Charlie Bamforth, brewing professor at UC Davis has a nice overview of The Goodness of Beer on CraftBeer.com. The short piece includes that Beer Is Healthier Than Wine and a long list of What We Do Know About Beer and Health.
No Beer At Royal Wedding?
Another royal wedding’s coming up this Friday. I care about it as much as the last one in 1981 — not one whit. In deference to my British colleagues and friends who cling to the notion that the royal family matters, I’ll spare you my usual diatribe. But it was announced recently that no beer will be served at the The Royal Wedding (with it’s own “official” website, how klassy) between Prince William and commoner — could there be a more insulting term to call someone to their face? — Kate Middleton.
That’s right, no beer at a British wedding. The reason, according to the Daily Mail, is that “while the younger royals enjoy a pint from time to time, neither Kate nor William is a big beer drinker so they decided to leave it off the menu.” Which is, of course, all well and good if you take the position that it’s their wedding, they can — and should — do as they like. Personally, I had my wedding reception in a brewery. And as British clergyman Sydney Smith quipped in 1934, “what two ideas are more inseparable than beer and Britannia?” So perhaps that makes more British than the man second in line to be king.
But, unlike my wedding or your wedding, this one hardly counts as a private affair, it’s a national event and should, I suspect, reflect the nation. At a time when British beer is suffering, pub closings are epidemic and neo-prohibitionists have their attack dogs out, you would think this might be a perfect time to celebrate the wedding with that most British of drinks, cask ale. But, no, apparently champagne is more to the liking of the royals, or at least the ones who planned the wedding. But here’s the part that should have every red-blooded Brit up in arms. This is the “official” reason given for the ban on beer at the wedding. “It is thought that guests knocking back pints of ale was considered rather unseemly for such a regal affair attended by royals and heads of state from around the world” or put even more bluntly by a Daily Mail source, “[l]et’s face it, it isn’t really an appropriate drink to be serving in the Queen’s presence at such an occasion.” Really, that’s the problem? That the Queen might object to the drink her people should be most proud of, that contributes greatly to her nation’s economy, and is enjoyed by the majority of her subjects being served at her grandson’s wedding? If the royal family was truly in touch with “their people,” I should think they’d come to a very different conclusion.
Their source added. “It was always their intention to give their guests a sophisticated experience and they have chosen the food and drink with this in mind.” And there the other shoe drops. Beer isn’t “sophisticated” enough for a royal wedding. Wow.
UPDATE: Pete Brown had a similar reaction to this news and wrote a post, Beer ‘Not Appropriate’ For Royal Wedding that made some similar points and then a great many more of them, all spot on. Though hilariously, you can see in the comments, there are many people who do think the royals are still above criticism and even that no one should use “bad” language when discussing them. Oh, dear, and we’re considered the provincial ones. Hilarious.
Luckily, Scotland’s BrewDog has just the thing for this sort of nonsense, a beer entitled Royal Virility Performance. With only 1,000 bottles to be released the day before the wedding, here’s how it’s described:
A limited-edition beer containing herbal viagra to mark the forthcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29th. Brewed using various well known aphrodisiacs, the limited edition artisanal beer will only be available to buy from the BrewDog.com website.
According to the specially commissioned label, the Royal Virility Performance contains herbal viagra, chocolate, Goat Weed and ‘a healthy dose of sarcasm’. The beer is a 7.5% ABV India Pale Ale and has been brewed at BrewDog’s brewery in Fraserburgh.
With this beer we want to take the wheels off the royal wedding bandwagon being jumped on by dozens of breweries; The Royal Virility Performance is the perfect antidote to all the hype. A beer should be brewed with a purpose, not just because some toffs are getting married, so we created something at our brewery that will undermine those special edition beers and other assorted seaside tat, whilst at the same time actually give the happy couple something extra on their big day.
Boycott Under Way On Beer Stocked By Alabama A-B Distributors
Free the Hops, the organization in Alabama that successfully won the fight over hard opposition to allow beer over 6% abv in the state, is calling for a boycott of both Anheuser-Busch products along with those beers distributed by A-B Houses in Alabama. The boycott is a result of A-B distributor lobbyists “blocking the Legislature’s passing [of] the Brewery Modernization Act,” which Free the Hops helped pass “in the Alabama Senate earlier this month.” The Birmingham News has a full account of the story in an article entitled Free the Hops calls for boycott of beers stocked by Anheuser-Busch distributors in Alabama. Free the Hops also has a boycott statement on their website along with a list of the distributors involved. Essentially the law would simply allow brewpubs to no longer be subject to antiquated laws, such as having to be located in “a historic building” or be located in “a county that had a brewery prior to 1918.” Ridiculous stuff. It would be hard to argue that the law as it stands makes any sense or is a fair under any definition. But apparently the A-B beer distributors in Alabama see it as competition that cannot be allowed, despite the fact that in most of the other 49 states, brewpubs and beer distributors happily co-exist with one another.
I was originally in favor of the boycott, as it seems like there isn’t much choice insofar as what the Bud houses are doing. But as several people have pointed out, it will also harm a great number of craft brewery’s business in the state as well. Free the Hops obviously recognizes that fact and their concern is buying craft beer from one of the A-B distributors is still “channeling profits to wholesalers.” So in a way, it’s a bit like chemotherapy. Honestly, I’m conflicted. As Lew Bryson said in an exchange we had on Facebook. “This is odd territory for most beer drinkers: asking them to boycott a DISTRIBUTOR rather than a brand is confusing enough, but asking them to boycott craft beers to help craft beer…? Not going to work. If I were in Alabama, I would directly encourage people not to support a boycott of any craft brands for this reason. This is not the way to do it.” So I think we all agree that boycotting the ABI products is the way to go, but as for the craft brands … that seems like a much trickier, thornier issue. I can see both sides of the argument, and am left unsatisfied by either one. In the end, I think it’s going to be up to everyone’s individual conscience on what to boycott.
Beer In Art #124: Rasmussen Ximenes’ The Last Supper
This week’s work of art is by a Brazilian artist who now calls Petaluma his home. Rasmussen Ximenes painted The Last Supper as part on a local contest entitled ArtSlant, in which it was a second round winner. Feeling the pride of his new home, he included the local brewery’s beer in his painting: Lagunitas IPA.
I saw the original painting recently, which is temporarily in the offices of Lagunitas in Petaluma. Though, as you can see below, the frame has now been painted purple.
You can read more about Ras Ximenes, a.k.a. Moco, at his web bio and also see more of his work at his gallery.
What Should I Drink?
Sixpoint Craft Ales in Brooklyn, New York is having an art and beer contest called “Beer Is Culture” as we speak, and you can see the entries at their Facebook page. One in particular I thought was pretty funny, a flowchart by Melissa Schmechel where all the choices lead one to beer. But beyond the humor factor, it does nicely showcase just how versatile beer is, because despite the fact that every path leads to beer, few people would disagree that the flowchart isn’t 100% accurate.
Source.
Guinness Ad #65: Who Can Resist A Guinness?
Our 65th Guinness ad depicts two pint glasses, one full, one freshly emptied. The tagline in small print at the bottom is “Guinness is Good For You.”
And below is the same artwork used in a Russian ad.
Brew Your Own Beer TV Debuts Tonight
B.Y.O.B. TV — Brew Your Own Beer TV — the new television show that will air on local KOFY Channel 20 debuts this evening at 10:30 p.m. KOFY TV20 / Cable13 will be airing the half-hour B.Y.O.B. TV this Saturday, April 23 at 10:30 p.m. If you miss its debut, it will also air on Saturdays at 1:00 a.m. and Sundays, starting April 24th, at 9:30 p.m. On Sunday, the re-runs will air during their “local’s only” programming block. You can catch it three ways: on TV Channel 20, Comcast Cable 13 and Comcast Cable HD 713.
B.Y.O.B. TV will be hosted by Justin Crossley and Jason Petros of The Brewing Network, the #1 on-line radio network dedicated to the art of beer making. The show follows 8 teams, each consisting of 3 eager home brewers as they’re challenged in various stages of the beer brewing process in hopes to escape weekly elimination. The final brewer left standing will win the ultimate prize, a trip to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in the Czech Republic and become the B.Y.O.B. TV Brewing Champion.
“We want the average consumer to be able to watch this show, enjoy it from an entertaining perspective and gain an appreciation and knowledge for some of the best craft brews in the marketplace”, said Crossley, “at the same time we hope the show will encourage others to tackle the art of home brewing on their own.”
Various craft and import beers from around the region and the world are participating in the show to place emphasis on their commitment towards the innovation and brewing science behind beer making; partners include Pilsner Urquell, Lagunitas, Blue Moon, Grolsh and Blake Brewing. Additional breweries, brew masters and beer and food connoisseurs are participating as well.
While there’s no actual brewing in episode one, we do get to meet the teams and learn how the process will work. But don’t change the channel just yet, things will definitely start to pick up in episode two when the teams do their first batches of beer and things will just keep going from there. Should be fun.
Below is the trailer for the show:
Beer In Ads #354: Miss Rheingold On A Picnic
Friday’s ad is yet another one for Rheingold beer, again from 1958, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Madelyn Darrow, on a picnic, though really it looks more like tailgating, though far more mellow tailgating than I’m used to.
Beer In Ads #353: Miss Rheingold Out On The Boat
Thursday’s ad is another one for Rheingold beer, this one from 1958, featuring Miss Rheingold for that year, Madelyn Darrow, out on a motor boat — the Owens — along with a driver, her dog and at least a six-pack of Rheingold beer, in cans naturally since they’re on the water.
A Hilarious Spoof Of The Uber Beer Geek
Ray Daniels of the Cicerone program tweeted this link yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to watch it until this morning. The creator of the video, Liquid Horseplay, must be an insider because he’s knows a lot of the right people. The video was made using the Xtranormal movie making architecture and is a hilarious spoof of the uber beer geek. Make sure you watch it through to the end, because it just keeps getting funnier.