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This time next Friday …

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UnoChicagoLogoI will be in Baltimore and headed for the Uno Chicago Grill at the Inner Harbor.

This is a special EMS Today related gathering that is open to all Fire/EMS bloggers, friends of bloggers, EMS 2.0 advocates and Chronicles of EMS fans.

Starts at 8 pm at:

201 East Pratt Street
Harborplace’s Pratt Street Pavilion
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-625-5900

Just east of the Baltimore Convention Center.

Sponsored by The George Washington University – Emergency Health Services Program, JEMS and FireEMSBlogs.com.

Draft Beer, Non Alcoholic Beverages and Appetizers will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional food and a cash bar will also be available. We’ll have a special area sectioned off for our bloggers as part of a larger area of the restaurant that will be ours where everyone can connect

Proud To Be A Sponsor

Wearing my “day job” hat, I am proud to be one of the meet-up sponsors.  I am looking forward to meeting Justin and Mark (these guys),

Also excited to place some names and faces together.

gw_r1_c9EMS 2.0 Higher Education Information

I will bring information about GWU’s distance education bachelor’s degree in EMS Management and master’s degree in Emergency Service Management.

We can talk about the EMS professional development model developed by FESHE at the National Fire Academy.

NEED A HEAD COUNT

If you are planning to stop by the meet-up next Friday, please post a message below.  I need to provide a headcount by Tuesday.

Hope to see you there!

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Morning Lineup – February 11

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The Washington Capitals long winning streak was halted after 14 wins last night.  The Montreal Canadiens beat them with 7 seconds left in sudden-death overtime with a final score of 6-5.  While I’m sure that the team is disappointed that they didn’t reach the record of 17, there will probably be some relief that now the pressure is off of them.  It was a good run.

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Why do scientists continue to study and research things that people already know about?  For example, a pair of researchers at the University of California, Davis have just “discovered” something that has been known for hundreds of years, beer is good for you.

In the past, studies have shown that silicon is good for bone health because it improves bone structure and growth.  A group at Cambridge University in UK also showed that beer is a good source of bioavailable silicon (whatever that is), and that it improves bone mineral density in a way not seen with wine or spirits.

Enter Charles Bamforth and Troy Casey at U.C. Davis who have taken a step further and determined which kinds of beer have the highest silicon content.  New Scientist.com is reporting:

They analysed 100 beers from around the world and found that the brews contained between 6.4 and 56 milligrams of silicon per litre, with an average of 29 milligrams per litre. Looking at the silicon levels in beer’s ingredients, they found that most of it comes from the husks of malted barley.

The pair found that lighter-coloured beers made from pale malted barley and hops, such as pale ales, are richest in silicon, while low-alcohol beers contain the least, along with stouts, porters and wheat beers.

 In 2004, the Cambridge Univ. folks reported that moderate beer drinkers had better bone density than non-drinkers.  Plus, the non-drinkers have the disadvantage of knowing that when they wake up in the morning, that will be the best that they feel all day.  (Sit down, folks….just joking!)

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One more item to check out before we leave.   Many of you enjoy doing some model-building and everybody likes to look at good scale-modeling.  (Not that kind!)  Here’s an interesting Flickr 2-page photo spread that a model hobbyist posted:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/sets/72157604247242338/with/2346008881/ 
He has made some 1/24-scale dioramas of what his home town looked like when he was growing up in the 1950’s with many of the stores, etc., faithfully recreated.

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I like to do that stuff, too.  It must have been a lot of fun building those.  If you like his work too, leave the guy a comment and let him know.

Let’s get the equipment checked  out now.  I’m going to start some coffee.  After you finish that, scroll down to the previous posting where FossilMedic ruminates about the double-blizzard that we’re still digging out from.

You Don’t Say !

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There is food in beer,
But there is no beer in food.

Beer is like liquid bread -
It provides the same necessary nutrients.

I say, just lay off the food.

………. Jim Koch

 

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That Explains The Line Around The Block

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THE LOCAL BLOOD DONATION BANK IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON, has found a popular way to increase donations to help stock the blood bank.  Cascade Regional Blood Services now takes its Bloodmobile to various pubs and bars around Tacoma and gives donors a coupon good for a pint of beer after they give a pint of blood.

The News Tribune reports:

Donors who are at least 21 years old are given a coupon for a free pint of beer. The pub must wait at least four to six hours after the blood drive ends before donors can cash in on their free pint.

“It’s a fun way for us to get more donors, and it’s good for the restaurants as well,” said Jamie Pernaa, who lines up the businesses for Cascade.

Cascade is the first blood center in Washington to use the promotion, called a “Pint-for-Pint Blood Drive,” said Pernaa, community relations specialist.

“It’s just a fun thing to do,” said Dan Schmitt, Cascade’s director of donor resources.

Cascade pays the pubs a negotiated fee for the beers the blood center gives away. State regulations say the promotion is OK as long as businesses are paid for the cost of their beer, said Anne Radford, a liquor board spokeswoman.

Read the full story of this popular program HERE.  Feel free to make suggestions on how to make this scheme even better in the Comments.

Freezing Faster Than You Can Drink It

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THE NORTHERN CHINESE CITY OF HARBIN HAS NOTORIOUSLY cold winters, so it’s become the home of one of those Winter Carnivals like they have in Quebec and Finland.  It’s also the home of Harbin Beer, one of the country’s most popular brands.  So why not mix a little beer and frolic?

A group of artists, obviously working with/for Harbin, joined the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival festivities to create a frozen sculpture.  But instead of traditional ice sculpting with water, they used an untold number of cases of beer.  Sure, we all know that liquids with an alcoholic content have a much lower freezing temperature than plain old, tasteless water.  But when these remarkably self-controlled designers started pouring, it was minus-29 degrees F.  As you’ll see near the end of the video, the beer was freezing immediately as it was poured out.

Still ……. such a waste …….

 

Boston.com has a large photo gallery of some truly remarkable ice sculptures from last year’s festival including some full-sized exposition buildings HERE.  This year’s event started today and runs for one month.

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Blaze at Guinness Brewery !

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 Update: Video added.  Scroll down.

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RTE

Storage Building Burns

15 Dublin Fire Brigade Companies Respond

2 Firefighters Hospitalized.

Beer Output Unaffected

A FIRE IN THE FAMED GUINNESS BREWERY in Dublin, Ireland, this afternoon (Monday) has been knocked down after three hours of attack.  The blaze started shortly after noon (Dublin time) in a storage facility, one of dozens of buildings in the factory grounds, as workmen were repairing the felt-lined roof.  The unit is used for box and container storage.

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Irish Independent / Collins photo

Brewing operations continued in the production facilities while the fire brigade attacked the fire.  The daily output of the popular stout was unaffected by the fire operations.

Two Dublin firefighters were hospitalized, suffering from what is believed to be effects of exposure to ammonia gas.

RTE (Irish tv) has the story and a 16-minute video that you can watch HERE.

Beer O’clock in New Guinea

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CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY IN PAPUA, NEW GUINEA, THURSDAY.

ABC News (Australia) is reporting:

Police say a truck carrying 4,000 cartons of beer worth around $150,000 ran off a road in Chimbu province yesterday.

The driver was unhurt but local villagers flocked to the site, ripped open the trailer and looted the beer.

Superintendent Joseph Tondop told the National newspaper his officers had to disperse crowds of drunks who had gathered on the road to harass passers-by.

Another eyewitness told the paper almost everyone from three nearby villages was intoxicated.

Superintendent Tondop said he hopes common sense will return when everyone sobers up today.

New Batch of Extreme Beer Released

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THE BOSTON BEER CO., MAKER OF SAMUEL ADAMS BEER, has  just issued its biennial release of its Samuel Adams Utopias “extreme” beer.  Clocking in with a punch of 27% alcohol content, Utopias is not what you pack in the cooler for a tailgate party.  The classy ceramic and copper bottle shaped like a tiny brew kettle, sells for $150.  More properly described as being a beer liqueur, it’s designed to be served at room temperature, offered up in 2 oz. servings and savored like a fine brandy or port.

Extreme Beer

AP / Krupa photo

The elegant brew has been aged in a variety of woods at the Boston Brewery for up to 13 years. A portion of the beer was aged in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. The extended aging process enhances the distinct cinnamon, vanilla, and maple notes in the beers flavor. The beer is then finished in sherry and madeira casks from Portugal. The sherry casks add nutty, oak, and honey notes, while the madeira casks contribute slightly more elegant, creamy fudge-toffee aromas and flavors.  Boston Beer president and CEO Jim Koch tells about it in this video from Associated Press:

Thirteen states prohibit its sale because its alcohol content exceeds the legal limit for beer: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.

Beer #10,000

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OR:  A NICE WAY TO SPEND THE EVENING.  It started back on March 19, 1971, when Dale Van Wieren of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, sat down after work and opened a bottle of Dinkelacher Black Forest Lager, a quality German beer.  For some reason that he can’t recall, he also wrote down the beer’s name, the characteristics of the brew, and gave it his personal rating on a 5-star scale.  Oh, he saved the bottle, too.

And thus started his odyssey of having a different beer every evening from that day on, and dutifully chronicling the experience.  Over the years he has sometimes had several different brews on some days, often visiting breweries and talking to the brewmasters while sampling their formulae.  While many of his tastings have been taken from draft taps, he has still accumulated more than 7,500 different beer bottles.

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Dale Van Wieren with some of his thousands of
beer bottles.  (Philadelphia Daily News photo)

This past Saturday November 21, a milestone was reached when Van Wieren tasted and recorded his 10,000th beer.  A special party was held at the nearby Sly Fox Brewery and Restaurant where the brewmaster had designed and brewed a special batch of Dale’s 10K Brew.  After the room full of celebrants watched him taste the suds and then record the experience, a round of applause broke out followed by rounds of Dale’s 10K for everyone.

Van Wieren isn’t near to being the most prolific sampler, however.  There is a couple in Maryland who have chronicled 18,000 beers and the unofficial champ. in Britain who has 40,000+ tastings recorded.

The Philadelphia Daily News tells all about that as well as Dale’s story in an interesting ARTICLE HERE.  Read it all to learn about some of his more remarkable discoveries.

The folks at Sly Fox also have a webpage devoted to Dale’s exploits that includes the story in Dale’s own words on how he got started and some of the interesting things that happened along the way.  CLICK HERE to read that story.

Let’s Take Care of Our Hearts….Yeah!

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NEWLY-RELEASED RESULTS FROM A 10-YEAR STUDY done in Spain claims that regular consumption of alcohol (beer, wine, or hard liquor) reduces the risk of heart disease in men by a third or more.  Spain was chosen for the study because it has a relatively high rate of alcohol consumption and low rates of coronary heart disease.

The study followed more than 41,000 people between the ages of 29 and 69 and it further found that consumption in higher amounts equal to a bottle of wine a day, decreased the risk in men by 50%.  But all medical experts agree that such high consumption rates offset the extra protection by leading to higher rates of other diseases such as cancer, and increased mental health problems.  But a glass of wine or  beer a day showed definite beneficial results.  Interestingly, the effects are not nearly as pronounced in women as they are in men.  It is believed that women process alcohol differently, and that female hormones protect against the disease in younger age groups.

The London Times has MORE.
The Press Association (UK) has MORE.

Not Green Beer, But "Green" Beer

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ONE OF THE MOST HORRIBLE EXPERIENCES you can face is picking up a six-pack of budget beer, which is disturbing in itself, and then discover through taste and aroma that it wasn’t aged properly.  Once again, you got suckered by a speeded up production line that filled your cans with what’s commonly called green beer.  Yuck!

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But down in Atlanta, Georgia, there’s a micro-brewery that’s deliberately turning out “green” beer.  Only in this case, it’s beer made out of fully natural and pure water, i.e. rainwater.  Let CNN explain all this for you while they take you on a tour of the brewery:

Vacant Brewery Building Burns in UK

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IN WHAT SEEMS TO BE A SEMI-ANNUAL EVENT, another vacant brewery building in the UK burned down late Tuesday night in the Midlands near Wolverhampton.

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West Midlands Fire Service photo

The 3-story brick factory complex has been vacant for three years after having been used as a brewery by a variety of owners for 130+ years.  A watchman discovered the blaze but it took hold rapidly and spread quickly through the three connected buildings.  15 engines and 3 aerials were dispatched to the fire and were concentrated mainly to contain the fire and prevent any spread or transmission of flying embers.

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Express & Star photo

Originally owned by Walter Showell as part of his Crosswells Brewery empire, the brewery was sold in 1957 to Ind Coope before being taken over by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries in 2000. It wa shut down for good in 2006.  It was more recently in the news when back in May, a man had to have his arm amputated after getting a severe electrical shock while he was trying to steal copper wiring out of the building.

BBC News has some raw video of the fire HERE.
The Wolverhampton Express & Star has the STORY.
West Midlands Fire Service WEBSITE.

Not The Best Way to Get Your Beer

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A GREELEY, COLORADO, HOBO ENDED UP in jail last Thursday after he launched an overly-aggressive plan to acquire some beer.

The Greeley Tribune puts the failed plan in chronological order:

Although police don’t know the exact time of the theft, they believe [Cruz] Marceleno stole a 2007 GMC flatbed pickup from the E & T Electric shops at 229 9th Ave., probably after midnight. From the electric company’s offices there, Marceleno drove to his “home,” under the bridge on North 11th Avenue, where the police believe he unloaded two generators from the truck and then attempted to drive away.

Then the incident unfolded this way:

» 1:04 a.m. — Greeley dispatch receives calls about a power outage in north Greeley. It probably was caused, police say later, by Marceleno driving the stolen pickup away from the 11th Avenue bridge, and hitting some power lines.

» 1:06 a.m. — A burglar alarm sounds at Big R Store, 310 8th St.

» 1:11 a.m. — Greeley police officers Greg Ryan and Chris Huet respond to the burglar alarm. Huet arrived first and began checking the front of the store on foot; Ryan drove behind the store and saw a white pickup.

» 1:17 a.m. — A man jumps into the pickup and takes off out of the Big R parking lot, going south on 4th Street. Ryan, in pursuit in his patrol car, sees several rifles slide off the back of the pickup as it turns a corner.

» 1:18 a.m. — The pickup turns up an alley, speeding 40 to 45 mph, and crashes the truck.

» 1:19 a.m. — Ryan sees a man jump from the truck and run, he chases him for a short distance and shoots him with his Taser dart, which automatically shoots a jolt of electricity through the man. He falls to the ground.

» 1:20 a.m. — The man gets up from the ground, and Ryan shouts several more warnings. The man tries to run and is Tased again. By the time it’s over, the man has been Tased five times.

Altogether they recovered 10 shotguns and 9 rifles from the truck and the street, along with a quantity of clothing and boots that were stolen from the same store.  When they asked him why he was doing all that, he answered, “I just wanted more beer.”

Read the full story in the Tribune HERE.

Beer Drinkers Suffer Less From Osteoporosis

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A STUDY CONDUCTED BY SPANISH SCIENTISTS CONCLUDES that drinking even moderate levels of beer reduces the tendency for women to develop osteopororsis.  It is believed that it is the high level of silicon in beer that slows down the amount of bone thinning and boosts the formation of new bone.

The London Daily Telegraph reported yesterday:

The researchers asked almost 1,700 healthy women with an average age of 48 about their drinking habits. They then underwent ultrasound scans of their hands, which showed the bones belonging to beer drinkers to be denser.

The women’s hands were chosen because the bones in the fingers are among the first to show signs of osteoporosis, a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture.

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Those who had less than a pint a day, whom scientists classed as light beer drinkers, fared just as well as those in the moderate bracket, suggesting that even small amounts can boost bone health.

This is still more evidence for the benefits of drinking a beer a day.  Read the full article HERE.

Go Ahead, Have Another One

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JUST AS WE SKINNY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS EXPECTED, it has been determined that beer does not cause “beer belly.”  A new study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that beer lovers can drink as much as they like without having to fear developing a beer belly, according to the latest research.

An eight-year study of more than 20,000 beer drinkers – 7876 men and 12,749 women – found that while heavy drinkers will put on weight, it won’t necessarily be around the beer belly region.  They explain further that beer whets your appetite and will often generate a desire to eat more that otherwise.  But the rotund waistline is more the fault of your family genes than your favorite brew.

But one man isn’t taking any chances and has publicly sworn off beer forever.  Gerhard Wilder, 46, of Bochum, Germany, got so drunk last weekend that he stepped into an open manhole.  But his “beer belly” wedged him in the opening and he couldn’t get out.

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After getting calls that somebody was sleeping in the street, or possibly injured, firefighters came to the rescue, eventually freeing him.  After having his photo spread across all the newspapers in Europe, the mightily embarrassed Wilder says that while his belly saved him from completing the drop into the sewer, it was the beer that got him so drunk that he walked into the manhole that had been left open by some pranksters.  So he swore off the barley brew.  At least until next weekend.

Had Your Sunday Beer Yet?

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IF YOU’VE GOTTEN BEYOND THE “CHUG-A-MUG” phase of beer drinking and now appreciate the fine qualities and flavors of craft beers, here’s some good information for you.

Jim Koch, founder and president of Boston Brewing (Sam Adams beers) shows us on this video the proper way to pour a beer, and why it is, along with what makes a quality beer taste so good.

If you are wondering about that unusual-shaped beer glass, Firegeezer carried the story of the “perfect beer glass” in August, 2007.  We tell you how and why it’s the perfect shape for beer drinking HERE.

sam-glass

Kulmbach Brewery Building Burns

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A HIGH-RISE STORAGE BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN KULMBACH, GERMANY, had a large fire from top to bottom of the 120-ft.-high building today.  The former lagering (or cellaring building) was not being used by the Kulmbacher Brewery and was undergoing early phases of demolition when the fire broke out around 1:30 pm local time Wednesday afternoon.  It appears that the fire was mostly located along the exterior walls behind the facade.

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Frankenpost / Unger photo

The massive amounts of smoke generated by the fire filled the entire city center and could be seen for many miles away.  The fire brigade turned out over 200 firefighters and reportedly had the fire under control by 4:00 pm.  There is no estimate yet to the amount of damages.  But since the building was being torn down anyway, most of the damage will probably be to the demolition company’s equipment.

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Frankenpost / Harke photo

The building is one of many in the large brewery complex, but it appears to have been contained to the one building.

These four videos are each only about one minute in duration:

There is a 154-image photo gallery of the fire HERE.

Story sourced from FWNetz.de with help from Christian L.

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Frankenpost / Folsche photo

Morning Lineup – May 5

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Did you ever wonder where all this Cinco de Mayo stuff came from?  Out of nowhere we’re being potty-trained into thinking that today is some major Mexican holiday and all the once-a-year Irish are now encouraged to become Mexican for a day of celebration.  But a cursory check into the cultural history of Mexico discloses that May 5 isn’t a holiday there.  In fact, most of them don’t even know what you’re talking about if you were to ask.

In fact, Cinco de Mayo is a regional celebration followed in the state of Puebla where the Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862.  A French invasion force had entered Mexico for the purpose of collecting a large debt that the Mexican government was trying to renege on and when they were met by a greatly-outnumbered Mexican army, a battle ensued in which the Mexicans routed the superior French forces.  That event is the seed of the “holiday.”

Fast-forward to the 1960’s and some problem-solving committee meetings at the Coors Brewery in Colorado.  Coors had two large obstacles facing them.  One was a major push by American Hispanic groups to boycott their products because of some well-publicised hiring-discrimination activities.  Their secondary challenge was a sizeable drop-off in beer sales every May as the nation’s colleges finished up their Spring semesters and the partying students headed back home.

So the grand idea was formed:  Create a reason to celebrate something Mexican that calls for beer-drinking.  Some simple research discovered this lost holiday and the big publicity machine went into action.  And the rest, as they say, is modern advertising history.  But by the 1980’s it still hadn’t caught on outside of the college campii where it was targeted and the Mexicans were still as puzzled as ever about “what’s the big deal?”

As sure as the sun comes up in the East, more breweries jumped on the phony holiday bandwagon and more than most, the Mexican breweries invaded America looking for their share of the “holiday” prize.  That led to some of the most outrageous ethnic exploitation seen in over 40 years.  Coors started it’s “Sabemos como celebrar!” (We know how to celebrate!) campaign and Mexico brewery Tecate launched its “Let’s party!” program.  The one that went over the top though, was Corona’s campaign parading a “party parrot” wearing a sombrero, sunglasses and a serape while holding a bottle of Corona in each claw and squawking, “Drinko for Cinco!”

corona-parrot

In 1997 a consortium of Hispanic cultural groups got together and started to turn the make-believe holiday into something more positive along the lines of the Pulaski Day and St. Patrick’s Day ethnic celebrations and now we are seeing more positive promotions that allow the Hispanic members of the population a chance to display and celebrate their heritage.  Myself, I’ll help out by opening a bottle of Dos Equis today.

But first we need to get this equipment checked out.  And more coffee of course.  The Dos Equis comes later.

Undress Your Beer

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WHEN IT GETS WARM, YOU SHED SOME CLOTHING, RIGHT?  Starting with that bit of human nature, a trio of out-of-work musicians in Australia came up with a marketing idea that is proving successful.

After an evening of “drunken decision-making” they decided to try out a novelty that follows those drinking glasses that change their image as the drink is consumed.  They wanted a beer bottle that has a bikini-babe who loses her swimsuit as the beer leaves the bottle.

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One of the dreamers has a chemical engineering degree (and no rock band gigs lined up) and he checked into some specialty inks.  Using his expertise and the groupthink they came up with Skinny Blonde Beer – the beer label that undresses as you drink it.

The trick is in the special ink on the label.  As long as the bottle is chilled, Daisy (as the 50’s-style pinup girl is called) smiles at you with her bikini covering the right parts.  But as the beer is consumed from the bottle, the label starts to warm up and the ink changes into another design.  Daisy goes topless.

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They are a hit down under and are now working on getting licensing to sell Daisy in Britain.  You can read the full story of their experiments and results in the London Times HERE.

I don’t know how it would go over here, though.  After all, who wants to see Sam Adams in his ….. uhhhh.

Forgot Their Openers

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THE WORD IS GETTING AROUND ABOUT THE HEALTH BENEFITS of imbibing in a beer or two every day (Firegeezer REPORT) and a family of deer in western Pennsylvania decided to try it out.

They found that the door to the Beer Arena store in Greensburg was propped open and decided to check out some Sam Adams and Iron City.  No word on whether they tried to get into some Hook & Ladder brown ale. They left after they realized that you need opposible thumbs to open the cans. The security cameras recorded their frolic:

We Hope They Don't Blame Firegeezer

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TEN DAYS AGO ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7, FIREGEEZER posted an article about beer taxes state-by-state.  A look at the chart we linked to shows that Oregon is one of the most lightly-taxed states when it comes to the barley brew.

Within hours of our posting, some dolt in the state legislature introduced a measure to increase the tax by 1,900%.  If the measure were to pass, the tax on beer would go up from approx. 1¢ per glass now to 20 cents.

This is the fourth time in the past six years that the legislature has attempted to raise the beer tax for the first time since 1977, and all have failed.  But Oregonians take their beer very seriously and are devoted to it, and will no doubt rise up to fight this latest attempt to tax their pints.

The Oregonian has MORE.

KGW-TV has this video report:

Beer Tastes At Champagne Prices

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IT’S OFFICIAL:  TENNESSEE HAS THE NATION’S HIGHEST taxes on beer.  Following a survey of 2008 facts, the Beer Institute has compiled the listing of taxes imposed on beer by each of the states and Tennessee has just surpassed Alaska for the dubious distinction of collecting the highest amount per barrel.  (Firegeezer notes that Tennessee and Alaska are two of the handful of states that do not collect personal income taxes.)

Tennesseans are now paying an effective tax rate of $33.25 per barrel while the new runner-up Alaska collects $33.17.  By comparison, the national average is only $9.75 (skewed upwards by the top-5 states, Tennessee, Alaska, Alabama, Georgia and Hawaii).

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The state with the least burden on its beer-drinkers is Wyoming who collects a mere 62¢ per barrel.

Tennessee’s high tax rate is continually climbing due to a nefarious scheme that their unconscionble politicians have applied that bases the tax on value, which goes up as the price of goods goes up, and another tax based on the value including the tax.  In other words, taxes are being taxed, too.  The KnoxvilleBiz explains how they do it HERE.

To see how far your state is reaching into your beer wallet, view the results of the Beer Institute’s study HERE (.pdf page).

InBev Axes Another Brewery

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THE TREMORS LAUNCHED BY THE TAKEOVER of Anheuser-Busch by the brewing giant InBev are still rumbling through the beer industry.  Last week InBev announced that they will be shutting down the Mortlake Brewery near London, England, early next year.

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Mortlake, which had already been bought out by A-B and thus was drawn into the InBev family, has been in business at its location for 600 years.  Rich in history and still surviving amidst the wave of brewery shutdowns over the past 20 years in Britain, Mortlake was still doing well with its 300 workers and is the last of the 50 breweries that once lined the River Thames.

InBev’s choice to axe the venerable institution was strictly a business decision.  While they are publicly saying that Mortlake wasn’t profitable enough, it hasn’t escaped notice that their 11-acre site on prime riverfront real estate is worth millions of Pounds.

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The Associated Press has a good report HERE.
Press Association has a brief video mention:

A Bit Of Beer History For Today

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IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY, January 22, 1959, that the Adolph Coors brewery introduced the seamless aluminum can to the beverage industry.

coors-7-ounce-can

Bill Coors, the head of the family-owned comany at the time, had always been dissatisfied with the steel can that was in use at the time.  Not only were they heavy, but the seams had solder along them and the tin-plated steel exuded an unnatural taste that you didn’t get with bottles.  Another consideration was the possibility of recycling the aluminum cans.  And Coors was also adamant about finding a container that would allow him to package the beer without having to pasteurize it, something that couldn’t be done with steel.

So in 1957 he brought an inventor over from Germany who had been working on the methodology of making an extruded aluminum can and he set him up with a laboratory and the means to develop it.

They finally got it worked out and less than two years later they introduced the 2-piece aluminum extruded can (the can and the lid).  The first one to hit the marketplace was a 7-ounce container that was sold in 8-packs.  And the rest is beer history.

The Rocky Mountain News has the complete story of this fermentation icon HERE.

Why Bother Going, Then?

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IT’S ALL “PROFIT CENTER” NOW.  Anheuser-Busch Entertainment announced Monday that they will no longer be offering free beer at its ten theme parks’ hospitality centers.

free-beer

For decades, visitors to SeaWorlds and Busch Gardens amusement parks have been able to drop into the Hospitality Room and partaken up to two free drafts of various A-B products.  But there’s a new sheriff in town since A-B was purchased by InBev last year and they have decided to convert the goodwill parlors into money-making restaurants.

In another crushing blow, they also told their theme park employees that they will no longer receive the two free cases of beer per month that had always been a pleasant perk for the park people.  Booooo!

BizJournal has the DETAILS.