Want to win a trip to Australia? It’s never been easier. All you have to do is submit a name for Mollydooker’s newest wine and you might find yourself on a flight to down under, where there have been rumors of sightings of Mutineer Magazine’s Alan Kropf in recent months.

See below for more information on the Mollydooker contest.

McLaren Vale, Australia, August 1, 2011— What’s in a name? You tell us. Mollydooker, the fun-filled Australian winery, is on a worldwide search for the perfect name for its newest wine. The winning name will forever be displayed on the label of their new Sparkling Shiraz and will become part of the flavorful family of award winning Mollydooker wines.

Contestants can find the guidelines and enter their name suggestions online at online, the contest closes on September 4, 2011 and the winner will be announced on September 15, 2011 (International Mollydooker Day) at the Mollydooker Winemaker’s Dinner at the Palomar Hotel, Washington D.C.

As we reported in May, Stone Brewing Co. had planned to start releasing barrel aged beers in bottles in their newly found Quingenti Millilitre series. A couple months later, the first beer in the series is just about ready and raffle tickets can be purchased for your chance to win one of the 500 or so bottles in this release. Read below to learn more about the release.

Escondido, CA | Aug 03, 2011 – Stone Brewing Co. is launching a new series of specialty beers dubbed Quingenti Millilitre. These limited release beers will be featured in cork-finished 500ml bottles, and will present a new tier in Stone’s award-winning lineup, encompassing beers that have been barrel aged, dry hopped, or otherwise made extra, extra special. First up? Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels.

…and plenty more.

California doesn’t seem to go out of their way very often to make things easier for craft breweries or those wanting to try new things in the beverage industry, but for once, they have eased the burden on many up-and-coming craft breweries.

With the signing of AB 1014 by California Governor Jerry Brown, breweries are now exempt from having to follow the unnecessary and burdensome building requirements designed for food facilities for their tasting rooms, where only beer will be poured. Previously, breweries wishing to have a tasting room at their brewery would be required to follow the same requirements which would often lead to tens of thousands dollars worth of improvements such as installing several industrial sinks and redoing electrical wiring and plumbing.

The Lost Abbey brewery in San Marcos, California ran into this very issue last year when the Health Department handed them a cease and desist order to stop tasting room operations. The Health Department told them they had been operating illegally for the previous four years without the required health permit, while the Alcohol Control Board said they were 100% in compliance with the license they were issued four year prior. Luckily for The Lost Abbey, the Health Department would either receive a lot of complaints about their targeting of the tasting room or realize they don’t know what they’re doing (or both) and dropped their cease and desist, just days before The Lost Abbey began cutting concrete and making the necessary changes to be in “compliance”.

Back to AB 1014, “This bill will relieve craft brewers from the unnecessary burden of installing restaurant grade equipment that simply isn’t needed to pour a taste of beer,” said Tom McCormick, Executive Director of the California Small Brewers Association. “This is a common sense law that garnered bipartisan support at the Capitol. Yet another example that good beer brings people together.”

The bill, authored by Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego and Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, passed both the Senate and Assembly floor votes unanimously.

“We are an industry the state can be proud of,” said McCormick. “Craft brewers by nature tend to have environmentally sound practices, we employ a lot of people and we give back to our communities in many ways.”

This week’s installment of The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess brought to you by the Small Screen Network brings you the Piña Colada. According to Robert Hess, “It was on August 15, 1954, that Ramon “Monchito” Marrero Perez first introduced the Pina Colada to the customers of the Beachcomber Bar at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is said that he spent three months working on it until he finally felt he had captured ]the sunny, tropical flavor of Puerto Rico in a glass.’”

With summer in full swing and Tales of the Cocktail just getting wrapped up which included the USBG Bacardi Pina Colada Competition, what better way to celebrate Tuesday than with a Pina Colada?

Piña Colada

• 2 oz Bacardi Superior rum
• 1 oz Coco Lopez Coconut Cream
• 1 oz heavy cream
• 6 oz pineapple juice
• 4-6 oz ice

Instructions

• Blend all ingredients in a blender
• Garnish with a speared cherry and pineapple chunk

As if it’s a surprise to anyone that knows Sierra Nevada Brewing and the monumental steps they take to minimize their impact on the environment and be a sustainable brewery, well, they are at it again. From the same people who were named ”Green Business of the Year” by the EPA, they happily announce the launch of their third annual “Wild Rivers” campaign. See below for the press release.

Chico, CA – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. — a pioneer in sustainability and craft brewing—announced today the launch of the third annual “Wild Rivers” campaign. Wild Rivers is a campaign dedicated to helping preserve vital waterways across the country.

Besides Western Rivers Conservancy, the 2011 Wild Rivers campaign will support the Ohio River Foundation, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, The River Project, and the Southeast Watershed Forum.

Do you drink more rum than Jack Sparrow? Is it your life’s mission to dress in Tommy Bahama duds and visit tropical locations discussing the finer points of mojito versus daiquiri? Does the idea of adding Rum Ambassador to your resume get you all giddy?

Then this could be your ideal job, with a $50,000 purse to boot. Tommy Bahama’s is looking for a Rumologist to design a rum program for their 14 worldwide locations, wardrobe included. Apply now!  Or at least watch this video linked below (since I know you don’t want to read the fine print). There may or may not be a mix off required.

“This is an amazing opportunity for someone to not only take their career to the next level, but to experience the Tommy Bahama way-of-life,” explains Goldberg.  “Our goal with this search is to not only find the world’s first Tommy Bahama Rumologist; it is to also introduce thousands of people to the Tommy Bahama island-inspired lifestyle.  Career-building opportunities are tough to come by these days, and we believe we’ve created the most exciting consultant position in the world.  We can’t wait to discover our first Rumologist.”

PS I will expect you to swizzle me something at the Wailea Tommy Bahama’s if you get this job.

See the press release below for all the details:

Do you know the difference between a swizzle and a shrubb? Do you dream of Mojito’s? If so, Tommy Bahama has an opportunity for you! Tommy Bahama is excited to announce the search for the first-ever Tommy Bahama Rumologist™. We’ve created the most exciting consulting position in the world and we are scouring the country for the most qualified person to represent Tommy Bahama as our official Rumologist – sharing our passion for rum with the world! The Rumologist will win $50,000 and be an ambassador traveling the United States, speaking, educating, and experimenting with all things related to rum! We’re looking for someone who knows the history, how it’s mixed, how it pairs with food – and who loves to share that knowledge. Tommy Bahama is looking for bartenders, mixologists, and anyone that believes they can hold and honor the title. The contest application can be found on the Tommy Bahama Facebook page. Participants will be asked to send a short video (45-60 seconds) declaring their candidacy and explain why they should be chosen. The Rumologist will be announced this October.

• July 28, 2011:  Search launches – applications available on the Tommy Bahama Facebook page.  Deadline for submissions:  August 22, 2011.
• August 29, 2011:  Judges select Top 20 based on their scoring.
• August 30, 2011:  Top 20 announced.
• August 30 – September 8, 2011:  Top 20 will be posted for public voting based on first video submission.
• September 12, 2011:  The Top 10 who received the most votes will be asked to submit a new video.
  o   Video can be up to two minutes in length and must be posted no later than September 22, 2011 at 11:59 PM EST.

  o   Applicants will be encouraged to be as creative as they would like to showcase why they should be the Rumologist.

• September 26, 2011:  Top 5 is announced and voting commences.
• October 3, 2011:  Voting period for Top 5 ends.
• October 6, 2011:  Winner Announced (on or around October 6, 2011).

Click here for rules and regulations.