Here is my second beer quiz. This one uses elements of brewery’s logos and labels. Your job is simply to figure out which brewery they come from. Good luck. Let me know how you did.
If you missed any previous quizzes, they can all be found on the beer quiz page.
I don’t know how I missed this, but Sweet Anthem, a Washington perfume company, and the Seattle-based recycling company, Blue Marble Energy — whose business model is to”utilize hybridized bacteria to generate biochemical and bioenergy products” — recently announced a perfume made partially with a by-product of brewing. One of the many ingredients in the perfume is “organic spent brewery grain” from nearby Fremont Brewing. Though news stories are calling it beer perfume, apparently it’s much more than that. They start with the spent grain as a base, and process it through their patented AGATE technology, which creates volatile fatty acids. Then, “[t]hrough catalysis, bioesters are then extracted from the volitile fatty acids stream and are ready to be blended with Sweet Anthem’s fragrance oils. The feminine version of EOS is a very modern, bright, floral, tea-based scent, while the masculine or unisex version is characterized by citrus and cognac with hints of powdery apricot.
According to the Blue Marble website, where you can purchase the perfume, it comes in two fragrances, one for women and the other which they call unisex. The one “for her,” they describe as “a green bright floral, tea-based scent. Very modern and feminine.” It includes “Butyl Proprionate (bioester), Neroli, Tea Rose, Sandalwood and Green Tea.” The unisex version, which most news outlets call the masculine or male version, is described as “citrus and cognac with hints of powdery apricot. Equally appropriate for men and women.” It includes “Propyl Butyrate (bioester), White Ginger, Apricot, Cognac and Honeysuckle.”
Here’s NBC’s story about it. And below is the television report on the perfume by Channel 5 Seattle.
Today’s works of art is by a young Texas ex-marine, who chose to serve his country before pursuing a career in art. Randy Dillon spent six years in the military and was stationed in the Middle East during Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom before returning to his art studies at the University of North Texas. He’s recently painted several beer-themed paintings, the first of which is below. Called Six Bottles of Beer and was painted with acrylics just a few months ago, in August 2009.
And here are several more of his recent paintings, all beer-themed in some fashion.
King Holding Bottle of Beer wearing Bluetooth Headset, painted in July 2009.
Beer Bottle, painted in late July 2009.
Man Holding Beer, painted in October 2009.
Bottle of Beer, painted in January of this year.
Bottles, painted in July 2008. I love the colors and the simplicity in this one, quite possibly my favorite of Dillon’s bottle work.
You can see much more of his artwork at his own gallery and also his online store and his Flickr Photostream.
On Christmas Day, The Beer Wench — Ashley Routson — posted a recipe for Bacon Peanut Butter Cup Beer Brownies using a brownie mix. I will eat any dessert that’s made with both peanut butter and chocolate. It’s a combination I simply cannot resist, yet another of my many obsessions. But I also love bacon. Since this dessert completes a kind of perverse trifecta, I simply had to give it a try. The fact that it used a mix also made me more likely to make it, since I am ridiculously lazy when it comes to cooking.
Ashley’s original recipe was as follows:
BEER WENCH BACON PEANUT BUTTER CUP BEER BROWNIES
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 box of brownie mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup chocolate, oatmeal or regular stout
- 1 package of bacon
- 6 whole peanut butter cups — chilled
- 2 tbsp butter
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan with butter. Yes, butter. Because butter makes everything better.
- Cook entire package of bacon to desired consistency. I like a combination of crispy bacon and chewy bacon. The both add an interesting texture to the end product. Allow the bacon to cool and then dice it.
- Chop the Peanut Butter Cups into small pieces.
- Melt the butter and mix with the bacon. The recipe on the box technically calls for oil. Unfortunately, the only oil I had on hand was Olive Oil. So I decided that the oils from the bacon combined with melted butter would suffice for the recipe.
- Combine the eggs, stout and bacon butter with the box brownie mix in a large bowl. Do not over mix. After all ingredients are combined, fold in the peanut butter cups.
- Pour the mix into the greased pan and spread it evenly. Bake. For 13X9″ pan, bake 24-26 minutes. For 9×9″ pan, bake for 38-40 minutes. For 8×8″ pan, bake 52-54 minutes.
- Serve with an Imperial Stout.
My daughter woke up feeling sick this morning so we’re not doing much of anything today. That freed me up to do some baking. So using what I had around the house, I decided to try my hand at making them. Being even lazier than most, I decided to use bacon bits instead of frying up my own. That also meant I wouldn’t have the bacon fat to substitute for vegetable oil. Fortunately, I have vegetable oil so I made a mixture of butter and oil to use instead. For the beer, I found a bottle of Moylan’s Ryan O’Sullivan Imperial Stout. My mix called for slightly different ingredients — like two instead of three eggs — but otherwise it was quite similar.
All the ingredients laid out, with the peanut butter cups already sliced and diced.
My daughter Alice helping me mix the brownies.
The brownies mixed with bacon and peanut butter cups.
Ready to go in the oven.
Just out of the oven. That scar in the pan happened when I accidentally grazed it with my silicone pot holder, pulling it out of the oven.
The finished Bacon Peanut Butter Brownies paired with some imperial stout.
I thought they turned out great. And they were very easy my way. But it appears I’ll have them all to myself. Neither my wife nor the kids thought much of them. But they worked for me. I personally think bacon and peanut butter work great together. Add chocolate and it’s divine. Thanks to Ashley for the original idea. Yum, now to eat some more brownies and drink some more beer. Happy Boxing day indeed.
Having been a hardcore Boy Scout when I was a kid, I always took to heart their motto: “Be Prepared.” As a result, I’m never without an opener. I keep it on my keychain. I used to go through two or tree of the cheap ones every year, because they kept wearing out. But around a decade ago someone from Anchor Brewery gave me a titanium opener they put their logo on and it’s still going strong today.
But what if you found yourself in a situation where you had a bottle of beer but were without an opener? Well, if you had a piece of paper, you could still open the bottle pretty easily. Just watch the instructional video below and you’ll never be unable to open a beer bottle, even if you’re lost in the woods without a bottle opener.
Here’s a second video which seem to show the process a little more simply.
In case you don’t have a piece of paper, here’s another video showing many other ways to open a beer bottle.
I found this cheery Christmas verse and art at, of all things, an online craft forum, SallyB’s @ SB Crafts. There are a total eight different Xmas verses with their own graphics, so I’m not exactly sure what they’re supposed to be used for, but I love the idea of Santa and his elves and reindeer throwing a massive party after all the hard work of preparing for and delivering all the Christmas presents last night. That’s what I would do, wouldn’t you?
Santa really knows how to party, when all his work is done
His whole team can then relax and start to have some fun
This is the perfect season to be filled with Christmas cheer
So enjoy the Christmas Spirit…. Christmas wine and Christmas beer!
I’d heard of this Christmas beer, but I don’t think I realized the packaging was in blue, but then I don’t live in Denmark. Tuborg Brewery, owned by the Carlsberg Group, releases their holiday beer, known as Tuborg Julebryg, on J-Day, the first Friday in November (though this year it was the last Friday in October).
I read somewhere that red glass is actually the best color for keeping out UV light, but that it was too expensive to be done commercially on a large scale. I have seen at least one red beer bottle (it’s in my ‘frig, a souvenir I picked up in Salzburg, Austria) but the only blue I can recall was the Apollo beer line from the 1990s.
The idea for it being blue came from a successful ad campaign. From the Carlsbeg Group’s website:
Most Danes know the blue and white advertisement for Tuborg Julebryg (Tuborg Christmas Brew). But probably not many know that the famous animated commercial, which features Santa Claus in blue clothing, is actually older than the beer itself. The commercial was originally launched in 1980 as a special holiday commercial for ordinary Tuborg pilsner, but it became so popular that for Christmas 1981 we created the special Tuborg Julebryg.
Although Tuborg Julebryg is a seasonal beer and is only on the market for six weeks every year, it is still Denmark’s fourth best selling beer. It’s only beaten by Green Tuborg, Carlsberg Pilsner and Tuborg Classic, which are available all year round. Its launch, known as “J-day”, always takes place on the first Friday of every November and is an annual day of celebration across Denmark. Carlsberg employees drive around the bars and cafes, handing out free beer to really get the festive season started.
Tuborg Julebryg is a bottom-fermented, wiener beer brewed on lager, münchener and caramel malt with English liquorice. The beer is dark-golden with a fresh aroma of caramel, grain, liquorice and blackcurrant. It’s excellent with traditional Christmas recipes, smoked fish, grilled/fried herring, smoked ham with curly kale, roast pork and duck.
Apparently they change the design from year to year, as here’s last year’s bottle.
There’s a wonderful article today in Germany’s Der Speigel showcasing University of Pennsylvania Archaeologist Patrick McGovern’s theory that alcohol is responsible for nothing short of civilization itself. Titled Alcohol’s Neolithic Origins: Brewing Up a Civilization, the story begins:
Did our Neolithic ancestors turn to agriculture so that they could be sure of a tipple? US Archaeologist Patrick McGovern thinks so. The expert on identifying traces of alcohol in prehistoric sites reckons the thirst for a brew was enough of an incentive to start growing crops.
It turns out the fall of man probably didn’t begin with an apple. More likely, it was a handful of mushy figs that first led humankind astray.
Here is how the story likely began — a prehistoric human picked up some dropped fruit from the ground and popped it unsuspectingly into his or her mouth. The first effect was nothing more than an agreeably bittersweet flavor spreading across the palate. But as alcohol entered the bloodstream, the brain started sending out a new message — whatever that was, I want more of it!
This is nothing new if you’ve been following McGovern and other scientists coming to similar conclusions as new evidence is continually being found to support the idea that it was the desire to brew beer that caused man to settle down and grow crops, leading to civilization’s genesis. But it’s quite nice to see it gaining traction in mainstream media.
McGovern’s latest book, Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages, is a fascinating read and I highly recommend it. McGovern is also the scientist that worked with Dogfish Head Brewery to create Midas Touch, Chateau Jiahu, along with their other historically based beers.
An Egyptian wooden funerary model of a beer brewery in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
I’m pretty sure Heineken has done this in year’s past, too, but this year the bottle tree they built in Shanghai, China is more massive, using 1,000 bottles to create the glass Christmas tree.
On Nanjing Road, the giant tree was built with full bottles of Heineken, which frankly is probably the best thing they could have done with them. That way no one will have to actually drink them. But they sure look cool.
Today’s ad was chosen with Christmas is mind. It’s a Schlitz ad from 1950 and it was created by famed illustrator Albert Dorne.
I love the story unfolding in the ad. The guy is pouring the beer while peering mischievously up at the clock, which reads just a few minutes to midnight. Presumably that means they’re putting up their tree Christmas Eve at the very end of the day. Talk about procrastinators! But then there’s the look on the woman — doing all the work, as usual, right ladies? — who looks aghast at the effrontery. Or is that bemusement? Surprise? Hard to say. But it’s pretty funny, I’d say.
Anyway, drink up. Happy Xmas Eve.
If you can’t read the text, either click on the ad for a larger view or read the transcription below.
When a man’s Christmas present is a case of Schlitz, who can blame him if he opens it a little early?
This great beer has a matchless flavor all its own. We think you’ll like Schlitz best, too. And if you’re looking for a present for someone hard to please, remember…Schlitz tastes so good to so many people, it’s