imperial beverage distributes Grower Champagnes from 3 of the five 5 administrative provinces of France’s Champagne wine region; Côtes Des Blancs, Vallée De La Marne, and Montagne De Reims. Each province brings about exclusive attributes evident in each offering. Grower Champagnes reach into the depth of distinction.  They are so terroir-based that each bottle segments their region further into fragments. This shines through with elegance and takes a distinguished pallet on a tour of the vineyard itself.

List of Grower Champagnes Imperial Beverage distributes, segmented by region:

CÔTE DES BLANCS

• Guy Larmandier Brut Vertus NV 1er Cru
• Guy Larmandier Brut Rose NV Vertus 1er Cru 
• Guy Larmandier Blanc de Blanc NV  Cramant Grand Cru
• DieboltVallois Blanc de Blanc NV Cramant Grand Cru
• Pierre Peters Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru NV MesnilsurOger Grand Cru
• VarnierFanniere Brut Rose NV Avize 1er Cru
• Pierre Gimmonet  Special Club  2004 Cuis 1er Cru

 VALLÉE DE LA MARNE

• René GeoffroyEmpriente Brut NV  Cumieres 1er Cru
• Marc Hébrart Selection Brut NV Mareuilsur Ay 1er Cru
• Gaston Chique Tradition Brut NV Dizy 1er Cru
• Gaston Chique Special Club 2004 Dizy 1er Cru

 MONTAGNE DE REIMS

• Arnaud MargaineTraditionel Brut NV  Villers-Marmery 1er Cru
• Arnaud Margain Demi-Sec NV 375ml Villers-Marmery 1er Cru
• ChartogneTaillet Cuvee St. Anne Brut NV  Merfy 1er Cru
• Jean Lallement Cuvee Reserve Brut NV Verzanay Grand Cru
• Roger Coulon Brut Millesime Blanc de Noir 2002 Vigny 1er Cru
• Vilmart et Cie Grand Cellier Brut NV Rilly la Montagne 1er Cru

Although Grower Champagnes boast the most accomplished resume, the entire sparkling wine segment has been bubbling over recently, outpacing table wine in both volume and value over the past year. Off-premise sparkling wine volumes increased 9.3% in the 52-week period ending November 27 to nearly 3 million cases, while value rose 9.6% to $349.5 million. Table wines, meanwhile, grew 5% by volume and 6.3% by value in the same period. This study done by the SymphonyIRI Group out of Chicago, Illinois displays these significant increases. (below)

 This year embrace the season, for it is a time where leisure replaces work, while enthusiasm encourages the soul to explore, travel, and learn. So indulge in laziness, spend time with loved ones, let the heart dance, and ease the anguish of the world with the grace of the holidays, and of course a choice bottle of Grower Champagne.

Now to end with a toast to a wonderful holiday season from your friends at Imperial Beverage!

Hop of faith: More and more entrepreneurs, farmers growing the plant for Michigan beer

KALAMAZOO — Jeff and Bonnie Steinman have never been farmers, but they’re banking their financial future on growing hops, a key ingredient in beer.

As the Michigan craft beer industry continues to flourish, there is a group of weekend warriors, entrepreneurs and farmers around the state who are jumping into the hop-growing business.

Although in its infancy, some in the beer and farming worlds think there could be a healthy market for Michigan-grown hops sold to Michigan beer makers.

”It sure seems like it’s got unlimited potential, but it’s going to take time,” said Scott Graham, executive director of the Michigan Brewers Guild, which represents most of the state’s 80-plus breweries. “People are taking it seriously. … It’s more than just a couple knuckleheads growing a couple acres.”

To read more visit: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/12/hop_of_faith_more_and_more_ent.html

If this article catches your interest you may also want to check out Kalamazoo Beer Week:

http://www.discoverkalamazoo.com/index.php?catid=16&month=1&year=2011&eventid=30642

At Imperial, nothing excites us more than the opportunity to distribute local brands that produce terrific beer! Brewery Vivant, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is just such a brand.

A relatively small craft brewery with a beautiful brew-pub located in the heart of East Hills in Grand Rapids, Brewery Vivant boasts a Belgian tradition, with a local mission.Against traditional business mentality, Brewery Vivant has planned and designed their brewery to keep it small. They have chosen to take the path to becoming a great company, not a large one.They produce traditional Belgian style ales using locally sourced ingredients with their own not so subtle twist.

The name Brewery Vivant was inspired by the French speaking Belgian countryside where small farmhouse breweries are scattered about the land.  The area of southern Belgium (called Wallonia) inspired the owners so much that their logo is modeled off of the region’s flag, to honor the beer and people of that heritage. The core of Brewery Vivant can be found at the crossroads of three passions:

1. Love of the tradition and artistic approach of Belgian & French styles of beers
2. Devotion to using local sources for ingredients and operating business according to the three pillars of sustainability; Environmental Integrity, Social Equity, and Economic Viability.
3. Sharing the experience of how beer and food can be paired to uplift the enjoyment of both.

This mix of pride, passion, and sustainable thinking has turned out some exquisite brews that should reach the pallet of every true beer lover. Brewery Vivant has multiple selections that have earned excellent scores on Beer Advocate as well as riveting reviews amongst the beer loving blog community. Some of their feature brews include:

Zaison – This ale takes its inspiration from the famous Saison style of beer made in the southern region of Belgium. Traditionally this beer is made in the coolness of the winter months to be enjoyed in the Spring and Summer. Our special yeast strain gives this beer a little funkiness and is accented with tellicherry, black peppercorns, & orange peel.

Big Red Coq– Thisred ale is all about hops. It is an American-Belgian fusion of beer styles taking imported Belgian caramel malts and bitch slapping them with a heavy handed dose of American hops.Expect hints of mango, pineapple, & citrus to hit your nose with an assertive hop presence.

Farm Hand – A necessary part of farm life was to provide a ration of beer to sustain and nourish laborers, and beer was safer to drink than water of the time. Farmhand is an interpretation of what these rustic beers must have been like. It is slightly cloudy from being made with raw un-malted grains and a simple single infusion of mash procedure.

Solitude – A deep mahogany colored beer that is made in the tradition of the famous brewing monks of the Abbeys of Belgium. It is malt forward with hints of caramel, pear, & raison.

Triomphe – This beer is made with a classic Belgian style yeast strain that gives the complexity and slight sweetness you may expect from a Belgian style ale, but then reaches deeper providing a smack-down of American hops.

Imperial Beverage takes pride in distributing these products state-wide for your enjoyment; we love their company philosophy as well as their beer. Brewery Vivant runs lean, nice, and profitable. Operating without excess equipment or labor, staying kind to employees, customers, and their community, while aiming at a sweet spot where production is maximized and the brew system can be profitable. Here at Imperial we appreciate this commitment to quality and “keeping it local.” After all, we are local, too.