Tuesday’s ad is from 1953 and is for Ballantine. It features someone in a captain’s hat looking lovingly at a very large beer glass, with the tagline “Expect something wonderfully different in Ballantine Ale.”
SABMiller Proposes Floating Brewery
SABMiller put out a press release today with their prediction for the future of breweries, “given a range of different scenarios determined by the cost and availability of water and energy.” Below is the text fro the release.
Working with innovation consultancy, Innovia Technology, SABMiller envisioned four plausible business environments, based on the different uncertainties facing the brewing industry over the next 30 years. These scenarios informed thinking around how the ‘Brewery of the Future’ might look under different circumstances, with some surprising results.
The most extreme scenario, ‘Marginal Survival’ envisaged a market with limited access to water and high energy costs. This scenario – where people would migrate from areas of water shortage or turbulent weather -provoked the most unorthodox response. One of the proposed solutions was a smaller, mobile brewery which would move from place to place on the back of a ship.
Rob Wilkinson, Director of Innovia, said: “The descriptions are intended as food for thought rather than as blueprints for building new facilities. However, the example of the brewery on a ship is entirely feasible. It would allow for rapid entry to new markets, especially where no infrastructure is in place, it would provide flexibility in positioning and length of stay and allow SABMiller to move with water sources, with people, with crops, or even away from severe weather, natural disasters or political instability.”
Maurice Egan, SABMiller’s group head of manufacturing said: “Whilst this research has produced some imaginative solutions, the business case behind the thinking is very serious. We need to ensure that, given the rapid pace of technological developments, the impacts of climate change and growing wealth in developing economies, SABMiller has the capability to define, design and deploy our future breweries and supply chains.”
In another scenario ‘Energy Deprived’, where energy prices and the cost of transport are high but water plentiful and cheap, the brewery is closely integrated with the community, sharing facilities and resources. For example, local farmers might use the brewery mills for processing crops, while the brewery would use their agricultural waste to create bio-fuel as an energy source; the kilns used for malting barley might also be shared with local businesses as a facility for drying paper pulp. The resulting brewery would be a sustainable building looking not unlike the Eden Project in Cornwall where hot processes are timetabled for the day and cold processes during the cooler night in order to optimize resource use.
The other two scenarios envisaged were:
‘Water Scarce’, where energy costs are low due to large scale investment in alternatives to fossil fuels, but water is in short supply exacerbated by population increases coupled with climate change. In this case, the brewery would be highly optimised for low water use, using less than 2 litre of water to produce 1 litre of beer compared to SABMiller’s current average of 4.5 litres; this would be achieved in part by implementing a continuous brewing system and in part by advanced water treatment technologies.
‘Plentiful Supply’ describes a world self-sufficient in both water and energy, which benefits from low transport costs, abundant rainfall and robust water infrastructure. In this cornucopia sustainability and environmental stewardship remain key drivers. For example, the brewery would use natural processes to upgrade waste or extract valuable chemicals from it so as to reduce environmental impact. Power would be derived from renewable sources such as solar panels, rainwater would be collected and as much water as possible recycled.
Beer In Ads #213: Miller Bock Beer
Monday’s ad is for a bock beer in honor of the Dutch holiday, Bokbierdag. I don’t know when, but at one point Miller Brewing made a bock. The ad features the iconic Miller witch riding a white goat.
And here’s a label for the beer, though I’d guess it’s older than the ad.
Save the Ales, Or At Least the Word
My friend, colleague and kindred curmudgeon, Martyn Cornell, is fed up. And rightly so. In a new post today at his blog Zythophile entitled Look, will you all stop misusing the word ‘ale.’ Thank you, he charts the transformation of the word from its earliest usage through the present. It’s a fascinating journey and an even more compelling story. Listen to him, he knows what he’s talking about.
The Texas Craft Beer Boom
The Houston Chronicle has a great article on the growing craft beer scene in Texas, Swimming in Beer, The state is seeing a boom in craft brews as more players jump into an unquenched market. Like the country as a whole, a lot of new breweries are being planned and are opening, despite a poor economy in many other sectors.
Beer In Art #97: Nashville Political Campaign Diorama
Today’s art is by an anonymous artist from 1840. It’s a diorama depicting political life in Nashville, Tennessee and specifically a scene in which as a part of a political campaign, one side is giving beer to a potential voter. It doesn’t have a title per se, but is referred to as Diorama of Political Campaign in Nashville. Giving beer to a potential voter. It’s folk art made of carved wood and is painted. It’s housed at the Tennessee State Museum.
Guinness Ad #38: In The Crocodile’s Mouth
Our 38th Guinness poster by John Gilroy features a pint of Guinness perched inside of a crocodile’s mouth and our intrepid zookeeper reaching in to get it, having obviously done the risk/reward calculation of “My Goodness, My Guinness.” Also, notice the crocodile tear. He must know he’s losing his Guinness.
And here’s a slightly different version of the same ad.
Effects of Alcohol At Different BAC Levels
Here’s another interesting infographic created by, of all people, a Term Life Insurance website, showing The Impact of Alcohol on your Body as your blood-alcohol content percentage increases.
Beer In Ads #212: Pick A Pack Of Bud Suits
Friday’s ad is another for Budweiser, from 1972. The tagline is “Pick a Pair of Six-Packs” and the ad features a pair of blonds holding a six-packs above their heads. But it’s their outfits that really make the ad; bell bottoms with Bud labels, bare midriffs and white shirts with another Bud label over each breast pocket. Oh, and a red sash tied around their waist. Behind them is a five-piece band in a male version of the same getup. Classic.
Firestone-Walker Brewery Video
Firestone-Walker Brewing just posted a cool video shot in the brewery, with great production values and music. I’m not sure if we’ll see it anytime soon on television, even cable, but it’s better than most of the beer ads currently running.