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

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....

The Pleasures Of "Unshopping" . . . But, Hmmmm. . . .

In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, a thoughtful (and comical) opinion piece about the pleasures of "unshopping." With which I agree (having discovered the pleasures of this particular activity years ago).

But, of course, the essay begs us to consider the obvious question (and a pertinent one as the economy falls into any abyss): If we don't shop, then what? After all, shopping is nothing more than the exchange of money and goods, right? So if we stop shopping -- well, geez . . . what would a shoppingless economy look like? How would it function?

Don't get me wrong. I buy things -- I'm particularly addicted to buying books -- but I loathe and detest random buying-for-the-sake-of-buying. As in: holiday shopping. Nothing aggravates me more than the mad dash to the mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The exercise consists of human beings buying crap, much of it made from petroleum-based products, that no one wants and much of which will do nothing but fill landfills. (*1)

Well, okay, it gives garbage collectors something to do and they need to earn a living, too, so, hell, maybe we SHOULD all go shop.

But no! Damn it, I'm not buying it. (No pun intended.) There's gotta be a better way

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*1: Every year, I tell my husband, please let's stop with the gift-giving already! It transforms family-time into a nerve-wracking exercise in the getting and wrapping of things, most of which no one really wants. As my son-in-law said last year as we all recovered from the exhaustion of the "getting, wrapping, and opening of gifts," which devoured most of the five days we had together: "The problem with Christmas is Christmas." Meaning "things" get more attention than people. So this year, I'm putting my foot down. No one in my family is getting gifts. I'm giving the money I would have spent to the local foodbank. I'm also not accepting gifts. I'm asking my family to spend the money on something they need, and take the time they would have used shopping for me and instead "spend" it with a loved one.

Prohibition/Repeal Website

Lew Bryson over at Seen Through A Glass alerts readers to this website hosted by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. (Who knew??)

Anyway, the folks at DISCUS (how's that for an acronym?) obviously put a lot of time into the site, so have a look.

By the way, I am not ignoring the repeal anniversary completely: I have two op-ed pieces coming out, one tomorrow (the 4th) and one on Friday the 5th. (*1) I will post links to both as they become available. (This assuming, of course, the world does not collapse between now and then. Which could happen....)

Tip o' the mug to Lew.

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*1: Reminder here that last April, I wrote a slew of entries about the April 7th anniversary of the return of legal beer. You can find a link to those entries over in the left-hand index. Click the link titled "return of legal beer."

Beer Alliances = "Going Green"

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)

Celebrate Repeal Day With A Single Malt -- Or Some Other Spirit

Ah, just in

time for Friday, the 75th anniversary of repeal: The New York Times' semi-regular review of single-malt scotch whiskies. These are always worth reading, if only because the tasting panel chooses bottles in a wide range of prices, and there's always some inexpensive jewel in the bunch.

Plus they taste goodies that I've never heard of, so it's an easy way to expand the collection in the liquor cabinet.

So -- take a look, maybe buy a bottle (and support the economy), and then pour a jot on Friday when you toast the Constitution.

Oh: for more spirits-you-may-not-have-heard-of, take a look at the website hosted by the American Distilling Institute, the trade and education group for American microdistillers. There's a state-by-state listing of distilleries and their products. Yum!

Historical Tidbits: Malt Liquor And The Ladies, 1966

Beer, a reporter for Ladies' Home Journal told readers in 1966, "has recently burst forth into new bloom."

One of the "most startling" developments in all-things-beer was malt liquor," sold in "joyful pull-open cans." "They look like the palest of ales," gushed the magazine's writer, with a "golden" "sparkle," and possessing "a sophisticated undertone of bitterness." "Their most defiant characteristic is that they are often -- and correctly -- served on the rocks as a cocktail, with or without a lemon twist, or as wine, with your meal, never in a stein or big beer mug, but in your frailest, finest crystal goblets or brandy snifters."

Recommended brands for the magazine's readers? Colt 45, Country Club, and Schlitz Malt Liquor, sold in 7-ounce cans, "a genteel and satisfying portion."

Perfect, presumably, for the genteel readers of Ladies' Home Journal.

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Source: "Wine, Women & So On," Ladies' Home Journal 83 (September 1966): 116.