Thursday’s ad is another one for Miller High Life, this time from 1947. It’s a detailed illustration of a man fishing from the back of a boat, while at the same time eating a sandwich with a bottle of beer. He’s wearing kind of a goofy grin, maybe that’s what happens if you’re on a boat too long?
Earlier today Firestone Walker Brewing — in a carefully worded press release — announced that Duvel Moortgat and Firestone Walker “will combine their two companies in the USA.”
Here’s they said it on their website, at Firestone Walker news:
And this was the press release sent out:
July 16, 2015 – Kansas City, Mo., & Paso Robles, Ca. – In an agreement signed earlier this week, Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat will combine their two companies in the USA. The California brewery will continue to operate independently in Paso Robles under its current leadership of David Walker and Adam Firestone.
David Walker and Adam Firestone, joint founders of Firestone Walker said: “The Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat families have combined forces to broaden their capacity and scope as brewers. Long admirers of each other’s beers, culture and breweries, the two teams saw the perfect fit for an alliance. The partnership will allow Firestone Walker to develop our capacity across the US in a conservative and thoughtful way by consummating a life long tie with this family-owned international craft brewer, who continue their commitment to participating in the American Craft Revolution.”
“The relationship I have built with David and Adam made Firestone Walker the perfect fit for future growth,” said Michel Moortgat, CEO of Duvel Moortgat. “We share the same values; have a great mutual respect for each other’s achievements and a deeply-held belief in exceptional quality as a platform for long-term success. Bringing Firestone Walker together with Boulevard, Ommegang, Duvel and the other craft breweries in our family creates a stronger platform in the USA for us both and allows us to collaborate on brewing in different locations across the USA”
“The most important thing that we can do for Firestone Walker is to help David and Adam manage the exponential growth that their team and their brewery is experiencing right now by providing financial and production capacity to support them,” said Simon Thorpe, President of Duvel Moortgat USA. “We are not integrating our organizations. Both Boulevard and Ommegang are also enjoying tremendous success and we still have much to do in realizing our dream for both these breweries.”
The transaction between Duvel Moortgat and Firestone Walker is expected to close later this year. It is an agreement between two private, family-owned companies, so no financial or contractual details will be disclosed.
It will be interesting to see how this is the same or different from the deal Duvel did with Boulevard Brewing almost two years ago, from which Boulevard seems to have emerged unscathed and doing well, both in terms of quality and public perception. At this point, it appears it may be similar, with very little changing in terms of day to day operations of the brewery and with all the key people remaining in place.
Today in 1907, US Patent 860390 A was issued, an invention of George Edward Laubenheimer, for his “Hop-Jack.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
The Object of this invention is to provide a hop jack in which the screen or strainer is so constructed that the wort quickly drains oh and the hops are quickly and, thoroughly sparged and removed from the greater portion of the surface of the screen by mechanical means, thereby obviating n great deal of the manual lahoi’ usually required where a lalsc bottom is employed.
Wednesday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from 1960. Ah, the end of the 1950s. The two men have a beer and a smoke while the little woman shells peas and prepares the meal for them. There are only two bottles on that table. If she has to do all the work, the least they could do is offer her a beer.
Today in 1997, US Patent 5648246 A was issued, an invention of Christiaan Willem Versteegh, assigned to Heineken Technical Services B.V., for his “Process For The Continuous Preparation Of Wort.” Here’s the Abstract:
This invention relates to a process for the continuous preparation of wort, including the continuous enzymatic conversion of malt in one rotating disc contactor and separation of spent grain from mash in a separation unit. Further, a process for the continuous preparation of wort, including the continuous gelatinization and enzymatic liquefaction of a mixture based on unmalted grain, malt and/or an enzyme source and water in a rotating disc contactor, addition of malt and/or enzyme source to the product obtained, enzymatic conversion of the product obtained and separation of the spent grain from the mash in a separation unit.
Earlier today, Bart Watson, the BA’s economist, tweeted a chart from Nielsen entitled “Craft Beer is a Staple Out West and Growing Across the Country.” The chart is from a new report released yesterday, called Tapped In: Craft and Local Are Powerful Trends in the Beer Aisle. It shows three columns of data, including dollar share, percentage change of dollar volume versus last year and changes in dollar share versus last year. This is for “craft beer,” which Nieslen defines slightly differently than the BA, if memory serves.
The top five markets for share of craft beer are on the west coast, three of them in California: San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. The bottom five are all midwest and east coast, though only Washington DC is a particularly large market, with the other four being somewhat smaller. The top five each represents market in which craft enjoys roughly one-third of all beer sales, which is amazing to me given where we were just ten or twenty years ago.
In terms of change, Birmingham, Alabama is the surprise winner with an astonishing 63.1% growth in volume over last year. Although equally surprising is San Diego who despite being the third largest market for craft, also grew 22.5% more on a large base, and was the fourth highest in volume growth.
Of the categories Nielsen tracks, cider is the one most on fire, with volume up 43.2%. Next is craft beer with 10.2%, tied with Mexican beer, although craft has the edge in percentage change in value, though I’m not entirely sure how that’s calculated. Super Premium, Premium, and Sub Premium are all trending down, with negative numbers, though not by much. Sub Premium is losing the most ground, down 3.5% by volume.
In addition, Nieksen surveyed beer drinkers about how much they care about their beer being local.
If you’re unfamiliar with Nielsen, they track sales data in primarily larger, chain outlets like groceries, convenience stores, liquor and drug chains, etc. as opposed to beer stores and more independent or unique sales avenues. But because they’ve been collecting consistent data for a number of years, their information is usually pretty reliable and a decent snapshot of what’s going on across the country. Here’s some more of their analysis regarding where people are buying beer.
At the end of June 2015, craft beer accounted for 11.9% of the total dollar volume of the beer category in the U.S. It’s worth noting, however, that craft’s market share varies significantly by channel. For example, it has a much larger share in the grocery channel (20.1%) than the convenience (4.6%) and drug (8.7%) store channels, largely because grocery stores have significantly more floor space available, which allows for greater assortment and options for consumers. That said, however, the convenience channel holds the title for being the leader for overall beer sales, and craft is making a strong run there, growing at a faster pace in the convenience channel (+21.4%) than in grocery stores (+13.7%) for the 52 weeks ending June 20, 2015.
Today in 1980, US Patent 4212950 A was issued, an invention of Robert P. Adams, assigned to The Virtis Company, Inc., for his “Fermenting Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:
Apparatus providing for the growth of cells in a nutrient bath under controlled conditions includes a pressure vessel with a surrounding dimpled jacket. The pressure vessel is adjustably mounted on three vertical mounting columns, from which it is thermally isolated. Temperature control for the pressure vessel is achieved by a closed heat transfer system which includes a pair of heat exchanger sections in series, one for heating and one for cooling the heat transfer fluid. A removable head or lid for the pressure vessel is lifted by three cables running through a common pulley mounted above the pressure vessel. Impeller blades for agitating the contents of the fermenting apparatus have a drive shaft that extends through the head and is connected to a gear box by a removable driving link. The gear box, and an associated drive motor, are affixed to a common mounting bracket that is pivotable to permit maximum displacement of the head.
Tuesday’s ad is for Pabst Blue Ribbon, from 1913. Showing a woman almost completely covered by a head scarf, and wearing what looks to be a raincoat or overcoat, the tagline “Only When It’s Pabst” seems inscrutable. What does that even mean? She’s also wearing leather gloves holding her glass of beer. My guess is that it was meant to represent a driving outfit for one of those new fangled horseless carriages.
Today in 1959, US Patent 2894844 A was issued, an invention of James G. Shakman, assigned to the Pabst Brewing Co., for his “Canning Process and Product.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
[This invention is for an] improved process for canning substances which are processed during the general course of canning and which contain a gas, or contain vaporizable liquid, or are capable of expanding and so are capable of producing internal pressure in the can during such processing.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a new and improved process for canning carbonated liquids, such as beer and other carbonated beverages, which are normally canned with a head space above the liquid level.
Here’s a curious bit of history, centering in the Illinois town of Zion, which was founded today in 1901, and a year before on July 14, 1900, is essentially when the history of the town begins. Here’s their history from the Zion Historical Society:
After the organization of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion [in 1896], [founder John Alexander Dowie] dreamed of a city where his congregation would be free from the evils of the world, a city where God would be the ruler. He first looked for land south of Chicago in the Blue Island area, but the land was not suitable so he looked north of the city. In the fall of 1899, Dowie visited the land north of Waukegan and envisioned what he would come to name “Zion City”. After successfully securing options on approximately 6,600 acres of land, he unveiled his plan for Zion City at the Watchnight Service the eve of the New Year 1900. It would be a city where his congregation could worship, work, and play free from the temptations of the world. Zion City was the only city, besides Washington D.C., that had plans completed before the first spade of dirt was turned. There would be places of employment – he imported a lace mill from England — schools, and recreational facilities, all controlled by John A. Dowie. The land would be leased to the people, with definite restrictions, for 1,100 years. Dowie reasoned that Christ’s return was to be within 100 years and then the millennium, after which there would be no need for leases.
The people would share in the profits of the industries in Zion City and the profits, tithes, and offerings would be sufficient for the support of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion.
On July 14, 1900, hundreds of people came to what would be Zion City for an all day affair which culminated in the dedication of the City to God. The next year was spent surveying the city, laying out all the lots, planning for the utilities, and preparing for the opening of the City to the people. July 15, 1901 was the date that the City lots were made available to the public. The first house was built shortly thereafter in August, 1901. Dowie and his family came to Zion City from Chicago in July, 1902 and moved into Shiloh House, his newly constructed home.
Zion City never reached the potential that Dowie dreamed of having suffered financial troubles early on. In September, 1905, Dowie suffered a stroke and never fully regained his strength. While in Jamaica trying to regain his health, Dowie recalled Wilbur Glenn Voliva from Australia to be the Deputy General Overseer giving Voliva full power of attorney. With Voliva’s arrival in Zion City, he became aware of the dire financial condition of the City. He took steps to relieve Dowie by exercising the power of attorney given to him by Dowie. Dowie was asked to quietly resign from his office of General Overseer. Dowie chose not to relinquish control and a court battle ensued. The court ruled that the people could choose the successor and the great majority chose Voliva. Dowie was deposed and spent the last year of his life at Shiloh House surrounded by a small group of loyal followers. He died at Shiloh House in March, 1907, a few months before his 60th birthday. He is buried in Lake Mound Cemetery, Zion, Illinois.
Zion is located in Lake County, in the northeast corner of the state of Illinois, at one point even touching the border to Wisconsin, though most of it lies a bit south of the line separating the states. Zion also appears to be smack dab in the middle between Chicago and the more beer-friendly Milwaukee, also along Lake Michigan.
So the town was created to be a religious sanctuary, a Christian utopia. As these things generally go, it didn’t quite work out that way. Trying to create a place that’s “free from the evils of the world” seems impossible, especially since there’s no universal agreement on what those evils might be. Not surprisingly, however, alcohol was almost certainly among the evils Dowie wanted his town to be free from. And as far as I can tell, there are still no bars in Zion City and the town’s Liquor Control Commission only allows “the sale of alcoholic liquor at retail primarily to the sale in its original package or by restaurants, recreational facilities or hotels,” which seems to suggest no draft and therefore no bars. There are certainly no bars listed in the directory of the Zion businesses, not as a category and not by any obvious names, although they do have at least one chain restaurant that typically includes a bar: Applebee’s.
But Zion also seems to be part of the legacy of Prohibition, too. The National Photo Company Collection, which is in the Library of Congress, has some photos taken in Zion, Illinois sometime during the Prohibition years. The photos were originally taken by the Press Illustrating Service of New York. Surprisingly, they’re not sure exactly when the photos were taken, the Library of Congress believing it was “between 1921 and 1932,” which is a pretty wide range.
As far as I can piece together from the captions in the Library of Congress collection, trucks bound for the more populous and gregarious Chicago, just fifty miles to the south along Lake Michigan, were stopped in pious Zion, and confiscated. The City, apparently under federal authority, took it upon themselves to destroy the beer that they captured from the bootleggers. Maybe it was some kind of vigilante citizens force, determined to keep illegal hooch out of their paradise. Apparently, Zion destroyed around 80,000 sixteen ounce beer bottles. At any rate, all that remains of this story appears to be these three photos.
Zion City, Ill., destroys 80,000 pint bottles of beer. Mrs. Graze Knippen of Zion City holding up bottle of beer as she helps get rid of the beer.
W. Hurd Clendinen, mayor of Zion City, pouring away two bottles of beer. Apparently Clendinen made sure the press was on hand to witness, and photograph, his city’s commitment to the Prohibition movement.
Six men holding bottles of beer from a captured truck. Truck loads of beer enroute to Chicago, which were waylaid and captured at Zion City, Ill. … all bottles were destroyed.