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.
Guinness Ad #50: Spitfire
Our 50th Guinness poster by John Gilroy was most likely from World War 2, and shows a Spitfire airplane “eying” and speeding toward a bottle of Guinness as a mechanic on the ground races to grab his beer first. It’s slogan is the familiar “My Goodness, My Guinness.”
Broken Bones Beer Bottles
I think this is merely a graphic design product and not a commercial product that you can buy. I came across it by accident at Street Anatomy, a blog featuring anything to do with skeletons. A quick search reveals it’s mentioned exclusively on graphic design-oriented blogs and websites, so it was most likely not done for a client. It was created by designer Dustin Joyce, who works for a Minneapolis, Minnesota ad agency.
I must confess, as others pointed out, that while it’s very well executed, the results are not all that appetizing. The bones appear to be almost floating in the beer, which I don’t think is the imagery you want. It doesn’t make people want to actually drink a beer that’s had bones floating in it, or at least plants the idea of that occurring. But it is an impressive design.
How To Find Real Food
From Darya Pino, founder of Summer Tomato, comes this funny, but ultimately useful chart on How to Find Real Food at the Supermarket. Enjoy.
Beer In Ads #284: A Bud Can Sandwich
Friday’s ad is a 1969 Budweiser ad showing a can of their beer in between a hero sandwich, with the slogan “The Great American Hero for the Great American Hero.” I’m not sure I’d want to bite into that sandwich, I’d be afraid I’d lose a tooth. Or it might taste metallic.
Ominous Sign For The Future of Rock Bottom’s Beer
I’d been hearing rumors about how the merger between Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom was going, and the news wasn’t all good. I’d heard there had been few changes for Gordon Biersch brewers, but that life was getting more difficult for Rock Bottom’s brewers, who were used to having a certain amount of freedom to choose what they brewed. It probably didn’t help that Allen Corey, who had been running Gordon Biersch, became President and CEO of the newly merged company consisting of both brewpub chains, plus a third chain. One chain’s philosophy was bound to be favored over the other.
That all seems to have come to a head, as John Fosyton reports in the Oregonian, the Portland Rock Bottom’s celebrated brewer, Van Havig, has been “asked to leave” the company. Havig had been brewing for Rock Bottom for 16 years and consistently brewed some of the best beer I’ve had at any brewery. Foyston speculates that Havig may have been shown the door for publicly voicing his concerns with the direction the company had been taking since the merger, and primarily the loss of freedom for the brewers, for the first time imposing standardization. That was one of the hallmarks of Rock Bottom, their independence, and was the reason they won so many awards at GABF over the years. That they’re now apparently losing that independence can’t be a good sign for the future of the chain’s beers, if not the chain itself.
But the real loss is Havig. Van’s a terrific brewer and not having him brew for Rock Bottom makes them all the poorer. If you know about a brewing job, preferably in Oregon, drop John Foyston a note and he’ll see that Van gets it.
Announcing “High Water Brewing”
You may recall the formerly wonderful beers of Valley Brewing in Stockton, California. That was due to one singular reason, their longtime brewmaster, Steve Altimari. Steve’s beers have became some of the most creative, innovative and diverse of any brewer. He perfected one style after another and brewed some truly experimental gems. His Uber Hoppy Imperial IPA was one of the best and his London Tavern Ale, a delicate English-style mild was a great session beer. But back on June 12th of last year, Steve was summarily dismissed under circumstances that could charitably be termed “odd.” I got the full story a couple of days after that, when I spoke to Steve in New York, where he was vacationing with his family. The owners initially told him that they’d sold the brewery (something he himself had been trying to do at that same time) and that the new bosses no longer needed his services. That tuned out to be not true in the least, and they instead brought in a scab brewer who flew in from Bend, Oregon, apparently, to do the brewing. I’m told they also locked Steve out of the brewery and refused to return his personal property that was there, including beer, barrels, etc. The good news was that since he’d been trying to buy Valley brewery, he already had investors and a management team in place.
So it’s six or so months later, and I’m pleased to announce that Steve’s new brewery — High Water Brewing — has begun brewing. They’ve set up offices and cold storage in San Leandro, California, near Drake’s Brewing, whose brewing equipment they’ll be using to make High Water’s beer. They’re also installing their own fermenters on site but will store the finished beer in their separate offices nearby.
Initially, they’ll be offering three regular beers:
- Hop Riot IPA (7.3% a.b.v. / 73 IBUs)
- Retribution Imperial IPA (9.5% a.b.v. / 95 IBUs)
- Old and In the Way Barleywine (11% a.b.v. / 95 IBUs)
The beers will debut on draft — 5 & 15.5 gallon kegs — in February during SF Beer Week (yet another reason I can’t wait for SF Beer Week!). Packaged beer, in 22 oz. bottles, will follow in early Spring, most likely in April. You can see the new labels on the website. They’re also still seeking additional investors, and if you’re interested, you can read about High Water’s investment opportunities.
In the interest of full disclosure, the name High Water Brewing was suggested by me in a post back in June when this all went down, and after an exhaustive search, my suggestion turned out to be the one they liked best. The founders of the brewery were kind enough to thank me by awarding me some shares in the company, giving me a very teeny tiny interest in the company, essentially a symbolic, but very much appreciated gesture.