Saturday’s ad is for the Munich Oktoberfest, from 1954. 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 today and runs through October 6. So from now until then I figured I’d post posters from the German folk festival. The poster was created by German artist Max Hartl.
Thursday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1951. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is entitled “Guinness In Festival Land,” which is the same title as a different ad with a giant clock from the same year, 1951. That’s because the Festival of Britain took place in several locations, although the main area was South Bank Exhibition, which included the Dome of Discovery, which is alluded to in the ad. There’s also more about the festival at the blog A London Inheritance. The poster was done by British illustrator Eric Fraser.
Monday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1951. While the best known Guinness ads were undoubtedly the ones created by John Gilroy, Guinness had other creative ads throughout the same period and afterward, too, which are often overlooked. This ad, one of many that used Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is entitled “Guinness In Festival Land,” and shows an odd clock of sorts and features a poem in the style of Lewis Carroll. The poem is about Guinness, of course, but it’s even more about the Festival of Britain, and specifically the Pleasure Gardens at Battersea, which was held in 1951.
The festival ran for several months during 1951 and appears to have been quite large. There were three beer gardens and a large area known as the parade. Along the parade, they actually built the Guinness Festival Clock from the ad. There’s a great story about the festival from the blog A London Inheritance.
This weekend, beginning Friday September 11, the California Craft Beer Association is holding the first-of-its-kind Craft beer Summit, a two-day event in Sacramento celebrating the rise of beer in the Golden State. It should be an amazing event that if you’re a beer lover you won’t want to miss, and will include many different experiences, ending with the the largest Beer Festival ever held in California!
It’s being hailed as the California version of the “Great American Beer Festival,” and with 150 breweries pouring their beer — as many as 400 different beers (including several brewed just for the event) — it’s an apt description. The CCBA is describing the event as “the showcase event for craft beer – a premier California craft beer festival. People from all over the state (and country) can come to Sacramento to see (and taste) our thriving craft beer scene. Our beers are coveted across the nation, so here is your opportunity to try all of them!”
But it’s also much more than just a beer festival. The summit will bring together retailers, wholesalers, brewery owners, beer enthusiasts and home-brewers for an educational, hands-on experience where they will be able to see, touch, smell and taste beer. There will be Educational Seminars both days, beginning at 9:00 AM, cooking and homebrewing demonstrations, panel discussions, talks by industry pioneers and insiders (including yours truly), an Expo and much more. You can find out more about the event here, and tickets are also available online.
Still not convinced? Here’s 8 Things You Don’t Want to Miss at the California Craft Beer Summit and Brewers Showcase Beer Festival posted by the CCBA.
For our 96th Session, our host is Joan Villar-i-Martí, who writes Birraire, which is also his nickname. He’s asking us all to attend a beer festival, either in person or virtually, and take a position one way or the other, or even somewhere in between, on this question, which, if you haven’t guessed, is the topic. “Festivals: Geek Gathering or Beer Dissemination?.”
The discussion at hand is “Festivals: Geek Gathering or Beer Dissemination?” I guess it is pretty much clear, but apart from exposing whether the answer is A, B or C (the latter being “it depends”) I expect participants to give us some insight into their local beer scene to better understand the importance or irrelevance of Festivals in each area. My guess is that it can be quite different depending on the popularity of beer in different countries and cultures.
The Great American Beer Festival in 2002.
So get thee to a beer festival, or search your memory banks for your festival experiences. To participate in February’s Session, just wax on and/or off about your take on the humble beer fest. Then on February 6, post your thoughts in the comments section to Birraire’s announcement.
At the Toronado Barleywine Festival in 2013.
Today’s infographic is more a work of art than anything else, and illustrates 6 of the World’s Biggest Parties, one of which is all about beer, and during at least three more of them, beer is fairly prominent.
Click here to see the map full size.
Here are the winners from this weekend’s Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival in Anchorage, Alaska.
And here are a few photos from the event, courtesy of Tom Dalldorf from the Celebrator Beer News.
Dick Cantwell, brewer/co-owner of Elysian Brewing in Seattle, with an English volunteer, and Sam Calagione, from Dogfish Head Brewing in Delaware, enjoying themselves at the Elysian Booth during the festival.
Adrienne McMullen, Nico Freccia, both from 21st Amendment Brewery, with presumably a volunteer, all sporting their watermelon wheat chapeaus.
John Burket, head of craft brands for Odom Distributing, Sam Calagione, from Dogfish Head in Delaware, and Dick Cantwell, from Elysian Brewery in Seattle, Washington, checking out the selection offered in a staggering 42 cold box doors at a retail outlet in Anchorage, Alaska.
UPDATE: The Beer Geeks, Chris & Meridith, have a great write-up on their own trip to the Alaska festival, and they’ve also posted a blizzard of photos from the festival and its surroundings.
Saturday began, as it always does, with a media brunch sponsored by Samuel Adams, followed by the GABF awards ceremony, which is essentially the craft beer industry’s Oscars. Afterwards, there were many side events on the last day, along with the crowded Saturday Night Session and the inevitable trip to Falling Rock to end the evening.
From the awards ceremony. Arne Johnson and Shane Aldrich, from Marin Brewing in Larkspur, California, winning one of their four gold medals, this one for Triple Dipsea Belgian-Style Ale in Category: 61 Belgian Style Abbey Ale. Marin Brewing also won three more gold medals, for Tiburon Blonde in Category: 59 Belgian and French-Style Ale, Pt. Reyes Porter in Category: 64 Robust Porter, and Star Brew Triple Wheat in Category: 74 American-Style Wheat Wine Ale.
Geno Acevedo, from El Toro Brewing in Gilroy, California, at the beginning of Saturday’s evening session.
For many more photos from Saturday at GABF, visit the galleries for the Saturday Awards Ceremony and the Rest of Saturday’s events.
Thursday morning began, not counting judging, with a quick trip to Great Divide Brewing‘s Hospitality Reception for brewers and the media. I’ve been going to their soirée for as long as I can remember. Then the first session began at the Denver Convention Center. The first session is not usually as crowded as later ones, but all four session sold out in advance, which is the first time that’s happened. As a result, Thursday night was every bit as packed as Friday and Saturday. New Glarus ran out of beer in less than three hours.
At the Great Divide Brewery on Arapahoe in Denver, the only couple to have both won Beer Drinker of the Year, Cornelia Corey and Ray McCoy.
At the Denver Convention Center, this year’s festival fittingly included tributes to Michael Jackson throughout, including this large banner that hung in the center of the hall.
The panelists from one of the “In the Brewing Studio” discussions, this one on women in brewing. From left: Carol Stoudt (from Stoudts Brewing), Jennifer Talley (from Squatter’s Pub Brewery), Natalie Cilurzo (from Russian River) and Teri Fahrendorf (formerly with Steelhead Brewing)
For many more photos from Thursday at GABF, visit the galleries for the Great Divide Reception and the Thursday Night Session.
I spent a fun weekend with the family attending the 10th annual Northern California Homebrewers Festival. Friday night we had a great beer dinner by Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef, and Saturday all day we enjoyed some excellent homebrewed beer. The theme for the festival was sour beers and beers made with wild yeast.
Homebrew club booths at the 10th annual Northern California Homebrewers Festival.
For more photos from this year’s Northern California Homebrewers Festival, visit the photo gallery.