Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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“Brew Your Cask Off” Contest

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all-about-beer
All About Beer magazine, one of the publications I regularly write for, has launched a cool contest, where you could win a trip to the “Brew Your Cask Off” beer festival hosted by Georgia’s SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta, Georgia on March 5, 2011. The festival will include around 80 special one-of-a-kind cask ales created by brewers from around the country, each competing to win the “Best Cask Ale” or be declared the “Biggest Loser.”

You can win a trip for two to the event, courtesy of All About Beer, by telling them — in 300 words or less — what type of cask beer you’d brew. That’s roughly the equivalent of two tweets. Impress them with your beer description and you could win big.

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All the details, along with the form to enter, can be found at the All About Beer’s website. In a nutshell:

Tell us what type of cask you would brew in 300 words or less and you could win a free trip for two (two nights of lodging included) to the Brew Your Cask Off festival. In addition, you and your guest will be celebrity judges helping decide who made the best, and who made the worst cask ale.

Entries will be judged on entertainment value, imagination, artistic abilities, historical accuracies, whatever criteria strikes us at the office when we all sit down to decide the lucky winner of a trip for two to Brew Your Cask Off. You need not be a professional or even an amateur brewer — just someone with a palate for what makes a good cask ale.

Start thinking about your beer, but don’t ponder it too long. All entries must be received by Valentine’s Day, February 14th, and the winner will be announced on February 18.

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Beer In Ads #298: Their Hero Arrives On The Next Bus

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Thursday’s ad is from 1940 and is for Budweiser. The ad’s tagline is “Their Hero Arrives on the Next Bus,” and shows two young children standing by a fence eagerly awaiting the arrival of their “daddy” home from work. Read the ad copy on this one, it’s pretty hilarious. And check out at the bottom their “Make This Test” in the center box. “Drink Budweiser for five days. On the sixth day, try to drink a sweet beer. You will want Budweiser’s flavor thereafter.” Or maybe not.

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Walgreens Debuts Private Label Beer

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The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the drug store chain Walgreens has rolled out their own private label beer in cans, called Big Flats 1901. Walgreens is carrying the new beers in 60% of its nearly 8,000 locations and the average price is about $2.99 per six-pack or 50 cents a can. Around 15 years ago, Walgreens stopped selling alcohol in all (most?) of its stores, but recently starting stocking it again in less than half of the locations.

It would appear that Genesee Brewing in New York, part of North American Breweries, is the contract brewer making the lager beer. The label refers to the it as “Premium Brew” and includes a generic “Genuine Brew” logo and the tagline “It’s the water that makes it.” Supposedly the name comes from the “flat boats that traveled the” rivers in upstate New York “delivering goods to early settlers.” Curiously, the trademark for the name “Big Flats 1901” is owned by the Winery Exchange, which styles itself as a “full-service, value-added, corporate brand beverage alcohol company that sources beer, wine and spirits from the finest regions worldwide.” They’re also located in the same small Marin County town where I live, Novato, California.

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Beer In Ads #297: From Chesapeake Bay Land Of Pleasant Living …

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Wedneday’s ad is for Baltimore’s National Bohemian Light Beer. It ran in Life magazine in 1959. The tagline is a mouthfull: “From Chesapeake Bay land of pleasant we bring you this quality beer.” And from the insets at the bottom, the Chesapeake Bay area was also the “land of fun,” the “land of history,” and the “land of good food.”

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Michigan Beer

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Today in 1837, Michigan became the 26th state.

Michigan
State_Michigan

Michigan Breweries

Michigan Brewery Guides

Guild: Michigan Brewers Guild

State Agency: Michigan Liquor Control Commission

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  • Capital: Lansing
  • Largest Cities: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Flint, Sterling Heights
  • Population: 9,938,444; 8th
  • Area: 96,810 sq.mi., 11th
  • Nickname: Wolverine State / Great Lakes State
  • Statehood: 26th, January 26, 1837

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  • Alcohol Legalized: April 27, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 96
  • Rank: 6th
  • Beer Production: 6,5774,66
  • Production Rank: 8th
  • Beer Per Capita: 20.4 Gallons

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Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 38.8%
  • Cans: 48.1%
  • Kegs: 12.8%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.20
  • Per Case: $0.46
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $6.30
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $6.30

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $242,599,259
  • Direct Impact: $2,115,676,429
  • Supplier Impact: $1,547,137,698
  • Induced Economic Impact: $1,268,318,359
  • Total Impact: $4,931,132,486

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • Sale Hours: On Premises: 7 a.m.–2 a.m. (Mon-Sat)
    Noon-2 a.m. (Sunday) *sales may begin at 7 a.m. with special license extension
    Off Premises: 7 a.m.–2 a.m. (Mon-Sat)
    Noon-2 a.m. (Sunday) *sales may begin at 7 a.m. with special license extension
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: The Michigan Liquor Control Commission allows the sale of alcoholic beverages until 11:59 p.m. on December 24 and after 12:00 p.m. on December 25. On-premises sales are permitted on January 1 until 4:00 a.m. Local or county ordinance may restrict Sunday or Sunday morning sales.

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Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.

Beer In Ads #295: Krueger’s Cream Ale

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ad-billboard
Monday’s ad is one of the first advertising canned beers, in honor of the anniversary of the first beer can being sold today in 1935. It’s for Krueger’s Cream Ale, the first beer to be sold in a can. They tested the package in Richmond, Virginia, far from their native New Jersey in case the test went poorly to avoid any damage to the brand in their home market.

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