The story of Anchor Brewery begins shortly after gold was discovered in nearby Sutter’s Mill. That’s when German brewer “Gottlieb Brekle arrived in San Francisco with his wife Marie and infant son Frederick.” In 1854, Brekle applied for U.S. citizenship and 1871 bought an old beer-and-billiards saloon near Russian Hill. That location became “a little San Francisco brewery on Pacific, between Larkin and Hyde,” and 25-years later was known as Anchor Brewery.
On February 16, Anchor will unveil it’s newest beer, an all-malt, single hop brown ale named for the original Anchor brewer, Gottlieb Brekle, who was brewmaster from 1871 to 1888. Brekle’s Brown will then be available on draft only at select locations throughout the Bay Area for the remainder of SF Beer Week from February 17-20. Look for it at better beer bars everywhere.
Brookston Football Pool Winners
With a most satisfying conclusion to the Super Bowl yesterday, the winners of the Brookston Football Pools 2010 have been decided. Congratulations to everyone who played this year, the winners are:
Pick ‘Em League
- nighthops (174)
- Austin Hopheads (165)
- TIE: Beerguy101, HoldFastBrewery (160)
- TIE: The Beer Runners, bbbilly, GreenMachine-MWA, OakshireMatt (158)
- Piranha Pale Riders (157)
- Mr. Nuts (156)
- Bakersfield Bills (155)
- TIE: Beerman49, Hopstain (154)
- Little Guy (152)
- TIE: Fort Braggers, Pour Curator (151)
Congratulations to Lucas (a.k.a. nighthops). He took an early lead and never let go.
This was the first year they kept the picks going through the playoffs. It looks like next year, we’ll be able to assign more points for correct playoff picks which could keep thinks lively down to the end. I’m thinking it would make sense for Wildcard week to be worth 2, then 3, then 4 and finally 5 (or more?) for picking the Super Bowl winner.
Survivor League
It took 16 weeks before a winner emerged. In fact, two of the remaining three were both knocked out that week — GreenMachina-WMA and Hopstain. That allowed DOZEer to become the winner, having only one miss for the entire season.
Congratulations to Paul (a.k.a. DOZEer) for the being the lone survivor.
Thanks to everybody who played. See you next year.
Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For February 2011
The February 2011 standings are out for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. For a third straight month, I’m still hanging on to the top spot. Here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:
Wikio February 2011 Beer Blog Rankings
| 1 | Brookston Beer Bulletin (+/-0) |
| 2 | Beervana (+/-0) |
| 3 | Brewpublic (+1) |
| 4 | The New School (-1) |
| 5 | Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (+/-0) |
| 6 | Washington Beer Blog (+5) |
| 7 | A Good Beer Blog (-1) |
| 8 | The Not So Professional Beer Blog (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 9 | It’s Pub Night (+11) |
| 10 | Seattle Beer News (+8) |
| 11 | Drink With The Wench (-3) |
| 12 | BetterBeerBlog (-3) |
| 13 | Beer 47 (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 14 | Brewed For Thought (+1) |
| 15 | KC Beer Blog (+4) |
| 16 | The Session Beer Project (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 17 | Seen Through a Glass (-4) |
| 18 | Burgers & Brews (-8) |
| 19 | I Love Beer (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 20 | An Ear For Beer (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
Ranking made by Wikio
I again added the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, four new blogs cracked the Top 20, and four dropped off. Again, I’ll keep stressing that it’s just a bit of fun so long as we don’t take it too seriously.
Barley’s Angels Goes Worldwide
If you haven’t heard of the Pink Boots Society, it’s an organization by and for women in the brewing industry. It’s open not just to brewers, but to women in any position throughout the industry, whether owners, salespeople, servers or writers. Founded by Oregon brewer Teri Fahrendorf in 2008, today there are over 500 members of the society.
Last week, Portland beer writer Lisa Morrison — a.k.a. the Beer Goddess — started a consumer division of the society known as “Barley’s Angels.” The idea is inspire chapters all over the country and the world, and the first chapter in Portland met for the first time January 23. The worldwide launch is now scheduled for February 20. There will be a meeting in the Pacific Northwest, at Fort George Brewing in Astoria, Oregon. (Sunday, Feb. 20, 2-5 p.m.; $35 per person.) At the “Beer O’Clock Chapter” meeting, founder Lisa Morrison will lead a tasting comparing “at least six beers, pairing them with some fantastic snacks, learning a bit about recent developments regarding beer as a healthy addition to your diet.”
At the same time, new chapters will hold meetings in London, England; Toronto, Canada and Sydney, Australia. And if you want to start a chapter in your town, now’s the time. Information about how to start your own chapter can be found at the Barley’s Angels website.
My only question is who gets to be Bosley … and is there a Barley?
The Barley’s Angels website also has information about the aims of the group and the answer to the question you know were asking, why Barley’s Angels?
Here’s the basics from the homepage:
What we are:
Mission Statement: As the consumer leg of the Pink Boots Society, Barley’s Angels is committed to involving women in the enjoyment of craft beer by creating environments where women can learn more about beer in a friendly, educational and supportive atmosphere, thus creating more women beer enthusiasts, and, ultimately, involving more women in beer- and brewery-related careers.
Purpose: Barley’s Angels is a growing collection of individual chapters around the world that work with craft-beer focused breweries, brewpubs, restaurants, alehouses and other public beer establishments to advance the female consumer craft beer enthusiast, resulting in increased patronage and revenue from women, while encouraging education and interest in beer among this often under-recognized demographic group.
What we are not:
Barley’s Angels is not just a social, beer-drinking club for women. Barley’s Angels respect beer and brewing, have a thirst for education, enjoy beer responsibly and act appropriately at all times.
Casting Call: Homebrewing Meets Reality TV
It was bound to happen, but at least it’s being done by someone we know and trust to treat beer and homebrewing with the proper respect. The Brewing Network has partnered with KOFY Channel 20 to create a new reality TV show about … homebrewing. The show, to be called Brew Your Own Beer TV, will take the form of a “game show-reality style program pitting teams of homebrewers and craft beer lovers against one another for some really great prizes. It will be shot all across the greater Bay Area in parking lots and bars and breweries.”
Here’s what they’re looking for:
We are looking for beer lovers of all types, men and women, couples, teams, bikini models — as long as they have a general understanding of how beer is made and a flexible schedule, they will be considered for the show.
Do you love beer? Are you a home brewer or craft beer enthusiast? Are you interested in learning more about the brewing process while competing with other brewers for great prizes?
We are casting for a reality show that centers around home brewers and craft beer lovers in the greater San Fransisco Bay Area.
Applicants must have a LOVE for beer, a desire to learn more about the brewing process, and a flexible schedule between February 20th and June 15th. A basic knowledge of how beer is made is required but home brewing experience is not a must — we want beer lovers of all knowledge levels.
21 and older only!
To apply: e-mail your name, recent photo, brewing experience (if any), an explanation or example of your passion for beer, and a reason why you should be a part of this TV show. If possible, you may also submit a link to a short video that further explains why we should select you and to help us get to know you better.
Deadline for submissions is February 15th!
The casting call is also on Craigslist and that’s where the e-mail address to use for applying can be found. Or you can simply e-mail the Brewing Network.
My understanding is that there will be ten teams of homebrewers competing, so not every team has to consist entirely of expert homebrewers. You’d need at least one, of course, but enthusiastic assistants that work well together would most likely make for the best team, rather than all homebrewers who might have trouble agreeing on how to proceed. There will be contests and competitions along the way to eliminate teams until one emerges victorious. Sounds like it could be great fun.
Good luck to everybody, and good brewing. But hurry up and apply, there’s less than two weeks to go.
Rumors Of An Anheuser-Busch InBev & SABMiller Merger?
Wow. This rumor is just mind-boggling. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. But could it be true? According to Harry Schuhmacher at Beer Business Daily, it’s not only being discussed but is considered “likely and lucrative.” Harry’s quoting analysts at Credit Suisse who believe “‘SABMiller selling to ABI would provide SAB management and shareholders an obvious and desirable exit strategy for all involved. The idea of a merger we believe could be sold to both sets of shareholders’ even though ‘this would be a large deal with many moving parts.'” Apparently there’s not much overlap between the two behemoths globally, but in the U.S. it would be more of an issue, with the two companies combining for around 80% of the domestic beer market. That, I imagine, would raise big anti-trust concerns and would loom large in the closing of the deal, which would also most likely lead to massive distributor consolidation. The price being thrown around is somewhere in the $9-10 billion range.
Obviously, there’s a lot more details to be worked out, and many of them are already addressed in the Beer Business Daily piece, which looks at pros and cons for both sides, and likely resolutions of certain issues both companies face. It’s not as far-fetched as you might think on first blush. To read the rest of it, I highly recommend a subscription to Harry’s newsletter.
When Anheuser-Busch and InBev merged, I remember someone joking that eventually there would be just one international beer company and it would just be called “Beer.” I chuckled at the time, but maybe they were on to something. Stay tuned, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Brewhog Determines No More Winter Ales, Bring On The Spring Beers
Over in Gobbler’s Knob, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Phil the Groundhog — a.k.a. Brewhog — raised up his head this morning and looked around, but could not see his shadow anywhere. You know what that means. It’s out with the winter beers and in with the spring beers early this year. Or something about an early spring, I can’t keep it straight. You can see a video of Punxsutawney Phil here. And there’s more information about Groundhog Day at the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
When Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense
There was a little item in the Brickbats section of Reason magazine for February about a high school cheerleader in Ohio who was suspended for two games. Why, you may ask? Because school officials found a photo of her on Facebook holding a beer at a family wedding. According to her own Mother, she wasn’t drinking it, just holding it. No matter, her school insists that even holding a bottle of beer violates their no-alcohol policy.
Where to begin? All by itself, it’s a rather absurd and silly incident, but what it represents is, I believe, much larger. It’s a little sad that school officials, with all the budget cuts schools are facing, even have time and the inclination to troll Facebook looking for school policy violations. But if it was at a family wedding, not a kegger, and her Mom was okay with whatever was going on (holding it for another adult?) and assures us nothing sinister was occurring, frankly that should have been the end of it. It should matter that it wasn’t even on school property, at a private, family event but believe it or not courts have actually ruled that schools can regulate a student’s behavior outside of school, which as a parent I find both frightening and infuriating. That’s not their job, it’s my job. Period. Education is their job.
But that’s the sort of nonsense zero tolerance causes. It ignores circumstances and common sense, creating results that have little to do with the spirit of the policy. It punishes the innocent indiscriminately, which could even lead to issues with authority for the students on the receiving end of such unjust treatment. Is that really the lesson we want to teach our children? Follow the letter of the law no matter how ridiculous or suffer the consequences. Don’t think for yourself or interpret, just obediently do what you’re told. No exceptions.
In theory, such a policy would mean I can’t ask my son to help carry groceries if one of the bags contain alcohol. (Or for my brethren in less fortunate states, where even beer in grocery stores is too dangerous and not permitted, how about carrying the beer from the state store or beer distributor.) Is that rational? Does it serve some higher purpose of education? Or does it further the demonization of alcohol and our already irrational fear of it? And what does it say about who controls our own children, when a school can override a parent’s choice of discipline. Parents have the ultimate responsibility for their child’s upbringing and welfare, but the school has the final say?
But there’s obviously nothing rational about alcohol in our society, as this incident so clearly reveals. Whenever it’s about beer, you can be sure decades of one-sided propaganda will create absurdist zero tolerance laws and policies that makes sense only to Franz Kafka.
Gambrinus Discontinues Pete’s Wicked Ales
It’s the end of an era. My friend Pete Slosberg was a pioneer in the craft beer world. His Pete’s Wicked Ale, which debuted in 1986, penetrated the country nationwide and helped introduce flavorful beers in places that previously hadn’t known any. He was a beer ambassador who traveled tirelessly in those heady early days. Pete sold the brand to the Gambrinus Company in 1998, and they’ve had mixed results with it ever since.
I learned today that Gambrinus has sent letters to their distributors announcing that as of March 1, 2011 they’ll be discontinuing the Pete’s brand, citing “rapidly declining sales volumes.” Pick some up while you still can, and have your last taste of the iconic brand.
And for a fun trip down memory lane, below are a few television commercials that Pete did around 1994. Enjoy.
Signing Autographs, a TV commercial from 1994.
Here’s a second one, also from 1994, where a police officer ask him for a permit.
Here’s one that never aired, “Pete Goes Clubbing.”
Are You Experienced Enough For Strong Beer Month?
It’s February, and that means it’s time for the 9th annual Strong Beer Month, once again with six new extreme beers each at 21st Amendment and Magnolia throughout February. Try them all, and you get to keep the commemorative glass. To see a list of the twelve beers, check out the Strong Beer Month website. This year’s theme is the Jimi Hendrix album “Are You Experienced” featuring instead of Jimi and his band, Dave McLean (from Magnolia) and Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico Freccia (both from 21st Amendment). Stop by both brewpubs throughout the month for the “Strong Beer Experience.”
