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Beer In Art #65: Mike Massengale’s Beer Thirty

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art-beer
After nine days of eating and drinking through SF Beer Week, I feel like a vacation on a tropical isle would do me a world of good, but with one more day to go, today’s works of art will have to go tropical for me. Its title is Beer Thirty and is by South Carolina artist Mike Massengale.

Mike_Massengale-beer_30

Here’s a short biography of Massengale from Absolute Arts:

Mike Massengale is a professional artist from Greenville, SC. His artistic skills sets have been learned and developed over twenty-five years of on the job experience. His advertising clients have been AT&T, Universal Studio’s and Disney just to name a few. He has also attained many awards from print designs to animation. His skill sets include, but not limited to: multimedia, animation, video production, creative design, illustration and painting. He is also very proud that of his latest accomplishment, which is completion of a MFA degree from the University of Hartford.

You can read a longer biography at the Fine Art America website.

You can also see more of his work at Fine Art America, and all of the art there is available as prints on canvas or paper, framed or unframed or even as a greeting card. You can but the Beer 30 painting, too.

Pliny the Younger Takes Top Spot On Beer Advocate

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russian-river
For at least the last few years, Westvleteren 12 has been the highest rated beer on Beer Advocate. But it’s now been overtaken by an American beer, Russian River’s Pliny the Younger, Vinnie’s once-a-year triple IPA that was released this year on February 5.

Judy Ashworth, Stephen Beaumont, me & Peter Hoey at the Pliny the Younger release
Judy Ashworth, Stephen Beaumont, me & Peter Hoey at the Pliny the Younger release last Friday. Opening at 11:00 a.m., by 7:00 p.m., only 8 hours later, they’d gone through all the Younger they had, the equivalent of 40 kegs!

Other kegs set aside for accounts throughout SF Beer Week similarly ran out very quickly. I’ve heard reports of people actually getting pissed off about that and yelling at proprietors for running out, though its popularity can hardly be blamed on the bars selling it. In case you were one of those people who was rude to bar owners, disappointment is the proper response, not anger.

Congratulations to Vinnie and Natalie, and Russian River Brewing, makers of the world’s highest rated beer, at least according to Beer Advocate.

Guinness Ads #5: Bear’s Beer

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guinness-toucan
The fifth Guinness poster by John Gilroy is one of many ads that are in a zoo. In this one, a bear has snatched the zookeeper’s Guinness and is trying to offer a trade, but the bear looks none too interested in giving up his beer for anything. The tagline is another common one, “My Goodness – My Guinness.”

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Toronado Barley Wine Festival Results 2010

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toronado
Here are the results from the 2010 Toronado Barley Wine Festival in San Francisco:

The other beers that reached the final round were AleSmith Old Numbskull, Alpine Brewing Great, Anchor Old Foghorn, and Big Sky Old Blue Hair.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Hump Day SF Beer Week

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Wednesday was hump day for SF Beer Week, falling smack dab in the middle of the ten days. Here’s some more photos from Day 6. Below are individual slideshows from several Wednesday events during SF Beer Week. They’re best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

Day 6: Wednesday, February 10

The Bistro Cheese-Off

Barclay’s Bill Brand Tribute

Cobb’s SF Beer Week “Beer-In”

Toronado Nightcap

After Cobb’s, I went over to the Toronado for a nightcap and to see if any of the Lagunitas folks we re still there. They’re weren’t, but Gabbi Chan and Phil Lowry were still there, though about to leave. I made do with a Russian River Mortification, Vinnie’s quadrupel.

Gabbi & Phil at the Toronado
Gabbi Chan & Phil Lowry.

Drinking my nightcap of Russian River Mortification at the Toronado
Having my last beer on Wednesday night at the Toronado.

Beer In Ads #43: Budweiser’s Pick A Pair

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ad-billboard
Friday’s ad is for Budweiser cans from 1963. You have to admire her ‘do and the mod frock, but “Pick a Pair,” suggesting that the “smart way to buy” is to purchase two six-packs implies that the 12-pack had not yet been invented. To me, that’s the odd notion. When did the 12-pack debut as a lasting package? I know breweries experimented with varying package sizes, before the sixer became the standard. I also seem to recall its victory had something to do with weight and ease of carrying. Though despite the obscenely happy face she’s wearing, she seems to be struggling a bit with carrying two six-packs, or at least they’re perched precariously.

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Beer In Ads #42: Schlitz Late Night Bear

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ad-billboard
Thursday’s ad is another Schlitz ad from most likely the 1950s. I find it a little creepy, actually, though I’m sure that was not the intention. That fairy tale bear in his nightshirt and slippers just looks a bit eye. And while the house obviously has electricity to power the refrigerator, he’s still carrying an old-fashioned candle. Why? Wouldn’t the light in the ‘frig be enough?

schlitz-bear

The Great Cheese-Off Of 2010

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Last night, the Bistro held its 2nd annual cheese-off, one of my favorite SF Beer Week events. Similar to last year, Bistro co-owner Vic Krajl picked four cheeses and then asked four breweries — Eel River, Mad River, Moylan’s and Sierra Nevada — to pick the beer they made that they felt was the best pairing with each cheese.

Pairing #2: Moylan's Hefe, Eel River Amber, Mad River Jamaica IPA & Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Here’s flight 2, for example, one cheese with four beers.

After choosing our favorite from each round, we handed in our scorecards and they tallied up the results to determine which pairings were the most popular. A prize was awarded to whoever correctly predicted the most popular choices. Only one person, for the second year running, chose all four most popular. While I’d argue that most popular doesn’t necessarily mean best, especially since people’s tastes and palettes vary widely, it was still a fun way to wrap up the evening and determine at least what a majority of people thought about the choices. Below is a list of each of the cheeses along with the beer pairings chosen by each brewery and then what was determined to be the most popular. The beer in bold was chosen as most popular and italics indicates my personal choice, in case you’re interested.

Cheese No. 1: Wavreumont (cow)

  1. Molyan’s: Celt’s Golden Ale
  2. Eel River: Triple Exultation
  3. Mad River: Mad Belgian Golden Ale
  4. Sierra Nevada: Kellerweis

Cheese No. 2: Petit Agour — Tomette d’Helette (sheep)

  1. Molyan’s: American Hefeweizen
  2. Eel River: Amber
  3. Mad River: Jamaica IPA
  4. Sierra Nevada: Pale Ale

Cheese No. 3: Sunlight (goat)

  1. Molyan’s: Hells’ Lager
  2. Eel River: Porter
  3. Mad River: Jamaica Red Ale
  4. Sierra Nevada: Torpedo Ale

Cheese No. 4: Bleu de Laqueuille (cow)

  1. Molyan’s: Barrel-aged/blended Kilt Lifter
  2. Eel River: IPA
  3. Mad River: John Barleycorn Barleywine 2008
  4. Sierra Nevada: Glissade Golden Bock

What’s interesting to me is that I chose all four of the beers from Mad River Brewing, and similarly last year I picked four of the five beers from a single brewery: Bear Republic. What that suggests is that while palettes do differ, we tend to be in sync with them, that is my palate was similar to whomever chose the pairings last year at Bear Republic and this year at Mad River.

Cynthia Kralj at a table w/ Bruce Paton & Denise Jones
Bistro co-owner Cynthia at one of the cheese-off tables.

Hat’s off once more to Vic and Cynthia for coming up with such a simple yet effective new way to approach cheese and beer pairings. It’s such a great way to educate yourself about cheese and beer and at the same time have an enormously fun time. I really hope to see more of this type of event in the future.

Below is a slideshow of the Bistro Cheese-Off. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

Canadian Iceholes

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canada
If you’re a regular viewer of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report, then you’re probably already aware of his mock feud with Canada over ice time for the U.S. speed skating team, which the show sponsored after the team lost its long-time previous supporter due to the economy. The Colbert Nation stepped up and donated thousands of dollars so the show could become the new sponsor. Colbert has featured the team on the show repeatedly. He also featured a story that the Canadian team was in some way keeping the U.S. team off the practice ice, though I can’t recall the exact details of the dispute. At any rate, in response, Colbert launched the Don’t Be An Ice-Hole campaign and even set up a Facebook page.

ice-hole
Now a Vancouver microbrewery, R&B Brewing, has released a new one-off beer, just in time for the Winter Olympics and playing up the feud. The new beer is Iceholes Celebration Lager.

According to Vancouver’s Scout:

For limited release only, Vancouver’s Local Microbrewery, R&B Brewing Co. introduces Iceholes Celebration Lager in response to the recent “Don’t be an Ice-Hole” campaign against Canada started by Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. Barry Benson, co-owner of R&B Brewing Co. says “ We are proud syrup-sucking Canadian iceholes. In celebration of our icehole-ish behaviour we have decided to get even rather than get mad. Canadians can wreak their revenge against Stephen Colbert in a truly Canadian way and have a beer.”

R&B Brewing Co. Iceholes Celebration Lager is a medium bodied beer, gold in colour with a spicy aroma. Brewed in the tradition of a European Pilsner, Iceholes Lager has a snappy hop flavour and a clean dry finish creating a truly refreshing beer. Iceholes Celebration Lager will be available in 650ml bottles for a limited time only starting February 2, 2010. Consumers can purchase the specialty beer at independent beer stores and local Vancouver restaurants during the month of February.

To which I can only add, as Stephen Colbert would, U-Ice-A! U-Ice-A! Now that’s great marketing.

iceholes