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Beer In Art #148: Anders Zorn’s Brewery Paintings

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art-beer
This week’s works of art are by the Swedish artist Anders Zorn. The first one was painted in 1890. The title of it is “In the Brewery,” or sometimes “The Great Brewery,” and “in this genre scene depicting the interior of a Stockholm brewery, he shows a group of workers putting labels on beer bottles. The composition is strikingly unexpected and brutal, the row of figures on the right facing an empty space on the left. The play on light and the rapid, confident treatment accentuate this particular effect.” However, other accounts indicate that the brewery in the painting was in Hamburg, Germany.

Anders_Zorn-In_A_Brewery

Although he was estranged from him, Zorn’s father — Leonard Zorn — was a German brewer who moved to Sweden for work. The second painting, also created in 1890, is “The Little Brewery” and is in Sweden’s Nationalmuseum.

The little brewery, 1890, Anders Zorn, Nationalmuseum, Sweden

You can read Zorn’s biography at Wikipedia, at the 4 2day Artchive and a longer account at Arts Graphica. You can also see more of his works at AndersZorn.com and at Alsing, with links to other galleries at ArtCyclopedia.

Guinness Ad #93: Now, I Feel I’ve Earned A Guinness

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guinness-toucan
Our 93rd Guinness ad shows a very prolific fisherman who’s clearly waaay over the catch limit for the day. But I guess he had to fill the boat with fish before he felt entitled to a Guinness. I confess I work that way, too. I’ll deny myself a beer until I finish an article or even a post to motivate myself to get it done. Somehow it tastes sweeter — or hoppier — that way.

Guinness-fishing-boat

Belgium’s Liquid Communication

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belgium
The NPR program PRI’s The World had an interesting piece yesterday by a Clark Boyd entitled In Belgium, It’s Not Just Beer. It’s ‘Liquid Communication.’ I like that turn of phrase, “Liquid Communication,” though the gist of the article is that the author, understandably, worries that ABI might start capitalizing on the romance of Belgian beer as they attempt to launch their “Belgian Beer Cafe” chain in the U.S. There are already 55 of them worldwide, but now they’re seeking to franchise them in the states, too. The concept appears to be making the Belgian beer cafe as famous as the Irish bar or the English pub that can be found in every big city in the world, and probably just as authentic.

ABI, of course, has several Belgian beers in its portfolio, including Hoegaarden, Leffe, Belle-Vue and the ubiquitous Stella Artois. According to the pitch, the cafes would also carry non-ABI Belgian beers, but you know which ones would get the most attention and focus. They would no doubt appeal to consumers who are not hardcore beer geeks but have heard the news that Belgium makes some world class beers. And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s hard not to share the author’s concerns that ABI would fuck it up for everybody. Stella Artois is not exactly the best or most representative Belgian beer, yet it’s now the one most people are aware of. But it’s as far away from what makes Belgian beer great as Bud is from Trumer Pilsner or Radeberger. But I would certainly like to communicate liquidly.

Washington Beer

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washington
Today in 1889, Washington became the 42nd state.

Washington
State_Washington

Washington Breweries

Washington Brewery Guides

Guild: Washington Brewers Guild

State Agency: Washington State Liquor Control Board

maps-wa

  • Capital: Olympia
  • Largest Cities: Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue
  • Population: 5,894,121; 15th
  • Area: 71303 sq.mi., 18th
  • Nickname: The Evergreen State
  • Statehood: 42nd, November 11, 1889

m-washington

  • Alcohol Legalized: December 5, 1933
  • Number of Breweries: 123
  • Rank: 2nd
  • Beer Production: 4,403,963
  • Production Rank: 16th
  • Beer Per Capita: 20.8 Gallons

washington

Package Mix:

  • Bottles: 37.3%
  • Cans: 50%
  • Kegs: 12.4%

Beer Taxes:

  • Per Gallon: $0.26
  • Per Case: $0.59
  • Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $8.08
  • Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $8.08
  • 7% surtax (included in figures shown) added to excise tax rate plus environmental tax of $150 per $1 million value at the producer, wholesaler and retailer levels.

Economic Impact (2010):

  • From Brewing: $222,811,254
  • Direct Impact: $1,297,535,641
  • Supplier Impact: $935,595,943
  • Induced Economic Impact: $1,830,518,353
  • Total Impact: $4,063,649,937

Legal Restrictions:

  • Control State: No
  • 6 a.m.–2 a.m. A local government subdivision may fix later opening hours or earlier closing hours than those here specified
  • Grocery Store Sales: Yes
  • Notes: Beer and wine available in grocery stores and convenience stores every day (including federal holidays) from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Spirits for off-premise consumption are sold only in state-run or state-contracted liquor stores. All state-owned stores are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon-Thurs and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fri-Sat. Contract stores may still set their own hours, but liquor sales may not be rung up before 8 a.m. and may not be rung up after 11 p.m. A handful of state and contract stores are open Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. State stores are open on most federal holidays, excluding New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Contract stores have the option to remain open on any holiday at the discretion of the store manager.
    Currently set to transition to a non-control state by June 2012.

washington-map

Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.

For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.

Drunk Off … Er, In Your Ass?

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tampon
A mix of thanks and “how could you” to Stephen Beaumont for tweeting this story, because now that I know it, I can’t unknow it. According to Digital Journal, a growing trend among Phoenix, Arizona, area youths — disturbingly both girls and boys — is to get drunk by soaking a tampon in vodka and inserting it … well, you get the idea. According to the report, the practice was first identified in 1999, in the Oxford Journal of Alcohol and Alcoholism, although in that instance they wrote about just three case studies all of whom were adults in their late twenties to their mid-thirties. Also, in April of this year, the same thing was reported to be happening in Germany, too.

The latest story’s origin is a Channel 5 KPHO Phoenix TV report, where a Dr. Quan is the medical source, saying they’ll get a “[q]uicker high, they think it’s going to last longer, it’s more intense.” School Resource Officer (whatever that is) Chris Thomas adds “[w]hat we’re hearing about is teenagers utilizing tampons, soak them in vodka first before using them. It gets absorbed directly into the bloodstream. There’s no barrier, there’s no stomach acid to prevent it.” Dr. Quan agreed. “I would expect it to absorb pretty quickly as well, because it’s a very vascular structure.” Okay, that’s probably enough to give you the idea of what “butt chugging” is. Two things leap to mind.

One, this has got to be a hoax. Kids messing with adults and them falling for it hook, line and sinker. Maybe it’s just me, but when I was a kid, not only would this have never occurred to us, but even if it had, we would never have tried it. Heroin addicts shoot up between their toes to avoid detection. Same deal here, apparently, but there are just too many simpler ways to avoid detection than this. It’s just too much committed effort for most people. Or is that just me? Plus, mainstream media, and television in particular, loves a good scare story, something that puts fear into its viewers. This story is dripping with cautionary words, something else for parents to be “concerned” about. Perhaps some idiots did try it, but a growing trend? I’m just not buying it. You?

Second, if it is true, however doubtful, it shows the futility of having 21 be the minimum legal drinking age and avoiding any real education before that time. People will find a way to do almost anything if properly motivated. And few things motivate a teenager more than being told they can’t do something. I keep hearing that line from Jurassic Park in my head. “Nature will always find a way.” And so it goes.

tampons-soaked-in-vodka

UPDATE: Thanks to Rick at Pacific Brew News for sending me this Tiny Cat Pants post In Which I Debunk the Vodka-Soaked Tampon Myth.

Beer In Ads #473: A Glass Crafted To Keep Beer Colder

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Wednesday’s ad is for Artois, when the brewed more than just Stella. I don’t the ad’s age, but it certainly looks retro and highly stylized. Anybody know when they used the slogan “Pass on something good?” But the ad isn’t even about the beer, but the glass, which apparently is “A Glass Crafted To Keep Beer Colder” with an arctic setting to drive home the point.

ArtoisColder

Wikio Beer Blog Rankings For November 2011

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wikio
The November 2011 standings have just been released for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. Beervana increased his streak at the top to three consecutive months, with the rest of the Top 10 shuffling around. Here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:

Wikio November 2011 Beer Blog Rankings

1Beervana (=)
2Brookston Beer Bulletin (+2)
3Brewpublic (+4)
4A Good Beer Blog (+10)
5Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (-2)
6The New School (-4)
7Drink With The Wench (-1)
8It’s Pub Night (+4)
9Washington Beer Blog (-4)
10Top Fermented (Not in Top 20 in October)
11Hoosier Beer Geek (-3)
12Seattle Beer News (Not in Top 20 in October)
13Yours For Good Fermentables (Not in Top 20 in October)
14Oakshire Brewing (Not in Top 20 in October)
15KC Beer Blog (+4)
16San Diego Beer Blog (+4)
17Road Trips for Beer (-6)
18Seen Through a Glass (=)
19The Brew Site (-4)
20Beer PHXation (-4)

Ranking made by Wikio

As usual, I included the relative movements of each blog from last month. Four new blogs emerged in the Top 20 that weren’t there last month, which is exactly what happened last month. Otherwise, there were a number of moderate swings, with movement 4 or 6 places being the most common. As always, I continue to stress that this is just a bit of fun and that we shouldn’t take it too seriously. Until the final month of 2011 ….

Beer In Ads #472: Biere Du Lion

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Tuesday’s ad is an another old classic, by Eugene Oge, a French illustrator who did a number of great beer adverts during his lifetime from 1861-1936. He was a major figure in the Belle Epoque and did many outstanding ads for resorts, food, and all sorts of beverages and brands. This is the second of his I’ve featured, the first being Biere au Diable. This one, Biere Du Lion, I think was a Wallonian brand, from Brasserie Vervifontaine? I love the expression on the drinking fat man.

biere-du-lion