Monday’s ad is for Dow Breweries, from — I assume — the 1950s, when bowling was king. Plus that was when ad copy was obsessed with the idea of modernity. Dow’s slogan, “The up-to-date ale for up-to-date people” is quite a mouthful, but it’s meant for modern people, since the beer is also “brewed to the modern taste,” whatever that means. How did they do that? Simple, it was “cool control” brewed, of course.
Archives for October 8, 2012
Happy Birthday To The Microbrewery
Today is the 36th anniversary of the day that New Albion Brewery incorporated, which happened on October 8, 1976. New Albion Brewery was the first modern microbrewery, the first small brewery to be built from scratch, mainly from scrap and discarded industrial equipment.
To me, and many others, that makes it the first modern microbrewery and its legacy should be remembered, revered and celebrated. Its founder, Jack McAuliffe, essentially shied away from the brewing community after the brewery closed in 1983, returning to his original profession as an engineer. As a result, few people — except us old-timers and historians — give McAuliffe his due. A lot of young brewers and fans don’t know his name, though that, happily, is changing.
Maureen Ogle managed to track down McAuliffe through his daughter for her book, Ambitious Brew, and in it she gives a great account of New Albion Brewery.
Jack McAuliffe back in the day.
Last year, of course, Sierra Nevada persuaded McAuliffe to come to Chico to collaborate on a beer for their 30th anniversary. Jack & Ken’s Ale, a black barley wine. At that point, more people began writing about him. Here are a few articles from last year:
- John Holl had a great piece he did for CraftBeer.com, New Albion Brewing.
- Eric Braun in the San Antonio Express-News, McAuliffe’s new home, wrote Jack McAuliffe is Namesake of Commemorative Sierra Nevada Beer.
- Greg Kitsock in the Washington Post writes The father of craft brewing comes out of retirement.
Since then, Jack has finally started to embrace his legacy. He came to the Craft Brewers Conference this past May, when it was in San Francisco. He stayed an extra week with a good friend from the old days in Sonoma. He had lunch at Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa, and the next day gave owners Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, along with myself, a tour of the spot where the brewery had been originally located.
Below are some photos taken in 1979 and ones I took earlier this year when I toured the old site.
The side and front of the brewery in 1979.
The front in 2011
The back and side in 1979.
The same side this year, with Jack McAuliffe and Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo.
Jack showing us that the brewery used to be … right … here.
The old photos are from a lengthy article about the brewery in Brewers Digest in November 1979. They also did a shorter follow-up in 1980. Breweriana collector Jess Kidden has a page online on the New Albion Brewing, where he has scans from the original articles. He was kind enough to send me the original scans, from which I clipped out more of the photos, which you can see in the slideshow below.
I had hoped to make today an official, or at least semi-official holiday, but alas, politics got in the way. So I’ll have to resort to the old-fashioned way of just celebrating it every year and hoping that eventually enough other people begin to recognize it. Really, that’s all it takes to create a holiday. So as far as I’m concerned October 8 is the “Birthday of the Microbrewery” or perhaps more simply “Microbrewery Day.” To that I’ll raise a glass each year to Jack McAuliffe and his pioneering New Albion Brewery. Thank you, Jack. This one’s for you.
Jack and Jim Koch during GABF last week in Denver.
And finally, my most recent newspaper column was my latest attempt at commemorating October 8, and a tribute to New Albion, entitled Jack McAuliffe, craft beer pioneer, although my original title was You Don’t Know Jack.
Croatia Beer
Today in 1991, Croatia gained their Independence from Yugoslavia.
Croatia
Croatia Breweries
- Apitrade
- BUP
- Buzetska Pivovara
- Carlsberg Croatia
- Daruvarska Pivovara
- Fructus
- Karlovačka Pivovara
- Mini Pivovara i Pivnica Zlatno Pivo
- Osijecka Pivovara
- Osjecko
- Pivovara Daruvar
- Pivovara i Pivnica Cimper
- Pivovara i Pinvice Medvedgrad
- Pivovara Ličanka
- Proizvodnja i ugostiteljstvo Charlie
- Proizvodno-trgovački obrt Dobra
- Zagrebačka Pivovara (StarBev)
- Zagrebačka Pivovara
- Zlatorog Varaždin
Croatia Brewery Guides
Other Guides
- CIA World Factbook
- Official Website
- U.S. Embassy
- Wikipedia
Guild: None Known
National Regulatory Agency: None
Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known
Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.05%; Zero for professional drivers and drivers under 24 years of age, 0.05% for all others.
- Full Name: Republic of Croatia
- Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
- Government Type: Presidential/parliamentary democracy
- Language: Croatian (official) 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) 2.9%
- Religion(s): Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2%
- Capital: Zagreb
- Population: 4,480,043; 123rd
- Area: 56,594 sq km, 127th
- Comparative Area: Slightly smaller than West Virginia
- National Food: Jota and Strukli
- National Symbols: Dalmatian, Marten; Iris croatica; Slavonian Oak; Checkerboard (šahovnica), Croatian wattle; Chequy; red-white checkerboard
- Affiliations: UN, NATO
- Independence: From Yugoslavia, Independence Day, October 8, 1991 Note: June 25, 1991 was the day the Croatian parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on October 8, 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia
- Alcohol Legal: Yes
- Minimum Drinking Age: 18 (to drink); 21 (to buy)
- BAC: 0.05%
- Number of Breweries: 22
- How to Say “Beer”: pivo
- How to Order a Beer: N/A
- How to Say “Cheers”: Uzdraulje or U zdravlje / Zivjeli
- Toasting Etiquette: N/A
Alcohol Consumption By Type:
- Beer: 37%
- Wine: 47%
- Spirits: 15%
- Other: 1%
Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):
- Recorded: 12.61
- Unrecorded: 2.50
- Total: 15.11
- Beer: 4.66
WHO Alcohol Data:
- Per Capita Consumption: 12.6 litres
- Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
- Excise Taxes: Yes
- Minimum Age: 18
- Sales Restrictions: Places, specific events, intoxicated persons
- Advertising Restrictions: Yes
- Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No
Patterns of Drinking Score: 3
Prohibition: None