Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

  • Home
  • About
  • Editorial
  • Birthdays
  • Art & Beer

Socialize

  • Dribbble
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Powered by Genesis

Beer Saints: St. Joseph

March 19, 2025 By Jay Brooks

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, husband of Mary, and the “legal” father of Jesus. While he’s not the patron saint of brewers or anything beer related, it’s his feast day that marks the beginning of the Frühjahrsbierfest in Munich, Germany. Frühjahrsbierfest translates as “Spring Beer Festival” and it’s also sometimes called “Little Oktoberfest.” It’s very similar to Oktoberfest, held in the same place but is more local-focused and considerably smaller. The modern festival is held in late April now, ending in early May, and this year’s one in Stuttgart begins April 16th and concludes on May 8, with a similar one in Munich over the same dates. But today is its traditional start date and it lasted, I believe, around two weeks.

“Saint Joseph with the Flowering Rod,” by Jusepe de Ribera, c. 1630.

Here is his main description from his Wikipedia page:

Joseph (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף‎, romanized: Yosef; Greek: Ἰωσήφ, romanized: Ioséph) is a figure in the canonical gospels who was married to Mary, mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels name brothers of Jesus; the Gospel of James, an apocryphal work of the late 2nd century, theorized these as the sons of Joseph from an earlier marriage. This position is still held in the Orthodox churches, but the Western church holds to Jerome’s argument that both Joseph and Mary must have been lifelong virgins and that the “brothers” must have been his cousins. Perspectives on Joseph as a historical figure are distinguished from a theological reading of the Gospel texts.

Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. In Catholic traditions, Joseph is regarded as the patron saint of workers and is associated with various feast days. The month of March is dedicated to Saint Joseph. Pope Pius IX declared him to be both the patron and the protector of the Catholic Church, in addition to his patronages of the sick and of a happy death, due to the belief that he died in the presence of Jesus and Mary. Joseph has become patron of various dioceses and places.

“Joseph’s Dream” by Rembrandt, completed in 1645.

While not a beer saint in the usual sense, I included him because of his association to this German beer festival. Because of his importance to Christianity, he is a patron for a bewildering number of people, places and things, including carpenters, craftsmen, families, lawyers, people who fight communism, social justice, travelers, working people. The places he’s the patron for include, Austria, Belgium, Bavaria, Bohemia, Canada, the Croatian people, the New World, along with Buffalo, NY; Cologne, Germany; La Crosse, Wisconsin; San Jose, California; and Westphalia, Germany. And trust me, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For the rest, check out CatholicSaints.info.

Filed Under: Beers, Birthdays, Breweries, Events, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Beer Festivals, Festivals, Germany, Religion & Beer

Bistro IPA Festival Winners 2023

November 11, 2023 By Jay Brooks

Today was the 25th annual IPA Festival at the Bistro. It was another lovely sunny day in Hayward, making it perfect beer festival weather, although we’d returned to being sequestered in the basement for judging. The full list of winners is below.

Judging today at the Bistro for their IPA Festival.

IPAs

  • 1st Place: Tenma Beer Project Infinite Self: Freestyle Nelson IPA
  • 2nd Place: Goal Brewing. Salzburg Red
  • 3rd Place: Faction Brewing Hop Salad IPA
Tenma picking up their gold medal.

And Tenma also won People’s Choice for favorite IPA at the festival.

It was a beautiful day in Hayward.

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Awards, Bay Area, Beer Festivals, California, Festivals, Northern California

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2023

February 11, 2023 By Jay Brooks

Earlier today, the 23rd annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California, and after a virtual fest two years, and a modified outdoor festival last year, this year it was back to a much more typical festival, complete with people and sunshine off and on. I got there early for judging again this year, and we were back in the basement again — which was oddly comforting. We judged 87 Double IPAs for most of the morning and part of the afternoon, before choosing our favorites

Beginning the judging process.

After emerging from the darkness into the light, it was nice to see the shining, at least from time to time.

Beautiful downtown Hayward.

At 2:00 p.m., Vic and Cynthia gathered everybody together to announce this year’s winners.

Double IPAs

  • 1st Place: Alvarado Street Double Cone
  • 2nd Place: Floodcraft Freshly Rubbed
  • 3rd Place: Beachwood Green Shift

People’s Choice Awards

  • Double IPA: Ghostown / Slice collaboration: Lurid Lupulin

It was also great running into loads of old friends.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Awards, Bay Area, Beer Festivals, Festivals, Northern California

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2022

February 12, 2022 By Jay Brooks

Earlier today, the 22nd annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California, and after a virtual fest last year, this year it was back to a more typical festival, complete with people and sunshine. I got there early for judging again this year, and instead of being sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun — which is where we usually are — we were again outside under a large tent in what was a beautiful, sunny, hot day. We judged Double IPAs and Triple IPAs for most of the morning and part of the afternoon, before choosing our favorites in both categories.

It was hot and sunny throughout the festival this year.
A little after 2:00 PM, Vic announced the winners.

Double IPAs

  • 1st Place: There Does Not Exist Psychic Advisor
  • 2nd Place: Danville Brewing Chux Double IPA
  • 3rd Place: Russian River Pliny the Elder
  • Honorable Mention: Ghost Town Gallows Humor Double IPA
Russian River won three awards.
Danville Brewing won second place for their Double IPA, Chux.

Triple IPAs

  • 1st Place: Wondrous Triple Cuff
  • 2nd Place: Russian River Brewing Pliny the Younger
  • 3rd Place: Faction & Slice Collaboration Mounds of Green
  • Honorable Mention: Revision Dr. Lupulin
Wynn Whisenhunt from Wondrous Brewing accepting his 1st place award.

People’s Choice Awards

  • Double IPA: Wondrous Brewing LOADY
  • Triple IPA: Russian River Pliny the Younger
Vic and me.

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Events, Just For Fun Tagged With: Awards, Bay Area, Beer Festivals, Festivals

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2021

February 13, 2021 By Jay Brooks

Earlier today, the 21st annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I got there early for judging again this year, and instead of being sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun — which is where we usually are — we were outside in what was a beautiful, sunny, albeit a little windy, day. We judged Double IPAs in two categories — West Coast and Hazy — for most of the morning and chose our favorite six in each category, which Vic will will hand pack into a “Double IPAs Finals Case” which can be ordered online for just under one-hundred dollars. But sales will end at midnight tonight, so if you want one, now’s the time.

West Coast Double IPAs

  • 1st Place: Moksa Sticky Sips
  • 2nd Place: Docent Rabbit Habit Double IPA
  • 3rd Place: Moonraker Honorable Villain

Hazy Double IPAs

  • 1st Place: Revision Distance Haze
  • 2nd Place: North Park Beer Co. Clockwork Intelligence DDH Hazy DIPA
  • 3rd Place: Humble Sea Wizard of Fog DDH Hop Fused DIPA

Congratulations to all of the winners.

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Events, Just For Fun Tagged With: Awards, Bay Area, Beer Festivals, Festivals

Beer In Ads #3210: Oktoberfest Poster Finalists

December 17, 2019 By Jay Brooks

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 3993724870_6a0224e391.jpg

Tuesday’s ad is for the Munich Oktoberfest, from recent years, though none are the official poster for those years. These are all second or third place winners from 2010 and a number that were entered but did not place in the top three in 2017. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for the Munich Oktoberfest, which began September 21 and runs through October 6. Originally I thought from now until then I’d post posters from the German folk festival, but now that Oktoberfest is over I think I’ll just keep going. From what I can tell, official Oktoberfest posters started being produced each year beginning in 1952. This will be the final Oktoberfest poster post.

Oktoberfest-2010-3rd-Alexandra-Berg
The third-place winner from 2010, by Alexandra Berg.
Oktoberfest-2010-RU-Till-Rothweiler
The second-place winner from 2010, by Till Rothweiler.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-30
An entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-08
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-07
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-05
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-03
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-02
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-01
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-14
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-13
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-11
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-10
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-09
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-06
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-21
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-20
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-19
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-18
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-17
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-16
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-15
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-28
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-27
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-26
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-25
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-24
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-23
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-22
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-36
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-35
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-34
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-33
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-32
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-31
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-29
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-43
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-42
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-41
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-40
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-39
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-38
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-37
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-47
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-46
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-45
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.
Oktoberfest-2017-RU-44
Another entrant by an unknown artist from 2017.

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Festivals, Germany, History, Oktoberfest

Beer In Ads #3209: Oktoberfest 2019 Third Place

December 16, 2019 By Jay Brooks

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 3993724870_6a0224e391.jpg

Monday’s ad is for the Munich Oktoberfest, from 2019, though it’s not the official poster for that year. This one was the third place winner from that year’s contest to choose the official poster. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for the Munich Oktoberfest, which began September 21 and runs through October 6. Originally I thought from now until then I’d post posters from the German folk festival, but now that Oktoberfest is over I think I’ll just keep going. From what I can tell, official Oktoberfest posters started being produced each year beginning in 1952. This poster was created by German artist Kirsten Lauterbach.

Oktoberfest-2019-3rd-Kirsten-Lauterbach

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Festivals, Germany, History, Oktoberfest

Beer In Ads #3208: Oktoberfest 2019 Runner Up

December 15, 2019 By Jay Brooks

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 3993724870_6a0224e391.jpg

Sunday’s ad is for the Munich Oktoberfest, from 2019, though it’s not the official poster for that year. This one was the runner-up from that year’s contest to choose the official poster. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for the Munich Oktoberfest, which began September 21 and runs through October 6. Originally I thought from now until then I’d post posters from the German folk festival, but now that Oktoberfest is over I think I’ll just keep going. From what I can tell, official Oktoberfest posters started being produced each year beginning in 1952. This poster was created by German artist Jörg Lachenmeyer.

Oktoberfest-2019-RU-Jörg-Lachenmeyer

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Festivals, Germany, History, Oktoberfest

Beer In Ads #3207: Oktoberfest 2019

December 14, 2019 By Jay Brooks

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 3993724870_6a0224e391.jpg

Saturday’s ad is for the Munich Oktoberfest, from 2019. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for the Munich Oktoberfest, which began September 21 and runs through October 6. Originally I thought from now until then I’d post posters from the German folk festival, but now that Oktoberfest is over I think I’ll just keep going. From what I can tell, official Oktoberfest posters started being produced each year beginning in 1952. This poster was created by German artist Mirjam Mössmer.

Oktoberfest-2019

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Festivals, Germany, History, Oktoberfest

Beer In Ads #3206: Oktoberfest 2018 Third Place

December 13, 2019 By Jay Brooks

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 3993724870_6a0224e391.jpg

Friday’s ad is for the Munich Oktoberfest, from 2018, though it’s not the official poster for that year. This one was the third-place winner from that year’s contest to choose the official poster. From the late 1800s until the 1970s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for the Munich Oktoberfest, which began September 21 and runs through October 6. Originally I thought from now until then I’d post posters from the German folk festival, but now that Oktoberfest is over I think I’ll just keep going. From what I can tell, official Oktoberfest posters started being produced each year beginning in 1952. This poster was created by German artist Nina Bachmann.

Oktoberfest-2018-3rd-Nina-Bachmann

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Festivals, Germany, History, Oktoberfest

Next Page »

Find Something

Northern California Breweries

Please consider purchasing my latest book, California Breweries North, available from Amazon, or ask for it at your local bookstore.

Recent Comments

  • The Session #147: Downing pints when the world's about to end - Daft Eejit Brewing on The Sessions
  • Amanda Alderete on Beer Birthday: Jack McAuliffe
  • Aspies Forum on Beer In Ads #4932: Eichler’s Bock Beer Since Civil War Days
  • Return of the Session – Beer Search Party on The Sessions
  • John Harris on Beer Birthday: Fal Allen

Recent Posts

  • Historic Beer Birthday: Adolph G. Bechaud May 30, 2025
  • Historic Beer Birthday: John Gilroy May 30, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Adam Avery May 30, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Ben Love May 30, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Chris Crabb May 29, 2025

BBB Archives

Feedback

Head Quarter
This site is hosted and maintained by H25Q.dev. Any questions or comments for the webmaster can be directed here.