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Beer In Art #78: Peter Paul Ruben’s The Village Fete

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art-beer
Today’s work of art is by one the most famous artists to ever paint: Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens “was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality. He is well-known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.” Today’s painting was done toward the end of his life, around 1635-38, though others believe he may have started it much earlier in 1620, but then returned to it later. It’s known as the Village Fête, and sometimes as the Village Wedding.

Rubens_village-fete

The paintings hangs in the Louvre, which describes it as follows:

The picture, painted late in the artist’s life, around 1635-38, is manifestly neo-Bruegelian in inspiration. The pig’s snout poking out of the sty on the right is an ancient symbol of gluttony (gula). According to those who date the picture in the 1620s, the landscape was painted before the figures, which are in Rubens’ late lyrical style.

This monumental picture, also called the Village Wedding, is in the northern tradition of depictions of village fêtes. Pioneered by Pieter Bruegel, the enormous popularity of this genre contributed to the renown of the Flemish School. These compositions often had a moral message, denouncing the baseness of the human condition by showing it in all its excesses. However, even though a pig’s snout — a symbol of gluttony — can be seen poking out of the sty in the foreground, denouncing vices was not Rubens’ main preoccupation.

While there’s dancing going on on the right half of the painting, the lower left is consumed with drinking beer. You can see it better in the detail of the painting below.

Rubens_village-fete-detail

You can see all of Ruben’s works online at the Complete Works or Peter Paul Rubens. There’s also a biography on Wikipedia, and more information at the Web Museum, the Art Archive , ArtCyclopedia and Olga’s Gallery.

Beer In Art #75: Eduard Grutzner’s Monastery Brewers

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art-beer
Today’s works of art are by a German artist, Eduard Grützner, who was born in 1846 and became well-known for his genre paintings of monks until his death in 1925. I had a hard time choosing from among his monk paintings, so there are a number of them presented here. Few of them are dated, and they would have been throughout his career. Many of them appear to be the same monk used as the model. And some of them can be purchased at Art Prints on Demand. But to me, they’re exactly what I envision when I think of 19th century monastery breweries.

Grutzner_braumeister-im-bierkeller
Bruder Braumeister im Bierkeller (a.k.a. Brother Master Brewer in the Beer Cellar from 1902).

Grutzner_cloister-snack
Braumeister bei der Brotzeit im Klosterkeller (a.k.a. Master brewer snacking in the Cloister cellar from 1892).

Grutzner_beer-test
Bier Test (1905).

Grutzner_monch
Mönch auf dem Weg zur Brotzeit (a.k.a. Monk on the Way to Snack).

Grutzner_connoisseur
The Connoisseur (a.k.a. Capuchin monk).

Grutzner_salvatorhumpen
The Klosterbräu with Salvatorhumpen as Well as Radish and Radish (1889).

Grutzner_brewmasters-break
The Brewmaster’s Break (1885)

Grutzner_kellermeister
Kellermeister (a.k.a. Cellarmaster).

You can read more about Eduard von Grützner at his Wikipedia page, and you can view more of his artwork at Art Prints On Demand and
Ask/Art.

Beer In Ads #65: Thirsty Moon Beer

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ad-billboard
Monday’s ad is an attempt to contrast Friday’s, which you may recall was the Girl in the Moon for Miller High Life. I don’t know much about this ad, though I believe it’s from the 1930s. It appears to be from Germany but looks not at all like a typical ad for a German beer. In this case, instead of the girl being in the moon, she’s instead offering the thirsty moon a drink of beer.

thirsty-moon-beer

Sink The Bismarck: The Feud Continues

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brew-dog
I’m no longer sure what to make of the undoubtedly mock feud between Scotland’s BrewDog and Germany’s Schorschbräu over who can make the world’s strongest beer. I’m sure it’s great publicity for both companies, as each one-ups the other for the title. The latest salvo is BrewDog’s Sink the Bismarck, a clever name given the contestants.

Sink-the-Bismarck

Unlike the last extreme BrewDog beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin, this one is not a dark beer, but a hoppy one instead. Sink the Bismarck, at 41% abv, bests the latest 40% Schorschbräu beer by one percent.

Sink the Bismarck is a quadruple IPA that contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and frozen four times to create at a staggering 41% ABV.

This is IPA amplified, the most evocative style of the craft beer resistance with the volume cranked off the scale. Kettle hopped, dry hopped then freeze hopped for a deep fruit, resinous and spicy aroma. A full out attack on your taste-buds ensues as the incredibly smooth liquid delivers a crescendo of malt, sweet honey, hop oils and a torpedo of hop bitterness which lasts and lasts.

brewdog-bismarck
As the BrewDogs readily admit, the whole things is somewhat silly, and I’m sure more people will continue to be angered by all of this, in a sense, I think, missing the point. This is great marketing. And while not everyone liked Tactical Nuclear Penguin, so far the reviews I’ve seen for Sink the Bismark have been mostly positive. Michael Ironside, who writes Diary Of A Hop Head, thought it was “wonderful.” Mark Dredge, who writes Pencil & Spoon, had this to say about it:

Maybe the hoppiest beer I’ve ever had, earthy, citrus, floral, imperial. So thick and full bodied, like syrup, like honey. It smells like a hop sack, so fresh, uniquely fresh, like hop resin, hop oil on the finger tips. It’s sweet like candy but hot like bourbon, it’s smooth but jagged, it’s bitter, it’s intense, it’s astonishing. Five months in the making, this is insane US Extreme IPA meets Scottish whisky, an unimaginable blend.

I’ve bought a bottle and I’m glad. Sink the Bismarck, whatever you think about the name and the marketing approach (it’s a bit of fun, nothing more – initially the name is shocking but it’s more of a jovial up yours than a vicious fuck you), is a special beer. It might not be to everyone’s taste – in all senses – but it’s a remarkable achievement.

Mark was over in San Francisco for SF Beer Week and I had a chance to spend some time with him at a couple of events, to the point where I trust his opinions and appreciate his point of view. Mark was also declared “New Media Writer of the Year” by the British Beer Writers Guild, so I don’t think anyone can dismiss his opinions out of hand. This is not just an extreme stunt beer, but a great-tasting one, as well. I hope I can have an opportunity to try it for myself.

bismarck

Given that Schorschbräu’s website states that they’re at “40% and still going strong,” I’m sure we can expect yet another stronger release from them. What BrewDog has up their sleeve is anybody’s guess, but you can bet it’s something interesting.

Beer In Ads #39: Hurra! Bier!

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ad-billboard
This Monday we’re still celebrating beer in the Bay Area during SF Beer Week. That’s nothing new of course, as evidenced by this last century beer poster entitled Hurra! Bier!. That translates as “hooray beer,” and that’s our sentiment for this week, as well.

gericault-harra-bier

Germany Retakes The Title

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Schorsch
It only seems like yesterday that BrewDog’s 32% a.b.v. Tactical Nuclear Penguin captured the title of world’s strongest beer, besting German brewer Schorschbrau’s 31% beer. But now the German brewery has retaken the title with a whopping 40% monster of a beer. Schorschbrau describes the beer as follows:

The currently Strongest Beer in the World: 40% Alcohol

Available in 0.33 liter ceramic bottles, personally signed and hand-numbered by the Braumeister himself. Each bottle is sealed with wax by hand and comes in a wooden case with a transparent window on one side.

August Beer Examiner Lonnie Best has the full story as Germany wins another victory in the extreme beer wars.

40dl

Beer In Ads #28: Vivator

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ad-billboard
Friday’s ad is for Brauerei Münchner Kindl, a German brewer. As far as I can tell, Vivator was a brand of beer sold by the brewery. There’s a small signature block in the lower right corner that appears to be where the artist’s signature would be, but I can’t find a large enough version of the ad to read it. I love how exuberant the man is, stein in hand, singing in what looks like it could be snow, with the Munich skyline behind him.

vivator

Beer In Art #60: Stained Glass Bier

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art-beer
Today’s works of art is a stained glass sign from the late 19th century. It’s online because a professional photographer, Lar Matre, owns the sign and photographed it. It’s difficult to photograph stained glass, at least in my experience, and it is a great photo, but for my purposes I’m more impressed by the artistry of the signmaker. And I love stained glass, always have. But I imagine seeing the original of this, especially in the context of being at a German bar, would be stunning.

stained_glass-bier

According to Matre, on his website, his “great grandfather bought it in the late 1800s in Germany, or so [he’s been] told.” The photograph itself can be purchased online at Fine Art America.

You can see much more of Matre photos at his website and his Flickr page. As for more stained glass, start with Wikipedia. But there’s also the Corning Museum of Glass, Vidimus and the Stained Glass Museum.

Beck’s Sale Called Off

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becks-white
Reuters is reporting that the impending sale of Beck’s by Anheuser-Busch InBev has been scuttled, by ABIB. According to the weekly German magazine WirtschaftsWoche, the 1.7 billion Euro ($2.54 billion) contract was ready to be sign by purchaser U.S. buyout firm Bain Capital when ABIB walked away from the deal. WirtschaftsWoche is speculating that the earlier “sale of 13 eastern European breweries for 2.2 billion euros in October eased Anheuser-Busch InBev’s debt burden enough for the brewing giant to call off the Beck’s deal.” That’s all that’s known so far, but I’m, sure we’ll learn more on Monday.

Beer In Ads #6: Biere d’Alsace

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ad-billboard
The artist for today’s ad was born in the Alsace, in 1873, in what is today part of France. But two years before he was born, it belonged to the German Empire, who had annexed it after the Franco-Prussian War that began in 1870. Why is that relevant? Because Jean-Jacques Waltz, better known as “Hansi,” grew up hating the Germans and early in his career drew editorial cartoons poking fun at them. This won him few friends in Germany and in fact he even spent time in jail, “imprisoned several times by German authorities for making fun of the German military and professors.” In addition to putting down his captors, he wrote and drew scenes extolling Alsace’s virtues. One of his most famous works was a history of Alsace for kids by “Uncle Hansi,” L’Historie d’Alssace. The ad today features a girl in the traditional costume of the Alsace, and in fact it shows up in a number of Hansi’s works. I’m not sure if the illustration is advertising for a specific brewery of just beer from the Alsace generally. There is a brewery in Luttenbach (near the border between France in Germany in the Alsace) today known as Les Caves de la Brasserie. The date in the star, 1648, seems to suggest an older brewery, one that perhaps is no longer with us.

Hansi's Biere d'Alsace