PROFILES IN BREWING By Bobby Bush, author of "Beer & Loafing"

David Merritt, brewer for Palmetto Brewing Co. in Charleston, South Carolina

Drawing on 30 years of experience in wine importation, Louis Bruce and
Ed Falkenstein, a chemical engineer, designed and built Palmetto Brewing
Company in an old brick-and-mortar building on Huger Street.
Construction and de-construction work began in 1993. In their regulatory
paperwork chase, the legislature in Columbia was shocked when it
discovered that current state law did not prohibit such a bold endeavor.
By '94 the ground-breaking Charleston microbrewery was off and brewing.

David Merritt joined the three-man Palmetto team in March 2000. His brewing background dates back to a homebrewing hobby that grew exponentially, directing the Charleston native to University of California-Davis' short brewing course in 1995. Beginning with part-time grunt work, David eventually became the full-time assistant brewer at Charleston's Southend Smokehouse brewpub. He was "still getting his wings wet" when he moved to Palmetto as an assistant. His main responsibility at the beginning was every brewer's worst nightmare, running the bottling line.

Now settled in as head brewer, David has fine-tuned the original Palmetto recipes. Though barely noticeable, his touch and brewing regimen made good beer even better. Palmetto Amber outsells Pale Ale two to one. This big brew presents a gracious balance of malt sweetness and hops' bittering effect. Though slightly more bitter, Palmetto Pale Ale is without a bitter bite. A combination of Pacific Northwest Cascades hops and a run through a post-brew Chinook hopback results in a more floral, less dry finish than the typical West Coast pale ale has these
days. David's goal is not to knock-off Sierra Nevada. He "would rather go for something different."

Properly conditioned and lagered for two months, Palmetto Lager is crisp, clean and golden, thanks in part to Czech Saaz hops and proper German yeast. Porter completes the Palmetto line-up, though it may be replaced in the future. A combination of dark malts gives this ale its character which includes an almost chalky flavor with a dry finish.

David describes Palmetto as "the cleanest brewhouse in South Carolina." While that boast is somewhat argumentative, the 25 barrel brewery's cleaning routine is above reproach. Working with three 50-barrel and one
25-barrel fermenter, Palmetto is running near its current capacity. That's why there are no seasonal beers. David brews three or four times each week. About 65%-70% of the micro's output is bottled. Though Palmetto beers are distributed only in the state, there's room to continue growing at the brewery's current rate of 10% annually. Palmetto spends very little on marketing, concentrating on the product rather than flashy promotional material. Their coastal market is well established. Palmetto bottled beers are prominently displayed on many supermarket shelves. Nearly every eastern South Carolina bar and restaurant has Palmetto Amber on tap.

Owner Louis makes no apologies for in-state distribution. He feels that it's a mistake for beer to travel too far. With wide-distribution, a local beer loses its local selling point and freshness becomes a bigger concern. People come to the Charleston area "looking for the Low Country experience," he says. Palmetto provides that local beer encounter.

"If you're not in brewing for the long run, you're not in it," the brewer states will a high level of seriousness. "I do it because I love it." David Merritt's love, skill and craftsmanship show in every bottle of Palmetto beer.

Read more by nationally recognized beer writer Bobby Bush at: http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/bush-b/
CALENDAR

1/18 - 4th Winter Beer & Bluegrass Festival - Chapel Hill NC.
The festival has been rescheduled to this new date. The festival site, an American Legion Post, was commandeered by several power companies during the December ice storms in central North Carolina.

One of the state's top craft brewers festival continues to expand with more brewers.

A brand new beer festival promising 3 days of international beers, lots of music, seminars on beer and home brewing, a beach barbecue, a cask conditioned ale exhibition, and more.

4/5 - 8th Classic City Brew-Fest - Athens GA
RESOURCES

It's that time again. You know, when you scratch your head and wonder what in the world you'll give that special someone on your Christmas gift list. Here are some places to look if you'd like to see some interesting beer related items. Do it for Santa. He needs all the help he can get this year.

Books, Art & Posters
Allposters.com: www.allposters.com Enter "beer" in the search box.

Glassware & Steins
Pubglasses: www.pubglasses.com
Custom Glassware: www.customglassware.com
Great American Brewery Shoppe: www.beer-steins.com

Food, Collectibles, Signs, Coasters, Shirts, Music, more....
NEWS

AVAO BRANDS MAKES INTEREST PAYMENTS

We continue to follow the struggle of Madison GA-based Avado Brands, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: AVDO.) The company announced it made its semi-annual interest payment to holders of its 9-3/4% Senior Notes. The interest payment was originally due on December 1, 2002 and as the Company indicated earlier, the payment was made within the 30 day, no-default period provided for under the terms of the Indenture.
Avado Brands owns and operates two proprietary brands, 66 Hops Restaurant - Bar - Breweries, most of which are in the South, and 120 Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchens. Hops recently closed three under performing southern locations, including units in Chattanooga TN, Alpharetta GA, and Lafayette LA.

The Company is closely monitoring its liquidity position and continues to believe that it will be able to make the semi-annual interest payment due to holders of its 11-3/4% Senior Subordinated Notes, which was originally due on December 15, 2002, within the 30 day no-default period provided for under the terms of that Indenture.

Avado needs to obtain sources of capital to meet its cash needs and debt obligations. The company only had $309,000 of cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet as of Sept. 29, 2002. Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services recently revised its corporate credit rating for Avado to 'SD'  (selective default) from 'D' and raised its senior unsecured debt rating on the company to 'CC' from 'D'. At the same time, Standard & Poor's
affirmed its 'D' rating on Avado Brands' subordinated notes.

"Avado's financial flexibility continues to be limited. On Dec. 27, 2002, the company executed an amendment to its $75 million credit facility whereby its lenders agreed to forbear from exercising their remedies with respect to existing events of default until May 31, 2003. The amendment also revised certain financial covenants and requires the company to reduce its obligations under the facility to zero by May 25, 2003," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Diane Shand.

The Company also announced that it has substantially completed the divestiture of its Canyon Cafe Brand. On December 20, 2002, the Company completed a transaction in which seven restaurants were divested for total consideration of approximately $2.4 million. After the completion of this transaction, the Company has four remaining Canyon Cafe locations, which are held for sale.
Source: Avado Brands / PRNewswire-FirstCall

GEE, YOUR BEER SMELLS TERRIFIC by Enrique Garabetyan

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- After decades of advances in artificial enhancements to vision and hearing, the oldest human sense is finally getting some attention. The race has begun to build a better nose.

Several electronic sniffers, or e-noses, have entered the market in recent years. These mostly cumbersome and expensive contraptions, which are employed by industries ranging from food processing to airport security to health care, sell for anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000.

A newcomer called the Pampa, designed by researchers in Argentina, ups the ante in this growing field. Still in the prototype phase, the Pampa is a high-performance e-nose that's small enough to be portable yet less
expensive than its older, larger rivals. It weighs less than two pounds, fits into a small plastic container about the size of a shoe box and sells for $5,000 to $10,000.

Although the first operational model of the Pampa is still under development, several large food companies in South America are already expressing interest in the finished product. Beer manufacturers want the Pampa for monitoring the quality of hops, and producers of yerba mate (an herbal tea popular in Argentina, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) want it for sorting brands and types of plant leaves.

The Pampa can be modified to identify the properties of many food products, such as coffee, tea and olive oil. It may also be used to detect substances like poisonous gases and toxic chemicals.

Still, some might wonder, why purchase an artificial e-nose when human beings come equipped with the real thing? The reason is that humans have a relatively weak sense of smell, especially compared with other mammals. In addition, even the best biological sniffers, human or canine, cannot put up with a repetitive task designed to tap their sniffing powers. A few hours on the job will saturate the most expert snout and make it unable to discern between subtly different substances.

"For half or even a fifth of the current usual prices, our customers will get a custom-made and fine-tuned product," says Maximiliano Fisher, an engineer and the project's product development coordinator.

"Our device is already light and accurate," says Alfredo Boselli, a physicist working on the project. "The next step is to upgrade the gas-diffusion chamber to enhance real-time data acquisition and develop a friendlier display of the results." The current market for electronic sniffers is estimated in the low tens of millions of dollars annually,
but experts say it is growing fast.
The material presented on this site is based on information believed to be correct, but is subject
to change at anytime. If you have an update, correction, suggestion or any other contribution,
please send it to us at: updates@beersouth.com. We welcome your input.

(c) 1999 - 2003 by Beer South. All Rights Reserved.
The material presented on this site is based on information believed to be correct, but is subject
to change at anytime. If you have an update, correction, suggestion or any other contribution,
please send it to us at: updates@beersouth.com. We welcome your input.

(c) 1999 - 2003 by Beer South. All Rights Reserved.
January 2002 Buzz
NEWS

AVAO BRANDS MAKES INTEREST PAYMENTS

We continue to follow the struggle of Madison GA-based Avado Brands, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: AVDO.) The company announced it made its semi-annual interest payment to holders of its 9-3/4% Senior Notes. The interest payment was originally due on December 1, 2002 and as the Company indicated earlier, the payment was made within the 30 day, no-default period provided for under the terms of the Indenture.
Avado Brands owns and operates two proprietary brands, 66 Hops Restaurant - Bar - Breweries, most of which are in the South, and 120 Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchens. Hops recently closed three under performing southern locations, including units in Chattanooga TN, Alpharetta GA, and Lafayette LA.

The Company is closely monitoring its liquidity position and continues to believe that it will be able to make the semi-annual interest payment due to holders of its 11-3/4% Senior Subordinated Notes, which was originally due on December 15, 2002, within the 30 day no-default period provided for under the terms of that Indenture.

Avado needs to obtain sources of capital to meet its cash needs and debt obligations. The company only had $309,000 of cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet as of Sept. 29, 2002. Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services recently revised its corporate credit rating for Avado to 'SD'  (selective default) from 'D' and raised its senior unsecured debt rating on the company to 'CC' from 'D'. At the same time, Standard & Poor's
affirmed its 'D' rating on Avado Brands' subordinated notes.

"Avado's financial flexibility continues to be limited. On Dec. 27, 2002, the company executed an amendment to its $75 million credit facility whereby its lenders agreed to forbear from exercising their remedies with respect to existing events of default until May 31, 2003. The amendment also revised certain financial covenants and requires the company to reduce its obligations under the facility to zero by May 25, 2003," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Diane Shand.

The Company also announced that it has substantially completed the divestiture of its Canyon Cafe Brand. On December 20, 2002, the Company completed a transaction in which seven restaurants were divested for total consideration of approximately $2.4 million. After the completion of this transaction, the Company has four remaining Canyon Cafe locations, which are held for sale.
Source: Avado Brands / PRNewswire-FirstCall

GEE, YOUR BEER SMELLS TERRIFIC by Enrique Garabetyan

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- After decades of advances in artificial enhancements to vision and hearing, the oldest human sense is finally getting some attention. The race has begun to build a better nose.

Several electronic sniffers, or e-noses, have entered the market in recent years. These mostly cumbersome and expensive contraptions, which are employed by industries ranging from food processing to airport security to health care, sell for anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000.

A newcomer called the Pampa, designed by researchers in Argentina, ups the ante in this growing field. Still in the prototype phase, the Pampa is a high-performance e-nose that's small enough to be portable yet less
expensive than its older, larger rivals. It weighs less than two pounds, fits into a small plastic container about the size of a shoe box and sells for $5,000 to $10,000.

Although the first operational model of the Pampa is still under development, several large food companies in South America are already expressing interest in the finished product. Beer manufacturers want the Pampa for monitoring the quality of hops, and producers of yerba mate (an herbal tea popular in Argentina, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) want it for sorting brands and types of plant leaves.

The Pampa can be modified to identify the properties of many food products, such as coffee, tea and olive oil. It may also be used to detect substances like poisonous gases and toxic chemicals.

Still, some might wonder, why purchase an artificial e-nose when human beings come equipped with the real thing? The reason is that humans have a relatively weak sense of smell, especially compared with other mammals. In addition, even the best biological sniffers, human or canine, cannot put up with a repetitive task designed to tap their sniffing powers. A few hours on the job will saturate the most expert snout and make it unable to discern between subtly different substances.

"For half or even a fifth of the current usual prices, our customers will get a custom-made and fine-tuned product," says Maximiliano Fisher, an engineer and the project's product development coordinator.

"Our device is already light and accurate," says Alfredo Boselli, a physicist working on the project. "The next step is to upgrade the gas-diffusion chamber to enhance real-time data acquisition and develop a friendlier display of the results." The current market for electronic sniffers is estimated in the low tens of millions of dollars annually,
but experts say it is growing fast.
Greetings,

With much of the south in winter's grip, there's no better time than now to spend time with your friends, be it in your home or at the local pub. As always, good beer and beverages make such gatherings all the better. For those in the warmers climes, say Florida, just like the rest of us, you look forward to Spring. For us it means warmer weather. But for you, it means the snowbirds (winter tourists) go back from whence they came.
So here's hoping you stay warm, figuratively and spiritually, until Spring. ...The Beer Bwana
BREWING CHANGES

Personnel

NC / Asheville - Highland Brewery: Mike Duffy to the position of assistant brewer. Duffy was the brewer for nearby Green Man Brewing Company at the Jack of the Wood Pub. He will continue to make beer for Green Man while they search for a replacement.
RESOURCES

It's that time again. You know, when you scratch your head and wonder what in the world you'll give that special someone on your Christmas gift list. Here are some places to look if you'd like to see some interesting beer related items. Do it for Santa. He needs all the help he can get this year.

Books, Art & Posters
Allposters.com: www.allposters.com Enter "beer" in the search box.

Glassware & Steins
Pubglasses: www.pubglasses.com
Custom Glassware: www.customglassware.com
Great American Brewery Shoppe: www.beer-steins.com

Food, Collectibles, Signs, Coasters, Shirts, Music, more....
CALENDAR

1/18 - 4th Winter Beer & Bluegrass Festival - Chapel Hill NC.
The festival has been rescheduled to this new date. The festival site, an American Legion Post, was commandeered by several power companies during the December ice storms in central North Carolina.

One of the state's top craft brewers festival continues to expand with more brewers.

A brand new beer festival promising 3 days of international beers, lots of music, seminars on beer and home brewing, a beach barbecue, a cask conditioned ale exhibition, and more.

4/5 - 8th Classic City Brew-Fest - Athens GA
PROFILES IN BREWING By Bobby Bush, author of "Beer & Loafing"

David Merritt, brewer for Palmetto Brewing Co. in Charleston, South Carolina

Drawing on 30 years of experience in wine importation, Louis Bruce and
Ed Falkenstein, a chemical engineer, designed and built Palmetto Brewing
Company in an old brick-and-mortar building on Huger Street.
Construction and de-construction work began in 1993. In their regulatory
paperwork chase, the legislature in Columbia was shocked when it
discovered that current state law did not prohibit such a bold endeavor.
By '94 the ground-breaking Charleston microbrewery was off and brewing.

David Merritt joined the three-man Palmetto team in March 2000. His brewing background dates back to a homebrewing hobby that grew exponentially, directing the Charleston native to University of California-Davis' short brewing course in 1995. Beginning with part-time grunt work, David eventually became the full-time assistant brewer at Charleston's Southend Smokehouse brewpub. He was "still getting his wings wet" when he moved to Palmetto as an assistant. His main responsibility at the beginning was every brewer's worst nightmare, running the bottling line.

Now settled in as head brewer, David has fine-tuned the original Palmetto recipes. Though barely noticeable, his touch and brewing regimen made good beer even better. Palmetto Amber outsells Pale Ale two to one. This big brew presents a gracious balance of malt sweetness and hops' bittering effect. Though slightly more bitter, Palmetto Pale Ale is without a bitter bite. A combination of Pacific Northwest Cascades hops and a run through a post-brew Chinook hopback results in a more floral, less dry finish than the typical West Coast pale ale has these
days. David's goal is not to knock-off Sierra Nevada. He "would rather go for something different."

Properly conditioned and lagered for two months, Palmetto Lager is crisp, clean and golden, thanks in part to Czech Saaz hops and proper German yeast. Porter completes the Palmetto line-up, though it may be replaced in the future. A combination of dark malts gives this ale its character which includes an almost chalky flavor with a dry finish.

David describes Palmetto as "the cleanest brewhouse in South Carolina." While that boast is somewhat argumentative, the 25 barrel brewery's cleaning routine is above reproach. Working with three 50-barrel and one
25-barrel fermenter, Palmetto is running near its current capacity. That's why there are no seasonal beers. David brews three or four times each week. About 65%-70% of the micro's output is bottled. Though Palmetto beers are distributed only in the state, there's room to continue growing at the brewery's current rate of 10% annually. Palmetto spends very little on marketing, concentrating on the product rather than flashy promotional material. Their coastal market is well established. Palmetto bottled beers are prominently displayed on many supermarket shelves. Nearly every eastern South Carolina bar and restaurant has Palmetto Amber on tap.

Owner Louis makes no apologies for in-state distribution. He feels that it's a mistake for beer to travel too far. With wide-distribution, a local beer loses its local selling point and freshness becomes a bigger concern. People come to the Charleston area "looking for the Low Country experience," he says. Palmetto provides that local beer encounter.

"If you're not in brewing for the long run, you're not in it," the brewer states will a high level of seriousness. "I do it because I love it." David Merritt's love, skill and craftsmanship show in every bottle of Palmetto beer.

Read more by nationally recognized beer writer Bobby Bush at: http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/bush-b/
===============================================================================
Thanks to: Ron Downer, Gerald Flowers, Todd Hicks, Ken Keonig, Rich Lasusa.

Until February, cheers!
The Beer Bwana