by Luke on February 28, 2008
Some of you may remember a few months ago (November, 2007 to be exact) when the story of the The Trappist monks at St. Sixtus monastery and their famous Westvleteren beer vaulted to everyday stardom, thanks to this story in the Wall Street Journal. Well, apparently their mystique has caught the attention of another high profile star – Harry Potter. According to England’s Daily Star, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe will travel to the monastery in Westvleteren, Belgium to purchase some of the monks’ famous beer – beer that is regarded by many as some of the best in the world.
Supposedly one of the monks told the Daily Star,
“[Daniel] appreciates fine wine and beer and is fascinated by Westvleteren. He wanted it to be the first alcoholic beverage he legally drank.”
Radcliffe has reportedly agreed to purchase two cases each of Westvleteren Blonde, Westvleteren 8 and Westvleteren 12, all of which can only be bought at the monastery gate. For more on the the Westvleteren Monks and their “holy grail of beers”, click here (WSJ) and here (wikipedia).
[tags]Westvleteren, Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, beer, Belgian beer[/tags]
by Luke on February 26, 2008
This is a guest post by Wren Schultz of BlogDuWren
I’m a pretty avid fan of Jeopardy. Last night, when a category about beer came on, I couldn’t help but want to share it. In poking around a little, I realized that our friend beer isn’t so uncommon a topic. If you had to go up against Alex on these, how would you do? (For the answers, click on the aired date to head over to J! Archive.)
5 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE BOARD: (aired 2008-02-25)
$200: This “king of beers” was the official beer of the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
$400: This company’s website says it has been “brewed for over 30 years (&) is the first lite beer”
$600: This company’s beer, introduced in 1874, “is brewed in the Rockies for a uniquely crisp, clean…Mile High taste”
$800: In 1897 Wilhelm Hasse of the Moctezuma Brewery created a beer named Siglo XX; today, it’s known as this
$1000: Two-row barley & German noble aroma hops help make this Founding Father’s Boston Lager go down easy
BEER COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (aired 2007-03-30)
$200: Hope your Moosehead has a nice head on it in this country
$400: A cold Dos Equis or 2 might help get you through some of the hot nights in this country where it originated
$600: “It’s all about the beer” is an advertising slogan for Heineken, the best-known beer from this country
$800: Ah! I see an Asahi from this country in your beer-drinking future
$1000: Kingfisher is a world-reknowned brew from this country of Asia
GREEN BEERS: (aired 2007-03-16)
$200: This Bremen beer’s motto appropriately reads “Life beckons”
$400: Brittany Evans is the new icon for this beer that’s named in honor of an old German monastery
$600: Dennis Hopper has a particular aversion to this Dutch beer in the movie “Blue Velvet”
$800: Brewed since 1615, this Dutch beer with a green bottle has a swingtop cap
$1000: Tonight let it be this beer of Munich that’s properly spelled with 2 umlauts
BEER-VERTISING: (aired 2006-01-31)
$400: “If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer”
$800: “The beer drinker’s light beer”
$1200: “Tastes as great as its name”
$1600: “You never forget your first girl”
$2000: “Miles away from ordinary”
BEER: (aired 2005-05-10)
$400: John Ratzenberger, Cliff Clavin on “Cheers”, did British ads for this Golden U.S. beer company
$800: Heineken markets Buckler, this type of beer for the designated driver
$1200: Of relatively light color, IPA is short for “India” this rhyming term
$1600: From 1940 to 1965 New York City was caught up in the annual contest to find “Miss” this brewer
$2000: Lambic beer, fermented by wild yeasts, is mainly made in this low country
by Luke on February 26, 2008
Information Resources, a Chicago company that tracks the sale of beer, has announced that sales of craft beer in America rose 16.7% (from $493 million in 2006 to $575 million in 2007) in 2007, marking the second straight year of double-digit increases.
So, what regions saw the greatest increases? The Great Lakes Region — which includes Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio — had a 28.1% increase in sales from $54.4 million in 2006 to $69.6 million in 2007. Sales for the Great Lakes states have more than doubled since 2003.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Region — which includes Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida — saw the largest increase in sales, up 31.6% to $41 million in 2007.
The fact that sales were up so much in ’07 despite the announcement of a hops shortage at the end of the year and economic hardships all year long is great news for the future of the Good Beer Movement in the U.S. Keep it up!
“Craft beer sales rise in 2007” [Wisconsin State Journal]
[tags]beer, craft beer, hops, sales[/tags]
by Luke on February 25, 2008
I read an article from the associated press today which reported that Maine state senator Lynn Bromley has sponsored a bill (which was up for review today) which would legally allow adults in Maine to have wine shipped to their homes. I was really astonished and annoyed… that this wasn’t already legal!
Apparently this is the fourth time in the last few years such a bill has come before the State Legislature. Each time it has been defeated due to concerns from state police that wine deliveries will open the door to under-age drinking. Even though the wine cannot be delivered without the signature of the recipient, who must be over the age of 21 and similar programs are already legal (and work just fine) in thirty other states.
The thought that home delivery of alcohol — I assume the bill also applies to popular beer-related delivery services like Beer of the Month Clubs
and homebrew competitions, although an email to the Senator to get that question answered bounced — would increase the likelihood of under-age drinking is preposterous. It is far less likely that someone under the age of 21 could get beer or wine delivered to their house safely (its doubtful that their parents would sign for it) than that they could solicit a stranger at a package store to get it for them.
On the other hand, if they were able to somehow have booze delivered to their house, at least they’d be HOME. Not out drinking in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people or, even worse – driving to their home after drinking.
I am not condoning under-age drinking at all, but not allowing legal, consenting adults to have beer & wine delivered to their private home — wine & beer maybe they cannot get anywhere else — because their kids might get their hands on it (which of course they wouldn’t be able to do with the booze already in the house) is just wrong. I only hope that this is the last time such a bill has to come before the State Legislature; there is no reason for such a delivery service to be illegal anywhere in the U.S.!
[tags]beer, wine, Maine, Beer of the Month Clubs, wine clubs, wine of the month[/tags]
by Luke on February 22, 2008
I just thought this would be a fun way to wind down the work week: I found in my aimless Internet travels this morning an image of an R2D2 model the artist amoebabloke made from an old wooden beer barrel.
image via deviantart.com
The artist would like to see the piece go to someone “with a genuine love for this sort of thing not someone with deep pockets who would buy it on a whim.” He hopes to raise enough from the sale to cover, “my time spent making it and my materials and a few quid to fund the next project, once that figure has been reached a percentage of the profit would go to charity.”
Hi and welcome to Blog About Beer. My name is Logan and I live just north of Portland, Oregon, a city that has more craft breweries than any other in the US. I'm a full time marketer, blogger, and dad to the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm also a homebrewing and craft beer fanatic.