Watch A Wisconsin Guy Drink A Beer Through His Nose On Letterman
If after watching the clip below of Green Bay bar owner Chris Hansen drinking a beer through his nose on the “Late Show with David Letterman” you want more information, check out this story in the Oshkosh Northwestern. For me, the video is more than enough.
Minnesota Oktoberfest: Summit vs. Schell’s
The most recent issue of Minnesota Monthly features a showdown between Summit’s Okotoberfest and August Schell’s Oktoberfest.
Here are the results:
Summit Brewing Oktoberfest
This full-bodied brew surprises with its bold bite and bitter finish. Some tasters complained of its harshness and off-putting “smoked fish” aroma, but the way its spunkiness mellowed into a rich, sustaining flavor ultimately won over the majority.
VS.
August Schell Octoberfest
The favorite among light-beer drinkers, this sweet, almost fruity beer (were those hints of pumpkin we detected?) goes down easy and finishes smooth. Testers who prefer a more robust beer, though, tired of it before they finished their glasses.
Beer Politics In Wisconsin
In July, we published a post about the fondness that Wisconsin lawmakers have for beer-related bills. But an editorial in Madison Magazine reveals that there’s a beer issue before Wisconsin’s legislature this year that’s creating a bit of controversy. It turns out that Wisconsin has a law on the books that prohibits brewpubs from serving their own beer in some situations.
Brewers who produce more than four-thousand barrels of beer a year can’t sell their own beer at more than two retail establishments.
As it stands, the law is a three-tier system set up to keep brewers, wholesalers and retailers independent from each other. It was all intended to prevent a monopoly.
The owners of the Great Dane in Madison are fighting to have the law changed, but they’re getting no support from the large brewers in the state, like Miller, or from the wholesalers, who would rather sell beer to the pubs than have them brew their own.
Colorado Is The New King Of Beers
Thanks in part to the growth in craft beers (think Fat Tire), Colorado now brews more beer than any other state in the country.
Colorado’s brewing industry produced more than 23.3 million barrels of beer last year, compared with California’s 22.8 million barrels, the Beer Institute, a national trade group, said Thursday. Figures compiled yearly by the group had shown California with the lead the past five years. …
A study by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association estimates the beer industry contributes some $12.4 billion each year to Colorado’s economy through it brewers, importers, distributors, and retailers. That includes 67,918 jobs that contribute $3 billion in wages and $1.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, according to the study.
View the full story at TheDenverChannel.com.
Texas Brewery Releases Oklahoma Suks Beer
Just in time for the Longhorns v. Sooners game, Austin-based Independence Brewing Co. has released this year’s version of their popular Oklahoma Suks brew.
From the story on Businesswire.com:
Inspired by the tradition of the Hex Rally for the A&M game, Independence Brewing Co. created Oklahoma Suks Beer for Longhorn fans to collectively will OU into sucking on October 6th. Released once a year, Oklahoma Suks Beer is only available the week before the TX-OU game, in Austin-area grocery stores.
“When we first released Oklahoma Suks Beer in 2006, we thought it would be an inside joke for local Longhorn fans. But word of the beer spread quickly on the Web, and we were contacted by Longhorn fans from all over the country,” explained Amy Cartwright, president of Independence Brewing Co.
Anyone have a batch of Wisconsin Blows fermenting in their basement?
Surly Update From Omar
Hello Surly Nation,I hope you got your tickets to Autumn Brew Review, ‘cause it’s sold out and
we’re bring out the big guns. Here is our pouring schedule for the fest:Limited Quantities
VIP Oak Aged Cask Bender
1:30 Dahmer
2:30 Bourbon One
3:30 Barrel Aged Darkness
4:30 Darkness – 2007Available All Day(Hopefully)
Coffee Bender
Bender
Furious
Cynic
SurlyFest
Cask Tea- Bagged FuriousWe were planning on pouring oak aged cask furious at 4:30, but Todd drank it
all. So instead you will have to settle for a preview of this year’s
Darkness. What’s Dahmer you ask, good question. I let Todd brew it and name
it (remind me not to do that again.) Anyway, the beer is a Smoked Baltic
Porter. It will be released sometime in the next few months as a draft only
beer. As our tradition continues at ABR, wear your Surly swag and we’ll give
you a pint glass at the fest (while supplies last).We are doing a couple beer tastings tomorrow evening – Thursday, September
27th#1 - Princeton Liquors in Maple Grove will be hosting a tasting from
4:00-6:30. I will be standing around. Stop by and say hi and check out the
17% discount on all craft beers, including Surly. Princeton Liquors is
located on Bass Lake Road just off of 494. These guys have been big fans of
Surly and pushing our beer hard in the NW suburbs. Stop by and say hi and
grab some beer.
Princeton’s Liquors
12790 Bass Lake Road
(763)559-3257
www.princetonsliquors.com#2 - The second tasting will be taking place at The Liquor Barrel in Golden
Valley. The event starts at 6:30 in Brookview Park in Golden Valley, right
across the highway from The Liquor Barrel. It is an Oktoberfest party of
sorts, brats will be grilling and Oktoberfest beers will be poured for
sampling. The cost is $5 to get in and you get a couple beer coupons for
Oktoberfest beers. Call 763.544.9881 so they know how many brats to get.
Being that the event is happening at a park, I hope the whole Ansari clan
will be there. Proceeds to go to a local charity. The location is on Hwy 55,
just east of 169.
http://www.ci.golden-valley.mn.us/parks/parks/BrookviewPark .htm Lets see, what other news do we have…
Next tour – November 3rd
New Surly Bars –
Zorbaz in Detroit Lakes
Dock Café in Stillwater
More coming soon!Darkness will be released right around Halloween. We will have tapping news
listed soon!Surlyfest has left the building! Almost all the Surlyfest we brewed has been
delivered. You guys are drinking it like its gonna go outta style, or at
least out of stock. I promise we will make more next year.See you drinking,
Omar
Bud.tv To Live On
In a surprising move, Anheuser-Busch announced that they will continue to fund Bud.tv, their struggling video site. According to a story from The Hollywood Reporter, the site has already cost the company $20-$30 million.
“Swear Jar,” a commercial filled with expletives that initially was created for the Super Bowl but then shelved for a year and a half, had more than 3 million views on YouTube after debuting on Bud.TV. Tony Ponturo, vp global media and sports/entertainment marketing, noted that “if we didn’t have Bud.TV, it would still be sitting in a drawer. No one would have ever seen it.” Another idea is to turn content into a TV advertising campaign, he said.
Before reading this post, had any of you ever been to Bud.tv? I hadn’t. Most of the content is produced by companies with high-profile connections, like Kevin Spacey’s Triggerstreet Prods., Matt Damon’s LivePlanet Prods. and Warner Bros. Television Group’s Studio 2.0. But that video doesn’t seem to be appealing to their target audience, as traffic to the site has fallen from 250,000 visitors a month at launch to 150,000 only one month later. The company is reportedly on the hunt for new Hollywood-produced content.
St. Paul Oktoberfest: A North End Celebration
Courtesy of Twin Cities Daily Planet:
Autumn is a lovely time of the year and the Saint Paul Oktoberfest is the perfect celebration for families to come together and participate in a festival that honors the German heritage of the North End community. This year’s observance is on Saturday, October 13, and the hours are from Noon to 11 :00 p.m. Oktoberfest takes place on the Saint Bernard’s Parish Community grounds at Rice Street and Geranium Avenue.
Whatever the weather, Oktoberfest participants can enjoy the festivities indoors, in a climate-controlled setting. Admission to the grounds is free with German foods and refreshments available for purchase. Bruce Larson, one of the founders of the Saint Paul Oktoberfest, emphasizes that the festival is “family-oriented” and the whole purpose of the event is to have a good time while honoring the heritage of a neighborhood.
View the full story.
South Dakota Legislature To Review Liquor Laws
Shortly after starting this site in June, we published a post highlighting beer facts from a Minnesota Legislative Audit Commission report. It’s been one of our most read posts. Now, it looks like our South Dakota neighbors to the west are looking at their own antiquated liquor laws.
From KELOLAND.com:
South Dakota lawmakers could make it easier for more businesses to get liquor licenses during the upcoming legislative session. Right now, state law uses population to limit how many liquor licenses are available in a community, with a few exceptions. In Sioux Falls, that means there are 88. And they’re all being used.
Supporters of a change say local government leaders should be able to set their own liquor policies. Opponents say there are already plenty of places to drink.
Check out the full story and video on KELOLAND.com.
Duluth News Tribune: Brewfest Review
It’s a bit north of the Twin Cities, but Superior, Wisconin’s Brewfest still featured several beers with Minnesota connections. Check out the Duluth News Tribune’s review of the event held this past Saturday.
The Brewfest, held at the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Wessman Arena, had 135 beers, meads and ciders available for tasting. Most were produced in small batches by 37 breweries across the Upper Midwest.
“[The Brewfest is] really a chance for the smaller guys to show off their craft,” Wigchers said. “Anyone can stop anywhere and pick up something from the larger brewers. And with this, most of the brewers who make the beer will be there. That’s a big kick for people.”
And big is right. Wigchers expected up to 1,500 people to attend this year. Half an hour before the doors opened at 4 p.m., the line to get in stretched out of Wessman Arena and wound out around the sidewalk. Twenty minutes after the doors opened, there still was a line.
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