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Independent Brewers Open Membership, Launch Awards

The Society of Independent Brewers is expanding membership with three new member categories launching in 2022, starting with International Brewing Membership, which opened Aug. 1.

SIBA membership is open to independent breweries anywhere outside of the United Kingdom and includes a range of membership benefits, including access to the newly launched SIBA International Beer Awards.

“SIBA will offer our new International Brewing Members a variety of brewery business tools, U.K. promotional opportunities for their beer and brands, professional advice on essential business areas such as marketing or UK legislation, and free delegate tickets to BeerX – the U.K.’s biggest beer and brewing trade event – where our new International Awards will take place,” said Neil Walker, SIBA head of comms & marketing.

Only SIBA members will be eligible to enter beer into the SIBA International Beer Awards, with a broad variety of internationally recognized style categories judged by some of the U.K.’s most experienced beer judges, beer sommeliers and master brewers.

The awards include Belgian, French and Trappist styles, among others, alongside pale ale, IPA, speciality & sour beers, as well as more traditional British styles such as bitter and stout. The judging and awards presentation will take place as part of BeerX UK in March.

“Our new SIBA Independent Beer Awards are a truly unique competition and a first for the U.K. We’re really excited about bringing in craft breweries from across the globe and can’t wait to see who comes out on top. All of the judging and the awards presentation will take place at BeerX – the U.K.’s biggest beer and brewing trade event – so winners will get to accept their awards on the UK’s most prominent beer industry stage,” Neil said.

The trade association will bring amateur brewers into the fold, offering advice on turning professional, as well as the opportunity for technical Q&As with well-known craft brewers, a quarterly printed magazine, brewing tools and guidance, plus a new homebrew competition – again set to take place at the flagship BeerX event.

The final new member category, launching by the end of 2022, is to open SIBA membership to bottleshops – offering advice, guidance and Government lobbying support, as well as access to an exclusive retailer showcase at BeerX and more.

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Alaska Airlines Cooks Up Vegan, Plant-Based Options

Alaska Airlines’ Soy Meets World vegan salad includes roasted broccoli, fresh cucumber slices, scallions, pickled carrots, fried tofu and brown rice served over a bed of crisp romaine and baby lettuce greens, topped with roasted cashews, fried onions and paired with a Tamari Chili-Lime dressing.

This summer, Alaska Airlines guests can veg out on board with more gluten friendly, plant-based and vegan meal options available in all cabins. The new vegan option, “Soy Meets World,” is a vegan salad developed in partnership Evergreens, a West Coast-based company that makes gourmet, freshly chopped salads.

“We’re thrilled to offer our guests more healthy and nutritious choices when they fly with us,” said Todd Traynor-Corey, managing director of guest products. “We built our menu thoughtfully to offer more plant-based, vegan and gluten-free options, which include a range of fresh, bright flavors inspired by the West Coast and ingredients that are authentically healthy by nature such as roasted broccoli, crisp romaine and baby lettuce greens, quinoa, fresh fruit and more.”

Alaska Airlines offers three meal options in First Class, including its Signature Fruit & Cheese on flights as short as 550 miles.

It also offers ample food options in Premium Class and Main Cabin, which include up to four fresh options on flights over 1,100 miles and up to five snack items on flights over 223 miles, such as the Mediterranean Tapas Pack (vegan and gluten-free).

Now through October, guests can enjoy fresh summer flavors that include berries, summer squash, corn, citrus and tomatoes. To see all of our food and beverage offerings, visit alaskaair.com.

Travelers can enjoy fresh ingredients inspired by the West Coast, from snacks to freshly prepared meals, by pre-ordering favorites ahead of a flight using the reservation on the airline’s app or alaskaair.com.

Meal orders can be made starting 14 days before the flight, and up to 20 hours before departure.

Snacks and Picnic packs do not require pre-order and are available on board most flights over two hours. Mileage Plan members can store a method of payment in their Mileage Plan account for touch-free inflight purchases, including food and beverages.

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Fancy Feast Creates Gatto Bianco Italian Trattoria for Cat Lovers

Fancy Feast is opening Gatto Bianco by Fancy Feast, a limited-time, Italian-style trattoria and culinary experience in New York City, to celebrate its new globally inspired Medleys recipes.

Gatto Bianco will bring the mealtime experience of cats to life for cat owners and cat lovers and includes a special appearance by the iconic Fancy Feast cat herself, according to the company. The dishes (for humans!) take inspiration from Fancy Feast Medleys recipes and pay homage to traditional Italian cuisine, with a menu developed by Fancy Feast’s in-house chef, Amanda Hassner, along with Michelin Star winning Italian chef and acclaimed New York restaurateur Cesare Casella.

Chef Amanda Hassner

Located between the Far West Village and the Meatpacking District in New York City, Gatto Bianco will be open for dinner on Thursday, Aug. 11 and Friday, Aug. 12 only, with four reservations per evening at 6:30 p.m. ET. Each reservation will accommodate two guests (ages 21+).

Chef Cesare Casella

The 16 lucky cat lovers will enjoy a complimentary tasting menu that will transport them to Italy for the evening, as Chef Casella shares his Italian heritage and passion for cooking with a menu of authentic, Tuscan dishes, while Chef Hassner shares her culinary expertise to mirror the sensory experience of cats at mealtime.

“Food has the power to connect us to others in meaningful ways and take us to places we have never been,” said Hassner. “The same is true for our cats. The dishes at Gatto Bianco are prepared in ways that help cat owners understand how their cats experience food – from flavor, to texture, to form – in a way that only Fancy Feast can.”

The chefs will provide guests an inside look at the detail and expertise that goes into crafting each Fancy Feast recipe through a variety of delectable dishes and culinary exercises. The Gatto Bianco experience builds on the success of the Fancy Feast cookbook, launched in 2021, and is the newest way that Fancy Feast is showing cat owners the delight it brings to cats at every meal.

Reservations for Gatto Bianco will open for booking on Thursday, Aug. 4 at noon ET through OpenTable. Cat enthusiasts can go online to try to secure their spot and for more information. Reservations are limited and based on availability.

And for those who can’t come to Gatto Bianco, Fancy Feast is sharing recipes inspired by the Gatto Bianco menu so that cat lovers across the country can have an exceptional dining experience right in their own homes. Click here to download the recipes.

Fancy Feast Medleys are available at select retailers nationwide for a suggested retail price of $1.13.

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