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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Master Cicerone Chosen For SF Zagat 30 Under 30

February 22, 2012 By Jay Brooks

cicerone-circle
At last week’s Three Ring Circus beer dinner, Nicole Erny teased that she had big news coming this week, but told us she was sworn to secrecy. Well today she could finally reveal her news. Erny, who recently became the first female Master Cicerone — and only the fourth overall — has been selected by Zagat as one of their 30 Under 30: San Francisco’s Hottest Up-and-Comers. As for “why she made the list,” Zagat had this to say:

Sitting at the rusty old table with her grandfather as a child tasting different kinds of pears and plums from his orchard is what this up-and-comer credits for developing the neural pathways between the tongue and brain that are so integral in deciphering the nuances of beverages. In addition to being the exam manager for beer sommelier program Cicerone, she’s also its first female Master and is a leading figure on the San Francisco brewscape, especially during annual Beer Week. Blogging and tweeting under the handle @beer_muse, her mission is to raise the bar on how restaurants treat beer as part of their beverage program, with the help, of course, of gals like her.

Join me in congratulating Nicole on this latest honor. Things are really starting to happen for her, and it’s great seeing more and more people turning their passions into careers. Way to go, Nicole!

DSC_1643
Nicole and me at Sean Paxton’s Three Ring Circus beer dinner last Wednesday. (photo by Mike Condie.)

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Bay Area, California, Cicerone

Saint Lucia Beer

February 22, 2012 By Jay Brooks

st_lucia
Today in 1979, Saint Lucia gained their Independence from the United Kingdom.

Saint Lucia
st-lucia-color

Saint Lucia Breweries

  • Piton Beer
  • Piton Beer: Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia
  • Plantation Brewing House
  • Windward & Leeward Brewery Ltd. (Heineken)

Saint Lucia Brewery Guides

  • Beer Advocate
  • Beer Me
  • Rate Beer

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: Unknown

St-Lucia

  • Full Name: Saint Lucia
  • Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Government Type: Parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
  • Language: English (official), French patois
  • Religion(s): Roman Catholic 67.5%, Protestant 18.2% (Seventh-Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%), other Christian 5.1%, Rastafarian 2.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5%
  • Capital: Castries
  • Population: 162,178; 186th
  • Area: 616 sq km, 193rd
  • Comparative Area: Three and a half times the size of Washington, DC
  • National Food: Green Fig & Salt Fish Pie
  • National Symbol: St. Lucian Parrot
  • Nickname: Helen of the West or Helen of the West Indies
  • Affiliations: UN, Commonwealth, OAS
  • Independence: From the UK, February 22, 1979

Saint_Lucia_Coat_of_Arms

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18
  • BAC: N/A
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 2

EastCaribbeanStatesPNew(L-St Lucia)-5Dollars-(2003)_f

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

st-lucia-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 27%
  • Wine: 6%
  • Spirits: 65%
  • Other: 2%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 11.35
  • Unrecorded: 0.50
  • Total: 11.85
  • Beer: 3.49

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 11.4 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: N/A
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: N/A
  • Advertising Restrictions: N/A
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: N/A

Patterns of Drinking Score: 2

Prohibition: None

st-lucia-carib

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries Tagged With: Caribbean, Saint Lucia

Beer In Ads #547: Some Day All beer Cans Will Open This Easy!

February 21, 2012 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from the 1960s, when they debuted the “Aluminum soft top” can, which according to the ad was much easier to open than the “old hard way.” They billed it as the “world’s easiest opening beer can!” I’m not sure about their prophecy that “Some day all beer cans will open this easy!” Time seems to have passed by that innovation.

schlitz-softop-can

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Cans, History, Schlitz

Celebrator 24th Anniversary Party

February 21, 2012 By Jay Brooks

sf-bw-2012
Steve Atkinson, who does great video work for the Celebrator and others, put together this fun video from last night’s SF Beer Week closing celebration at the Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley. I should give you fair warning; you will have to suffer through not one, but two interviews with yours truly. Enjoy.

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Events, Just For Fun, SF Beer Week Tagged With: Bay Area, California, Video

Beer In Ads #546: Shiner Texas Special

February 20, 2012 By Jay Brooks


Monday’s ad is the companion to yesterday’s Beer In Art post, Gil Elvgren’s Shiner Texas Special. After Elvgren finished the artwork, Shiner marketing applied the text and logo in upper righthand corner. The result, I think, is a pretty great looking ad.

shiner_beer_1953

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Texas

Beer In Art #162: Gil Elvgren’s Shiner Texas Special

February 19, 2012 By Jay Brooks

art-beer
Today’s work of art is by the American pin-up artist Gil Elvgren known for his glamour illustrations and cheesecake paintings, though he also worked in advertising throughout his forty-year career. In 1953, he did this painting for the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. It was originally founded in 1909, today it’s owned by the Gambrinus Company in San Antonio.

GIL_ELVGREN_American_1914-1980_._Shiner_Texas_Special_beer_ad_illustration_1953

The finished ad included the addition of the Shiner logo and was known as “Shiner Texas Special. You can see the final ad in tomorrow’s Beer in Ads series.

To learn more about Gil Elvgren, check out his biography on Wikipedia or on GilElvgren.com. The American Art Archives has more of his advertising illustrations and you can see more of his pin-up work at Elvgren Pinup, GilElvgren.com, the Great American Pin-Up and the Elvgren Concordance, which has over 500 of his pin-up works.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Texas

Guinness Ad #107: Waterloo Bridge Is Coming Down

February 19, 2012 By Jay Brooks

guinness-toucan
Our 107th Guinness ad is from 1934, showing a man drinking a Guinness leaning against the bridge. But the strength he received from drinking his Guinness was apparently enough to knock over the bridge. Now that’s a pretty impressive claim.

Guinness-waterloo-bridge-1934

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Guinness, History

Gambia Beer

February 18, 2012 By Jay Brooks

gambia
Today in 1965, The Gambia gained their Independence from the United Kingdom.

The Gambia
gambia-color

Gambia Breweries

  • Banjul Breweries

Gambia Brewery Guides

  • Beer Advocate
  • Beer Me
  • Rate Beer

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 0.00%

Gambia

  • Full Name: Republic of The Gambia
  • Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal
  • Government Type: Republic
  • Language: English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
  • Religion(s): Muslim 90%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 2%
  • Capital: Banjul
  • Population: 1,840,454; 149th
  • Area: 11,295 sq km, 167th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly less than twice the size of Delaware
  • National Food: None Known
  • National Symbol: Gambia River
  • Affiliations: UN, Commonwealth, African Union
  • Independence: From the United Kingdom, February 18, 1965

gambia-coa

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18 (Illegal for Muslims)
  • BAC: Zero%
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 1

GambiaPNew-100Dalasis-(2006)-donatedfvt_f

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

gambia-map

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 8%
  • Wine: 2%
  • Spirits: 2%
  • Other: 88%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: 2.40
  • Unrecorded: 0.99
  • Total: 3.39
  • Beer: 0.19

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 2.4 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Increase
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Hours, Specific Events
  • Advertising Restrictions: Yes
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: Yes

Patterns of Drinking Score: N/A

Prohibition: None

gambia-africa

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries Tagged With: Africa, Gambia

Beer In Ads #545: Federal Brewing Company

February 17, 2012 By Jay Brooks


Friday’s ad is another turn of the last century ad, this one from the Federal Brewing Company of Brooklyn, New York. The ad is from 1905, though the brewery closed its doors two years later. It appears, though, that Federal Brewing may be resurrected soon as a new craft brewery.

federal

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Brooklyn, History, New York

Kosovo Beer

February 17, 2012 By Jay Brooks

kosovo
Today in 2008, Kosovo gained their Independence from Serbia.

Kosovo
kosovo-color-1

Kosovo Breweries

  • Birra Hugos
  • Birra Peja
  • Pećka Pivara

Kosovo Brewery Guides

  • Beer Advocate
  • Beer Me
  • Rate Beer

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 0.03%

Kosovo

  • Full Name: Republic of Kosovo
  • Location: Southeast Europe, between Serbia and Macedonia
  • Government Type: Republic
  • Language: Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish, Roma
  • Religion(s): Muslim, Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic
  • Capital: Pristina
  • Population: 1,836,529; 150th
  • Area: 10,887 sq km, 169th
  • Comparative Area: Slightly larger than Delaware
  • National Food: None Known
  • National Symbol: Plain of Kosovo
  • Affiliations: Non-UN Country
  • Independence: From Serbia, February 17, 2008

coat-of-arms-of-kosovo

  • Alcohol Legal: Yes
  • Minimum Drinking Age: 18
  • BAC: 0.03%
  • Label Requirements: N/A
  • Number of Breweries: 2

KosovoPNL-10Dinars-1999-donatedmjd_f

  • How to Say “Beer”: birrë / пиво / pivo
  • How to Order a Beer: Yed-no pee-vo, mo-lim
  • How to Say “Cheers”: Ziveli (zjee-ve-lee, “let’s live long”) / Zivio Ziveli
  • Toasting Etiquette: N/A

kosovo

Alcohol Consumption By Type:

  • Beer: 44%
  • Wine: 22%
  • Spirits: 34%
  • Other: <1%

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita (in litres):

  • Recorded: Unknown
  • Unrecorded: Unknown
  • Total: Unknown
  • Beer: Unknown

WHO Alcohol Data:

  • Per Capita Consumption: 10 litres
  • Alcohol Consumption Trend: Stable
  • Excise Taxes: Yes
  • Minimum Age: 18
  • Sales Restrictions: Petrol Stations, Density locations
  • Advertising Restrictions: Yes
  • Sponsorship/Promotional Restrictions: Yes

Patterns of Drinking Score: 3

Prohibition: None

kosovomap

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries Tagged With: Europe, Kosovo

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