Wednesday’s ad is another one for Sakura beer, this one from between 1928-32. This fetching flag-bearer is thrusting a glass of beer to the heavens from her perch above the Earth. I’m not sure why — It may be her confidence and assertive stare — but I want the beer she’s offering.
Today’s beer film is a commercial for a Dutch beer, Bavaria Beer, in this case for their Radler. The hilarious spot imagines that Elvis Presley is not dead, but today lives on a desert island along will fellow not dead celebrities Tupac Shakur, Kurt Cobain, Bruce Lee and Marilyn Monroe. When a ship wanders close, with practiced ease they sound they alarm and strike the set, so there’s (almost) nothing to see as the ship speeds by, training their binoculars on the now empty-looking beach. Luckily, you don’t really need to know Dutch to figure out what’s going on.
Tuesday’s ad is for the Sakura beer, from 1924. An elephant is rearing back on his hind legs, holding the world’s biggest beer in his trunk. Below him, hundreds (or more?) cheer.
Today’s beer film is the documentary feature Beer Wars, written and directed by Anat Baron, who celebrates her birthday today. Beer Wars was released in 2009, making it nearly five years old. Whew, a lot has happened in that time. Enjoy.
Trekkers rejoice, especially if you’ve gone so far as to learn the Klingon language. According to the Hollywood Reporter, CBS has announced “Star Trek’s first officially licensed and recognized brew,” which will be called Klingon Warnog.
The new beer, a “Danish Roggen Dunkel,” was brewed by Tin Man Brewing of Evansville, Indiana, in partnership with CBS Consumer Products and the Federation of Beer. Although curiously, some of the mock-ups list the beer as simply a “Roggen Dunkel” or a “Dunkelweizen.”
CBS is describing the beer’s flavor as having been drawn “from blending rye malt with a traditional clove character, creating a bold beer suited for the harsh Klingon lifestyle.”
According to the Star Trek Memory Beta wiki, Warnog was mentioned and appeared in an episode of Deep Space Nine — “Sons and Daughters,” from 1997 — along with several Star Trek novels.
The public will get their first preview and taste of Warnog at the Nightclub and Bar Show in Las Vegas today, March 25, 2014, before it becomes available across the U.S. and Canada later this year. This will most likely be the first in a line of Star Trek beverages, and there’s also a Vulcan Ale in the works. “Live long and party on!”
Monday’s ad is for the Nippon Brewery, from 1912. Showing a couple of Geishas on a train, with a vendor at the station offering them beer from a full basket. Through the window on the other side of the train is a large factory, which is presumably the brewery.
Today’s beer film is really just a slideshow to music, but it’s such a great collection of photographs that it’s worthwhile anyway. The book, MICROBREWERS: 1981-1996: A Photo History, features a wealth of historic photographs of many of the pioneers of the craft beer industry taken by David Bjorkman, who co-founded New Brewer magazine in 1983 with Victoria Thomas and Charlie Papazian, and documented the nascent beer industry from 1981 to 1996 before moving to Mexico. The handmade book includes “over 300 photos of the first microbrewers in the United States” and can be purchased from Blurb. I bought it when it first came out in 2009, and despite its high price tag, it’s an awesome collection of photos. The song, by the way, is the traditional Irish song “Beer, Beer, Beer” performed by The Clancy Brothers.
The Drinks Business has a summary of a new report, Beer on the Frontier: Opportunities for Brewers in the African Continent, in which Rabobank analysts conclude that Africa is poised to be the next big market for beer in the coming years, as populations and, hopefully, standards of living improve.
I was talking with Chris Swersey (competition manager of the judging for GABF and the World Beer Cup) recently about worldwide beer competitions. As far as we could conclude, Africa is the only continent (excluding Antarctica) without a big commercial beer event with judging. With Rabobank predicting that it will “become the world’s next fastest growing market for beer,” perhaps that will change.
Sunday’s ad is for Tokio Beer, from 1906. I know some manga today looks like this, but it’s a pretty unattractive ad. The man with the Snidely Whiplash moustache doesn’t look very trustworthy and the fat cherub riding the red cock holding a large bottle of beer … well, what more can you say?
Today’s beer film is a hilarious, gentle spoof of the Discovery series Brew Masters that Sam Calagione and the folks from Dogfish Head made in 2010. This one, Brew Minions, was made by Dave Thibodeau and his minions at Ska Brewing in Durango, Colorado. Besides making some funny swipes at he Brew Masters series, it’s also a good documentary on the brewery and their making a beer for the 30th anniversary of one of their favorite ska bands, The Toasters.