Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2018

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football
This is the twelfth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last eleven, so if you love football and beer, consider joining us this year, whether you’ve played in past seasons or are a newcomer. The NFL season begins on Thursday, September 6, so you’ve got nearly threee weeks to sign up.

I’ve again set up two free Yahoo fantasy football games, one a simple pick ’em game and the other a survival pool. Up to 50 people can play each game (that’s Yahoo’s limit, not mine), so if you’re a regular Bulletin reader feel free to sign up for one or even both. It’s free to play, all you need is a Yahoo ID, which is also free. Below is a description of each game and the details on how to join each league and play.

nfl-teams

Pro Football Pick’em

In this Pick’em game, just pick the winner for every game each week, with no spread, and let’s see who gets the most correct throughout the season. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, like the last few years, we’ll be able to keep picking all through the playoffs, so the game will continue through to the Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.

In order to join the group, just go to Pro Football Pick’em, click the “Sign Up” button (or “Create or Join Group” if you are a returning user). From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 15019 (Brookston Football Picks)
Password: brookston

packers-retro

Survival Football

If picking all sixteen football games every week seems like too much, then Survival Football is for you. In Survival Football, you only have to pick one game each week. The only catch is you can’t pick the same team to win more than once all season. And you better be sure about each game you pick because if you’re wrong, you’re out for the season. Actually three years ago they added a new feature and I changed the game so to be kicked out you have to be wrong twice. In that way more people stand a better chance of lasting longer into the season. So get one wrong, and you’re still okay, get a second wrong, now you’re gone for the season. Last man standing wins.

Again, like the last few years, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

This year it’s even easier to join, with a new streamlined sign-up process. Just click on this direct link and follow the instructions from there.

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. In past seasons, I’ve posted the standings on the home page, and hopefully I’ll do that again this season. Why not join us? Go head to head again me and my team, the Brookston Brew Jays.

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Beer In Ads #2737: Draw Your Own Conclusions

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Sunday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1968, and features a man holding a mug as a tap pours beer into it, with the tagline “In Beer, Going First Class Is Michelob. Period.”

Michelob-1968-draw-your-own

Beer In Ads #2736: In Beer, Going First Class Is Michelob. Period.

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Saturday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1967, and features a simple bottle and full mug of beer with their new tagline, possibly introducing it, “In Beer, Going First Class Is Michelob. Period.”

Michelob-1967-firstclass

Beer In Ads #2735: When It’s Time To Stop Playing Around

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Friday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1973, and features another one of those magic bottles. Notice that the 12-oz. bottle of Michelob is only half full but the mug is completely full. A lot of ads during this time period employed this weird tactic, as if you can fill two glasses of beer with one bottle. Next to the beer is a golf tee and a scorecard, along with a bouncing golf ball. Curiously, this is a transitional ad. The first shoes the “Surprise Me” tagline which was employed for a few years, roughly from 1970-1973. Michelob then switched campaigns and began using the tagline “In beer, going first class is MICHELOB Period.” As you can see, they used the same art in these two ads, used the same year, but switched the taglines.


“Surprise People”
Michelob-1973-golf-1

“In beer, going first class is MICHELOB Period.”
Michelob-1973-golf

Beer In Ads #2734: Next Shopping Trip

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Thursday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1971, and features an unseen hand putting a second six-pack of Michelob into his shopping cart. It’s interesting that there’s nothing else in the cart, not even some potato chips, pretzels or another snack?

Michelob-1971-shopping-cart

Charles Bukowski’s “Beer”

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bukowski
Today is the birthday of American poet, novelist, and short story writer Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920-March 9, 1994). Bukowski was a hard-living individual, as well as a hard drinker. Wikipedia gives a summary of his life, albeit a very brief one.

His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over 60 books. The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the LA underground newspaper Open City.

In 1986 Time called Bukowski a “laureate of American lowlife.” Regarding Bukowski’s enduring popular appeal, Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote, “the secret of Bukowski’s appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet’s promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero.”

If you haven’t read his work, you’re definitely missing out. I think my favorite quote by him is from an interview he did in Life magazine, in December of 1988. “We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” A collection of his poems, entitled “Love Is a Dog From Hell,” was published in 1977, and includes the poem “Beer.” A few months ago, an Italian animation studio, NERDO, created a short animated film of that poem, and it’s pretty awesome.

Beer In Ads #2733: Unexpected Barbecue

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Wednesday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1971, and features a can and mug of Michelob next to a grill cooking barbecues spareribs. This ad is actually a page-and-a-half, with a half-page portion that’s unfolded to reveal the whole ad, though I’m not sure what’s on the other side.

Michelob-1971-barbecue

Beer In Ads #2732: Unexpected Hamburgers

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Tuesday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1970, and features a bottle and mug of Michelob next to a plate containing a hamburger and a few chips. What could be more unexpected than a hamburger and a beer?

Michelob-1970-hamburger

Beer In Ads #2731: Next Fishing Trip

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Monday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1970, and features three cans of Michelob caught in a fishing net, with one of the beers poured into a mug. I think there’s a lure next to the net, possibly the one used to catch the beer.

Michelob-1970-fishing

Beer In Ads #2730: No Matter How You Slice It

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Sunday’s ad is for Michelob, one of the brands created by Anheuser-Busch as a draft-only beer in 1896. It was first packaged in 1961, and its distinctive teardrop bottle won a design award the following year. But that was replaced in 1967 “for efficiency in the production line,” but reverted to a traditional bottle in 2002. This ad is from 1971, and features a bottle and mug of beer along with a gold ball and scorecard. This ad was the back of the program for the 1971 Ryder Cup.

Michelob-1971-ryder-cup