Oktoberfest a One-of-a-kind Experience

Written by Lynnette Hintze for dailyinterlake.com

I wonder if anyone has ever calculated how much beer has been consumed at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, since it began 200 years ago?

A staggering amount, to be sure, and I’ll have to admit I contributed a few pints to the sum total.

I’ve had Oktoberfest on my mind lately because I keep getting e-mails from the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce about its upcoming inaugural Oktoberfest — “Beer, Brats and Bavaria” — Oct. 14-17. This sounds pretty exciting.

After a mayoral toast and tapping of the first keg, a tradition still practiced in Munich, the Whitefish event gets under way Thursday with all kinds of crowd-pleasers, including a bratwurst-eating contest and competitions to see how many beer steins men and women can hold. And it sounds like there’ll be polka music ’til the cows come home.
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Finnish Anchorman is Sacked for Swigging Beer on Air

Writer not attributed, from dailymail.co.uk

A Finnish anchorman has been sacked after being caught live on air drinking a bottle of beer. Kimmo Wilska got into trouble when he pulled out the brew during recorded footage about licensing laws. However, when the report cut back to the studio, the country’s most well known English-speaking newsreader was seen taking a swig.

A YouTube video shows Wilska looking startled and spilling some of the alcohol down his suit before he wrapped up the show. More than 430,000 web users have viewed the video making it the latest internet hit.

Furious television bosses have now fired Wilska, despite him telling them the whole incident had been a prank intended to make the behind-the-scenes crew laugh. However, they refused to accept his excuses and fired Wilska – who is described by fans as the Barry White of Finland for his distinctive and deep tone of voice. The gaff has also led to Wilska being compared to movie character Ron Burgundy.

Funny man Will Ferrell played the San Diego newsreader in the 2004 hit. The loud-mouthed character is seen knocking back scotch live on air.

For more pictures and info click…

HERE


Kimmo Wilska has been compared to Ron Burgundy who was seen drinking scotch on air in the 2004 comedy movie Anchorman.

Hickenlooper Turned to Beer After Losing Geologist Job

Photo by Gretel Daugherty—Gubernatorial candidate and Denver’s Mayor John Hickenlooper savors a bite from a ripe Palisade peach during a brief stop at High Country Orchards, 3548 E 1/2 Rd., on Sunday. Hickenlooper said he’s touring the state for two weeks to find out the concerns of Colorado residents.

Written by Charles Ashby for GJSentinel.com

Note: the article does not mention the actual name of the brewpub chain. Odd. Several online articles do not. Really odd. The Professor’s research indicates: Wynkoop Brewing Company-PGA

July 5 is a day John Hickenlooper will never forget.

In 1986, it was the day the oil and gas geologist got laid off from his job, jeopardizing the only career he had known. The same day six years later, his wife, Helen Thorpe, gave birth to his son, Teddy.

“Isn’t that weird?” Hickenlooper said. “What are the chances?”

Though seeing his son born obviously was a good day for the Democrat, losing his job so many years ago eventually turned out to be a good thing, too.

If that hadn’t happened, Hickenlooper might never have started a brew-pub in Denver, parlayed that into a successful enterprise that included several restaurants, married his wife at age 49, started his first run for elective office in early 2002, and now run for Colorado governor.
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Beer Profile: Hopsickle Imperial Ale

Profiled by Ken Carman

Moylan Brewing
Novato, Caifornia
9.2%

I was warned that this was well over 100 IBUs. Not sure the hop mix here, but I doubt it. I was the willing victim of many Tim Rastetter ales in the 90s at Brew Works south of Cinci that really were well over 100 and, until I got used to them, had to be cut by moi’. Of course the hop mix is crucial. You could have a lot of citrus and floral but never really leave that satisfying burn that 100 IBUs delivers, even if it does peak over 100. And you can have a hell of a lot of burn but little substance to the hop mix that doesn’t reach 100. This comes close, so maybe it is, but the hop mix could be done better either way. Not bad at all. Just not the best one can do when one reaches the speed of light equivalent in hop-world: 100 and over. The Rastetter hop balance was always damn near perfect. This? Needs some tweaking.

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Space Tourists Will Get Their Own Special Space Beer

Written by Jennifer Welsh for Discovermagazine.com

A new type of beer is being marketed to a very select demographic: space tourists. The special beer is about to undergo testing in a near-weightless environment to qualify it for drinking in space.

Unlike other space beers, which are created from barely that grew on the International Space Station, this space beer is being made especially to be consumed in space. The brew is a team effort from Saber Astronautics Australia and the 4-Pines Brewing Company (aka Vostok Pty Ltd), and will be given its low-gravity try-out by the non-profit organization Astronauts4Hire. From the Vostok Pty Ltd Facebook page:
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Brew Biz: Werts and All

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

Written by Ken Carman

Yazoo Brewing Company
910 Division Street
Nashville, TN 37203
(615)891-4649

My wife Millie and I have spent many hours at the old Yazoo tasting room in the far older Marathon Auto manufacturing building,


Marathon ceased production in 1914. One must wonder how the building lasted this long; especially with Marathon painted on the side: but we’re grateful. It definitely provided an interesting atmosphere for sipping quality beer.

When we first met Linus, in the late 90s, Yazoo was but a fantasy. As an entertainer who dreamed of living off my talents, and built a business touring the east coast, I know the magic and the hard, hard work it takes to make any big dream come true. We were all members of Music City Homebrewers. I believe we met during our annual competition where Linus had, once again, submitted Dos Perros. Beer Advocate has it listed as an American Brown. That isn’t quite right, in my opinion. If I remember right, Dos Perros started as a version of Dos Equis, only with an ale yeast. From their site…


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What was Malt Liquor?

Colt 45

Written by Andrew Rosenblum for accidentalblogger.typepad.com

When a Detroit minister named Mayowa Lisa Reynolds went to her City Council last summer to complain about malt liquor advertising, she came prepared. The minister had conducted a survey in which she found a Colt .45 billboard in every square mile of the city. She looked in the nearby, majority white suburbs of Plymouth and Royal Oak.There were none.

Still, the Colt .45 billboards were relatively inoffensive by the traditional standards of malt liquor advertising. In one notorious 1986 print spot for Midnight Dragon, a voluptuous woman grasped a squat 40 ounce bottle above the tagline “I could suck on this all night.” In the 90s, charismatic gangster rappers incorporated 40s into their tales of murder and drug-dealing, driving malt liquor sales to all-time highs. In contrast, the 2009 Colt .45 ads merely featured a cartoon drawing of longtime spokesman Billy Dee Williams dressed in mauve and beige evening wear, accompanied by the slogan, “Works Every Time.”

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