Wine makes move on beer in Canada
These are troubling times in the true north strong and free. Recent research shows that beer sales are dropping year-over-year in Canada, while wine sales are on the climb, as noted in this report. So who cares, you might say? Well, for one, The Thirsty Beagle cares, seeing as how Canada is the native land of TTB. And so as a matter of Canadian pride, it’s important that beer maintains its dominant position as the national drink of Canada. You see, Canadians really do consider themselves possibly the biggest beer fans in the world. I said beer could be considered the national drink of Canada; it might be more accurate to say Canadians feel Canada should be declared the national country of beer. So what to do? Well, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to make sure Canadians remember just how great beer is:
1. Open a chain of stores with a catchy name where people can get all the cold beer they want.
2. Come up with a funny commercial or two that depict the interplay between beer and the national perception.
3. Use a beer company to sponsor the weekly national hockey telecast.
So there you have it, Canadian beer fans. Take care of all those things, and you’ll be in great shape!
World’s most expensive beer?
Danish brewer Carlsberg has released what may just be the most expensive bottle of beer ever created. A bottle of Carlsberg’s Vintage No. 2 will run you $352 here in America. So what do you get for three-and-a-half bills? For starters, you get a beer that has been aged in a crypt-like cellar since 1847. That’s 162 years of aging. You also get a beer with exclusivity: only 600 bottles have been created. The beer is described as a Baltic porter at ABV 8.7 percent. It is jet-black in color, with hints of vanilla and mocha and an espresso-like foam. Perhaps you’d like to buy a bottle, but would consider saving it for a special occasion? No problem. The beer carries an expiration date of 2059. By that time, the beer will have “reached more sweetness and reduced its bitterness and smokiness,” according to Carlsberg. You can try to buy a bottle online at www.carlsberg.dk, but it would help to understand Danish, or Flemish, or whatever-ish they speak over there. At any rate, the beer is said to go well with oysters, shellfish and cheese. That is, if you can afford to buy any food after you drop $352 on a bottle of beer.
‘Beer Wars’ lacks fizz
The nationwide screening of the documentary “Beer Wars” — which I discuss in more length in the post below — did not go over like gangbusters. Some of the feedback:
-A blogger from USNews.com said it fell flat.
-Another blogger said the movie “staggered and repeated itself.”
The Thirsty Beagle was previously engaged Thursday evening and did not get a chance to see it. It did play at four theaters in the state. If anyone took it in, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
SPORTS UPDATE: My Toronto Blue Jays are officially entering juggernaut status! Yes, I realize they have only played 11 games. But still, they’re 8-3, leading the A.L. East and leading the league in runs scored. So I’m going to live it up. I also realize that behind ace starter Roy Halladay they’ve got a rotation with like five combined career major league wins. So now I’m really going to live it up, especially before the wheels come flying off.
‘Beer Wars’ – Where you can see it
The independent documentary “Beer Wars” debuts across the country Thursday. The one-night-only presentation is playing at four theaters in Oklahoma: AMC Quail Springs and Tinseltown USA in Oklahoma City; Spotlight 14 in Norman; and Cinemark Tulsa 17. If you’re interested in learning more about the documentary, go to www.beerwarsmovie.com.
The movie is a behind-the-scenes look at the American craft-brewing industry. It tries to explain how the country’s dominating, foreign-owned beer giants are constantly trying to keep the little guy — the craft brewer — down.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $15.00. The film will be followed by a live, closed-circuit discussion including the director and several beer industry leaders. The discussion will be moderated by Ben Stein.
You can see a trailer for the movie here. Sadly, The Thirsty Beagle likely will be unable to attend on Thursday night. If you go, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks.
Beer’s impact on Oklahoma economy
TTB posted yesterday about the financial impact of the beer industry on the nation’s economy in 2008. The numbers are based on a recent study that can be found at www.beerservesamerica.org. The site has some pretty neat interactive features that allow you to break down the economic impact for states, as well as for Congressional districts. But I wouldn’t make you go do that yourself, now would I? Of course not! Following are the financial impact beer numbers for our fair state in 2008:
Congressional District 1
-Jobs: 4,561
-Economic impact: $329,854,414.46
Congressional District 2
-Jobs: 2,746
-Economic impact: $214,353,972.10
Congressional District 3
-Jobs: 3,520
-Economic impact: $249,505,724.68
Congressional District 4
-Jobs: 3,965
-Economic impact: $290,177,757.06
Congressional District 5
-Jobs: 3,547
-Economic impact: $241,840,866.76
And the overall numbers for Oklahoma: 18,339 jobs and an economic impact of more than $1.3 billion ($1,325,732,735, to be exact).
-And one other note, mainly of importance only to the The Thirsty Beagle: A hearty round of congratulations is due to myself in recognition of this post, which happens to be this blog’s 200th. Who knew when I started on Sept. 9 last year that I’d make it this far? You know, really making it far. Like, having an obscure blog tucked away in a dark crevice on the NewsOK site. Yes sir, top o’ the world.
Beer has multi-billion dollar impact
A new study shows that the beer industry had a nearly $200 billion annual impact on the U.S. economy. Some other tidbits from the study:
-The beer industry provides 1.9 million jobs
-It generates nearly $62 billion in wages and benefits
-And paid $41 billion in taxes in 2008
More details of the study can be found at www.beerservesamerica.org.
Where else but Arkansas?
Are you with me on making fun of Arkansas? I mean, I’m all-in on that front. After all, if Oklahoma didn’t have that, what would we have left? So if you like taking jabs at Arkansas as much as I do, go ahead and feast your eyes on this news story, titled “Woman with beer can in hand starts brawl at wake”:
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Sheriff’s deputies said a woman started a brawl at a wake in Arkansas when she arrived with a beer can in her hand. The woman, 52, faces a third-degree domestic battery charge, as does another woman, 46, over the March 29 fight. Deputies said the first woman arrived at Christies Chapel Church with a beer can in hand and she refused to leave.
The first woman then allegedly grabbed a man by the face, leaving scratch marks on his lower right cheek and causing him to bleed. The man’s mother then allegedly slapped the woman and kicked another woman in the chest.
A sheriff’s report claimed the woman with the beer became “passively aggressive” with deputies and said that “no back-wood country cop” was going to take her to jail.
This is great! Especially the part about kicking someone in the chest. Seriously? Assuming the person is standing up, it’s not easy to kick someone in the chest. What kind of crazy ninja-like action goes on at wake’s in Arkansas?
Baseball game nightmare
Tsingtao sales soar in China
Tsingtao brewery reported recently that 2008 profits rose 30 percent, buoyed mainly be strong sales in China. The brewery holds a 12.8 percent share of the Chinese beer market. Since there’s like a billion people that live there, that’s a pretty big slice of pie. For me, Tsingtao is all right. Nothing too hot, really. Sometimes when I’m drinking it, I feel like I’m watching a really fantastic fireworks show, only it seems way too elaborate for any pyrotechnic crew to actually be able to pull it off. But maybe that’s just me. And millions of other people who watched the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
UPDATE: Just a follow-up here on my post from yesterday about the Blue Jays. The Jays won again last night — in front of only 16,000 beer-deprived fans — to push their record to 2-0 and take sole possession of first place in the AL East. Still on pace for 162-0, baby! I think the Yankees and Red Sox should just call their seasons now. They’re obviously not stopping the Toronto juggernaut.
Baseball, but no beer
The Major League Baseball season kicked off in earnest Monday, and things started off nicely for my Toronto Blue Jays. After the 12-5 win over Detroit, the Jays are on pace for the first 162-0 season and a record 1,944 
runs scored in a season. Take that Yankees and Red Sox. Yes sir, the view from the top of the American League East looks mighty fine! The Jays opening day win was witnessed by 48,000-plus at the SkyDome (don’t give me any of this corporate branding stadium name business), but by all accounts, the crowd at tonight’s game won’t be as robust. Why? The government is cracking down on the stadium for some instances of minors being sold alcohol and they’ve brought the hammer down in a big way: No beer for sale at the game tonight. Since the Jays won the World Series in ‘92 and ‘93, things haven’t always been so good in terms of the competitive nature of the team. They’ve never been back to the playoffs and only once have finished as high as second in the division. Let’s just say that having a few beers at the game some nights is the best part of the game. Hopefully the Jays can put up another 12 runs to drown fans’ sorrow.
