The most recent face of beer is, in fact, Jessica Simpson. The blonde singer/actress is not the spokeswoman for Stampede Light Plus, brewed by Stampede Brewing Co of Dallas, Texas (I’ll warn you before you click - the theme song is really annoying).
According to the Dallas Morning News, Simpson will appear in ads for the beer. Reportedly, she has also secured 15% of the brewery - no further details are available yet. Simpson has said that she is “always looking for ways to diversify my portfolio with good ideas and good people.” That portfolio expanded to include a new perfume, Simpson’s “Fancy”, and beer as of this month.
Pabst Brewing Co. began rolling out its original formula Schlitz beer on draft in several Midwest cities in mid-June. It will hit bars in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee and Chicago in the next few weeks.
Schlitz beer was, at one time, one of the most popular beers in America. The Schlitz brewery was founded by Joseph Schlitz, a German immigrant to Milwaukee, in 1850. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Schlitz donated thousands of barrels of beer to Chicago, which had lost most of its breweries. The brewery then expanded to Chicago and substantially increased distribution.
By the 1970s, the brewery was the second largest brewery in America (you can hear their claims as to demand in the commercial below) - but it didn’t last long. A decade later, the company was on life support and was finally acquired by Stroh Brewery Company. In just a few years, under the Pabst Brewing Company umbrella, Schlitz had all but disappeared, distributed in cars and bottles in limited areas.
Until now.
The original formula Schlitz is making a comeback - on draft!
The beer industry is clearly changing. “All American” beers are moving overseas - and craft brewing companies are making bold moves despite much speculation outside of the beer industry that it was just a phase. In fact, two of the top ten craft brewing companies also ranked in the top ten overall brewing companies by sales in 2007 according to a report issued by the Brewers Association (BA) earlier in the month.
According to the BA, the Top 10 Craft Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume for 2007 were:
1 Boston Beer Co.
2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc.
4 Spoetzl Brewery
5 Pyramid Breweries Inc.
6 Matt Brewing Co.
7 Deschutes Brewery, Inc.
8 Boulevard Brewing Co.
9 Full Sail Brewing Co.
10 Harpoon Brewery
In comparison, the Top 10 Overall Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume for 2007 were:
1 Anheuser- Busch Inc.
2 Miller Brewing Co.
3 Coors Brewing Co.
4 Pabst Brewing Co.
Who didn’t show up for the London Beer Festival? Alistair Darling, though clearly he was on the minds of festivalgoers.
Members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) protested the UK beer tax outside of the festival in London, England.
The British beer tax is the highest in the EU, ringing up at more than 80p per pint. Taxes for other spirits in Britain are just as high, as part of the recent national budget.
In case you’re looking for another reason to go organic when it comes to beer, consider this: additives in beers are not strictly regulated in all countries.
And when I say additives, I mean, oh, say, carcinogens.
One of the frustrating things about Pennsylvania is that it’s nearly impossible to sample a new beer outside of a bar without buying a whole case (stupid beer laws, don’t get me started). One of the things that I love about vacationing in Maine is that you can pop into local stores and buy just one or two beers - a nice option when you’re in the mood to try something new.
A few years ago, I was itching to try some of the organic brews hitting the market. Chris was a bit skeptical. And we didn’t want to end up with a case of something we’d hate - so it was nice to have the option of picking up just a couple of different bottles while on vacation. Some of those that we sampled - especially the Samuel Smith organics - have become favorites. It was incredibly hard to local them outside of the smaller beer specialty stores until the last few years when they hit the mainstream markets.
Organic beer sales are actually skyrocketing, according to the Organic Trade Association, with sales more than doubling from 2003 to 2005, even while beer sales overall fell slight.
Larger breweries are taking notice. The now Belgian owned Anheuser-Busch produces organic brews - a sign that organic is perhaps more than a trend. Two of the first organic products to hit the market from A-B did not even flout the Budweiser name. Wild Hop is brewed at the A-B brewery in Fairfield, California, and Stone Mill is brewed at the Red Hook brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
While larger breweries are making an impression in the organic market, it’s the smaller breweries who are leading the way. In 1999, California-based Eel River Brewing Company became America’s first certified organic brewery (as an aside, nearly ten years later, the brewery became the nation’s first biomass powered brewery).
Other popular organic brews include Wolavers, Peak and, as mentioned earlier, Samuel Smith (all Samuel Smith beers are also vegan).
So what makes a beer organic? It’s made the same as regular beer, but under USDA standards, to be labeled “organic”, at least 95% of the ingredients must be produced and grown without the use of chemicals and pesticides.
No junk in your beer? Always sounds good to me!
Do you have a favorite organic brew? Tell us your favorite by clicking here. You can win some cool beer merch!
Throughout the month of August, we’ve been focusing on local brews, pubs and breweries.
Although I’m originally from North Carolina, I’ve never stopped into the Outer Banks Brewing Station - though now I think I have to.
The Outer Banks Brewing Station was founded by Eric Reece and Aubrey Davis. Eric and Aubrey had developed an interest in home brewing - and eventually sought to open an environmentally friendly brew pub. In 2008, the brewery won what they refer to on their web site as a “long six (6) year protracted zoning battle” with Kill Devil Hills to install a 10kw wind turbine, which will help power the brewpub. The turbine made Outer Banks Brewing “America’s First Wind Powered Brew Pub.”
On Sunday, Chris and I took the family to The Belgian Cafe, located in the Art Museum section of Philadelphia, PA. It was a rainy July afternoon and we were hoping for something tasty but not heavy - the restaurant didn’t disappoint.
What the cafe is really known for, however, isn’t so much its food as its beer. The selection is impressive. There are about a dozen beers on tap - and according to the waitress, about 250 bottled beers and ales in the fridge.
But in the early afternoon (it was 2pm), I wasn’t in the mood for a pure pint. I wanted something a bit lighter. Fortunately for me, the brunch menu offered up something called a “Blanche Mimosa” described as:
Blanche de Bruxelles, a wheat beer seasoned with coriander and orange peel, that is topped off with our fresh squeezed orange juice
It was fabulous. Light and fruity - perfect with my duck salad!
It actually reminded me a bit of the Radler that I posted a few weeks back. The proportions were a bit different, I think. So here’s my take on the Beer Mimosa, using the proportions for a traditional mimosa. Enjoy!
Beer Mimosa
6 oz wheat beer
4 oz orange juice
Pour the wheat beer into a tall glass - you can use a fancy one (try a champagne glass if you want) - but the one I tried came in a traditional pub glass. Fill with chilled orange juice. Don’t stir!
Frat boys everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief: it’s not just them. According to a new study conducted at Bristol University, people really do appear more attractive when they’ve had a drink or two. In fact, researchers have found that as little as a pint and a half of beer is enough to make everyone seem more desirable.
The effect - wherein your vision is distorted with alcohol - is often referred to jokingly as “beer goggles.” But researchers aren’t laughing. They claim that it’s a real occurrence.
In the study, researchers randomly assigned alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (apparently altered to taste alcoholic) to volunteers - and I expect that they didn’t have to work too hard to get those volunteers. After thirty minutes, the volunteers were asked to rate the attractiveness of 20 male and 20 female faces on a seven-point scale.
Those who had been drinking alcohol ranked the faced around 10% higher than those who had not. The following day, the results were similar. This lead researchers to conclude that:
Alcohol consumption increases ratings of attractiveness of facial stimuli.
In other words, if you’re drunk, the world actually looks a little better. It’s not just your judgment that’s impaired, your vision is, too. Researchers at another British university (Manchester University) also add that the levels of light in pubs and clubs magnify this effect.
The result? Studies indicate that more than two thirds of people have woken up and regretted handing out their phone number to someone they were not attracted to when sober (thank goodness for caller ID).
And who makes the most mistakes? Men. Men are worst affected with reports of “beer goggles” lasting up to 24 hours after heavy drinking.
So if you don’t get that call back you’ve been waiting on? The one from the guy who said he’d call? And you know how all your friends say it’s not you. Um, it may actually be you. And the beer goggles.
Who knew that Budweiser produced beer steins for the Olympic games? I ran across this web site that sells the steins for each Olympics since 1982. It’s kind of an interesting niche. It’s hard to tell which are the best sellers because “sold out” is only indicative of the results if the original numbers available are the same. Nonetheless, take a peek and tell us your favorites.
By the way, beer steins are popular all over the world, but still most popular in Germany. You’ll usually find them made of pewter (as above), silver, porcelain or glass and often highly decorative. And a little bit of trivia to impress your friends at the pub: the hinged lid on the beer stein was invented during the age of the Black Plague, to prevent disease-carrying flies from getting into the beer.
Throughout the month of August, you have the opportunity to win free beer merchandise! Tell us your favorite brewery at this post to be eligible to win free tee shirts and more.
Participating Breweries to date:
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Philadelphia Brewing Company
Weyerbacher Brewing Company
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