The Friday Mash (QWERTY Edition)
One hundred and forty years ago today, E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York, began production of the first practical typewriter. Even though few of us use typewriters anymore, the familiar “QWERTY” keyboard design, invented in 1874, is still with us.
ASDF…The Mash!
We begin in Massachusetts where Todd Ruggere, a Waltham resident, is drinking a Sam Adams in each of the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns. He’s raising money for cancer research.
We all know that higher-gravity beers are able to conceal hop bitterness. With that in mind, Jay Brooks recently posted an original gravity to hops ratio graph on his Brookston Beer Bulletin.
In 1953, an Aussie named Bob Hawke set a world record by downing a yard of ale–more than two pints–in 11 seconds. He was later elected that country’s Prime Minister. Coincidence?
Good news for beer lovers in Manhattan. The Hudson River Park Trust will open a 6,000-square-foot beer garden overlooking the river at Pier 62. It will serve craft beers and specialty food.
Kegasus, the beer-guzzling centaur that advertises the Preakness InfieldFest, will likely be scratched from this year’s race. But there will be live entertainment, and plenty of beer.
Pro tip: it’s not a good idea to drink to excess before designing beer labels, because you might come up with something like this disturbing Belgian ale label.
Finally, congratulations to Warren Monteiro, a writer, beer traveler, and homebrewer from New York City, who was named Beerdrinker of the Year at the Wynkoop Brewing Company.
The Friday Mash (Penny Wise Edition)
February 15, 1971, was Decimal Day in Britain. From that day forward, the pound sterling was worth 100 pence; and shillings, half-crowns, florins and other charming coinage passed into British history.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Australia, where that country’s governing body for cricket is combating the dreaded beer snake created by fans stacking thousands of cups through the grandstand.
John Schreiber of Manhattan Beach, California, has come up with beer pairings for Girl Scout cookies. For example, Thin Mints call for an old ale, like North Coast Brewing Old Stock Ale.
Jay Brooks has posted a new Periodic Table of Beer Styles at his Brookston Beer Bulletin. Credit for the table goes to a Reddit user named “Delirium Tremens.”
Something old, something new. The Epiphany One Puck will recharge your phone with a cold beer. The devices uses a Stirling engine, which turns heat disparities into energy.
NerdWallet.com scoured the country for the city with the cheapest beer. It’s Carlsbad, New Mexico, where a six-pack of Heineken costs $7.25. Most expensive? New York City, where the same sixer carries a $12.63 price tag.
Why has Sam Adams Alpine Spring been on the shelves for weeks? Jim Koch, Boston Beer Company’s CEO, explains that “in New England, we tend to look forward to next season.”
Finally, Bavarian glassmaker Spiegelau, with help from Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head, have developed a glass designed for drinking IPA. Its ridges at the bottom bring out flavor by creating more foam.
The Friday Mash (Pliny the Elder Edition)
On this day in 79 B.C., Mount Vesuvius erupted, wiping out the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing more than 15,000 people. Its most famous victim was Pliny the Elder, the naturalist whose writings about hops earned him recognition from the Russian River Brewing Company. The brewery’s renowned double IPA bears his name.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Morgantown, the home of West Virginia University, which has reclaimed the number-one spot in the Princeton Review’s ranking of top party schools. WVU also ranks first in the “Lots of Beer” category.
You can’t win ‘em all. Olympic athlete Nick Symmonds came up six seconds short of the world record for running the Beer Mile, in which contestants chug a beer before the race and at each quarter mile.
Australian scientists have found that feeding brewer’s grain to cows can reduce their methane emissions by at least 15 percent. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and cows burp up a lot of it.
With this beer I thee wed? Many couples are substituting craft beer for Champagne toasts at their wedding receptions. Their beer selections often honor the states the bride and groom come from.
Visitors to Fort Collins, Colorado, can now spend the day beer touring on a bicycle. There are six breweries located along three miles of trails, along with a “bike library” that will rent you one.
Boxed wine has been on store shelves for years, but will drinkers buy beer in square bottles? Heineken is experimenting with them.
Finally, a 1940 ad for Schaefer Bock Beer, which looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, inspired the Village Voice’s Eric Sundermann to write a beery version of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.
The Friday Mash (Show Me Edition)
On this day in 1821, Missouri was admitted to the Union. The “Show-Me State,” which has a substantial German-American population, has never enacted statewide prohibition, has no “blue laws,” and expressly prohibits any jurisdiction from voting itself dry. In other words, it’s a beer-friendly state.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Newport, Kentucky, where a local journalist plans to bring back Wiedemann beer, which was brewed in that city for a century before production ended in 1983.
New Belgium Brewing Company has teamed up with Brewery Vivant of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to brew an ale honoring Georges Auguste Escoffier, the legendary chef. The ale is a Belgian-style amber ale with a formidable 9.5% ABV.
Michigan has 118 breweries, with still more under construction. Which makes Rod Kackley of Crain’s Detroit Business wonder where the state will someday have too many breweries.
From the Point/Counterpoint Department: New York Times readers weigh in on the decision by Greenwood Park, a Brooklyn beer garden, to let parents bring their children.
Two seniors at George Washington University have started a PAC whose aim is to encourage politicians of both parties to settle their differences over a few cold ones. No, it isn’t called the Six PAC.
Beers from England’s Lake District impressed the judges at this year’s Great British Beer Festival. Coniston Brewing Company’s No. 9 Barley Wine was declared Supreme Champion of this years’ GBBF competition.
Finally, a company in the Australian Outback is so desperate to hire skilled electricians that it’s offering free beer to qualified new hires. That, plus up to A$50 per hour.
Beer…By the Numbers
Beer…by the Numbers
The Friday Mash (Rocket Science Edition)
One hundred years ago today, Wernher von Braun, the greatest rocket scientist in history, was born in Germany. He was the architect of NASA’s Saturn V launch vehicle that propelled Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon on July 20, 1969.
And now….The Mash!
We begin in Grand Rapids, Michigan’s craft beer capital, where the city’s Public Museum plans to add a brewing history exhibit.
All About Beer magazine’s Brian Yaeger wandered into the cinematic archives and dredged up the 1985 film Beer starring Loretta Swit and Rip Torn. Here’s his review.
Soon it will be easier for brewery startups to raise capital online. The U.S. Senate approved the CROWDFUND Act, which will allow businesses to raise up to $1 million through government-approved crowd-sourcing portals.
Good news and bad news from Victory Brewing Company. It’s about to reach capacity at its current facility, but will build a second brewery not far away. The new location will use water with the same mineral composition as Victory’s original brewery.
New York City’s craft beer has gotten oodles of publicity, but Long Island has quietly been upping its game as well. Imbibe magazine’s Josh Bernstein knows where to find good beer on “the Island.”
James Fallows, the Atlantic’s national correspondent, took time out from weightier issues to report on Australia’s craft beer explosion.
Finally, global warming didn’t cause the extreme heat in Columbus last month. The culprit was the Elevator Brewing Company’s Ghost Scorpion Lager, which was brewed with the hottest peppers on Earth.
Beer…By the Numbers
The Friday Mash (Festivus Edition)
It’s time for Festivus, a holiday celebrated with an aluminum “Festivus pole”, rituals like the “Airing of Grievances” and “Feats of Strength”, and calling easily explainable events “Festivus miracles.” While beverages aren’t obligatory, they come highly recommended.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Muskegon, Michigan, the self-proclaimed “beer tent capital of the world,” where 13 residents stripped to their swimsuits and waded into Lake Michigan to attract a brewery to their city.
Australian researchers have found that a one-degree (Celsius) increase in average monthly temperature translates into a 2.1 percent increase in beer consumption. That’s 10,000 extra cases.
Dogfish Head Artisan Ales is planning a $50 million expansion of its brewery in Milton, Delaware. Unfortunately, some locals voiced their objections to the traffic the brewery will create.
Last week, the Globe and Mail’s website ran a slideshow which features 12 Canadian craft brewers that are shaking up the country’s brewing industry.
Ashley Rouston, The Beer Wench, lists the craft beer community’s 20 most compelling personalities on Twitter. Drat! Ludwig isn’t one of them.
Injuries forced Yao Ming to end his pro basketball career, but the NBA continues its efforts to win fans in China with a partnership between the Miami Heat and Chinese beer company Tsingtao.
Finally, now that it’s Hanukkah, brewers are bringing out holiday beers for Jewish beer drinkers. Why not? Jews have brewed beer for thousands of years in Asia, Europe, and America.