Happy Anniversary

This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the beer can. The Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company signed an agreement with the American Can Company in November 1933 and just over a year later the cans were on sale. On January 24, 1935, Krueger's Cream Ale and Krueger's Beer was presented to the folks of Richmond, VA in aluminum cans. The cans were “Vinylite” plastic-lined, flat-top cans and were so successful that by March of 1935 Krueger sales were up 550 percent. By August of that same year the company was buying 180,000 cans daily.

By the end of 1935, three can companies (American, Continental Can Company, and National Can Company) sold 160,000,000 beer cans to many large and regional breweries across the country. Anheuser-Busch and Pabst were the first major brewers to offer beer in cans.


Aside: Dan Morean's Breweriana.com has much more on the history of the beer can. Packaging Digest also offers an ode to the beer can.

Happy Days, Oh Happy Days!

The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed today what we suspected was always little more than urban legend. The oft-dreaded pot belly is the result of genetics and not beer.

Sure, those who drink more than 33 ounces* of beer daily will gain weight. According to Fox News, "An eight-year study of more than 20,000 beer drinkers found that although heavy drinkers put on weight, it wasn’t necessarily around the belly."



*For those counting at home, 33 ounces is just under 3 bottles of beer.

Defining Beer Goggles

Reuters tells us that we can stop blaming beer goggles because a new study has determined that intoxication does not help men determine a woman's age (because that's what single men are trying to do while drinking beer and hitting on women). Further, drinking beer actually makes the opposite sex less attractive.

Thanks Dr. Vincent Egan (University of Leicester) for your groundbreaking study but we fear that you misconstrued the use of the term "beer goggles". It's not your fault. It happens all the time. However, it's a little known fact that men do not rely on beer goggles to make women attractive nor do men rely on the goggles for predicting age. Men rely on beer goggles to help us not care about the attractiveness or age of a woman.

To rectify the situation we humbly offer a more accurate definition of the term.

Beer Goggles: Device by which an individual (or individuals) intentionally causes mental impairment to the degree that the individual's primary concern is "hooking up" with a member of the opposite sex regardless of the level of attractiveness and/or age of said member.

You may discuss.
Cheers!

got beer?

In a major blow to dairy farmers across the country, and to the "got milk?" advertising campaign, Dr. Katherine Tucker of Tufts University announced that drinking a glass or two of beer (or wine) may build bone density. You need three glasses of milk to get the same effect.

In the Reuters article, Dr. Tucker said "the effect of alcohol on bone mineral density (BMD) that she and her colleagues saw was "larger than what we see for any single nutrient, even for calcium. It's not ambiguous. It's very clear."

According to the "got milk?" Web site "Drinking three glasses of milk a day may significantly reduce your risk of bone disease and fractures. Consuming milk later in life may slow the rate of bone loss and help maintain bone density."

One or two glasses of beer. Three glasses of milk. You do the math.

What did Dr. Tucker's study say about drinking more than 1-2 glasses of beer (or wine) daily? Go read the study.

Calculators for Homebrewing

Newbies will come to find that the more you brew the more precise you need to be, the more information you need to keep honing your craft. A friend turned us on to this novel tool and Web site. The Brewer's Lair offers calculators for your most important homebrewing needs.

The Lair is also good for recipes, tips, finding ingredients, and relaxing in the lounge.

Cheers!