Tuesday’s ad is for Tuborg, which used to have a much larger market share. It’s sold in over 30 countries, but according to their website not in the U.S. any longer. It’s an old brand, but has been owned by Carlsberg since 1970. I’m not sure when the ad is from, but 70s feels right. I actually have one of the ceramic horn cups, given to me by a old friend and co-worker from a previous job. Now I know where he got it.
The story of Anchor Brewery begins shortly after gold was discovered in nearby Sutter’s Mill. That’s when German brewer “Gottlieb Brekle arrived in San Francisco with his wife Marie and infant son Frederick.” In 1854, Brekle applied for U.S. citizenship and 1871 bought an old beer-and-billiards saloon near Russian Hill. That location became “a little San Francisco brewery on Pacific, between Larkin and Hyde,” and 25-years later was known as Anchor Brewery.
On February 16, Anchor will unveil it’s newest beer, an all-malt, single hop brown ale named for the original Anchor brewer, Gottlieb Brekle, who was brewmaster from 1871 to 1888. Brekle’s Brown will then be available on draft only at select locations throughout the Bay Area for the remainder of SF Beer Week from February 17-20. Look for it at better beer bars everywhere.
Monday’s ad is a clever one for Schaefer showing a bottle of Schaefer beer and a beer glass at right angles, with the instructions “For real enjoyment … turn this ad slowly to the right.” Which, if real, would pour the beer into the glass. It’s also interesting that Schaefer is positioning themselves by saying “it’s real beer.” The ad isn’t dated, so I don’t know when it was from or who they would have been subtly targeting as being not real beer with that statement.
With a most satisfying conclusion to the Super Bowl yesterday, the winners of the Brookston Football Pools 2010 have been decided. Congratulations to everyone who played this year, the winners are:
Congratulations to Lucas (a.k.a. nighthops). He took an early lead and never let go.
This was the first year they kept the picks going through the playoffs. It looks like next year, we’ll be able to assign more points for correct playoff picks which could keep thinks lively down to the end. I’m thinking it would make sense for Wildcard week to be worth 2, then 3, then 4 and finally 5 (or more?) for picking the Super Bowl winner.
It took 16 weeks before a winner emerged. In fact, two of the remaining three were both knocked out that week — GreenMachina-WMA and Hopstain. That allowed DOZEer to become the winner, having only one miss for the entire season.
Congratulations to Paul (a.k.a. DOZEer) for the being the lone survivor.
Thanks to everybody who played. See you next year.
The February 2011 standings are out for Wikio’s Beer Blogs. For a third straight month, I’m still hanging on to the top spot. Here’s what happened to the Top 20 over last month:
| 1 | Brookston Beer Bulletin (+/-0) |
| 2 | Beervana (+/-0) |
| 3 | Brewpublic (+1) |
| 4 | The New School (-1) |
| 5 | Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home (+/-0) |
| 6 | Washington Beer Blog (+5) |
| 7 | A Good Beer Blog (-1) |
| 8 | The Not So Professional Beer Blog (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 9 | It’s Pub Night (+11) |
| 10 | Seattle Beer News (+8) |
| 11 | Drink With The Wench (-3) |
| 12 | BetterBeerBlog (-3) |
| 13 | Beer 47 (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 14 | Brewed For Thought (+1) |
| 15 | KC Beer Blog (+4) |
| 16 | The Session Beer Project (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 17 | Seen Through a Glass (-4) |
| 18 | Burgers & Brews (-8) |
| 19 | I Love Beer (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
| 20 | An Ear For Beer (Not in Top 20 for Jan.) |
Ranking made by Wikio
I again added the relative movements of each blog from last month. This month, four new blogs cracked the Top 20, and four dropped off. Again, I’ll keep stressing that it’s just a bit of fun so long as we don’t take it too seriously.
Today in 1788, Massachusetts became the 6th state.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Breweries
Masschusetts Brewery Guides
Guild: Massachusetts Brewers Guild
State Agency: Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission
Package Mix:
Beer Taxes:
Economic Impact (2010):
Legal Restrictions:
On-premises regulations: No discounts at specific times (i.e. no “Happy Hour” discounts) or for specific individuals, no fixed-price open bar or all-you-can-drink (except at private functions), no more than two drinks per individual at any one time, no pitchers for fewer than two people, no drinking contests, no drinks as prizes, no free drinks.
Off-premises sale of alcohol is prohibited on the last Monday in May (Memorial Day), Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas if Christmas falls on a Sunday.[6]
Sale of alcohol is prohibited during polling hours on election days (subject to local exceptions).[6]
“Malt beverages” defined as having not more than 12% alcohol by weight.
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.
I imagine the “Wisconsin Food Pyramid” was originally meant to be derogatory, but what could be a better meal for a football game than sausages (cooked in beer), cheese and beer? That’s what I’m having at my Super Bowl party, along with chips, pretzels and more cheese. And Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef, has promised to bring Shepherd’s Pie. Yum. Go Packers!
Our 54th Guinness poster by John Gilroy shows a kangaroo whose joey has been replaced by a pint of Guinness. Though surprisingly she looks quite pleased about the switcheroo.
Yesterday was Pliny the Younger Day at Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California. I arrived a little before eleven, and owner/brewer Vinnie Cilurzo let me in the back of the brewpub. The difference between last year’s release day and this year’s was immediately apparent. There was relative calm in the place, the bar was not three or four deep, with people pushing against the bar clamoring for attention. Perhaps most importantly, both Vinnie and Natalie seemed relaxed, too.
Last year, you may recall, Russian River sold out of of Pliny the Younger, their Triple IPA that’s released just once each year, in just eight short hours. The brewpub was filled to the gills and the staff was understandably stressed and exhausted. The main reason this happened last year was nobody expected so many people to order growlers, and having placed few restrictions on them, they continued to honor orders until the entire supply of beer ran out.
Having learned from last that experience, this year no Pliny the Younger growlers were permitted. They also managed the door and made sure it was never too crowded inside, which made for a much more enjoyable experience. A line of people that stretched down most of the block outside waited patiently for their turn to come inside. As people left, a new customer took their place so there was a steady stream of new patrons.
I actually thought this year’s Pliny the Younger was even better than last year. It seemed more balanced and the hop wallop wasn’t as vegetal or oniony as I remember it being last year. There is nothing quite like having it fresh from the source on the day it’s released. And this year, they’ve allocated enough beer so it will be available for at least two weeks, giving many more people a chance to try get some.
It will also begin appearing in select accounts around the Bay Area, so keep an eye on your favorite water hole. But act fast, last year kegs of Pliny the Younger kicked at some bars in a matter of hours.
Vinnie Cilurzo, me and Joe Tucker (from Rate Beer) enjoying a day at Russian River Brewing.
Below is a slideshow of Pliny the Younger Day. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.
Friday’s ads feature two for Pabst Blue Ribbon from 1956. Both are spot color ads depicting a blindfolded man tasting Pabst and declaring “This one has the touch,” whatever that means.
Below each photo it also reads. “Unmistakable! The taste with the Pabst Blue Ribbon touch.”
