Rome firm shaking up beer business
Technology developed by a Rome company is literally shaking up the brewery industry.
ShockWave Xtractor technology from Hydro Dynamics, Inc. is now being used at one of the nation’s oldest breweries, Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. Doug Mancosky, vice president for research and development at Hydro Dynamics, said the Xtractor technology forms unstable bubbles that release energy when they collapse or implode.
“The s h o c k waves, which act like waves on a beach, force water into the hops and extract flavors that would normally stay trapped,” he said.
The technology allows brewers to produce more flavors using fewer hops.
Mancosky said the number of craft brewers has exploded over the last decade, the cost of hops has gone up and the ability to get more from a smaller supply of hops is attractive to the brewers.
Mancosky said HDI and Anchor made a connection at a trade show in Denver last August.
“We got a piece of equipment out there for them for trials late last year,” Mancosky said.
Anchor’s Blackberry Daze IPA is the first beer made using the technology and was introduced earlier this year. Anchor has been brewing for over 120 years and is distributed all over the country.
Anchor beers are available at The Foundry Growler Station, 255 N. Fifth Ave., and Harvest Moon Cafe, 234 Broad St.
WASHINGTON — Presi dent Donald Trump picked former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to be his agriculture secretary six weeks ago, but the administration still hasn’t formally provided the Senate with the paperwork for the nomination.
The delay is frustrating farmstate senators, who represent many of the core voters responsible for helping elect Trump.
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee needs the paperwork before the chairman, Sen. Pat Roberts, can schedule a confirmation hearing.
“I don’t know yet,” Robe r t s , R- Kan. , s a i d Wednesday when asked about Perdue’s information. “I wish to hell I did. We need a champion for agriculture, we need him on board.”
Roberts al s o c omplained about the delay at a committee hearing in Kansas last week. He predicted that Perdue would be confirmed quickly once the Senate can get started on the nomination.
The White House said the paperwork, including ethics forms and an FBI background check, is coming soon. The only other nomination that hasn’t been sent to Capitol Hill is that of Alexander Acosta, who was nominated to be labor secretary on Feb. 16 after the withdrawal of the original nominee, Andrew Puzder.
Senators say they haven’t been given an explanation for the delay involving Perdue.
“They don’t seem to have a reason as to why his name hasn’t come up,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters after asking around about the Perdue nomination.
The delay comes as some farm-state lawmakers question whether Trump is paying enough attention to rural areas, which overwhelmingly voted for him.
After Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night, Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North