The Friday Mash (Five and Dime Edition)
On this day in 1879, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many Woolworth stores in In Utica, New York. He unwittingly inspired the Marx Brothers’ routine in which Rufus T. Firefly suggested that Chicolini be given “ten years in Leavenworth, or 11 years in Twelveworth”; and Chicolini responded, “I’ll take five and ten in Woolworth.”
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Florida, where a 45-year-old law, passed as part of a turf war among big brewers, has the unintended effect of banning the sale of growlers. Lawmakers are trying to fix that.
FirstWeFeast.com has compiled a list of 12 celebrities who ought to be spokespersons for craft beer. They include Kat Dennings, the cast of How I Met Your Mother, and, of course, President Barack Obama.
You can buy a beer at many college basketball arenas, including seven of the 20 largest. Beer sales can bring in money through concession revenues, added ticket sales, or both.
Beer and video games have always gone together, but an arcade fighting game called Beercade goes one step farther. It rewards the winning combatant with a cup of beer.
To celebrate their city’s Beer Week, the San Francisco Brewers Guild has rolled out “Green Death”, a malt liquor inspired by the 50s-60s version of Rainier Ale. Paper bag not included.
Don’t expect Anheuser-Busch to advertise this anytime soon. According to a nationwide survey, beer is the favorite beverage of underage drinkers and Budweiser is their favorite brand.
Finally, if you have a ticket to tomorrow’s Winter Beer Festival in Grand Rapids, John Serba of MLive.com has some friendly advice: dress warmly for 33-degree temperatures and snow flurries.
The Friday Mash (Pop Art Edition)
Today is the 75th birthday of Peter Max, the pop artist who’s famous for his use of psychedelic shapes and color palettes. Max has been the official artist for the World Cup, the Grammy Awards, and the Super Bowl…but, so far as we know, no beer festivals.
And now….The Mash!
We begin in Frederick, Maryland, where the Monocacy Brewing Company has released its first Civil War commemorative beer, an English session bitter called Antietam Ale.
Kendall Jones of the Washington Beer Blog describes a weekend beer getaway in Victoria, British Columbia. Final stop on the tour: Garrick’s Head Pub, which has been serving beer since 1867.
Congratulations to Brown Distributing Company, of West Palm Beach, Florida, which was honored as the Craft Beer Distributor of the Year by the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
According to the Beer Institute, New Hampshire ranks first in per-capita beer consumption. Rounding out the top five: North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota, and Nevada.
From the Department of Higher Zymurgical Education: Arizona State University offers a course called The Cultural and Chemical History of Beer. The course has been rated “challenging.”
A British microbrewery has developed a freeze-resistant beer for researchers working in in Antarctic cold. The beer, an India pale ale, is packaged in plastic, vacuum-sealed bottles for the journey to the Pole.
Finally, Scott, who blogs at The Brew Club, serves up 12 Things You Don’t Know About Your Beer. For instance, there are more calories in a pint of Budweiser than in a pint of Guinness.
Beer…By the Numbers
Beer…By the Numbers
The Friday Mash (”What’s Up, Doc?” Edition)
On this day in 1940, The Wild Hare, a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies production, was released. The eight-minute cartoon, which was nominated for an Academy Award, depicted Elmer Fudd pursuing the much smarter Bugs Bunny.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in London, Ontario, whose minor-league baseball team, the Rippers, folded after being refused permission to sell beer. Ironically, the Rippers played their home games at Labatt Park.
While much of America is suffering from drought, torrential rains in northern Europe have slowed the maturation of grain crops. The forecast is for higher grain prices and, ultimately, more expensive beer.
The iconic “R” sign, placed atop Rainier Brewing’s Seattle brewery in 1953, will be re-lit at the Museum of History and Industry. The brand’s owners are also bringing back the Grazing Rainiers, those mythical beer bottles with legs.
Jim Galligan, drinks correspondent for MSNBC.com, offers five reasons why you should brew your own beer.
The brewery staff at Budweiser has been experimenting with small-batch beers. Once they dedide on which three of the original 12 beers are the best, they’ll package them in special six-packs to be sold at retail this fall.
The Travel Channel serves up its list of top seven beer destinations. Instead of the usual suspects, their picks are up-and-coming places you might not have thought about.
Finally, the Bad Training Regimen Award goes to Tyler Bray, a quarterback at the University of Tennessee. Bray decided to limber up his throwing arm by lobbing beer bottles at parked cars.
The Friday Mash (”Woooooooo. Pig. Sooie!” Edition)
On this day in 1836, Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state. Famous Arkansans (the accent is on the second syllable) include country singer Johnny Cash, Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, former president Bill Clinton, and Tusk, the live hog that serves as the mascot for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team.
And now….The Mash!
We begin in Portland, Maine, home of an economist’s dream. Brewers and distillers have clustered in a district called Brewer’s Row. Notable residents include D.L. Geary Brewing Company and Allagash Brewing Company.
Erik Lars Myers, who blogs at Top Fermented, is also the frontman for Mystery Brewing Company. Myers explains how he raised $44,000 on Kickstarter.com to help launch his brewery, and explains how it was done.
The Los Angeles Kings won their first NHL title in their 45-year existence. Part of the Kings’ celebration consisted of drinking a bottle of Budweiser, left over from their loss to Montreal in the 1993 final, out of the Stanley Cup.
Kid Rock is scouring Michigan to find a new contract brewer for his American Badass Beer. Michigan Brewing Company, which made the beer, was foreclosed on by its bank and reportedly faces possible eviction.
Have you ever tried beer ice cream? Victoria Johnson of TheAwl.com has a recipe that uses beer and just three other ingredients: sugar, egg yolks, and heavy cream.
They’re not exactly moonshiners, but homebrewers in Mississippi are still breaking the law. Raise Your Pints, which successfully lobbied for a higher ABV cap in that state, is working to get the homebrew ban repealed.
Finally, 88-year-old Ethel Goldschmidt, of Brooklyn, New York, has started her own beer company. Her flagship beer is Ethel’s Brew, a summertime beer inspired by her 1951 trip to Oktoberfest with her late husband, Burt.
Beer…by the Numbers
The Friday Mash (Triskaidekaphobia Edition)
Today is Friday the 13th, which is bad news for the 20 million Americans who suffer from triskaidekaphobia. Some are so terrified of today that they won’t even get out of bed. But the truly intrepid will celebrate by attending Friday the Firkenteenth, a cask ale festival that takes place at Philadelphia’s Grey Lodge Pub every Friday the 13th.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Toledo, where Tony Packo’s, the hot dog joint made famous by M*A*S*H’s Corporal Klinger, is celebrating its 80th anniversary with a special, locally-brewed ale.
Two economists theorize that beer was the key to The Netherlands’ independence. Seventeenth-century Dutchmen drank lots beer, and the government gradually hiked taxes on it to finance their decades-long revolt against Spanish rule.
Budweiser has run afoul of British regulators, who turned thumbs-down on an ad in which a football coach promised success with women to men who drank Bud.
Add Lagunitas Brewery to the list of western craft breweries planning to open a second plant. It will be located in Chicago, where founder and owner Tony Magee is from.
San Francisco’s iconic Hamms Brewery sign was demolished long ago, but local artist Dan McHale has brought it back to life with a series of paintings, “36 Views of the Hamm’s Brewery.”
Could beer be “brain food”? Scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that after drinking two pints, men performed better on brain-teasers than those had nothing to drink.
Finally, Governor Phil Bryant has signed a bill raising Mississippi’s ABV cap to approximately 10.1% ABV. Mississippians can now enjoy 70 percent of the world’s top 100 beers.
Beer…by the Numbers
A Budweiser Tap Takeover!
Ludwig couldn’t believe his eyes when he read the email. Ashley’s, a beer bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will host a Budweiser tap takeover starting at 6:00 this evening. There will also be a special 8pm tapping of a keg of vintage Budweiser (”born on” 1997); and, outside Ashley’s, a petting zoo with dogs, frogs, and penguins, and Clydesdale horses to give rides around the block.
After carefully re-reading the email, Ludwig is convinced that Ashley’s is pulling an April Fool’s joke. The photo of the A-B InBev representative was a dead giveaway.