Wednesday’s ad is for my hometown beer, Reading Premium, which closed in 1976. This ad shows a cowboy who looks to be ready for a High Noon sort of dual, but instead of reaching for his gun, he’s reaching for a beer. Good choice.
Wet Vs. Dry U.S. Counties
Today’s infographic is a map of every U.S. county, showing post-prohibition, which ones are wet (blue), which ones are dry (red) and which are mixed (yellow). Apparently gray is for ones where they didn’t have good information. Wikipedia has a list of dry counties by state, with a list of each state.
Beer In Ads #932: Phoebe Cates For Live Beer
Tuesday’s ad is a celebrity ad, one from the 1980s. It features one of my most enduring star crushes, Phoebe Cates, who celebrates her 50th birthday today. She’s probably most famous for Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins. Like many actors in the 80s who turned down doing ads in the U.S., she found the lucrative Japanese market too hard to resist. Cates also did ads for other beer companies, such as Asahi, which I featured a few years ago in 2010’s Beer in Ads #152. This one is for “Live Beer,” or at least that’s what is written on the glass of beer she’s holding. There’s something written just below that, but I can’t quite make out what, so I’m not entirely sure what she’s advertising. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. If Phoebe’s suggesting Live Beer, I’m drinking Live Beer. Join me in drinking a toast to Phoebe Cates’ birthday. Maybe with some live beer.
Beer Industry Trademark Concerns
Boston attorney Shannon Sadowski, founder of New Leaf Legal, wrote an engaging piece for the Boston Globe on trademark concerns that craft breweries will be facing as more and more brands emerge in the growing market. These disputes aren’t going to go away, and I’m always amazed by all of the naked ignorance of IP law on display anytime one these disputes rears its ugly head. Before the 24-hour news cycles and the internet, these controversies existed largely in back rooms out of the public eye, where — I believe — they belong. But until I finish building the time machine, “progress” marches on and these disputes are now part of the public brewing world landscape. Any-ha-who, her article, Trouble brewing: fierce competition for beer industry trademarks, is a good overview of the challenges breweries are facing, and even includes a link to Scott Metzger of Freetail Brewing’s wonderful response letter to a trademark dispute. Read it, and be prepared for the next trademark dispute, coming any day now to a brewery near you.
State Beer Excise Tax Rates
Today’s infographic is another map of the U.S. showing the State Beer Excise Tax Rates for each of the fifty states. Using data from 2011, it was created by the Tax Foundation.
Click here to see the map full size.
The History Of Beer Motion Graphics Video
I stumbled on this motion graphics video yesterday on the History of Beer, created by two Portugese graphic designers, Juliano Silva and Valter Simão. It’s a fun little video, just two minutes long. Enjoy.
Beer In Ads #931: Heute Bock
Monday’s ad is a German one, from 1880, though I don’t know for what brewery it’s advertising. Heute in German means “today” so it’s telling customer, presumably, that bock is available right now. Though honestly, it would appear the man in the ad has had quite enough already.
Beer Serves America Interactive Map
Today’s infographic is an interactive map of the country created by the Beer Institute for their Beer Serves America, which used to be a separate website, but has since been folded back into the BI website. In the interactive map, holding the cursor over the pint glass in each state bring up additional data about that state, and provides a link to a pdf with much information about the economic impact of beer for each state.
Click here to see the interactive map full size … and interacting.
Beer Taxes By Lester Jones Of The Beer Institute
A couple of months ago, the Tax Foundation interviewed Lester Jones, who’s the economist for the Beer Institute in Washington, DC. As I am a great fan of the dismal science, Lester’s become a good friend over the years and is a great asset to the beer industry. Tax Foundation host Richard Morrison describes the podcast interview. “Beer Institute Chief Economist Lester Jones explains the tangled web of federal, state, and local taxes that get applied to the beer we drink.”
If that doesn’t work, try listening to it directly on the web.
Lester Jones, at GABF a few years ago, with George Reisch of ABI.
6 Of The World’s Biggest Parties
Today’s infographic is more a work of art than anything else, and illustrates 6 of the World’s Biggest Parties, one of which is all about beer, and during at least three more of them, beer is fairly prominent.
Click here to see the map full size.