by Rick Kempen

About: Rick Kempen

Recent Posts by Rick Kempen

11Dec 2017

OHIM – A monster called diastaticus

by 11 Dec 2017 1 Wazzup? , , , Permalink 0

Some time ago I wrote a blog on a lawsuit filed by an American brewery against its yeast supplier, claiming it had been supplied with infected yeast. Some of the brewery’s beers suddenly developed off-flavors and showed massive over carbonation in the packaged product, resulting in exploding bottles and even cans. As a result large ...

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25Nov 2017

Brewing is fun, until….

by 25 Nov 2017 0 Uncategorized, Wazzup? , , , , Permalink 0

So, you’ve found your passion and started a brewery. You decided against the ‘cheap’ option and actually invested heavily in equipment, renting a space and hiring staff. An increasing amount of consumers like your beer and sales are up – life couldn’t possibly get any better. Then, one evening, you sit back with one of ...

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08Sep 2017

TGIF – ‘Crafty’ unmaskes itself and completely shreds the shelf

by 08 Sep 2017 0 Uncategorized, What am I thinking? , , Permalink 0

In a exulting press release, AB InBev announced that two of her brands will soon present a first 'collaboration brew'. Nice, one’s inclined to think, a collaboration brew results often in an interesting, sometimes innovative, beer. But on closer inspection, my thirst ran dry. A collaboration brew often aims to bring together the creativity and ...

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29Aug 2017

RUBY TUESDAY – Will ‘open source’ beer lead to flavorful or flavorless beer?

by 29 Aug 2017 0 What am I thinking? , , , Permalink 0

The news came to me via a tweet by Gerard Molenaar, editor of Entree Magazine (amongst others) and a fanatic blogger on good beer on Hopstersblog. In his tweet Gerard asked ‘would you want this, as a brewer?’ – he had me sitting straight up at once. He referred to an article in Retail Trends ...

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09Aug 2017

Wicked Wednesday – when beer names and freedom of speach collide

by 09 Aug 2017 0 What am I thinking? , , , Permalink 0

The news item remained relatively unnoticed in Europe, but the American beer scene was quite shook up by it. Flying Dog Brewery, founded in 1990, ended its membership of the Brewers Association (BA) this June citing changes to the not-for-profit industry trade organization’s Advertising and Marketing Code that are aimed at addressing “sexually explicit, lewd, ...

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03Jul 2017

OHIM – Beer ice, the innovation of the century!

by 03 Jul 2017 2 Uncategorized, What am I thinking?, What do I think? , , , , Permalink 1

It struck me, at first, as either too early or too late since I could swear this was by far the best April fool’s joke EVER. An EPIC April fool’s joke – awesome! Alas, it turned out to be all but a joke: this is serious business, and it was all over the (Dutch) news: ...

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