Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Gibraltar Beer

By

gibraltar
Today in 1967, Gibraltar held a referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or join Spain.

Gibraltar
gibralter-color

Gibraltar Breweries

Gibraltar Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: None

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.05%

gibralter

  • Full Name: Gibraltar
  • Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain
  • Government Type: Republic; multiparty presidential regime
  • Language: English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic 78.1%, Church of England 7%, other Christian 3.2%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 2.1%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 0.9%, none 2.9%
  • Capital: Gibraltar Town
  • Population: 29,034; 217th
  • Area: 6.5 sq km, 243rd
  • Comparative Area: More than 10 times the size of The National Mall in Washington, D.C.
  • National Food: Gibraltarian Cuisine
  • National Symbol: Barbary macaque
  • Affiliations: Commonwealth, EU
  • Independence: National Day, the day of the national referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or join Spain, September 10, 1967

gibralter-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18
  • BAC: 0.05%
  • Number of Breweries: 0

gibralter-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: beer
  • How to Order a Beer: one beer, please
  • How to Say “Cheers”: cheers
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

gibralter-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: N/A
  • Wine: N/A
  • Spirits: N/A
  • Other: N/A

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: N/A
  • Unrecorded: N/A
  • Total: N/A
  • Beer: N/A

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: N/A
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: N/A
  • Excise Taxes: N/A
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: N/A
  • Advertising Restrictions: N/A
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: N/A

Patterns of Drinking Score: N/A

Prohibition: None

gibralter-eu

My Little Pony Keg

By

my-little-pony-drinks
I love Google Images. You just never know what you’ll find and over the years I’ve found some truly odd images. And this has to be among the stranger finds. Apparently there are people obsessed with My Little Pony. I really shouldn’t be surprised, for pretty much anything you could name, people have turned their solitary obsession into a full-fledged hobby, with similar-minded people coming together from all over the globe. The internet has made this particularly easy, and I can only imagine that the sheer number of different groups, organizations, associations, clubs, etc. surrounding almost anything we could name, no matter how obscure, has exploded over the last decade. Anyway, I stumbled upon a My Little Pony imageboard — an internet forum — called Ponychan.

An entire thread titled “Alcohol Thread” began with “What is your drink of choice and why? Are you bastards even old enough to drink?” A fair question, given the only reason I am so very familiar with My Little Pony is because I have an 8-year old daughter. The thread includes images of ponies drinking beer and cider, as forum users express their favorite alcoholic drinks.

pony-beer-1

My wife informs me — I have no idea how she knows this — that there is an entire subset of adult males who are into My Little Pony known as “Bronies.” That’s more than a little creepy.

pony-beer-2

So here’s a few of the drinking ponies from the thread. I can only imagine the neo-prohibitionists would be going crazy if these were to see the light of day, emerging from the murky shadows of the internet. Children’s characters drinking? Oh, the horror!

pony-beer-3

But I’ll raise toast to the ponies. Drunk ponies could only be more interesting than I remember them, having to endure their sober exploits with my daughter Alice. Thank goodness she’s moved past the little ponies, but sadly what’s she’s into now — iCarly, Victorious and the Winx Club — are hardly much better.

pony-toast

Tajikstan Beer

By

tajikistan
Today in 1991, Tajikstan gained their Independence from the USSR.

Tajikstan
Tajikistan-color

Tajikstan Breweries

Tajikstan Brewery Guides

Other Guides

  • CIA World Factbook
  • Official Website
  • U.S. Embassy
  • Wikipedia

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: None

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC Not Known, but law enforcement has recently started cracking down on offenders

Tajikistan

  • Full Name: Republic of Tajikistan
  • Location: Central Asia, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan
  • Government Type: Republic
  • Language: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
  • Religion(s): Sunni Muslim 85%, Shia Muslim 5%, other 10%
  • Capital: Dushanbe
  • Population: 7,768,385; 96th
  • Area: 143,100 sq km, 96th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly smaller than Wisconsin
  • National Food: O’sh
  • National Symbol: Crown and seven stars in a semicircle
  • Affiliations: UN, CIS
  • Independence: From the Soviet Union, September 9, 1991

tajikistan-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 21 (Off-limits to the Muslim majority)
  • BAC: Not known
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 7

Tajikistan-money-1

  • How to Say “Beer”: pivo / пиво
  • How to Order a Beer: як пиво, Аҳамияти
  • How to Say “Cheers”: N/A
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

tajikistan-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 21%
  • Wine: 5%
  • Spirits: 74%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 0.39
  • Unrecorded: 3.00
  • Total: 3.39
  • Beer: 0.08

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 0.4 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Decrease
  • Excise Taxes: N/A
  • Minimum Age: 21
  • Sales Restrictions: N/A
  • Advertising Restrictions: N/A
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: N/A

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None

Tajikistan-asia

North Korea Beer

By

korea_north
Today in 1948, North Korea declared their Independence from Korea.

North Korea
north-korea-color

North Korea Breweries

North Korea Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: None

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC N/A

north-korea

  • Full Name: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
  • Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
  • Government Type: Communist state one-man dictatorship
  • Language: Korean
  • Religion(s): Traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way). Note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
  • Capital: Pyongyang
  • Population: 24,589,122; 49th
  • Area: 120,538 sq km, 99th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly smaller than Mississippi
  • National Food: Kimchi
  • National Symbols: Korean Tiger; Magnolia; Red Star
  • Affiliations: UN
  • Independence: Founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), September 9, 1948 / From Japan, August 15, 1945

north-korea-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18 (Alcoholic beverages are served on Saturdays)
  • BAC: N/A
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 1

no-korea-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: mek-ju (maek-joo) / 맥주 / 발포성 음료
  • How to Order a Beer: N/A
  • How to Say “Cheers”: N/A
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

korea-no-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: N/A
  • Wine: N/A
  • Spirits: N/A
  • Other: N/A

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: N/A
  • Unrecorded: N/A
  • Total: N/A
  • Beer: N/A

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: N/A
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: N/A
  • Excise Taxes: N/A
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: N/A
  • Advertising Restrictions: N/A
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: N/A

Patterns of Drinking Score: N/A

Prohibition: None

north-korea-asia

Macedonia Beer

By

macedonia
Today in 1991, Macedonia gained their Independence from Yugoslavia.

Macedonia
macedonia-color

Macedonia Breweries

Macedonia Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: None

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.05% [Note: Zero for professional drivers, public service drivers, commercial transport and drivers beginners.]

macedonia

  • Full Name: Republic of Macedonia
  • Location: Southeastern Europe, north of Greece
  • Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy
  • Language: Macedonian (official) 66.5%, Albanian (official) 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8%
  • Religion(s): Macedonian Orthodox 64.7%, Muslim 33.3%, other Christian 0.37%, other and unspecified 1.63%
  • Capital: Skopje
  • Population: 2,082,370; 145th
  • Area: 25,713 sq km, 150th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly larger than Vermont
  • National Food: Tavče Gravče
  • National Symbols: Lion (in Macedonian heraldry), Lynx, Ohrid trout; Makedonium (monument); eight-rayed sun, Vergina Sun
  • Affiliations: UN
  • Independence: From Yugoslavia, September 8, 1991

macedonia-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18 [Note: Must show an ID card upon request.]
  • BAC: 0.05%
  • Number of Breweries: 3

macedonia-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: pivo / пиво
  • How to Order a Beer: едно пиво, ве молиме
  • How to Say “Cheers”: Na zdravje! (“to your health”) / на здравје
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

macedonia-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 36%
  • Wine: 28%
  • Spirits: 36%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 5.61
  • Unrecorded: 2.90
  • Total: 8.51
  • Beer: 2.11

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 5.6 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Increase
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Hours, specific events, intoxicated persons
  • Advertising Restrictions: Yes
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None

macedonia-eu

Andorra Beer

By

andorra
Today in 1278, the nation of Andorra was founded.

Andorra
andorra-color

Andorra Breweries

Andorra Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: None

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.05%

andorra

  • Full Name: Principality of Andorra
  • Location: Southwestern Europe, Pyrenees mountains, on the border between France and Spain
  • Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy (since March 1993) that retains as its chiefs of state a co-principality; the two princes are the president of France and bishop of Seu d’Urgell, Spain, who are represented in Andorra by the co-princes’ representatives
  • Language: Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic (predominant)
  • Capital: Andorra-la-Vella
  • Population: 85,082; 199th
  • Area: 468 sq km, 195th
  • Comparative Area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
  • National Food: Escudella, Trinxat
  • National Symbol: Lammergeier Vulture
  • Affiliations: UN
  • Independence: Formed under the joint sovereignty of the French Count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Seu d’Urgel, September 8, 1278 / also celebrated as Our Lady of Meritxell Day

andorra-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18
  • BAC: 0.05%
  • Number of Breweries: 1

andorra-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: cervesa
  • How to Order a Beer: Una cervesa, si us plau
  • How to Say “Cheers”: Txin txin
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

andorra-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 31%
  • Wine: 44%
  • Spirits: 25%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 14.08
  • Unrecorded: 1.40
  • Total: 15.48
  • Beer: 3.93

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 14.1 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: N/A
  • Excise Taxes: No
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Places, specific events, intoxicated persons
  • Advertising Restrictions: No
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No

Patterns of Drinking Score: 1

Prohibition: None

andorra-eu

Ale Industries Adds New Brewster

By

ale-industries
Just got some great news. Morgan Cox, founder and brewer of Ale Industries, and his wife Laura, had their second child last week. Laura gave birth to Rayah just after 5:00 a.m. on September 2. Join me in wishing the happy couple all the best on their birth of their daughter. Congratulations Morgan and Laura!

Particulars:

Original Gravity: 6 pounds, 8 ounces
IBUs: 21.25 in.
Style: Girl
Release Date: September 2, 2012
Label: Rayah Marion Cox

rayah-marion-cox
A sleeping Rayah Marion Cox.

Beer In Ads #689: Budweiser Camouflaged Sunbathers

By


Friday’s ad is for Budweiser, another fairly recent ad, this one from 1984. Despite its somewhat sexist theme, I confess I have fond memories of this ad from when I was a young adult. It’s funny seeing the portable CD player and compact discs sitting in the sun. That was fairly new technology at the time. I vividly remember that a few years before this ad, when I was working as a music buyer for a chain of record stores, CBS Records gave us a demonstration of the new compact disc they were about to debut. I also recall being blown away by how clear and hiss-free the sound was.

Bud-1984-sunbathers

Brazil Beer

By

brazil
Today in 1822, Brazil gained their Independence from Portugal.

Brazil
brazil-color

Brazil Breweries

Brazil Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guild: Cobracem (Brazilian Brewer Association); Sindicato Nacional Da Cerveja

National Regulatory Agency: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA); National Advertising Regulatory Council (Conselho Nacional de Auto-Regulamentação Publicitária, CONAR)

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Labels must include the following information: Name of product; Beverage type (e.g., wine or beer); Importer name and contact information, if applicable; Company identification number; Country of origin; Alcohol content; Net volume (in metric units); Date of production; List food additives; Statement of ingredients.

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC is Zero in theory. De facto persons above 0.02% receive a fine and have their license suspended for 12 months. Above 0.06% is deemed a crime.

brazil

  • Full Name: Federative Republic of Brazil
  • Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
  • Government Type: Federal Republic
  • Language: Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4%
  • Capital: Brasília
  • Population: 199,321,413; 5th
  • Area: 8,514,877 sq km, 5th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly smaller than the US
  • National Food: Feijoada
  • National Symbols: Jaguar, Macaw; Ipê-amarelo-da-serra; Tabebuia alba; Southern Cross, Christ the Redeemer; Amazon river
  • Affiliations: UN, OAS
  • Independence: From Portugal, September 7, 1822

brazil-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18 [Note: Laws regarding possession or consumption of alcohol by minors are hardly enforced, especially if in the company of a parent or guardian, but those regarding selling minors alcohol are harshly imposed by law keepers, and it is law to remember the legal purchase age while advertising alcoholic beverages. ID Card is required for purchase.]
  • BAC: 0.08%
  • Number of Breweries: 218

brazil-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: cerveja
  • How to Order a Beer: Uma cerveja, por favor
  • How to Say “Cheers”: A sua saúde / Saúde (“to your health”) / tim tim
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

brazil-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 44%
  • Wine: 1%
  • Spirits: <1%
  • Other: 55%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 6.16
  • Unrecorded: 3.00
  • Total: 9.16
  • Beer: 3.36

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 5 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 21
  • Sales Restrictions: Time, location
  • Advertising Restrictions: Yes
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None.

brazil-so-amer