The Hub in Puyallup, Teton Range IPA goes pro and 5,005 breweries in the US

swift-cider-in-washington-state — *Portland’s Swift Cider is now in Washington state.*

MORNING FOAM FOR WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8, 2016: A seven-taster flight of craft beer and cider news, from the fluffy head all the way to the bottom freakout. …

The opening of the 154-seat Hub at Puyallup was delayed a few months, but it is now expected to open in mid-to-late December, as long as the construction timeline proceeds as planned. The restaurant comes from the 20-year-old Harmon Brewing Co., which operates the Harmon Restaurant and Harmon Taproom in Tacoma and Hub restaurants in Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

After 18 months, 18 pilot batches and dozens of side projects with their pilot system, Teton Range IPA has been added to Grand Teton Brewing’s year-round lineup.

Swift Cider, an urban Portland craft cidery, has grown their distribution by partnering with Kendall’s Pioneer Distributing of Kelso, Washington. After five years of selling cider in Oregon, Swift will now be available in 10 southwestern Washington counties: Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum.

With new brewers like Shilpi Halemane (previously of Widmer) and Eric Ponce (Goose Island) and veteran Curtis Bane (Cascade) a new accomplished and inspired group has taken over Logsdon Farmhouse Ales.

And then there were 5,005. In its year-in-review released on Monday, the Brewers Association said more than 5,000 breweries were operating throughout the United States at the end of November. The figure represents an increase of more than 730 since last year and, according to the industry trade organization, 99 percent of those companies are still “small and independent.” Not surprisingly, IPA is still the king of craft beer styles, accounting for about a quarter of the segment’s volume. Sessionable beers — golden ales, pilsners and pale lagers — now account for five percent of the craft beer market, an increase of 33 percent.

There appears to be a growing international phenomenon: craft beer bar chains.

The first thing you need to know in order to drive the hell home in the snow: You are not actually required to lose your goddamn mind just because snow is falling.