Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Belgium Beer

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belgium
Today in 1831, Belgium gained their Independence from the Netherlands.

Belgium
belgium-color

Belgium Breweries

Belgium Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guilds: Belgian Brewers Association; Brewers of Europe; European Brewery Convention

National Regulatory Agency: Bureau for Import and Export Licences and Agricultural Refunds (Bureau d’Intervention et de Restitution Belge)

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: EU Regulations on Ingredients and Allergens

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.08%

Belgium

  • Full Name: Kingdom of Belgium
  • Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
  • Government Type: Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
  • Language: Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official)
  • Ethnic Groups: Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
  • Capital: Brussels (Bruxelles)
  • Population: 10,438,353; 82nd
  • Area: 30,528 sq km, 141st
  • Comparative Area: About the size of Maryland
  • National Food: Moules-frites
  • National Symbols: Lion (Leo Belgicus); Red poppy
  • Affiliations: UN, EU, NATO
  • Independence: From the Netherlands, when King Leopold I ascended to the throne, July 21, 1831 / A provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands, October 4, 1830

belgium-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 16 (for beer & wine); 18 (for spirits) / Since 10 January 2010, it is illegal to “sell, serve, or offer” any form of distilled alcohol to those under the age of 18 or any alcoholic drink to those under 16. So fermented drinks like beer or wine are permitted above 16. Previously, it was illegal to sell alcoholic drinks to under-16s, but accompanying adults could buy drinks for them.
  • BAC: 0.05%
  • Number of Breweries: 151

Belgium-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: bier / bière / slang: pint (rhymes w/hint)
  • How to Order a Beer: Un beer, ahls-yer-bleeft / Une bière, s’il vous plait
  • How to Say “Cheers”: Gezondheid (huh-zohnd’-hayt) / Op uw gezonheid / Proost / Sante
  • Toasting Etiquette: Wait to see if your host offers a toast before sipping your drink. The guest of honor may also give a toast. Women may offer a toast. It is polite to stand for a toast. Raising your glass and saying “Sante” is the typical toast. A toast is always made to the host or to the one who buys the drinks.

    The Flemish raise their glasses twice during a toast. The glass is initially raised during the toast and then at the completion of the toast.

belgium-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 57%
  • Wine: 37%
  • Spirits: 6%
  • Other: <1%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 9.77
  • Unrecorded: 1.00
  • Total: 10.77
  • Beer: 5.49

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 9.8 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 16
  • Sales Restrictions: Time, places, specific events, intoxicated persons
  • Advertising Restrictions: Some
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No

Patterns of Drinking Score: 1

Prohibition: None

belgium-eu

Beer In Ads #655: And Follow Through With Rheingold

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Friday’s ad is yet another Rheingold Beer ad, this one from 1959, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Robbin Bain. In this ad, she’s at the lanes, rolling her bowling ball at the pins. Behind her, at least two people have Rheingold beer bottles in their hands. But take a close look at how the almost glow. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were photoshopped in, except that desktop publishing didn’t exist in 1959, let alone Photoshop. What do you think, did she roll a strike?

59RheingoldBeerBowling

Next Session Begins Quest For My Precious

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session-the
For our 66th Session, our host, Craig Gravina, who writes Drink Drank. His topic takes us to the shire, to the land of the Hobbits, and into the dark cave where Gollum lost his precious ring: the One Ring to Rule Them All. Here’s how to start your own quest:

We all have our favorite brews — even if you say you don’t; deep, deep down we all do. From IPAs to Pilsners, Steam Beers to Steinbiers, something out there floats your boat. What if we look that to another level? What if you were to design the perfect brew—a Tolkienesque One Beer to Rule Them All. The perfect beer for you, personally. Would it be hoppy and dark or strong and light? Is it augmented with exotic ingredients or traditionally crafted? Would your One Beer be a historic recreation or something never before dreamt of? The sky is the limit on this one. If you need to travel back in time to brew at Belgian farm during the 1870s, go right ahead — just say hi to Doc Brown and the Delorean for me. Maybe you’ll need to mount a expedition to the treacherous Amazonian rain forest to bring back some chicha, to spike your brew with; or perhaps, you’ll just dust off that old Brown Ale homebrew recipe, tweak it a bit, and call it an evening.

I’d suspect that most of you out there probably have a good understanding about the brewing process — but if you don’t, no sweat, just wing it. This exercise isn’t about making sure you’ve checked all the right boxes for the BJCP or some homebrew competition. This Session is all about imagining the possibilities — no matter how ridiculous! Feel free to create a recipe, right down to the aplha acid in your hops or conjure up a review just like you’d do for any other beer. However you want to come at this, it’s your ultimate beer, your One Beer to Rule Them All!

One small caveat, however, you do need to name your concoction — no imaginary super beer would be complete without some glorified moniker to seal the proverbial deal!

So that’s your quest, to write about your precious, to find your one ring to rule them all — and try to do so without going bat shit crazy.

hobbits-drinking

So start obsessing, talking with a hiss and hanging around in dank, dark caves. That may be what you need to come up with your own perfect beer. But be sure to resurface into the light and leave the cave by Friday August 3 to let us know what you found. I just hope it’s not a green beer!

the-hobbit-drinking-a-gollum

Colombia Beer

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colombia
Today in 1810, Colombia gained their Independence from Spain.

Colombia
colombia-color

Colombia Breweries

Colombia Brewery Guides

Other Guides

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

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: National Institute for the Surveillance of Food and Medicine (Instituto Nacional de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos, INVIMA); Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarollo Rural)

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements; Labels must include the following information: Producer, importer, or bottler name and address, Sanitary registry number (granted by INVIMA),, Lot production Number, Alcohol Content, Net content (metric units only)

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.08%

Colombia

  • Full Name: Republic of Colombia
  • Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
  • Government Type: Republic; executive branch dominates government structure
  • Language: Spanish (official)
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic 90%, other 10%
  • Capital: Bogotá
  • Population: 45,239,079; 28th
  • Area: 1,138,910 sq km, 54nd
  • Comparative Area: Slightly less than twice the size of Texas
  • National Food: Bandeja paisa
  • National Symbols: Andean Condor; Cattleya Orchid; Quindio wax palm; Poporo Quimbaya; sacred heart
  • Affiliations: UN, OAS
  • Independence: From Spain, July 20, 1810

colombia-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18
  • BAC: 0.04%
  • Number of Breweries: 31

colombia-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: cerveza
  • How to Order a Beer: Una cerveza, por favor
  • How to Say “Cheers”: Salud
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

colombia-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 64%
  • Wine: 2%
  • Spirits: 34%
  • Other: <1%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 4.70
  • Unrecorded: 2.00
  • Total: 6.70
  • Beer: 2.71

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 4.2 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Places, specific events
  • Advertising Restrictions: Some
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None

colombia-so-amer

Beer In Ads #654: Rheingold Beach Fishing

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Thursday’s ad is yet another Rheingold Beer ad, this one from 1949, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Pat McElroy. In this ad, she’s fishing on the beach, rod and reel in hand. Not surprisingly, the food pairing suggestion for their beer at the bottom of the ad is fish. Imagine that.

Ballantine-1949-fishing

Laos Beer

By

laos
Today in 1949, Laos gained their Independence from France.

Laos
laos-color

Laos Breweries

Laos 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: 0.80 mg per 100 ml of blood

laos

  • Full Name: Lao People’s Democratic Republic
  • Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam
  • Government Type: Communist state
  • Language: Lao (official), French, English, various ethnic languages
  • Religion(s): Buddhist 67%, Christian 1.5%, other and unspecified 31.5%
  • Capital: Vientiane
  • Population: 6,586,266; 103rd
  • Area: 236,800 sq km, 84th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly larger than Utah
  • National Food: Larb with sticky rice
  • National Symbols: Elephant; Plumeria; the Pha That Luang
  • Affiliations: UN, ASEAN
  • Independence: From France and the UK, January 1, 1960

laos-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18 (on premise); None (off premise)
  • BAC: 0.08%
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 1

laos-money-2

  • How to Say “Beer”: ເບຍ
  • How to Order a Beer: ໜຶ່ງ ເບຍ لئوتفن
  • How to Say “Cheers”: ສຽງໂຮ
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

laos-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 25%
  • Wine: <1%
  • Spirits: 75%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 5.73
  • Unrecorded: 1.00
  • Total: 6.73
  • Beer: 1.42

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 5.7 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Time
  • Advertising Restrictions: No
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: No

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None

laos-asia

Beer In Ads #653: Rheingold Polo

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Wednesday’s ad is also a Rheingold Beer ad, this one from 1951, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Elsie Gammon. In this ad, she’s dressed for polo, with her mallet over her shoulder as she holds the reigns to her horse. It doesn’t seem like associating it with polo is the best way to make Rheingold a beer of the people.

Rheingold-1951-pony

Beer In Ads #652: The Rheingold Cowgirl

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Tuesday’s ad is another Rheingold Beer ad, this one from 1952, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Anne Hogan. In this ad, she’s all decked out in a cowgirl outfit, posing out in the mountains, while her horse presumably rests from the long trail ride. The saddle and blanket are by her side, as is a can of beer.

Rheingold-1952-cowgirl

Slovakia Beer

By

slovakia
Today in 1992, Slovakia declared their Independence from Czechoslovakia.

Slovakia
slovakia-color

Slovakia Breweries

Slovakia Brewery Guides

Other Guides

Guild: None Known

National Regulatory Agency: None

Beverage Alcohol Labeling Requirements: Not Known

Drunk Driving Laws: BAC 0.00%

slovakia

  • Full Name: Slovak Republic
  • Location: Central Europe, south of Poland
  • Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy
  • Language: Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6%
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13%
  • Capital: Bratislava
  • Population: 5,483,088; 113th
  • Area: 49,035 sq km, 131st
  • Comparative Area: About twice the size of New Hampshire
  • National Food: Bryndzové halušky
  • National Symbols: Linden; patriarchal cross and three mountains
  • Affiliations: UN, EU, NATO
  • Independence: Declared from Czechoslovakia, July 17, 1992 / Effective January 1, 1993

slovakia-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18
  • BAC: 0.00%
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 18

slovakia-money

  • How to Say “Beer”: pivo
  • How to Order a Beer: Eno pee-vo, pro-seem
  • How to Say “Cheers”: Na zdravie (“to your health”) / Stolicka
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

slovakia-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 36%
  • Wine: 15%
  • Spirits: 49%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 10.33
  • Unrecorded: 3.00
  • Total: 13.33
  • Beer: 3.90

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 10.3 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Time, places
  • Advertising Restrictions: Yes
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: Yes

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None

slovakia-eu

Beer In Ads #651: Duck, Duck, Rheingold

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Monday’s ad begins another week of Rheingold Beer ads, another one from 1953, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Mary Austin. In this ad, she’s hunting ducks from a rowboat, and her faithful dog has retrieved her latest kill. Whenever you look at beer ads from the 1960s and before, scenes depicting hunting are far more common than nowadays. Does anyone know if hunting is less common now or is it simply that’s it’s not a politically correct activity anymore.

Rheingold-1953-duck