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INDEX 2005

• AVBC Goes 8 for 8
• A Princely Pint - Charles Enjoys a Boont
• Join us for the AVBC Boo-Bash
• AVBC Receives Fifth WRAP Award
• Ground Broken for 2nd Phase of Solar Project
• Solar Project Update
• Beer Fest Funds Distributed
• AVBC Goes Solar
• New Release - Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema

Archive Index:  Past releases and stories from AVBC

BOONVILLE, CA - November 23, 2005 - When Anderson Valley Brewing Company entered eight craft brews into the California State Fair's Commercial Craft Brewing Competition something fantastic happened - all eight brews won medals.

With more than 475 entries from more than 60 participating California breweries, Anderson Valley Brewing Company won the following medals with the following craft brews:

Gold Medal Winners
BROTHER DAVID'S DOUBLE - ABBEY-STYLE ALE: Belgian Strong
HOP OTTIN' INDIA PALE ALE: American IPA
POLEEKO GOLD PALE ALE: American Pale Ale

Silver Medal Winners
BROTHER DAVID'S TRIPLE - ABBEY-STYLE ALE: Belgian Strong
WINTER SOLSTICE SEASONAL ALE: Spice/Herb

Bronze Medal Winners
BARNEY FLATS OATMEAL STOUT: Sweet Oatmeal Stout
BOONT AMBER ALE: American Amber Ale
SUMMER SOLSTICE CERVEZA CREMA: Specialty

(November 6, 2005 - Point Reyes Station, CA) After a visit to an open-air market and speaking with organic farmers in the small coastal town of Point Reyes Station, just north of San Francisco, Prince Charles and wife Camilla stopped in at the Old Western Saloon for a pint.

Bartender Ruby Schepley, served the couple; a pint of Boont Amber Ale (not "Boothammer" as previously and widely reported in the Associated Press story) for the prince, and a pint of IPA for the Duchess of Cornwall. When a toast was proposed and bar owner Judy Borello discovered her glass was empty, the chivalrous prince shared his brew with her. "Hey, the prince shared his beer with me!" she later exclaimed. "He's such a lovely guy."

And now each and every one of you know how to drink like royalty. Select fine beverages, share them with your friends, and pop into your local pub whenever possible.

Read about it in Yahoo News at http://au.news.yahoo.com/051105/19/wo4i.html

AVBC Receives Fifth WRAP Award

(September, 2005 - Boonville, CA) Anderson Valley Brewing Company has again been named a winner in the 2005 Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) for continued efforts to reduce waste and protect the environment, sponsored by the California Integrated Waste Management Board - the state's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction.

"For a company who runs 365 days a year and releases twenty thousand barrels of beer a year we produce very little waste," states brewery President, Ken Allen. "For example, 99% of our waste water is processed through reclamation ponds (a white Egret hunts in Pond 3) and used for land irrigation, we recycle most everything in the office and out on the floor, and our spent grains go to local livestock owners for feed. Basically, we have a 4x8 dumpster for "garbage" that takes a whole week to fill. I'd say reuse and environmental responsibility is a lifestyle for us."

Now in its 13th year, the WRAP awards honor businesses for cutting the amount of trash they produce, conserving resources, and reducing waste disposal in landfills. All together, this year's WRAP honorees have diverted 1.8 million tons of materials from local landfills through excellent resource management and recycling, and their voluntary waste reduction efforts have saved them $135 million in operating costs. Applicants are honored based on a set of criteria developed in cooperation with the business community. Practices evaluated include waste prevention, materials reuse, recycling, recycled-product procurement, and employee education.

"Businesses make up the engine that keeps California's economy strong," said Board Chair Rosario Marin. "It is a pleasure to honor each winner of this year's WRAP Awards because their voluntary efforts help local cities and counties by recycling and reducing the amount of materials going to landfills. WRAP Awards recognize the good work businesses do to bring us closer to a zero waste California."

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is the State's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction. It promotes a zero waste California in partnership with local government, industry, and the public. This means reducing waste whenever possible, promoting the management of all materials to their highest and best use, and protecting public health and safety and the environment. For a complete list of winners by county, and more information, please visit the Board online at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WRAP/.

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Ground Broken for 2nd Phase of Solar Project

(July 18, 2005 - Boonville CA) Anderson Valley Brewing Company broke ground today for the second phase of their $860,000 photovoltaic project, a freestanding array of 176 state-of-the-art solar panels, to complement their already completed 592 panel array. When complete, the ambitious project will be the largest private photovoltaic solar array north of the San Francisco Bay Area.

"It may not be the largest array as far as square footage goes," said Rod DeWitt, in charge of brewery engineering and process control, "but with it's state-of the art solar cells, it's going to be the largest in output." When complete, the combined array will produce 125,000 watts per hour at 480 volts AC, during the day's five peak solar hours. Not only do the panels generate electricity more efficiently than panels of just a few years ago, the larger array, mounted on the southern roof of the brewery's cellar and packaging facility, will shade the roof below, further reducing the brewery's needs for cooling. "Add it all up, and we expect the system to provide us with a quarter to as much as a third of our annual electrical requirements," DeWitt explained.

Work on the second array began almost three weeks later than originally hoped, due to delays in various permitting departmants

Beer Fest Funds Distributed

(June 24, 2005 - Boonville CA) Anderson Valley Brewing Company announced the disbursement of beer festival profits to the local non-profit groups that volunteered their assistance in hosting last May's nationally renowned beer festival, as well as to a few organizations that provide indispensable services to the valley, but did not assist.

With this year's donation of $33,000 the festival has raised almost $150,000 to date, which have helped support many of our local non-profits, including, but not limited to; the Anderson Valley Education Foundation, the Anderson Valley Animal Rescue, the Anderson Valley Senior Center, the Anderson Valley Boosters, the Anderson Valley Historical Society, the Anderson Valley Parent Teacher Volunteers, the Mendocino County Fairgrounds, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Dept., the Anderson Valley Volunteer Fire Fighters, and the Anderson Valley Ambulance Service. Donations to each of the recipients are gauged to a large extent on the amount of help and work each group performs in support of the festival, but also on the organization's contribution to the Valley itself.

Solar Project Update

June 4th - First 391 panels of the rooftop solar array installed.

(June 7, 2005 - Boonville CA) Anderson Valley Brewing Company is currently installing the largest private photovoltaic solar array north of the San Francisco Bay Area, at their brewery in Boonville, California (for more details, see below ). As of June 7th, the company has completed the first phase of the $860,000 project, with the installation of 592 solar panels on the southern roof of their cellar and packaging facility. The second phase, construction of a second, freestanding ground-based array of 176 more panels, is expected to start as early as June 27th. Together, the arrays are expected to supply as much as one third of the brewery's electricity.

The array, which will eventually supply as much as a third of our electricity, is the latest step in our continued effort to reduce, reuse, recycle, and minimize our effect on the environment. For four of the last five years, Anderson Valley Brewing has received a WRAP Award , from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The WRAP Award (Waste Reduction Awards Program) is awarded to businesses that take extra efforts to save energy and resources. "We forgot to send in the application in 2002," said Head Brewer, David Gatlin.

Boonville Brewery Going Solar

Artist's concept of the brewery's rooftop solar array when complete.

(May 5, 2005 – Boonville CA) Anderson Valley Brewing Company announced today that they have begun installation of the largest private photovoltaic solar array north of the San Francisco Bay Area, at their brewery in Boonville, California. The project underscores the brewery's longstanding commitment to keeping its environmental impact as low as possible. "We feel an obligation, specifically to this pristine valley in which we're located, but to the rest of the world as well, to be responsible with resources. We recycle as much of our waste as we can; paper, plastic, glass, cardboard. We have our own waste water reclamation system, and now we can greatly reduce our reliance on outside electricity," said brewery president, Kenneth Allen "Solar is the future. We're proud to be getting a jump on it," Allen continued, citing statistics showing that almost 75% of the electricity used in California is generated with nonrenewable resources such as coal, natural gas, and uranium. Solar energy is currently California's most abundant source of electricity, and yet, at under three tenths of a percent, it is the most under utilized. *

The system includes state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels, with a life expectancy of forty to fifty years, paired with new-generation inverters, in a self-contained system. The $860,000 project will include two arrays; a 175' by 53' array on the roof of the brewery's cellar and packaging facility, and an auxiliary 120' by 24' ground-based freestanding array. When completed in June of this year, the combined array will contain seven hundred-sixty eight 40" by 57" panels, each generating 187 watts per panel, for a combined output of 125,000 watts per hour at 480 volts AC, during the day's five peak solar hours.

Advance Solar, of Calpella, California is conducting the installation, but "It's really a team effort," says Advance Solar's owner Pete Gregson. "We're getting a lot of help on this project from the brewery staff, especially from Rod DeWitt (in charge of plant engineering and process control), and his crew, and we're gonna need it if we want to finish the project in time to take advantage of summer. This beats the largest job we've ever done by 50%." he explained. When completed, Anderson Valley Brewing Company may have the largest solar array of any brewery in the world.

*Source: 2004 Net System Power Calculation Report, Energy Commission Publication # 300-04-001R, as seen at http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/gross_system_power.html

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New Release - Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema

(May, 2005 - Boonville, CA) This spring Anderson Valley Brewing Company announced the release of their new summer seasonal ale, Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema , an ale brewed to slide smoothly down parched summer throats, and slake even the driest thirst. This copper colored ale is a silky, creamy dream. It's malty, very mildly hopped, and lightly sweet, with a delicate hint of spice for that oh-so-drinkable, extra velvety flavor. A cool beer for the heat, whatever your latitude!

The ale is a lighter and much milder version of the brewery's wildly popular winter warmer, Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale .  "So many of our fans begged us to make Winter Solstice available year round , that we had to do something for them," said head brewer, David Gatlin . "Winter Solstice is designed for the cold weather though, big, malty, and pretty high in alcohol. We wanted something that retained the smooth, rich character of the Winter Solstice, but milder on the seasoning, even easier drinking, and reasonably low alcohol. At 5.6% alcohol by volume, Cerveza Crema is an ale that works well as a session beer, and really cuts the thirst," he added.

The ale, which will be appearing on store shelves in early May, is dressed in a label with the familiar "legendary Boonville Beer" , now sporting sun glasses as a brilliant summer sun shines down upon the valley. "I thought it would be fun to make the label and six-pack reflect a summer theme, similar to the overcast sky and light dusting of snow on the winter label," said label designer and graphic artist, Peter Suddeth. Another addition to the label is the appearance of Duke, one of Anderson Valley's enormous shire horses in the background. "We like to add little "easter eggs" for our fans; the Boontling names and phrases, the Boonville Beer that never get explained on the label, the writing under the bottle caps , things like that. It keeps things fun and gives our real fans who know about them a kind of insider status."

Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema is available in 12 oz six-packs and on draft, at fine retailers throughout the west coast, and other states as well. Use our Beer Finder, to locate the distributor in your area, and ask them for retailers that will be carrying Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema.

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