My homemade beer-story search algorithm (i.e. my randomly clicking around the innerwebs) came up with this story on msnbc.com on beers that are seeing major declines in sales over the last 5 to 10 years.  The source of the data was 247wallst.com, but I couldn’t find a link to any data on the site after an extensive 15 seconds of searching.  Kind of interesting in a depressing sort of way.  Enjoy it for what it’s worth.

UPDATE: Vine Park will up the rewards by offering a Free Batch of Beer Brewing to the winning entry if it includes their name.

The Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild is launching a “Beer-Ku” contest, in which Minnesota craft beer fans are encouraged to write and email in a beer haiku that pays tribute to Minnesota craft brewing. It has to include mention of Minnesota, an MN craft brewer or beer and has to obey the rules of haiku, obviously.

The Guild will select two of the submitted Beer-Kus and reward each of the pint-loving poets with a pair of tickets to the Autumn Brew Review’s morning session (which is almost sold out). Beer-Ku submissions must be received by the contest deadline, noon on Friday, September 16.

How to Enter the Beer-Ku Contest:

Beer-Ku submissions can be emailed to minnesotabrewers@gmail.com.

The Beer-Ku Contest Rules:

• The Beer-Ku must stick to the traditional haiku form
• The Beer-Ku must include either the name of a MN Craft Brewer’s Guild member, a Minnesota craft beer or a mention of the state (and beer—obviously)
• The Beer-Ku must be submitted by noon CST on September 16

What is a Haiku?

Haiku is a Japanese poetry form of three lines with syllable limits of 5-7-5 (5 syllables each for the first and last lines, and 7 syllables in the second line).

An example of a Beer-Ku:

Minnesota beers
Always quench thirst no matter
Toast, sip, and enjoy