The Friday Mash (Popcorn and Beer Edition)
On this day in 1907, Orville Redenbacher was born in Brazil, Indiana. Even as a youngster in 4-H, he was determined to make the perfect popcorn. His efforts paid off: popcorn made him both rich and famous; and nearly 15 years after his death, Orville Redenbacher remains the number-one selling brand.
If all this talk about popcorn made you thirsty, fear not. The Mash is coming your way!
We lead off with this year’s international Beer Challenge, where the Supreme Champion was Samuel Adams Utopias 2009.
Karl Ockert, the founding and long-time brewmaster at Portland, Oregon-based BridgePort Brewing Company, will leave the brewery on July 30. Ockert, who is credited with turing Portland into “an IPA town,” will become Technical Director at the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
Duquesne Beer, a Pittsburgh-area favorite a generation or two ago, is coming back. The reincarnated version will be brewed with pricier hops–Saaz and Hallertau varieties from Europe, and hops from Washington State–as well as two-row malt.
Bobby Don Johnson, the Lafayette Craft Beer Examiner, offers his take on what makes a beer “drinkable”, and how “drinkable” differs from “sessionable.”
Legislation in Congress that would cut small brewers’ taxes continues to pick up support on Capitol Hill. According to the Brewers Association, 17 senators and 87 representatives have signed on as co-sponsors.
Finally, from the Department of Ancient History: a story in the April 10, 1988, New York Times attempted to distinguish micro-brewers, craft brewers, and “pub brewers.” Hat tip: Alan McLeod of A Good Beer Blog.
NEWS (North, East, South, West)
Time to hit the road, girls and boys:
We lead off with Cole Premo of WCCO-TV, who serves up a list of the ten best Minnesota-brewed beers.
Julia Burke, beer editor for the New York Cork Report, touts Rochester, New York, as “a diamond in the rough” for beer lovers.
A new Indiana law allows microbreweries to sell beer on Sunday. That same law also requires everyone, regardless of age, to show ID.
The Independent’s Rhiannon Batten locates England’s 50 best country pubs.
Finally, as part of its series on unusual customs around the world, BBC News has video of an old Peruvian beer-drinking ritual.
Oregon Liquor Regulators Target Homebrewers
This is something you’d expect in a state like Louisiana, where homebrewing is still against the law. But certainly not in beer-friendly Oregon. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is interpreting a state statute so strictly that this year’s State Fair homebrew competition is in jeopardy. In fact, it might even be illegal to bring a keg of homebrew to a friend’s Fourth of July picnic.
Lisa Morrison, a veteran beer writer who lives in Oregon, warns that the OLCC’s ruling could have significant unintended consequences:
t’s a short-sighted response to an outdated law. But the implications could be catastrophic to the state’s thriving beer culture. After all, it’s the home brewers that spawned the craft beer culture, and many a home brewer has “gone pro” after honing his or her skills at the homebrew level.
She urges homebrewers and craft beer lovers to let state lawmakers know they’re not pleased with the commission’s decision.
Bah, Humbug!
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario rejected the label for Samichlaus beer because “Samichlaus” means Santa Claus in English–and thus the label violates an obscure rule against advertising beer to children. The commission took action after receiving–here we go again–a “single complaint from a private person.”
Some accuse the commission of being a Scrooge. The importer of Samichlaus points out that the figure depicted on the label looks more like an old fisherman than the Jolly Old Elf. Some observers also note that Ontario has approved advertising featuring “cute giraffes, cartoon trucks, little birds and colourful hobgoblins.”
The Friday Mash (May Two-Four Edition)
Monday, May 24, is Queen Victoria’s birthday, a holiday that marks the unofficial start of summer in Canada. For obvious reasons, Canadians refer to the Victoria Day long weekend as “May two-four,” Canadian slang for a case of beer.
In the Queen’s honor, we lead off the Mash with a couple of items from north of the border:
There was an upset winner at the Ontario Brewing Awards: Lawn Chair Classic Weisse, a product of the Hop City Brewing Company, which is owned by Moosehead.
And on the West Coast, the first-ever B.C. Beer Awards were handed out during Vancouver Beer Week.
There’s more…
Asheville, North Carolina, holds the early lead in Beer City USA voting. Portland, Oregon, and San Diego round out the top three.
Jesse Hughey, who blogs at the Dallas Observer, names breweries whose best-known beer is their least interesting.
The “world’s most potent beer” title once again belongs to Franconia Schorschbock, which checks in at 43.38% ABV.
Don Russell, a/k/a Joe Sixpack, offers five places to drink beer before you die. Wrigley Field is on his list. We think that all of Wrigleyville belongs on that list. The way the Cubs have been playing, fans require a post-game pint or two.
Martyn Cornell, The Zythophile, draws this musical analogy: cask ale is to live music what bottled beer is to CDs. Hmm.
Finally, from the Later Rather Than Sooner Department: Oklahoma has finally legalized homebrewing. The fight now moves to Louisiana, where it’s still against the law to brew your own.
May 11, 1933
Seventy-seven years ago today, Julius Stroh of Detroit’s famous brewing family wrote an article in the Monroe (Michigan) Evening News. His words of wisdom for beer drinkers included these:
Be temperate in your consumption. Whether it’s beer, buttermilk, soda water or pop too much of it might lead to regrets….Never gulp your beer, because it is bad manners….Serve beer in a thin crystal-clear goblet, if you wish to admire its color….All glasses should be cleaned with a scrubbing brush or salt….Beer should never be served at a temperature above 50 degrees and below 45 degrees.
Kevin Nash at Michigan Beer Buzz, who hails from Monroe, speculates on why Stroh wrote that article:
I imagine he wrote these articles for a few reasons: One, it was good publicity. Two, low quality beer is all people had been drinking for the last 15 years and the citizens needed to be educated on properly drinking good beer. Three, it may have been driven by the fear of the future of his business. 3.2 beer was legal in less than half of the states in America, and prohibition was still the law of the land. As of May 11th 1933 (the day the article was printed) only 3 states had voted in the 21st amendment
Stroh’s advice was couldn’t have been more timely because, on May 11, 1933, 3.2 beer became legal in Michigan. The good folks at Michigan Beer Buzz have posted copies of newspaper articles from that landmark date in Great Lake State history.
News From Toronto
A couple of stories from today’s Toronto Star caught our eye. The first is about a vote by Ontario lawmakers–sort of. They selected six Ontario craft beers that will be served in the legislative assembly’s dining room and other venues in Queen’s Park. Speaker Steve Peters added a seventh beer to the list: Railway City Brewing Dead Elephant Ale, which marks the 125th anniversary of Jumbo the circus elephant’s death.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s deputy mayor favors letting bars start serving at 10 am so World Cup fans can enjoy a beer with their football. Under current law, the beer can’t flow until 11. Update: Toronto has given the green light to earlier beer sales.
House Resolution Honors Craft Brewers
American Craft Beer Week is coming soon, and to mark the occasion, U.S. Representative Betsy Markey (D-CO) has introduced House Resolution 1297, which honors the nation’s craft brewers and their contributions to the economy–not to mention the palates of millions of beer lovers. Co-sponsors of the resolution are Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Jared Polis (D-CO), Denny Rehberg (R-MT), and David Wu (D-OR).
The Friday Mash (Green Jacket Edition)
Unwrap that pimiento sandwich, grab a chair, and pour yourself a beverage. If you’re open to suggestions, Adam Tokarz, this week’s guest-blogger at Draft magazine, has compiled a Masters-themed beer list.
And now…The Mash!
Jay Brooks of the Brookston Beer Bulletin has video from the Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Beer Dinner at San Francisco’s Anchor Brewery.
Session Number 38 at Brewed for Thought is about cult beers. The discussion kicks off with a description of February’s Pliny the Younger release party which will make you wish you had been there.
What U.S. state ranks first in per capita beer consumption? If you answer was Montana, go to the head of the class.
Jack Curtin hails the unsung heroes and heroines of the craft beer movement: everyone from beer-savvy servers to the people who package and deliver your beer.
Pete Brown says that British regulators have decided to ban the use of pixies, elves, sprites, and other mythical creatures in marketing alcohol. We hope he’s pulling our leg.
Finally, another macrobrewery craft beer offering has hit the shelves: Colorado Native Ale, by MillerCoors. Its slogan is “born, brewed and shared local”; and it’s currently available only in Colorado.
It’s “Brew Year’s Eve”
Today is the 77th anniversary of the Cullen–Harrison Act, which partially lifted Prohibition by allowing the sale of beer with up to 3.2% alcohol. The Brewers Association calls this a fitting occasion to toast America’s craft brewers.
Why 3.2? The 18th Amendment, which gave Congress the power to enact a national ban on the sale of intoxicating beverages, left it up to lawmakers to define what an “intoxicating beverage” was. The Volstead Act, passed in 1920, set the limit at 0.5 percent. However, the brewing industry contended that beer could be as strong as 3.2 percent and not cause intoxication. The 73rd Congress, which began work on March 4, 1933, bought their argument.