Connecting The Dots: Starbucks, Budweiser American Ale, And -- Whatever

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Speaking of beer, coffee, etc. (We WERE speaking about that, right?): Jacob Grier has a nice essay about Starbucks in this month's issue of Doublethink.

That made me think of my own mention of Starbucks awhile back, which was in turn prompted by Jeff Alworth's ruminations on the new Anheuser-Busch product Budweiser American Ale. None of which has much to do with anything, except that Jacob's essay is worth reading (as is his blog in general), and so was (and is) Jeff's blog about Bud Ale.

And all of that causes me to ponder how and why American culture and Americans' social habits change -- an entirely worthwhile endeavor for a historian on this, the eve of the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition.

So -- there you have it. One dot leads to another leads to another....

Beer Alliances = "Going Green"

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The always delightful Harry Schumacher at Beer Business Daily (subscription only) applauds cross-brewery alliances, like the one between New Belgium of Fort Collins, CO and Elysian Brewing of Seattle.

Why? Because it's green. As he notes, when Elysian brews at New Belgium, the otherwise Seattle-brewed beer can be distributed in Colorado and adjoining states at a lower cost and with a smaller carbon footprint.

Says Harry: "I think New Belgium and Elysian are on to something, and this is a small test to see how it could work on a larger scale. I believe that a year from now we will be many more brewers making each others beers to cut shipping costs (and pollution)."

So say we all.* (More on "green" beer here.)

Tip o' the mug to Harry. (*And another mug-tip, of course, to Battlestar Galactica)

'Tis The Season For Seasonal Beers

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A few months back, I blogged about the "seasonal beer" site hosted by the Brewers Association.(*1) Since today is December 1, and the "holiday" season is (theoretically) in full swing, I'm reposting the link. It's a nifty idea, is the BA's seasonal beer site: Click on the "Browse Seasonal Releases" link, choose the season and your state, and a list of available seasonal releases will show up. There's a description of each beer, plus some suggestions for food pairings.(*2)

Enjoy!

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*1: Ohdeargod, I can't believe I just typed the word "blogged." That it should come to this....

*2: The only annoying thing is that each outlet of the chain restaurants/brewpubs is listed individually, so, for example, seasonal beers at the Granite City chain are listed over and over and over and over again. Irritating. But we'll get over it, right? Goodwill toward humans, fa la la la la, and all that.