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Session Beer Day To Be Celebrated April 7

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session
My friend and colleague Lew Bryson is promoting a new holiday, to take place on April 7. Session Beer Day was created to bring awareness to the idea that low-alcohol beers can be every bit as flavorful as their more spirited cousins, beers of average or high alcohol. Lew’s Session Beer Project has been a pet project of his for a few years now, its purpose likewise is “to popularize and support the brewing and enjoyment of session beers.” You can read more about Session Beer Day on Lew’s blog Seen Through a Glass.

While there are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes a “session beer,” for purposes of the holiday, the focus will be on beers that are 4.5% a.b.v. and below. If you’re a beer lover, on April 7, consider drinking only session beers and making a special point to ask for session beers at your favorite watering holes. Many places don’t even carry any beers that would fit the working definition and this holiday is an opportunity to educate places that aren’t stocking at least one session beer.

If you’re in a position at a bar, pub, brewery, restaurant, etc., consider offering session beer on April 7, perhaps even making a special promotion for the day (or week surrounding) Session Beer Day. You could even really step up and serve ONLY session beers and see how many you can find from your local brewers.

Here’s how Lew describes what to do on Session Beer Day:

If you work at a bar (or manage one, or own one), please consider throwing some under-4.5% beers on for April 7th, and making a special price or promotion for them. Tell folks it’s Session Beer Day, and encourage them to see how good lower alcohol beers can be. (Good day to get a “We Support” window sticker, too!) If you’re a brewer or wholesaler, encourage your accounts to pick up your under-4.5% beers for that day; it’s a great chance to promote those beers! If you’re a beer blogger/tweeter/writer, please consider spreading the word about Session Beer Day: use the hashtag #sessionday . And if you’re a session beer drinker…get out there and ask for it!

If you don’t recognize the significance of April 7, that was the day in 1933 when the Cullen-Harrison Bill, signed into law by FDR on March 23, took effect. Here, I’ll let Bob Skilnik take up the rest of the story:

Congressional events leading up to April 7, 1933 allowed only the resumption of sales for legal beer with an alcoholic strength of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight (abw), weak by today’s standards. Congress had earlier passed the so-called Cullen-Harrison Bill which redefined what constituted a legally “intoxicating” beverage. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the bill on March 23, 1933. The bill’s passage took the teeth out of the bite of the Volstead Act of 1919 and raised the Prohibition-era legal limit of alcoholic drinks from .05% abw to 3.2% abw.

Bringing breweries back online on April 7, 1933 in states whose legislatures agreed to go “wet” again gave a tremendous shot in the arm of an economy in the throes of the Depression. In just forty-eight hours, $25,000,000 had been pumped into various beer-related trades as diverse as bottling manufacturers to the sawdust wholesalers whose product lay strewn on the floors of saloons. For the first day of nationwide beer sales, it was estimated that the federal tax for beer brought in $7,500,000 to the United States Treasury.

To learn more about this period of history, read Skilnik’s New Beer’s Eve, April 7, 1933. So it seems an appropriate day to celebrate session beers, the day when only session beers were available after thirteen years of no (legal) beer of any kind.

So now you know. April 7 will be celebrated as Session Beer Day. Won’t you you join us?

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If you’re asking yourself if we can just declare any day a holiday, the answer is “yes.” If you’re a regular reader of the Bulletin, you know I’m a holiday geek and list many obscure holidays for every day of the year. Almost all of those are legitimate. Apart from “official” holidays which are voted on by Congress, anyone can declare any day a holiday. The trick is to get others to recognize it. So there are lots of small holidays. Some are self-serving holidays by industries to promote their products. Some are by non-profits hoping to build awareness for their cause. Some are wacky ideas by goofy people (like me) who just want to have some fun. Some are rooted in old traditions and others are just completely made up. Some succeed while others are relegated to the scrap heap of forgotten holidays. Many of the holidays we take for granted, such as Thanksgiving or Mother’s Day, were simply thought up by individuals hoping to promote a good idea and only gained wider acceptance over time. Thanksgiving has only been an annual event since 1863 and Mother’s Day, in its current form, wasn’t made an official holiday until 1914. So any holiday has a chance of becoming a big holiday with Hallmark cards and special traditions to celebrate it as long as enough people buy into it and observe it as a holiday. So Session Beer Day is a holiday if we say it’s holiday. It’s that simple. So this April 7th, make Session Beer Day a reality simply by drinking some session beers. Oh, and don’t forget to celebrate International Brewers Day on July 18.

Beer In Ads #566: A Great Nation’s Greatest Beer

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Monday’s ad is for an old Pabst brand, Andeker Beer, also referred to as “Andeker of America.” It’s from 1972 and refers to itself as “The Beer Supreme.” The tagline is great: “A Great Nation’s Greatest Beer.” The painting shown in the ad is by George Caleb Bingham. The ad says the title is Pioneers Crossing the Cumberland Gap, but it’s usually referred to as Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap.

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Now Made With Craft Beer

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So I’m walking through the grocery store the other day; and I’m hungry, which is never a good combination. I’m perusing the frozen food section, when something catches my eye. It’s Cheddar Bites, or more specifically “Crispy Beer Battered Aged White Cheddar” by Alexia. Now it’s not that they’re beer-battered — which I’m pleased about — but it’s nothing new. That’s not what caught my attention. On the box is a small tri-colored square, at an angle, to the right of the main label, declaring that these cheddar bites aren’t made with just any old beer, but are “Craft Beer Battered!” Woo Hoo! We’ve come a long way, baby, when that becomes a selling point. It made me laugh a bit, and naturally there’s no information about what craft beer was used for the batter. The company’s in Washington, so that’s a clue, I suppose.

Still, I find it interesting that a food company thought it was enough of a selling point to include it as a separate element on the packaging. That certainly suggests that they believed it would appeal to a certain type of consumer, and specifically one for whom the fact that the beer was “craft beer” had some meaning. That’s an interesting development. And it worked, I suppose, since I bought them. The family verdict was mixed. My wife thought they were just “meh,” whereas I liked them just fine; though in fairness my tastes run toward anything that’s not too good for me and can be considered comfort food.

Has anyone else seen similar labeling on packaged foods? It’s the first time I’ve noticed it, but I’m curious if this is happening enough to be considered the beginning of a trend.

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Oh, The Horror: Children Recognize Beer Brands

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Another classic propaganda study was just released in Britain, using the all-too-common meme of “think of the children” as the wedge to attack alcohol advertising. Ever since Prohibition ended miserably here in the U.S., anti-alcohol groups turned their attention to other methods of crippling alcohol, and attacking advertising has been a favorite strategy. It’s quite common in the UK, too, as similar groups there have no doubt witnessed its effectiveness on our side of the pond. This one is being reported by the Daily Mirror as More Children Familiar with Alcohol Brands Than Snacks, which is no doubt exactly the alarm that the anti-alcohol organization behind it was hoping to raise. The so-called “study” the Mirror is reporting on was conducted for Alcohol Concern, a “national charity on alcohol misuse” which certainly sounds like one of our American organizations that cover themselves in the cloak of health and concern for the children.

So let’s look at the study. 400 children, ages 10 and 11 (the same age as my son Porter), were shown brand names and images. Of those, 79% correctly recognized Carlsberg as a beer, or at least as alcohol. The same percentage also correctly identified Smirnoff as alcohol whereas only 74% recognized Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (which must have greatly chagrined Ben & Jerry’s ad agency). Oh, the horror! From there, of course, the leap is made that tighter controls need to be placed on the advertising of alcoholic beverages lest the kiddies remain able to know what’s alcohol and what’s not. Because if children know which brands are alcohol, then obviously they will drink them. If then can identify them, then obviously they’re being targeted and all ads therefore “encourage immoderate consumption.” Alcohol Concern asserts that alcohol advertising must be “not attractive to children,” as if adults and children like completely different things.

Okay, a couple of things. First, being able to identify which brands are alcoholic drinks and which are not does not mean the recognition came from advertising. That almost 4 out of 5 kids could identify Carlsberg, one of the best-selling beers in the UK, is just as likely due to its popularity, being in those kids’ homes, sitting in the refrigerator, and seeing their parents drinking it. Or seeing it when they’re at the local football game, with family and family friends drinking it while watching the game; or at a picnic; or they may see it walking the supermarket aisles as their parents shop. There are many places where kids can see alcohol brands, including many positive experiences, that do not have to do with advertising. Kids do not have tunnel vision and only retain what they see in ads on television. Yet Mark Leyshon, from Alcohol Concern, insists their “study” does “provide more evidence that alcohol marketing messages are getting through to young people well before they are legally able to buy alcohol.” I’d say that’s true only if you ignore reality.

On some level, isn’t it good news that kids know the difference between alcohol and soda? And guess which one they prefer? Think about it. Do kids like bitter tastes like beer or sugary sweet flavors like soft drinks? Study after study I’ve seen, and not just ones by neo-prohibitionists, always show young people prefer sweet tastes over bitter ones. I know my kids do. Don’t yours? So it’s in their interest — and yours and society’s if the anti-alcohol nutjobs are to be believed — if they don’t accidentally reach for a bottle of Carlsberg thinking the green bottle contains Sprite or 7Up? Knowledge should be a good thing, but apparently Alcohol Concern thinks it would be better if our children were completely ignorant.

Second, the study itself seems overly simplistic at best. The kids were shown “the brand names and logos of common alcohol products, as well as images from TV alcohol advertisements,” along with “brand images, logos and TV adverts for popular non-alcoholic products such as soft drinks and breakfast cereals.” Then it was multiple choice. The kids could choose for each image they were shown between three choices: “food,” “soft drink” or “alcoholic drink.” I can’t speak for their ten and eleven year olds, but I’m fairly certain my own son (who’s 10-1/2) could do a pretty good job of just guessing between those three choices. Most successful brand images work because the association with the products are natural or complimentary, not inscrutable and hard to figure out.

But even so, would it have been better for children’s health if they could more easily identify the “soft drinks” or “sugary snacks,” which ultimately are at least as bad for their health as alcohol? I know that kids under 18 in civilized places (or 21 in places less so) should not be drinking alcohol, and I accept that children should not have unrestricted access to it. But the fact remains that, all things being equal, the excess sugar and other chemicals in soft drinks and many, many processed foods are terrible for everybody, children included. Yet Alcohol Concern — and indeed most anti-alcohol groups — seem to have no difficulty with the many unhealthy products in the world and are single-mindedly convinced that it’s alcohol alone that it is the cause of society’s woes.

For me personally, as a parent, I find this concern completely absurd, unfounded and misguided. My kids could name more alcohol brands than the average ten and seven-year old, because it’s “daddy’s work.” Their hearts sink every time a package arrives on our doorsep and it’s not a new book or toy, but instead is beer. Our house is full of beer. It’s lining the hallway, in boxes in the foyer, sitting around the dining room, the kitchen, the garage, and stuffed into four refrigerators. But my kids have no interest in it whatsoever. Zip, zero, nada. They know it’s “for adults.” And that’s partly why I’m convinced these sorts of attacks on alcohol advertising using children as a shield are not about the kids in the least. They never are. I’m glad my kids know the difference between what they’re allowed to drink and what they’re not. Don’t all parents teach their kids what they can drink? In our home, it’s simple, really. No soda, no beer and no alcohol. They know, and that knowledge is powerful and effective. Just say know.

Beer In Art #166: Albert Edelfelt’s Portrait of Louis Pasteur

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Today’s work of art is by the Swedish-speaking Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt, who in 1886 painted a Portrait of Louis Pasteur. Pasteur, of course, while primarily known for pasteurization of milk, did his initial studies of fermentation and unlocked many of the mysteries of how yeast worked in brewing, paving the way for brewers to better understand and control the process of making beer. In 1873 he published his Treatise on Fermentation.

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The painting today hangs in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. The museum describes Portrait of Louis Pasteur:

Like many of his contemporaries from Northern Europe, the Finn Albert Edelfelt came to France when he was scarcely twenty to study at the fine arts school in Paris. He quickly took part in the official exhibitions and soon won medals and awards. The presentation of his portrait of the chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur at the Salon of 1886 marked a new stage in his career because it earned him the Legion of Honour. At a time when painters readily chose contemporary scientific subjects rather than historical painting, which was bogged down in the reproduction of anecdotes, this portrait of one of the most famous scientists of the time was very popular.

Pasteur is shown in his laboratory in the rue d’Ulm, in the midst of his experimental apparatus. He is holding a jar containing the spinal cord of a rabbit infected with rabies which he used to develop a vaccine against rabies. As a result of this discovery, he was hailed as a benefactor of mankind. Far from being a heroic representation, the painting is the epitome of poise, both in its composition and lighting. Light from a window out of sight on the right spreads delicately over the scene, highlighting the equipment and the scientist’s thoughtful face.

To learn more about Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt, you can start with Wikipedia, and you can also see links to his works online at ArtCyclopedia, Painting Giant, Vaasa, the Athenaeum and Wahoo Art.

A Biologist’s St. Patrick’s Day Song

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This is one of the coolest, albeit nerdy, songs I’ve heard since Tom Lehrer was doing the Vatican Rag and singing about the Elements. And thanks to Peter H. for sending me the link. It’s a St. Patrick’s Day song by a biologist, known only as Cadamole, who apparently lives in Washington, D.C. He sings about the biology of beer and … well, just listen to it for yourself. Enjoy!

And below are the lyrics so you can sing along:

In the year of our lord eighteen hundred and eleven
On March the seventeenth day
I will raise up a beer and I’ll raise up a cheer
For Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Here’s to brewers yeast, that humblest of all beasts
Producing carbon gas reducing acetaldehyde
But my friends that isn’t all — it makes ethyl alcohol
That is what the yeast excretes and that’s what we imbibe

Anaerobic isolation
Alcoholic fermentation
NADH oxidation
Give me a beer

[CHORUS]

My intestinal wall absorbs that ethanol
And soon it passes through my blood-brain barrier
There’s a girl in the next seat who I didn’t think that sweet
But after a few drinks I want to marry her
I guess it’s not surprising, my dopamine is rising
And my glutamate receptors are all shot
I’d surely be bemoaning all the extra serotonin
But my judgment is impaired and my confidence is not

Allosteric modulation
No Long Term Potentiation
Hastens my inebriation
Give me a beer

[CHORUS]

When ethanol is in me, some shows up in my kidneys
And inhibits vasopressin by degrees
A decrease in aquaporins hinders water re-absorption
And pretty soon I really have to pee
Well my liver breaks it down so my body can rebound
By my store of glycogen is soon depleted
And tomorrow when I’m sober I will also be hungover
Cause I flushed electrolytes that my nerves and muscles needed

Diuretic activation
Urination urination
Urination dehydration
Give me a beer

[CHORUS]