Beer Buzz 010: Running Santas and beer free sports
Beer Tap TV News:
Beer Buzz is the weekly show that will keep you informed and updated on all the things going on in the beer world, from the noteworthy to the nutty. Know something we don’t (which is highly likely)? Email us at AlwaysHoppy@BeerTapTV.com and share the news… we just might use it.
Show Notes:
Running of the Santas bad for kids
On Saturday a hoary host of beer-buzzed pub crawlers dressed up like St. Nick and hit the streets during the “Running of the Santas” (http://www.runningofthesantas.com/) – an annual, nationwide drinkfest that took place in 25 cities. The event’s corporate sponsor, MillerCoors. Called “the world’s naughtiest pub crawl,” the “Running of the Santas” raises money to fight pediatric cancer.
This of course has infuriated parents and watchdog groups.
Eric Helmuth, spokesman for Join Together, a Boston University health group fighting the jolly pub crawl, said he’s concerned about the effect on kids who see “Santa careening through the streets drinking or going from pub to pub.” Helmuth claimed that MillerCoors is actually violating the Beer Institute’s voluntary advertising and marketing code, which prohibits the use of Santa to promote beer. He’s urging people to file complaints with the Beer Institute and send copies to the Federal Trade Commission.
Another “watchdog group” called the Center for Science in the Public Interest, located in Washington, D.C., has filed a complaint with the Beer Institute and blasted MillerCoors.
Everyone involved with the event says it’s good for business and gets people into the holiday spirit.
MillerCoors didn’t respond to requests for comments.
‘Free the Bowl’ Contest Aims to Eradicate Super Bowl Beer Ads
An effort from alcohol industry watch dog Marin Institute called “Free the Bowl” wants to do away with “oppressive beer ads” found during the Super Bowl. “Free the Bowl” is a contest for 13 to 20 year olds – WTF? – asking them for the video submissions begging brewers to stop advertising beer in the Super Bowl.
Marin Institute Executive Director Bruce Livingston passed along this wonderful nugget of info: “Year after year, the Super Bowl delivers a huge youth TV audience to America’s biggest beer seller, Anheuser-Busch. Sound research and common sense tell us that the more often youth are exposed to alcohol advertising, the more likely they are to drink and drink to excess. Marin Institute is excited to give youth a new channel to protest oppressive beer ads at www.FreetheBowl.com.”
Marin Institute’s Michael Scippa added: “Anheuser-Busch and the NFL hide behind weak, ineffectual Beer Institute self-regulatory guidelines to justify exposing youth to exploitive alcohol ads. Big alcohol turns a deaf ear to our protests, so we want them to hear compelling messages from young people who resent being targeted as new customers.”
Anheuser-Busch shutting down Bud Sports
Bud Productions, the in-house division that produced hundreds of play-by-play broadcasts of pro baseball, hockey and football, will shut down Jan. 1.
“After careful review, we have decided to discontinue the production services available through our Bud Productions unit,” Anheuser-Busch said in a statement Tuesday. “This was a difficult decision, but is supportive of our goals to remain focused on brewing and marketing beer.”
It is unclear how many jobs will be lost from the closure of Bud Productions or whether they were included in the previously announced layoffs.
“Bud Sports has been a great partner of ours for several years,” Donovan said. … Bud Sports was very professional and had some very capable individuals working in the department. We really had a great partnership.”
The nation’s best-selling beer will get a makeover next year that gives its cans and bottles a new look with a focus on the color blue and the brand’s new emphasis on “refreshment” and “drinkability.”
The change also will come as analysts say more people are buying beer instead of higher-priced wine and spirits.
Driving with my beer goggles on
The “beer goggles” I was wearing mimicked a blood-alcohol level between .10 and .12, the CHP told me.
The officers gave me Fatal Vision, goggles that look like old chem lab safety gear but are an educational tool designed to simulate the physical impairment of being legally drunk. I was amazed that Fatal Vision only equated to consuming three or four alcoholic beverages. With the goggles on, I felt woozy, dizzy and a little bit sick…
Then the officers gave me the keys to an old Ford Crown Victoria, then told me to drive through a cone course. To complete the course, I had to parallel park, drive forward and backward through a short, curvy course and pull into a parking spot. I was about 5 feet off the “curb” when I attempted to parallel park, and I hit no less than five cones driving the course. Backing up proved impossible. For the life of me, I couldn’t see the cones behind the car.
“The one thing is those goggles don’t impair your judgment,” Boles said. “Alcohol impairs your judgment.”
Random Beer Stuff:
One quick shout out… this week’s episode of “How Stuff Works” on the Discovery Channel is all about beer. It airs on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT and reairs on Friday Dec 19 at Midnight. They talk to the experts, brew masters and beer connoisseurs about how they’re innovating new ways to make beer.
Beer Releases:
Frankly there are so many seasonal beers being released right now that we can’t possibly keep up with all of them. If you have a brewery near you, or a favorite brewery in general… chances are they’ve recently released some new seasonal offering. We suggest you check out their website (if they have one).
Two really good places to go for updates on the Web:
- The Craft Beer Release Calendar on BeerNews.org
- Seasonal Beer Throughout the Year at Brewer’s Association website
There are two beers we highlighted…
Cope with the credit crunch with a new beer
Wickwar Brewing Company has released a new beer called Banker’s Draft. It’s being touted as the UK’s first credit crunch beer – brewed specifically to give the taste buds a treat in the current times of hardship.
Operations director Mike Flavin: “Like an old-fashioned bankers’ draft, it’s guaranteed to give 100 per cent satisfaction.”
The beer will be sold on tap in bottles at pubs throughout Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and its city centre watering hole in Bristol, the White Lion.
The ale will also benefit the Wooden Spoon charity which helps underprivileged and physically and mentally disadvantaged children throughout the UK. The brewery is donating 2 pence from every pint sold.
Sudan gets own lager 25 years on
A beer drought which has lasted a quarter of a century is to come to an end in Sudan. Brewing was banned in Sudan 25 years ago under Islamic law. Now, the international brewing group SABMiller says it will launch a new lager in Juba in the south of the country in February.
“We will not only be consuming but producing alcohol. It’s a serious political message of one country, two systems,” South Sudan’s Agriculture Minister Samson Kwaje told Reuters news agency.
SABMiller say the $37m (£22.7m) plant will create hundreds of jobs in the Juba area. Soft drinks will also be made at the plant.
Beer Blog of the Week:
“Beer stuff from a father and son who love beer”
Al (dad) and John (son) Eklund, father and son, fellow beer questers who happen to love beer.
I’ve chatted with John via Email and frequently read the reviews done by this father and son team. They have done 110 documented beer reviews which you can check on their website. You can even filter them via several different methods — like ales and lagers, or by a specific rating number (1-10).
Beer Douche of the Week:
‘Drunk pedestrian’ on roof won’t come down, seeks more beer
A Binney Drive resident returned from work Wednesday night and noticed a 28-year-old woman drinking beer on his roof.
Police were dispatched about 9:15 p.m. to a “drunk pedestrian on the roof” and arriving officers heard the man twice tell Smith to leave. Smith reportedly said she’d leave if the 37-year-old man gave her more beer, police reported. Smith faces a disorderly intoxication charge.
Court security catches DUI suspect with beer
Last Wednesday was DUI Day in the Luzerne County Central Court.
One particular suspect came in for an early morning preliminary hearing for his DUI case.
As this guy walked through the metal detector he set it off. A security guard took out a wand and waved it over his body and found metal in his inner jacket pocket. The guy claimed there was nothing there. After some “Verbal Judo” the man complied and emptied his pockets.
Guess what this dude was carrying? That’s right… an unopened 16-ounce can of Molson Ice. Yahtzee!
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