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Emergency Opener Preparedness

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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.

The Perfect Season To Be Filled With Christmas Cheer

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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?

Xmas Cheers

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!

xmas-cheers

A Blue Christmas Beer

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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).

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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.

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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.

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Apparently they change the design from year to year, as here’s last year’s bottle.

Brewing Up A Civilization

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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.

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An Egyptian wooden funerary model of a beer brewery in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

1,000-Bottle Xmas Tree

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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.

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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.

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Beer In Ads #11: Schlitz Just Couldn’t Wait

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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.

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If you can’t read the text, either click on the ad for a larger view or read the transcription below.

Just Couldn’t Wait

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

The Largest-Selling Beer in America

Lagunitas Tweetup

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Yesterday I attended my first Tweetup, organized by Ashley Routson — a.k.a. The Beer Wench — and Fred Abercrombie from Ünnecessary Ümlaut. Though we’ve attended at least one beer event together, I’d yet to meet either blogger. So this seemed like a good opportunity to do just that, and also drink some tasty beers and meet some more like-minded tweeters. In case the term is new to you — it was to me — a Tweetup is a get together in the real world that’s organized using Twitter.

Tweetup organizer Ashley, a.k.a. The Beer Wench, with Ron Lindenbusch, from Lagunitas
Tweetup organizer Ashley, a.k.a. The Beer Wench, with Ron Lindenbusch, from Lagunitas.

The Tweetup took place at Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, Calif. Between 40 and 50 tweeters attended the event. It was a lot of fun. I’ve been to Lagunitas countless times, but it’s a great place to hang out. Ron Lindenbusch gave a tour to the many people there who’d never been to the brewery. I ambled around the brewery, talking to people I knew there, and snapping photos of the brewery because … well, you can never see too much brewery porn in my opinion. It was another great example of Twitter bringing people together instead of keeping them apart, as many of Twitter’s critics have argued it does.

Me and The Beer Wench
Me and The Beer Wench.

Below is a slideshow of the Lagunitas Tweetup. 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.

I’m Virgin America, Fly Me & Drink Craft Beer

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Though it’s been available on Virgin America (which since 2017 is owned by Alaskan Airlines) for a little while now, 21st Amendment Brewery formally announced yesterday that their canned IPAwas being served on Virgin flights in the U.S. From the press release:

Great craft beer on planes is finally reaching the blue skies, as the 21st Amendment Brewery is set to launch their Brew Free! or Die IPA in cans aboard Virgin America Airlines. Starting now Virgin America will serve complimentary Brew Free! or Die IPA in First Class and Main Cabin Select and the beer will be available for purchase in the Main Cabin for $7.

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While not the first canned craft beer on an airline, this is terrific news both for 21st Amendment and also beer loving passengers. It certainly makes me want to choose to fly Virgin wherever possible.

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21st Amendment co-owners Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico Freccia

Stone To Seek Brewing Opportunity Abroad

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Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, the founders of Stone Brewing after tweasing (twitter teasing) the news for weeks have announced a bold, audacious plan. After resisting sending their beer overseas, they’ve decided instead to consider opening a brewery there instead. So they’re initiating an open call from municipalities or even nations abroad to see what they might propose to entice them to take over an existing brewery or build a new one somewhere in Europe, Asia or wherever. In the video below, Greg and Steve explain the idea.

Stone to open a Brewery in Europe? from stonebrew on Vimeo.

This is a very exciting project for Steve and me…and all of us at Stone Brewing. We’re going to be learning quite a bit with this endeavor, first and foremost: Will we be welcome? We’re approaching this with no assumptions other than we’d like to consider any and all options (other than having our beers contract brewed by another brewery, as that’s simply not our style). Many of the countries of Europe have great brewing traditions. Some countries are also currently experiencing a bit of a resurgence of small, independent (and independent thinking) breweries. As anyone knows that has visited the Stone Brewing Co. and our attached restaurant – the Stone World Bistro & Gardens – where we have more Guest taps than we do of Stone, we enjoy sharing the camaraderie of great craft beers. We look forward to joining in the fight in Europe by doing our part to add to the growing trend towards unique, flavorful artisanal beers, as opposed to the mass-blandification efforts characterized by megabrand sameness!

-Greg Koch, CEO

Beer In Art #57: Kelly Murphy’s Wassailing

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After a few more mature works recently, today’s work of art is more playful and child-like. It’s by Kelly Murphy, who primarily write and illustrates children’s books, along with freelance work in similar fields, like toys and film. In 2007, on her blog, Murphy shared her work, Wassailing.

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Wassailing is, of course, a traditional English and European custom that took place around the holidays, sometime around Christmas and in other traditions into mid-January. To read more about it, there are interesting accounts at the Hymns and Carols of Christmas, About.com, Time Travel Britain and White Dragon.

There also the drink Wassail, which I wrote about a couple of years ago after the release of Full Sail’s Wassail at Here We Go a-WASSAIL-ing

As for Kelly Murphy, here’s some more info from her biography.

Kelly Murphy is an award-winning illustrator and animator working predominantly with traditional and mixed media. Born and raised in southeastern Massachusetts, USA, she studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Since earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999, Kelly has been actively freelancing across the various fields of editorial illustration, picture books and poster illustration as well as character design for both the film and toy industry. An accomplished children’s book author and illustrator, Kelly’s books have been published by America’s leading publishing houses and her tenth children book is already due to be available in the Fall of 2009.

And there’s a good overview of her other illustration, art and books at her website and her blog, Who the Sh*t Drank My Beer.