Beer, Politics, and Paul Ryan

brandchannel proves that despite President Obama's beer summit (and today's Buds he bought at the Iowa State Fair), despite Hilary Clinton knocking back a Blue Moon (and a shot of Crown Royal!), and President Bush being a teetotaler, beer isn't non-partisan, that -- like the Irish-Americans who insist that you have choose Jameson or Bushmills depending on who you are, rather than how it tastes -- if you mention the wrong beer, you screwed up politically.

See, when Paul Ryan accepted Romney's announcement of him as his running mate, he said, "My veins run with cheese, bratwurst, and a little Spotted Cow, Leinie's, and some Miller." (You can hear it on the video at 1:58.) Mmmm, a Wisconsin native (5th generation, he said) who likes beer: not surprising! But everything means something, at least when it's presidential politics. Leinie's, of course, is Leinenkugel, the Wisconsin family brewery that was bought by...Miller back in the 1990s. So brandchannel lets us know that the Leinenkugel family is Republicans.

They also tell us that "...as an aging Wisconsin drinker, Ryan can be forgiven for including Miller." Because Miller is now SABMiller, part of the London-based world brewer...but then, they're also part of the MillerCoors joint venture (based in Chicago). So maybe what's more important is that Miller is still made in the big Milwaukee brewery. At least, that's probably what's important to the people who work there. (I hear the election is about jobs.)

But the big ho-ho is that Spotted Cow is made by New Glarus, and the Careys, who own New Glarus and are making a huge Wisconsin success out of it, are very much Obama Democrats, and opponents of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who the Democrats tried to recall earlier this year. So it appears that Ryan is clueless, right?

Well...I'd say brandchannel is clueless, because beer doesn't really give a damn, and a good beer drinker shouldn't either. When it comes down to drinking it, and the beer's good, beer isn't partisan. If you can tell if a beer's liberal or conservative just by tasting it, you're -- well, I was about to say you're better than I am, but to be honest? You're crazy.

Let's keep politics out of beer, because as I've learned in 30 years of drinking non-mainstream beer, you can't tell anything about a brewer's politics from their hopping rates. Let's leave that to the pundity types, and keep politics out of beer. Just a suggestion.

Sorry, Winos: Obama is The Beer President

I had to check to make sure this wasn't from The Onion, but it's true: the Obamas apparently had the White House kitchen homebrew a batch of honey ale, using a pound of honey gathered right on-premises from the White House hive. (The Obamas bought the homebrew equipment themselves, according to the story.) They served the beer (along with Pale Ale, Amber Ale, and Luna Stout from Green Bay's Hinterland Brewery, and Yuengling Lager...no East End!) at last night's Super Bowl party.

Will wonders never freakin' cease? I cannot believe wine people continue to delude themselves that the Prez and First Lady are wonderful wine lovers -- guys, just because they're Democrat lawyer elites doesn't mean they automatically suck down the vino!

Wowsers. 

Get East End (Pittsburgh) beer in the White House for the Super Bowl!

Scott Smith, owner/brewer/damn near everything at East End Brewing, is a man with a mission. He's found out...well, I'll let him tell it, because he is a funny guy.

It seems that during a recent visit to Wisconsin, The White House placed a beer order from fellow Craft Brewer, Hinterland Brewing Company in Wisconsin, so that they could have some Green Bay beer on hand for the Superbowl.  Simple enough, but maybe you can already see that this act by itself, is not exactly a "beer-partisan" move.  Since Friday of last week, we're working to help correct that.

And here's where YOU come in...

HELP US GET SOME PITTSBURGH BEER TO THE WHITEHOUSE!
What can you do?  Well, if you're a FaceBook user you can climb on board the movement by going to http://www.facebook.com/EastEndtoDC and hitting the LIKE button.  (We're approaching the 1,000 Fan mark already!)  Then, share this with your circle of friends on Facebook, and help us grow the presence there!  And while you're on that Facebook page, be sure to check out the links to some of the local press we've gotten, and give a listen to my KDKA Radio interview from Friday of last week.  That's all on the Facebook Page.

If you're a Twitter user, you can help spread the word there by Tweeting with the hashtag #EastEndtoDC. Or follow our progress on our Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/EastEndBrewing.  That's where this whole thing got started late last week, and where most of the updates are posted.

If neither of these websites are your thing and you "don't do social networking", don't worry, no problem.  You can still help.  Share this with your circle of friends, and send it along to your favorite news reporter for your favorite press outlet.  Any help getting the word out is still a huge help!

My hope is that someone knows somebody who thinks this story is worthy of some National press, which should get the RIGHT people's attention...and hopefully later this week, I'll be honored to load up some Black N Gold Beer to head out on the most important delivery run of this brewery's life. Thanks for all of your help and support with making this happen for us, and for Pittsburgh!

Cheers,
Scott

Before anyone squeals about playing favorites among the Pittsburgh breweries, I'd point out that Penn is already the "wager beer" that PA governor Tom Corbett has bet on the Steelers against the Packers with the Wisconsin governor (I have no idea what beer he bet; but Corbett's gonna be drinking it after the game!) and, well...Iron City is made in Latrobe. Church? Come on, Sean, get moving!

So...why not give Scott a hand on this, and do whatever you can to help get a Pittsburgh beer to our beer-loving President Obama (after all, the man needs something to soothe the pain of the Bears being at home in the snow...).

Obama Still the Beer President

Sorry, wine folks: President Obama is still clearly a beer guy. When he made a bet with Canadian PM Stephen Harper on the outcome of yesterday's freakin' awesome Olympic hockey final, he didn't bet a case of California grape squeezin's against a case of Ontario icewine; he bet a case of Yuengling against a case of Molson. Oh yes, he did. Not that we're rubbing it in...just noting it.

(Philadelphia Inquirer, taken by Sarah J. Glover)

Another look at what could have happened at the White House

Take a look.

Beer's a pretty good idea!

Beer at the White House: it's the glass, stupid

What the hell does it matter?

I'm sure you've all heard about the Race and Beer Summit to be held at the White House today: the President invited the Cambridge cop and the Harvard professor to hash things out over beers at the White House. If you don't know the details, Google it (and get a life, will you?).

And now there's a lot of silly-season nonsense about what beers are being served. They're not craft, they're not American-made, they're elitist, they're too common, they're stereotyped...

Has anyone noticed the calendar? It's that time of year when bullshit creeps onto the front page. It doesn't matter what beer it is: it's beer. Pete Brown nailed this last week, noting that this acknowledges that "beer is the most sociable drink in the world," then going on to say, quite correctly:

I don't give a damn whether he serves them Bud Light or Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, Corona or Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. In one sentence, he's said everything I tried to say in Three Sheets to the Wind, and said it with a gazillion times more impact.

Bingo. Which is why I have had nothing to say about this, about what beer I think they should serve (here's a thought: how about some beers the participants like to drink), and only decided to say this when I read this blather in the WSJ today (thanks to Sam K, who sent the link). Go read it; I'd quote from it, but everyone sounds so dopey I'd hate to slight someone by not exposing their ass.

Actually, I will quote White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who was one of two people who made sense (the second was Harpoon prez Dan Kenary, who tried to get his beer in, failed, and gave up, noting "I think just showing up at the gate with a case of Harpoon would make them look at us funny."):

"As I understand it -- I have not heard this, I've read this, so I'll just repeat what I've read, that Professor Gates said he liked Red Stripe, and I believe Sergeant Crowley mentioned to the president that he liked Blue Moon. So we'll have the gamut covered tomorrow afternoon. I think we're still thinking, weather permitting, the picnic table out back. All right?"

Sounds good to me. Beer is at the White House. Again. That should have been enough. Crying that it's not your beer, or the right beer, or an American beer is silly.

But...August is only two days away. "Man bites dog," anyone?

Obama to Congress: Drinks, my place, tonight; we'll talk

President Obama continues to bring an adult attitude about drinking to the public eye. According to the New York Post, he invited 24 Senators and Representatives -- from both parties -- to the White House for cocktails tonight. They're going to have a few drinks and talk about the stimulus package.

That's great, I love a chief executive who isn't afraid to openly say "come over for a few drinks," but the very best part is that all the pictures accompanying the story at the Post and in the blog post about it at The Huffington Post show Obama drinking... BEER! Ha ha! Suck it, wine people.

Oh, my. Fun to relax at the end of the day.

Latest Obama Effect: makes wine people pee themselves

Expectations for the new President were so high during the election that he made fun of them himself: "Contrary to the rumours you have heard, I was not born in a manger," Obama said at a NY fund-raiser. "I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the planet Earth." Dunno about you, but I laughed my head off at that.

I'd like to laugh at things like this, but I can only shake my head. It's a Bill Daley story in the Chicago Tribune, "Wine suggestions for President Obama." It's full of wine folks uttering spine-tingly stuff like this:

"Mr. Obama will be a champion of wine and bring new insight to the White House," predicted Mark L. Esterman, wine buyer for Meijer, the supermarket/department store chain. He thinks Obama will present a "wine-centric image" that will go over well with foreign guests coming from areas where wine is a major part of their culture and industry.

and this:

"They're going to be a much more wine-friendly first couple than, obviously, the Bushes," said Todd Hess of H2Vino, a Chicago distributor. Just the fact the Obamas drink wine with meals gives wine a positive boost, he said.

and, God help me, this:

"For the red, I hope Mr. Obama serves a zinfandel from either Lodi or Paso Robles. Nothing in the world screams 100 percent American-made like a heady-alcohol zinfandel, complete with spice, fruit and bold flavors which are indicative of the American spirit. In regard to wine, the message should be: 'We have arrived.' "

People, people, people. Have we all forgotten this?

(Philadelphia Inquirer, taken by Sarah J. Glover)

That's the New President, campaigning at Bethlehem Brew Works, a brewpub, and drinking a Fegley's ESB. And do you want to know what's really sad about this delusion? If you do a Google Images search on "Obama Wine", this is the first picture of the man that comes up! There are no pictures of Obama drinking wine that I've seen, and the man tried to get beer to the Inauguration and was denied by security. Like to see that happen to wine. (Is it our fault that draft beer comes in things that look like really big pipe bombs?)

Look, I know Daley had a column to write, I do too sometimes. But this kind of willing suspension of disbelief stuff really makes me wonder about the people in the wine biz. Do I think Obama is going to be "a champion of" beer, or present a beer"-centric image that will go over well with foreign guests coming from areas where" beer "is a major part of their culture and industry"? Hell, no. I don't think he's going to be drinking a lot of bourbon or rye, either. I don't think the man's going to have any impact at all on the booze biz.

To expect him to suddenly embrace wine, though, when he's given no real evidence of it at all before... that's kinda psychotic. ( I notice that Tom Wark didn't partake of the Obama WineGod Kool-Aid.) Thank God for the Binny's guy at the end of the piece who mused that Obama might start state dinners with Old Style. Nice.

Obama denied beer by Secret Service

Our president-elect, well-documented here as a beer drinker, has been denied his beer of choice, apparently for security reasons! Check this out from Chicago Business News:

Piece Brewery & Pizzeria's celebration plans are bittersweet. Mr. Obama
asked the Bucktown restaurant to send its InaugurAle brew to the inauguration.
But owner Bill Jacobs was told the beer had to be sent in bottles, not kegs.
There went the deal — and Mr. Jacobs' trip to D.C. "We couldn't do it, so we're
celebrating at home," he says. The restaurant's "Hail to the Chief" party starts
at 9 p.m., hours after Mr. Obama becomes president. The actual swearing-in is at
lunch — prime time for pizza deliveries.

Too bad, because Piece makes some good beer, but guys...haven't you ever heard of growlers? (That linked definition isn't completely correct, but it's the closest I could find on the Web.) Bill Clinton had Lake Placid Brewing's Ubu Ale at the White House that way: they FedEx'd six growlers to him. Fill 'em up, get a truck!

Now that's an Inauguration Day Special Event

I'm hearing a lot about Inauguration Day beer events: Ommegang has a special Obamagang beer out (which the TTTB, those killjoys, did not allow as a name: "officially" it's Inauguration Ale, but now you know the secret name), bars in DC will be open till 5 AM, everyone's celebrating.

The Grey Lodge is celebrating too, as only they do: based on Scoats's weird obsession with the calendar. On Inauguration Day, January 20th (also known as 1/20), they'll be tapping a deadly weapon: a sixtel of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA.

This is the kind of beer that makes you start quoting Dirty Harry: "I know what you're thinking, punk. Did you drink six shots of 120 Minute, or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, I forgot myself in all this excitement. But being as this is 120 Minute, the most powerful IIPA in the world and will blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: do I feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?"

Kind of makes me want to go out and vote for the man all over again. After a couple 120s, who knows, I might try to.

And if my editors are reading this...I really am getting work done this morning. Honest.

Which president would you rather drink a beer with?

Forget presidential candidates, that's so over. Now we've got a president and a president-elect to compare. Bush, the former alcoholic (hey, he said it, not me) and current tight-assed teetotaler? Or Obama, a guy we've seen drink beer recently (and apparently enjoy), who practically got into a chugging contest with Hillary Clinton?

Even though Obama does have a non-drinking VP (although Biden happily is not a priss about it; he just doesn't drink), it's pretty obvious. I'd rather have a beer with him (um, and Michelle, if she, you know, just happened to be around...), hell, I'd rather have a root beer with Biden than Bucklers with Bush. Which, I guess, is as good a time as any to say that yes, I voted Democrat in a presidential election for the first time in my life yesterday. (I'd been voting Libertarian for the past 20 years, but couldn't bring myself to vote for Bob Barr.) Should make himself happy (or smug).

Although... Here, read this from The Shark Guys, some Canadian bloggers who have fun with booze, politics (American politics? Come on guys, some self-respect), and Sarah Palin. It's a Presidential Drinker Profile of Obama, and points out that he does so like beer.

The only thing that concerns me, and it concerned me when he said it, is this:

In March, he made the more impressive showing at a bar of the two Democrat candidates – Hillary did her best, as we blogged here, but really it was one for the road for her. Obama ordered a Yuengling beer – a politician’s choice since it is a popular and locally made Pennsylvania beer.

What was more telling were his comments after placing the order, “Is it expensive though?… Wanna make sure it’s not some designer beer or something.” Here Obama made the questionable move of showing contempt for designer/microbrewed beer. He risked painting himself as one of those guys who will mock you for purchasing a nice microbrew “because it tastes the same as any other beer they got [link added by me]. Why waste your money?”

Well, yeah. After sipping up ESB at the Bethlehem Brew Works, what kinda shit is that? I'll grant, it's just the kind of thing he might be concerned that the McCain populists might have pounced on, but dude, you've already been in a brewpub, what's there to lose? I'm just surprised that with all the class warfare going on at the time (in a Democrat primary?!), no one in Obama's campaign picked up on Hillary drinking a Canadian-made beer and a Canadian whisky. Apparently, neither did The Shark Guys.

Eh. It's just beer. We're both above and beneath all of this, which isn't a bad place to be. Cheers, folks. The campaign is over, let the recovery begin.