May 4th, 2008
I recently stumbled across this webpage from the Wisconsin Historical Society profiling an original Schotz brewery smock from the Laverne and Shirley show, a 70’s sitcom hit set in Milwaukee. For those who don’t recall, the show revolved around two bottle-cappers from the fictional Shotz brewery, Laverne and Shirley, and their two foils, Lenny and “Squiggy.” Lenny and Squiggy are also employed by the brewery, as truck drivers.
My beerSmarts triva cards state that the Milwaukee brewery Blatz was the inspiration for the brewery, whereas the Wikipedia entry on Laverne and Shirley (more credibly, in my mind) suggests that it was Schlitz, noting that the women lived on a real street in Milwaukee not far from the Schlitz brewery. Of course, for all I know that’s actually close to the Blatz brewery as well.
The funny thing is, given the way our sense of morals has swung of late, I’m not sure the American public would accept such a beer-centric family program today. Instead, beer is typically the object of satire, as is the case with the Simpsons Duff beer or Drew Carey’s Buzz.
I don’t watch all that much TV any more, so tell me if I’m wrong, please.
image courtesy of Wikipedia, © 2006 Sulfur
Tags: beer, blatz, Brewery, duff, Laverne and Shirley, milwaukee, schlitz, shotz, The SimpsonsShare This
By Chris -- 0 comments
May 3rd, 2008
Shopping yesterday at Wegmans, I saw a Yuengling Lager Hot Sauce. I decided to check it out online before buying a bottle and - nothing. Not a mention on Yuengling’s site, or Wegman’s either.
Has anyone tried this?
Tags: beer, hot, lager, sauce, yuenglingShare This
By Chris -- 2 comments
May 2nd, 2008
Naming conventions for beer are a little peculiar to say the least. The Märzen, or March beer, is brewed in March but drunk in fall of the next year. The Maibock, or May bock, is a strong, malty lager beer which is also brewed in March (or earlier these days) but drunk in May. Michael Jackson’s beerhunter site has more on the origin of that particular tradition here.
Lighter than the Lenten Doppelbocks (known as Starkbier in the south), the Maibock still has some kick at 6 plus percent alcohol. It’s nice beer to welcome in spring. The traditional Maibock is that from Einbeck, in the north of Germany, but US microbreweries are also brewing fine Maibocks for the season. Two which come to mind are Stoudt’s and Smuttynose, although there are many others to choose from.
Check out your local Maibock and let us know what you think.
Tags: beer, bock, einbeck, Germany, maibockShare This
By Chris -- 0 comments
May 1st, 2008
I’ve talked about the shortage of hops and barley a few times now, but it’s probably more interesting to hear about it from someone who knows about it firsthand. This article in Flavorpittsburgh.com tells the tale of a grim future for highly hopped beers if the trend continues. According to the brewer at Pittsburgh’s tiny East End Brewing Co., hop prices have quadrupled and the scarcity of hops may lead to reformulation of Big Hop, that brewery’s most popular brew, before summer’s end. I’m sure the same calculation is going on in a lot of microbreweries across the country.
I suppose the upside is that some of those musclebound beers I’ve written about in the past could be reformulated as well, but I fear it will come at the expense of the better hoppy beers. Time will tell. Meanwhile, if you’ve tried Big Hop let us know what you think.
image courtesy of East End Brewing Co.
Tags: barley, beer, east end, hops, pittsburgh, shortageShare This
By Chris -- 1 comment
April 30th, 2008
Interesting, one has to wonder whether Magic Hat Brewing Company’s announced acquisition of Pyramid Brewery is the start of consolidation in the microbrew industry or just a blip on the radar. It seems to me that increasing costs (including hops, barley, and oil) combined with a slowing economy might make some of the less profitable breweries look at their options a bit more closely, but I guess we’ll find out over the next few years,
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By Chris -- 0 comments
April 29th, 2008
So, over in California they seem to be interested in killing off the state’s healthy micobrew industry with a fairly onerous sounding sin tax, at least according to this article in Underhill Lounge. That increase, of almost $2 per sixpack, combined with the higher price of beer generally, could turn off a whole generation of twenty-something beer drinkers (and others) for whom that extra two bucks means something.
As Underhill Lounge pointed out, time to start home-brewing!
Tags: beer, california, taxShare This
By Chris -- 0 comments
April 28th, 2008
Hopfen and Malz returns in “So this priest walks into a bar … #3″
Ok, so this one is not about me but comes from a fellow priest who is now retired. Back in the early 90’s, he was serving in a small church in Scotland. Now one day Steve was in the pub and the television was reporting on the First Gulf War. Now sitting down the bar was Hamish. As the story continued, Hamish began to mutter and the “Damn Americans.” As the minutes passed, Hamish got louder and turned to direct his comments at Steve. “Yank! Hey Yank!” Finally Steve, who had a son in the military, could ignore this baiting no longer, stood up and said, “You got something to say to me Hamish?”
When Hamish stood, he towered over Steve (who stands only about 5’6”) and said, “Let’s settle this outside.” Now even though Steve was grossly over-matched he did not back down and turned to go. At that moment, Tom, the barman interrupted, “Sit down Hamish.” Hamish ignored him and continued to follow Steve towards the pub door. This prompted Tom to shout, “Hamish, if you touch him you’re banned for life.” Now for a Scotsman, being banned from your pub is indeed a very serious threat and Hamish backed down rather quickly.
A very relieved Steve turned to the barman and said, “Thanks a million. If there’s ever anything I can do, you just let me know.” “Do you mean that?” asked Tom. “Of course I mean it,” replied Steve. “Then would you baptize my granddaughter?” asked an embarrassed Tom. “Of course I would,” said Steve. Tom paused for a moment then explained, “Well, you see Reverend, her mother’s not married.” Without missing a beat Steve smiled and asked, “When would you like it to be done?”
What you need to understand is that while unwed mothers are rather commonplace for us, back then in small town Scotland, there was still an element of scandal to it and certainly enough shame to make the whole idea of baptism very awkward. But Steve was more than happy to oblige. When the day of the baptism finally arrived Steve walked into the church to see a remarkable sight- the church, which usually all but empty, was instead practically full. The pews were packed with all the friends and customers of Tom the barman. And they certainly did not look like your typical churchgoers. Many were clad in black leather and sported tattoos, and the vast majority of them had not darkened the doors of a church in decades. Yet there they were.
Even more remarkably, for the remainder of Steve’s time in Scotland many of these folks continued to come to church. Then Steve had to go back to the States. And after he left, these men and women stopped coming. It seems that Steve was replaced by a local priest with rather traditional sensibilities who made some off hand remarks about how Steve’s agreeing to baptize Tom’s granddaughter was “inappropriate” and that such a thing would never happen “on his watch.” Not long after, all the bar patrons stopped coming to church.
This story only goes to show the truth of something I became convinced of along time ago… that many of the people who really need what the Church has to offer will never come through its doors. If only we could wake up and recognize the opportunity that lies before us and be willing to bring the meaning, purpose and value of our faith out into the world instead of keeping it locked inside our walls… and so we perpetuate this false dichotomy between the “sacred” and “profane.” It is so absolutely contrary to Jesus’ ethos, but that is, perhaps, better said on a different blog.
Tags: bar, hopfen and malz, priest, scotlandShare This
By Chris -- 0 comments
April 27th, 2008
So, if you’re looking for something beery to do today, and you are near Petaluma, CA, you might check out this beer tasting and chili cookoff. Looks like fun. On my side of the country, I probably could have persuaded my garden-loving wife to go to the Biergarten at Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA had we not already had plans.
Tags: beer, biergarten, chili, cookoff, garden, hersheyShare This
By Chris -- 0 comments
April 26th, 2008
Forgot to mention this in my earlier post on Kölsch, but I was told the waiters in the Kölsch beer halls (called Köbes) are actually freelancers, and that they effectively run a tab with the beer hall itself. At Päffgen, the Köbes carried around double-tiered Kölschkränze, a specially designed beer tray, to serve all of the many customers.
Tags: Köbes, Köln, Kölsch, KölschkranzShare This
By Chris -- 0 comments
April 25th, 2008
There are a lot of obscure and strange laws on the books which relate to how beer and other alcoholic products can be marketed, sold, distributed, and pretty much limiting all aspects of the product which can be limited. The Mount Shasta Brewing Co. found this out the hard way, when the FDA decided that its advertisements violated a rule against the use of drug references in alcohol labeling. Given the promo - “Try Legal Weed” - they might have a point.
Then again, they might not, because Shasta brews in the town of Weed, California. For more info check out this article from law.com.
Image from Wikimedia, copyright-free
Tags: beer, california, marijuana, shasta, weedShare This
By Chris -- 1 comment
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