.beer Domain Launched

SANTA MONICA, California, September 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The Brewers Association (BA), the not-for-profit trade association that represents the majority of U.S. breweries, will be among the first to register .beer web addresses under the new Internet top-level domain .beer when it becomes available to the general public on September 25, 2014.  

The launch of .beer by registry operator Minds + Machines is part of a major overhaul of the Internet's naming structure top-level domains by ICANN, the Internet's governing body. Over 1,000 new domains will be introduced onto the Internet over the next 18 months providing choice, relevance, and name availability to communities and businesses globally.

The public can register their .beer names at http://www.mindsandmachines.com/beer or at any participating domain name registrar. New .beer domain names will start at about $25 a year.

Among the .beer web addresses already registered are craft.beer, pumpkinfest.beer and homebrewers.beer. Well-known brewers like Elysian Brewing Company and Bear Republic Brewing Company have also already come on board to welcome the new Internet name.

Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines,

"We are in the middle of the largest transformation of the Internet to date. New top-level domains have been embraced by the likes of Amazon and Google, and we're about to see a tipping point where people naturally adopt domain endings that signal a particular interest, location or activity. We believe that everyone who is passionate about beer will adopt .beer as their natural Internet home. We are proud to be working with the Brewers Association and timing the launch of .beer to coincide with their Great American Beer Festival® in Denver, North America's most famous beer event."

Brewers Association Director Paul Gatza said:

"As the online landscape continues to evolve, the Brewers Association is working on behalf of our members-the country's small and independent craft brewers-to ensure they have access to robust online representation. We're pleased to count the BA and some of our members among the first .beer registrants."

In 2013, craft brewers captured a US market share of 14.3% in retail dollars and a 7.8% share by volume. In the first half of 2014, the sector continued to see double-digit growth with 10.6 million barrels sold in the first six months of the year, an increase of 18% from the first half of 2013.

Minds + Machines  

http://www.mindsandmachines.com

Brewers Association 

The Brewers Association is an organization of brewers, for brewers and by brewers. More than 2,300 U.S. brewery members and 43,000 members of the American Homebrewers Association are joined by members of the allied trade, beer wholesalers, retailers, individuals, other associate members and the Brewers Association staff to make up the Brewers Association.

SOURCE Minds + Machines