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Beer Birthday: Merideth Canham-Nelson

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Today is also the birthday of Merideth Canham-Nelson, the better half of The Beer Geek duo that also includes Chris Nelson. I’d tell you what birthday she’s celebrating this year, but I don’t actually know. Merideth also recently published Teachings From the Tap, her account of the year she and husband Chris spent circling the globe visiting beer destinations. Join me in wishing Merideth a very happy birthday.

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Merideth at last year’s BevMo Holiday Festival last year.

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The first “official meeting” of the Bay Area Beer Bloggers. From left: Merideth, me, Chris Nelson, ditto, JJ, the Thirsty Hopster, and Gail Ann Williams and Steve Shapiro, both from beer by BART.

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In front of the Rocky statue in downtown Philadelphia during our trip to the first Philly Beer Week.

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At the OBF media tasting: Rick Sellers, from Pacific Brew News, Merideth and Chris Nelson, The Beer Geek, and Meagan Flynn (at right) with her assistant, Annalou, publisher of Beer NW during the 2007 Oregon Brewers Festival.

Craft: New Documentary About California Breweries

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This looks interesting. Jeff Smith and Fran Ellsworth are directing and producing a new documentary film about California breweries entitled “Craft: The California Beer Documentary.” They recently released their first trailer, which you can watch below. All I know at this point is from a short description of their project. “A road trip throughout California, learning from the master brewers of the state. It’ll also feature interviews with beer enthusiasts and home-brewers.”

CCBA 25th Anniversary Round-Up Video

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Early last month, the California Craft Brewers Association celebrated its 25th anniversary with a two-day conference in Santa Rosa. I gave a talk on the history of craft beer in the Golden State, and there many other seminars, including a wonderful panel discussion with three craft beer pioneers, John Martin (Triple Rock), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada) and Fritz Maytag (Anchor), moderated by Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River). The Film Squad created a fun video showing an overview of the conference.

Beer In Ads #1397: The Tables Turned — The Dream

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Sunday’s ad is for MacLachlans’ Castle Ale, from 1928. The beer was brewed in Edinburgh, on Duddingston Road West, and at other times the brewery was also called Tennent’s Brewery, and apparently they also had a brewery in Glasgow, and operated until around 1955. I love the surreal idea that people are chasing a running bottle of beer. I think they’re at a track with an audience of dogs, because normally it would be people drinking beer in the stands watching dogs racing while chasing a rabbit. That’s not a dream, it’s a nightmare.

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Beer In Ads #1396: Clear To The Last Drop

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Saturday’s ad is for Kaka Ale, or Dunedin Ale (which is also on the label), from between 1914-1918, based on the ad copy “drink success to the Allies. The beer was made by the W. Strachin & Co. brewery, also known as The Victoria Brewery. According to the Alexander Turnbull Library, it was founded in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1857 or 1860 by William Strachan and partners and by 1890 was the oldest brewery in Dunedin, and possibly New Zealand. But that tagline — “Clear To The Last Drop” — priceless.

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Did You Hear That? Only 2 Months Until SF Beer Week

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Remember hearing the music of the ice cream truck, and running outside to meet it so you didn’t miss out on getting a popsicle, or whatever your favorite frozen treat was? Well, it’s about two months until the kickoff of SF Beer Week, and they’ve created a hilarious teaser video, reimagining the ice cream truck, or in this case beer truck, as the clarion call for beer week. Enjoy.

Craft Beer Soccer Sponsorship Fantasies

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Given that many of the regional breweries continue to grow by leaps and bounds, it’s only a matter of time before they start considering some of the same types of sponsorships that in the past were usually reserved for the really big beer companies. But they certainly couldn’t afford baseball, football or even basketball prices. But what about soccer (football)? Backheel, a website and podcast devoted to American Soccer, wondered what MLS jerseys might look like if they were sponsored by local breweries. More than wondered really, as author Trevor Hayward worked with graphic designer Edward Gaug and Dan Wiersema, of the Free Beer Movement, and they created a mythical league where all the teams are sponsored by breweries, proudly displaying their logos on the jerseys. The entire project can be seen at Major League Soccer x Craft Beer Jerseys. Below are few of my favorites, but check out all of them either on Backheel or in a slideshow at Imgur.

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The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Lagunitas.

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The Seattle Sounders FC, sponsored by Elysian.

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The LA Galaxy, sponsored by the Bruery.

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The Portland Timbers, sponsored by Hair of the Dog.

But that’s not quite the end of the story. SB Nation’s Center Line Soccer (part of a group of 307 sports blogs) took it one step father, wondering if Petaluma-based Lagunitas was the best choice for the Quakes, who after all are in San Jose, quite some distance from Sonoma County. While they’re both in the Bay Area, it’s roughly a one-and-a-half to two hour drive between the two, depending on the always unpredictable traffic. So they imagined a few other choices for the Earthquakes. Again, here’s a few of my faves, and you can see all of them at What craft brewery would you like to see on the San Jose Earthquakes jersey?

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The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Russian River Brewing.

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The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by 21st Amendment Restaurant & Brewery.

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The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Drake’s Brewing.

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The San Jose Earthquakes, sponsored by Bear Republic Brewing.

Beer In Ads #1394: Enjoy Good Old-Time Beer Flavor!

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Thursday’s ad is for Pabst, from 1962. The ad is fairly simple, showing Pabst’s old-time character relaxes on a porch swing with a beer on his chest. I do love a good porch swing, though I don’t think I’ve ever laid on my back with a beer like that, it seems like it would be pretty to actually take a sip and not spill it all over the place.

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