Black Friday. Blah. I always hated getting up at 5 am, getting shoved out the door by my mom who "had to get those deals," and waiting in sub-zero temperatures for a doll for my sister. When I finally was old enough to fake sleep through it all and save my dad from this menace too, I was able to stay out of the rat race.

Finally as it draws near to my son’s first Christmas, I find myself pouring over toys and junk that will soon fill my living room and need to be donated to a needy cause in the next year or so when he outgrows them.

I have to say I’m glad that the internet has grown up enough that I don’t even have to leave the house to start and finish my shopping. In fact, I’d like to propose that instead of celebrating Black Friday (an insane American tradition) we should celebrate Black and Tan Friday! Imagine this, getting up late, eating lunch, pouring yourself a black and tan later in the afternoon, and starting and finishing your shopping in less than an hour. Sounds great to me. I’ll see you online, Black and Tan in hand.

TAGS [ BLACK FRIDAY | BLACK AND TAN | BLACK AND TANS | GUINNESS SPOON | BLACK AND TAN SPOON ]

When the Hindenburg airship went down, taking the lives of 38 people and injuring another 60 on May 6th, 1937 much was lost. The Hinderburg, carrying 97 passengers on board, was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey.

Fire Chief Leroy Smith of the Matawan Fire department in NJ came across a fire-damaged bottle of Lowenbrau Beer and took it from the wreck site.

This week, that bottle of beer went to auction and fetched the sum of £9,400, but "with buyer’s premium, the bottle will cost the purchaser £10,810," or around $18,000 USD. That price gives it the world record for the most expensive bottle of beer ever sold. A $400 bottle of limited edition Carlsberg previously held the record.

Who needs Pabst when you can buy Hindenburg?

TAGS [ HINDENBURG | LOWENBRAU BEER | BEER AUCTION | BEER NEWS ]

Check out this rad 4-tap keg fridge that one of our customers just finished creating, with faucets, tap plugs and other pieces of equipment he picked up from us:

Jon, I’ve gotta say, we are seriously impressed. Thanks for passing along the photo!

TAGS [ KEGERATOR | KEG FRIDGE | DRAFT BEER EQUIPMENT | BEER FAUCETS | KEG REFRIGERATOR ]

Well, it’s almost Thanksgiving and it’s a food holiday. This means it’s also a good opportunity to try new recipes. I personally like to perfect the old ones before I move on to new ones but I think I will try some new things this year.

I will, however, go to trusted sources. There can be no more trusted source than Martha Stewart and friends.

She has graciously thrown together a nice and simple Holiday Recipe Book, just in time for the big feast. Be sure to check out the Cocktail Section (Chapter 5) as well.

And of course you can get some of the supplies from us if you don’t have them already:

• Premium Cocktail Mixers
• Cocktail Shakers
• Straws, Stirrers and Picks
• All Bar Tools

Good Luck!

Cheers,
$hane

TAGS [ MARTHA STEWART | THANKSGIVING COCKTAILS | HOLIDAY MENU | THANKSGIVING MENU | HOLIDAY COCKTAILS ]

Just Beer Brewing Co. is a small operation that’s making a big impact. Yesterday, November 10th, they released their new brew, Semper Ri, at the U.S. Marine Corps celebration in Boston. Brewed on the very day that brewery owner Bill Russell’s stepson, 2nd Lt. Joshua Bruins, and his Marine regiment were deployed to Afghanistan, it’s truly a beer with a cause.

Russell describes Semper Ri as a winter beer that’s "very crisp and drinkable." With 20% rye malts and a name that plays on Marine Corps motto, it will be available in 22-ounce bottles at select retail outlets in the Boston, Massachusetts area.

For the seven months that Josh and his unit are abroad, Just Beer will put $2 from the sale of every bottle towards care packages for the troops.

Due to limited availability and distribution, it’s likely that you may not be able to get your hands on your own bottle of Semper Ri but I’ve written to the brewery to find out if there are other ways to contribute. I’ll keep you posted!

As we honor and remember all of our veterans and the brave men and women still serving our country today, I’d personally like to thank Just Beer for their idea and their efforts. Some of us might not always know how to adequately express our gratitude and respect for the countless American heroes who make great sacrifices to ensure our freedom - but we all know how to enjoy a beer.

TAGS [ SEMPER RI | JUST BEER BREWING CO | VETERANS DAY | USMC BIRTHDAY ]

A bottle of beer found in the wreckage of the Hindenburg explosion in 1937 is expected to be auctioned off for $4000 - $8000 this weekend, which would make it the highest priced bottle of beer to date, according to abcnews.com.

The heavily singed bottle of Lowenbrau has only lost about 20% of its savory contents through evaporation, but as auctioneer Andrew Aldridge put it, "you wouldn’t like to drink it, let me put it that way. It would taste putrid."

For collectors of Hindenburg memorabilia though, I doubt drinking the scorched Lowenbrau would even be a thought.

TAGS [ HINDENBURG | LOWENBRAU | BEER AUCTION ]

We’ve told you what kind of people drink Bud and Bud Light, we’ve reported the politics, personalities and purchasing habits of those who prefer Mic Ultra, Corona, Heineken and Blue Moon and today we bring you the psychographics on craft beer drinkers and abstainers.

At first I was a bit disappointed to see that all craft beers were lumped into one category, however I understand that we’re a much smaller group and with so many great breweries it would be difficult to profile. Plus, as the results confirm – craft beer drinkers tend to be more open minded, meaning they’re more likely to try new things and new beers. The Ad Age article actually address why it’s one category and they make their case well.

Craft Beers
These specialty made beers get lumped into one category both because there are fewer fans (and thus less statistically significant data) of them, but also because the personalities of one type fairly well describe another. This group is more likely to spend time thinking about beer rather than work. They are more open-minded than most people, seek out interesting and varied experiences and are intellectually curious. Craft beer drinkers also skew as having a lower sense of responsibility—they don’t stress about missed deadlines and tend to be happy-go-lucky about life.

Craft-beer lovers are 153% more likely to always buy organic, 52% more likely to be fans of the show "The Office" and 36% more likely to be the ones to choose the movie they are going to see at the theater.

I must admit, all of Mindset Media’s findings ring true with me… the being more likely to spend time thinking about beer rather than work factoid is a bit tricky for me, as beer is my work. I’ll just chalk that up to being lucky though. The other stuff is dead on. I’m very open-minded, intellectually curious and totally spontaneous. I’m also probably one of the most happy-go-lucky people you’ll ever meet. I buy organic when I can, I freaking love "The Office" and I’m usually the one in control of the movies I see.

Here’s what they had to say about abstainers:

Abstainers
It probably doesn’t take a psychographic profile to discover that those people who refuse to drink beer at all don’t like to loosen up very much. They are socially conservative and see many issues as black and white. Teetotalers honor tradition and authority and prefer a less-hectic social life.

People who turn down beer are 50% more likely to call themselves Republican, and are 30% more likely to never buy organic products.

Do their findings ring true to you? See a recap of all of the profiles in the Ad Age article and let us know what you think!

TAGS [ BEER DRINKERS | BEER POLL | BEER SURVEY | BEER PERSONALITIES ]