The UK tabloid newspaper, The Daily Mirror, reported today that a study at the University of Barcelona revealed that “[d]rinking up to a pint of beer a day is good for your health — and can even help you lose weight.” They also “found those who have a Mediterranean-style diet and drink moderately are healthier than those who don’t” and that “beer could cut the risk of high blood pressure.”
Beer In Ads #287: Fancy That!
Wednesday’s ad is a Budweiser ad from 1958. The text “Fancy That!” at the top of the ad seems to be trying to equate the beer as being as “fancy” as the woman holding the lacy fan. I’ve called Bud a lot of things, but fancy was never one of them.
Daily Brewery Porn Returns
A while back I had a photoblog up that featured my favorite beer-related pictures that I’ve taken over the years, Brookston Beer Pix. It got lost in the internet migration last year but it’s now been rechristened as a Tumblr blog. Each day I’ll post a new fave picture from my photo archives, of which I have literally thousands. Quite a few of them are brewery porn, which is what I call photos of brewing equipment in all their naked glory. I also have a thing for photographing hoses in the brewery, so you may see a few of those along with many more of my visual obsessions.
If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll automatically be notified when a new photo is posted. Or you can, of course, follow along on Tumblr, which is especially easy if you already have an account there.
Our Kids Ain’t Learning Too Good
Did you know that words can have more than one meaning? Pretty elementary stuff, you’d think. Unless, of course, you can use ignorance to create propaganda for your cause. This one might be funny, if it wasn’t presented so seriously. I can almost understand that the kids of Roseburg, Oregon might be confused, but their parents and the Marin Institute should feel at least a little embarrassed.
Here’s what happened. The Marin Institute today accused Anheuser-Busch InBev of targeting families by advertising “Family Packs” of beer for sale around the town of Roseburg. A youth group there, apparently confused, sent photos of the ads to the Marin Institute who promptly went on the attack.
Here’s some of the rhetoric inspired by these ads:
“We knew that the Anheuser-Busch InBev marketing team was willing to stoop low, but this time they’ve really outdone themselves.”
“Cheaper than Capri Sun, it makes a perfect addition to a brownbag lunch for preschoolers and teenagers alike!”
And here’s the final volley:
How does Anheuser-Busch InBev think they can get away with this? Maybe they figure if they keep it in local communities, next to your kids’ school (as opposed to say, on national TV during the Super Bowl), they won’t get caught. All the while, of course, proclaiming all the wonderful work they do to counter underage drinking with useless educational brochures. Sorry, Bud – you’re not fooling anyone.
Except that ABI isn’t advertising “Family Packs,” they’re advertising “24 Pack Cubes” and “30 Packs” of the “Bud Family” and “Busch Family.” Notice in the Bud ad, the two statements are on separate lines, “Bud Family” on one line, then “24 Pack Cubes” on the second. By “Bud Family,” ABI means the family of products under the “Budweiser label, which are:
The Bud Family
- Budweiser
- Bud Light
- Budweiser Select
- Bud Light Lime
- Bud Light Golden Wheat
In the Busch ad, it’s on three lines. In this case, it includes the following beers:
The Busch Family
- Busch
- Busch Light
- Busch Ice
Nobody’s trying to fool anybody. The ads are pretty clear if you know how to read and understand what words mean in context. Somebody really needs to buy the Marin Institute a copy of Eat, Shoots & Leaves. I don’t know the ages of the kids in the local “youth group,” so I can forgive them, but at some point an adult they encountered should have had enough book learning to point this out to them.
As to the fact that they accuse ABI of being “willing to stoop low” and declare “this time they’ve really outdone themselves,” all I can do is shake my head and think — yet again — this is such a perfect example of “the pot calling the [brew] kettle black.”
Beer In Ads #286: Brighten Your Holidays With Full Flavor
Tuesday’s ad is for Carling Black Label from 1972 featuring a curio box of Carling beer and related paraphenalia. The slogan is “Brighten Your Holidays With Full Flavor,” though it doesn’t look particularly festive to me. I do love the expression on the blonde’s face in the portrait in the upper right box.
SF Beer Week One Month Away
In exactly one month, SF Beer Week will start up again. For ten days beginning on February 11, beer in the Bay Area will be front and center. Last year we had over 225 diverse events and this year promises to have even more beer-centric events throughout the Bay Area. In a couple of hours — at 4:00 p.m. — this year’s website will go live with the first batch of events added to the schedule. Start filling up your dance card now, to make sure you have a seat at as many of the great events as you and your liver can manage.
Beer In Ads #285: Set Up The Fun With Light Refreshment
Monday’s ad from the 1950s for Schlitz. It’s a bowling ad with a pun. “Set Up the Fun with Light Refreshment.” It cracks me up that he can’t put down the bowling ball long enough to drink his own beer, he needs help.
Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For January 2011
I noticed today that the Wikio Top Blogs for Beer badge on the Bulletin still listed me as the #1 beer blog, so out of pure vanity I checked it out to see if the new Beer Blog standings for January 2011 were out. Apparently, I’m still clinging to the top spot. Here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:
Wikio January 2011 Beer Blog Rankings
| 1 | Brookston Beer Bulletin (+/-0) |
| 2 | Beervana (+/-0) |
| 3 | The New School (+2) |
| 4 | Brewpublic (-1) |
| 5 | Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (+1) |
| 6 | A Good Beer Blog (+1) |
| 7 | The Stone Blog (+5) |
| 8 | Drink With The Wench (-4) |
| 9 | BetterBeerBlog (+7) |
| 10 | Burgers & Brews (Not in Top 20 for Dec.) |
| 11 | Washington Beer Blog (-1) |
| 12 | Beer in Baltimore (-4) |
| 13 | Seen Through a Glass (-4) |
| 14 | Beeronomics (-1) |
| 15 | Brewed For Thought (Not in Top 20 for Dec.) |
| 16 | The Brew Site (Not in Top 20 for Dec.) |
| 17 | Brouwer’s Cafe (+3) |
| 18 | Seattle Beer News (-7) |
| 19 | KC Beer Blog (-3) |
| 20 | It’s Pub Night (+3) |
Ranking made by Wikio
I again added the relative movements of each blog from last month. Like last month, three blogs dropped off the Top 20, and three new ones appeared.
Again, it’s all a bit of fun so long as we don’t take it too seriously. Hoppy 2011.
Beer In Art #111: Simon de Vos’ Allegory Of The Five Senses
This week’s work of art is another one not strictly beer-oriented, again focusing on our fives senses, and in particular smell and taste, to create and enjoy the flavor of beer. The painter is Simon De Vos, who born in Belgium in 1603. The painting is known as The Allegory of the Five Senses and is an oil painting on copper. It was completed in 1640. The Baroque artwork is also subtitled “A Merry Company in an Interior.”
Here’s a description of the painting from TerminARTors.
In this allegory the five senses are represented as a merry company. Hearing is embodied by the playing musicians, Taste by the flagons of wine, Sight by the lovers gazing into each other’s eyes, Smell by the dog or pipe smoke, and Touch by both the central girl’s contact with the musical instrument and the contact between the lovers to her left. The pyramidal, Mannerist composition, the rich colours and elegant twisting figures are all motifs typical of De Vos’ work. The influence of Johann Liss, whom the artist probably met first in either Venice or Rome in the 1620s, is apparent.
You can see more of Simon de Vos’ paintings at the WikiGallery and also the TerminARTors. There are also additional links at the ArtCyclopedia.
Connecticut Beer
Today in 1788, Connecticut became the 5th state.
Connecticut
Connecticut Breweries
- Back East Brewing
- BRUrm at BAR
- Cambridge House
- Cambridge House Granby
- Carson’s Brewhouse
- Cavalry Brewing
- City Steam Brewery
- Cottrell Brewing
- East Haddam Brewing
- Griswold Inn
- Half Full Brewery
- Hops Grill & Brewery
- “John Harvard’s
- The Brew Pub at Mohegan Sun
- New England Brewing
- Nor’easter Brewing
- Olde Burnside Brewing
- Overshoes Brewing
- Rheingold Beer
- SBC Brewing
- Southport Brewing
- Thomas Hooker Brewing
- Willimantic Brewing
Connecticut Brewery Guides
- Beer Advocate
- Beer Mapping Project
- Beer Me
- Rate Beer
Guild: None known
State Agency: Connecticut Liquor Division
- Capital: Hartford
- Largest Cities: Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford
- Population: 3,405,565; 29th
- Area: 5544 sq.mi., 48th
- Nickname: The Constitution State
- Statehood: 47th, January 8, 1788
- Alcohol Legalized: April 20, 1933
- Number of Breweries: 18
- Rank: 30th
- Beer Production: 1,879,769
- Production Rank: 33rd
- Beer Per Capita: 75.3 Gallons
Package Mix:
- Bottles: 45.9%
- Cans: 44.1%
- Kegs: 10%
Beer Taxes:
- Per Gallon: $0.20
- Per Case: $0.45
- Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $6.20
- Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $6.00
Economic Impact (2010):
- From Brewing: $171,909,053
- Direct Impact: $751,718,100
- Supplier Impact: $478,815,175
- Induced Economic Impact: $477,701,393
- Total Impact: $1,708,234,668
Legal Restrictions:
- Control State: No
- Sale Hours: On Premises: 9 a.m.–2 a.m. (Mon.–Sat.) / 11 a.m.–2 a.m. (Sun.)
Off Premises: 8 a.m.–9 p.m. (Mon.–Sat.) - Grocery Store Sales: Yes
- Notes: No off-premises sales on Sundays; Sunday on-premises sales subject to local ordinances.
Beer can be purchased at grocery/convenience stores. Spirits and wine can only be purchased at liquor stores.
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.