Thursday’s ad is for Acme Beer, from 1951. This is from a series of billboard ads from the same year I stumbled upon, though I’m sure the originals in color are more spectacular. In this Acme ad for their Gold Label beer, they’re advertising it as a “new lighter, drier beer.” The cartoon faces are amazing, especially that wink.
Wednesday’s ad is for Hamm’s, from 1951. This is from a series of billboard ads from the same year I stumbled upon, though I’m sure the originals in color are more spectacular. In this Hamm’s ad, using their iconic tagline “From the land of sky blue waters,” imagine it ginormous, with a bottle of beer being poured into a pilsner glass, with a picturesque outdoor background.
This would almost be funny, if I didn’t consider her misinformation so dangerous. Oh, and a h/t to Maureen Ogle for this one. Dr. Kevin M. Folta, who is the chairman of the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida, writes on his blog, Illumination, about a recent visit by Vani Hari, as the Food Babe Visits My University.
As an actual living, breathing scientist, Folta understandably stood at odds with Hari “spreading her corrupt message of bogus science and abject food terrorism” at his school. Here’s how he really felt. “There’s something that dies inside when you are a faculty member that works hard to teach about food, farming and science, and your own university brings in a crackpot to unravel all of the information you have brought to students.” And she apparently was paid $15,000 by the University to add insult to injury, as well.
She found that a popular social media site was more powerful than science itself, more powerful than reason, more powerful than actually knowing what you’re talking about. Her discussion was a narcissistic, self-appointed attack on food science and human nutrition. It was one of the rare times when I laughed and puked at the same time.
So “who do you trust for real scientific information? This is why scientists go nutso.” Here’s a breakdown of the relative experience and knowledge between the Food Babe, Vani Hari, and Dr. Folta.
Here’s a few more random thoughts from his post about the talk she gave, although I encourage you to read the entire post.
Hari then went on to talk about her successes in strong-arming Chick-fil-A, Budweiser and Subway into reformulating their foods and beverages. She’s proud that she was invited to the table, that a know-nothing with a following can affect change simply by propagating false information via the internet.
That’s not healthy activism or change based on science. That’s coercion, fear mongering and terrorism to achieve short-sighted non-victories in the name of profit and self-promotion, ironically the same thing she accuses the companies of.
On the plus side, reasonably educated college students weren’t going for her nonsense, he noted. “Throughout her presentation that was about Hari in the spotlight and ‘me-me-me’, students got up and left. She left gaping pregnant pauses where previous performances got applause — only to hear nothing. Not even crickets. This audience was not buying it, at least was not excited by it.”
Overall, he understandably found it disappointing, noting. “If this is a charismatic leader of a new food movement it is quite a disaster. She’s uninformed, uneducated, trite and illogical. She’s afraid of science and intellectual engagement.”
What stood out for me, though not a surprise in the least, is that although microphones had been set out at the sides of the stage for questions (something you see at virtually any academic talk like this) she left the stage immediately, apparently refusing to take any questions from the students. It was as if she finished talking, dropped the mic and walked out, “whisked by limo to her next fear rally,” as Folta opined. Unfortunately, that sounds about right given that numerous people tell me she deletes any questions or contrary evidence from comments on her website or Facebook page. She’s selling a product — herself — pure and simple, and she can’t let facts get in her way. In a sense, she doesn’t even need to engage anyone, as she has untold numbers of unpaid minions slavishly doing her bidding for her — the Food Babe Army — attacking any critics or criticisms, as I discovered for myself when I took issue with her nonsense about the ingredients in beer. I’m almost amazed she’s still peddling her brand of crazy to ready buyers, and yet not surprised at the same time. After all, there are still people who insist the world is flat and that climate change isn’t happening, so truly people will believe all sorts of kooky things if they don’t think too much about it. And in some ways, not thinking about stuff but believing it anyway with all your might may be well be the new American way. More’s the pity.
Tuesday’s ad is for the Continental Can Company, from 1935, the year beer cans debuted. I love the innocent photo, and that tagline: “Say! This Is How Beer Ought To Taste!” And the can itself is priceless in its generic-ness, not to mention “Cap Sealed” and “Opens Like a Bottle.” So modern, at least for 1935.
Monday’s ad is for Rheingold Extra Dry Lager Beer, from 1964. How about the head on that mug? One down, one to go. And only a few more peanuts left. It really is “as good to your taste as it is to your thirst.” But buried in the text is a baseball reference, too. “There’s no better way to work up a thirst than cheering our Mets. No better way to quench it than with Rheingold Extra Dry.” The World Series starts tomorrow. There may be peanut, but there will definitely be beer.
For our 93rd Session, our host is Brian Devine, who writes The Roaming Pint, along with Maria Scarpello, and the pair “have been traveling around in their 29-foot RV, named Stanley, since August 2010 seeking out all kinds of great beer destinations.” For their topic, they’ve understandably chosen Beer Travel.
Since travel is such an important part of our lives I wanted our topic to focus on beer travel. In Session #29, Beer by Bart asked writers to tell them about their favorite beer trips to which they got some great responses of personal favorites and general tips for certain cities.
So as not to tread over old ground my question is going to focus on the “why” more than the “what”. So I ask you fellow bloggers and beer lovers, why is it important for us to visit the place the where our beers are made? Why does drinking from source always seem like a better and more valuable experience? Is it simply a matter of getting the beer at it’s freshest or is it more akin to pilgrimage to pay respect and understand the circumstances of the beer better?
Not “Stanley,” but certainly a worthy steed for beer travel.
So put on your walking shoes or those boots that are made for walking, whichever you prefer with your beer. According to Brian, participation in November’s Session simply requires that you “write a response to one or more of the questions above and then post a link to the article” in the Roaming Pints’ comments section by November 6th.
Sunday’s ad is for Reading Premium Beer, my hometown beer, from 1969. It’s an interesting package they’re selling, 16 oz. pint size bottles in a six pack, but notice they refer to them as “glass cans.” In the 1950s they adopted my favorite ad slogan of all-time: “The Friendly Beer for Modern People.” In this ad, they extend that by referring to their beer as “The Friendmaker.”
There was an interesting story posted on Popular Science, specifically their BeerSci series. They did a great job of spinning the story as a love story, albeit an unusual one between fruit flies and brewer’s yeast, especially since the original title of the study they’re reporting on was The Fungal Aroma Gene ATF1 Promotes Dispersal of Yeast Cells through Insect Vectors. But it is, and in How Flies Are Responsible For Beer’s Tasty, Fruity Smells, they detail how,”[i]n a series of experiments, biologists from several institutes in Belgium demonstrated that brewer’s yeast makes fruity, floral smells to attract fruit flies. In the wild, yeast might live on rotting fruit and entice flies to come to them there. Yeast and flies’ relationship benefits them both, the biologists found. Previous studies have found that eating yeast helps fruit fly larva develop faster and survive better. This new study found that fruit flies help spread yeast to new environments, like a bee spreading pollen.” In effect, their study demonstrates “the co-evolution of two species.”
Here’s the summary from the original, published in Cell Reports.
Yeast cells produce various volatile metabolites that are key contributors to the pleasing fruity and flowery aroma of fermented beverages. Several of these fruity metabolites, including isoamyl acetate and ethyl acetate, are produced by a dedicated enzyme, the alcohol acetyl transferase Atf1. However, despite much research, the physiological role of acetate ester formation in yeast remains unknown. Using a combination of molecular biology, neurobiology, and behavioral tests, we demonstrate that deletion of ATF1 alters the olfactory response in the antennal lobe of fruit flies that feed on yeast cells. The flies are much less attracted to the mutant yeast cells, and this in turn results in reduced dispersal of the mutant yeast cells by the flies. Together, our results uncover the molecular details of an intriguing aroma-based communication and mutualism between microbes and their insect vectors. Similar mechanisms may exist in other microbes, including microbes on flowering plants and pathogens.
You can also read the entire study as a pdf, but to get a sense of what it all means, read Francie Diep’s How Flies Are Responsible For Beer’s Tasty, Fruity Smells and keep in mind her warning from the outset. “Sorry, but brewer’s yeast did not evolve for you.” Perhaps not, but at least we can still reap the benefits of the relationship between those fruit flies and the yeast used to create delicious beer.
Saturday’s ad is for Rainier Beer, from the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., from around the turn of the 19th century, plus or minus. I love the pseudo patriotic tagline: “An American Product for Lovers of Quality.” Not to mention the Statue of Liberty holding up a bottle of Rainier in an American coat of arms. ‘Merica!
Friday’s ad is for Busch Extra Dry, a ginger ale that Anheuser-Busch produced, presumably during prohibition (though possibly not, there is a bottle of Budweiser inset at the bottom of the ad, but I can’t quite make out the text). With the tagline Chambertin [a French red wine] held Napoleon, when Josephine couldn’t, I”m not quite sure how that relates to a ginger ale. If it was champagne, maybe since both a very bubbly and effervescent. Still, it’s interesting to see A-B advertising a soft drink under their label.
