Sunday’s ad is yet another one for Schlitz, this one from 1943. An ice skater glides effortlessly across a frozen pond in the central illustration. Yeah, it’s that smooth. I like that in the ad copy they suggest that Schlitz has “that famous flavor found in no other beer.” Because different beers at that time tasted so differently. Wow, that seems like a tough sell.
Saturday’s ad is another one for Schlitz, this one from 1945. The ads was just before the end of World War 2, and was speculating about all the wonderful things we’d be doing once the war was over, including “giant airliners.” But as for the beer of tomorrow, their position was that it was already there, and it was Schlitz.
Friday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1949. The ad is 100 years from something, though it’s unclear what. In addition to the gold rush in California, I guess there was a lot of “pioneering” still going on 100 years before this ad ran, but Schlitz itself didn’t start brewing for another 25 years, in 1874. Still, this Oregon Trail-like painting is pretty cool, even if it has little to do with the beer.
Thursday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1955. The ad features Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born today in 1850. R.L.S. — as he’s referred to in the tagline — was the author of “Treasure Island,” the “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” and many others. According to the ad, which ran in the Illustrated London News, Stevenson was aboard a cruise ship in the South Pacific in 1893, when he wrote a letter to a person named Colvin, a portion of which was also part of the ad copy:
Fanny ate a whole fowl for breakfast, to say nothing of a tower of hot cakes. Belle and I floored another hen betwixt the pair of us, and I shall no sooner be done with the present amanuensing racket than I shall put myself outside a pint of Guinness. If you think this looks like dying of consumption in Apia, I can only say I differ from you.
For our 94th Session, our host for the second time is Adrian Dingle, better known online simply as Ding through his Ding’s Beer Blog. For his topic, he’s asking folks to ponder their place in the world. Not the wider world, the whole ball of wax, but our little self-staked piece of it, the collective known as the beer community, or “Your role in the beer ‘scene’. What it is?”
[W]here do you see yourself? Are you simply a cog in the commercial machine if you work for a brewery, store or distributor? Are you nothing more than an interested consumer? Are you JUST a consumer? Are you a beer evangelist? Are you a wannabe, beer ‘professional’? Are you a beer writer? All of the above? Some of the above? None of the above? Where do you fit, and how do you see your own role in the beer landscape?
So time for a little self-examination — rubber gloves not included. To participate in December’s Session, simply try to figure out your very existence and post your answer on Ding’s comments section to his announcement or otherwise send Ding your link to your contribution by December 5th.
You’re probably familiar with Ted Talks, but there’s also independently organized Ted events, known as TEDx. Recently Peter Bouckaert, the brewmaster at New Belgium Brewing gave one at TEDxCSU, the Fort Collins extension of the talks. In the talk, “[h]e explains his personal journey of challenging limitations to “brew” together a life of creativity,” and the YouTube page describes Peter as having “made a career through utilizing innovation and working outside the box.”
A Belgian native, he is a Biochemistry engineer, with a specialization in Brewing and Fermentation technology from the University of Ghent, Belgium. Before joining New Belgium in 1996, and moving to the US, he worked in the Belgian brewery world in breweries with difficult to pronounce names like Zulte and the world renowned Rodenbach. He was the 2013 winner of the Russell Schehrer award for innovation in Brewing.
It’s only a little longer than fifteen minutes. I only wish it was longer. Enjoy.
Wednesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1962. A sailor at a bar telling tall tales. What are the odds? In this story, “it was rugged, mates,” our intrepid man of the sea begins. “33 days in a lifeboat and worst of all no Schlitz!” No Tiger, either, but can that really be the worst thing? Sounds like this must not be the first retelling.
Tuesday’s ad is for Carling’s Canadian (Red Cap) Ale, from 1934. I like tat the ad is effectively showing one way to get through border security, though I don’t suppose that’s what they had in mind for this Canadian beer that — wait for it — was brewed in Ohio. And I love that the reason they decided to make it was for those “admirable people who have been impatiently waiting for someone in America to brew a real Canadian ale.” And according to the ad copy, “you’re going to like it.” Why? Because “it’s a palatable, hearty, comforting drink for a man’s man. That’s certain.” But what about the ladies, you may be asking yourself? Not to worry. “And for the girl who shoots and paddles and swings a wicked mashie.” Don’t do any of those things? Then stay the fuck away from this beer, you’re not the right kind of girl for Red Cap.
Last year, I posted a list of The World’s Top 10 Beer Brands . That list, from Drinks Business, was for sales as of the end of 2012. Earlier today, the Wall Street Journal tweeted a chart showing a newer list of the top ten, from Euromonitor International. Their data was accompanying a story, SABMiller Considers Best Route to a Global Beer Brand, though I couldn’t see the context, since only WSJ subscribers could see the entire article. No matter, I was keen to see if this year’s numbers were similar, as you’d expect, from last year, even though the source of the information is slightly different.
It’s pretty close to last year’s list. The top two, both Chinese brands, remain unchanged. But Bud Light has jumped up from #5 to claim the third spot, while Bud slipped down one to #4. Yanjing Beer, which was #4 on last year’s chart, slipped to #6, while Brazil’s Skol shimmied up from seventh to #5. Heineken moved up one to #7, while another Chinese brand (owned by ABI) — Harbin — is at #8, but was not on last year’s list. Finally, Brahma and Coors Light switched placed at the bottom of the list. Last year, Coors Light was #9, this year it’s Brahma. Corona was #6 on last year’s chart, but is not on the list at all this year.
Monday’s ad is for Alloa Aluminum, from 1934. The thirty-nine “Colssi” in the headline refer to three-story tall aluminum fermenters being installed at the Hoffman Beverage Co. of Newark, New Jersey, which brewed from 1934 until it was bought by Pabst in 1946, who kept it going until 1985. But when this ad ran, it was a brand new brewery going into production the year after prohibition ended. And apparently, they were expecting to be pretty successful from the get go, because 39 fermenters is quite a lot to start out.
