Monthly Archives: September 2011

There’s something about a train…

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I am currently sitting on an Amtrak train headed north. This is the start of my annual sojourn to catch up with old friends and drink good beer.

You see, Ron and I and the rest of the “Hop Talk Advisory Panel” (aka Max and Don) live pretty far away from each other. The idea of “popping ’round” to have a beer and converse is nothing more than that: an idea.

Oh, sure, modern technology lets us stay in touch better than we ever would have thought possible when we were kids, but it’s just not the same as sitting in a room together, clinking glasses and talking about anything and everything.

Ron is hosting us this year, and I look forward to hanging out in his “Barley Room”. It’s our tradition to each bring four different, interesting, beers to share, and we look forward to seeing what everybody brought. And sampling, of course. But, really, it’s not about the beer; it’s about reconnecting with each other. Life, in other words.

The beer is a nice perk, though.

5 Most Popular Beers Known Worldwide

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This is a guest article by freelance writer Steven Elias from Dallas/Fort Worth.

Can or bottle, tap or keg, everyone has a favorite beer brand, and customers are very loyal to their favorites. Choosing the best beer is a matter of personal taste; and depends on the look, brand and the actual taste of the beer. In many cases, the taste of the beer is not as important as the brand image, country of origin and marketing.

Worldwide availability makes a difference in a beer’s popularity as well; not all brands are available in all areas, so regional beers can suffer from low worldwide sales figures. Different age, geographic and demographic groups prefer different brands of beer; here are a few of the best brews:

Bud Light: Love it or hate it, this middle-of–the-road brew has been America’s favorite domestic beer since 2001. Bud Light has enjoyed a full decade of dominance as a best seller, thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns and a constant presence in the bars and stores of America. Visit a football game, tailgate party or home barbeque and you’ll likely spot a lot of Bud Light. Before you decide it’s a U.S. phenomenon, note that Bud Light is also a best seller in many other countries as well; it is the one of the best-selling labels worldwide.

Corona Extra: By sales figures, Corona Extra is the fourth most popular beer in the world. This popular brew from Mexico can be found in pubs, bars and package stores around the world. Corona is most often served in the bottle, accompanied by a lime wedge. There are actually not that many beer brands that are available throughout the world; Corona’s presence in countries across the globe helps this amber brew climb into the top 5.

Snow: Unless you live in or visit China, you may be unfamiliar with the world’s best-selling beer brand. While Snow beer may not be available around the world, China’s huge population count helps give this potable the highest sales figures in the market. There are several different varieties of Snow beer, and they combine to claim the number one spot for worldwide beer sales.

Heineken: If you want to know about beer, ask men. In a recent survey by the site AskMen.com, the Netherland’s number one beer, Heineken, was named the number one beer by readers. The site claims a readership of 15 million, and these guys must know their beer. Heineken’s distinctive taste and crisp, smooth finish combine to make it a best seller and a big fan favorite. As of 2010, Heineken was America’s seventh best selling beer.

Samuel Adams: A finely crafted American classic, Samuel Adams is the name that comes up most often when beer is ranked by taste. With 20 different formulas, ranging from the classic brew to the new Oktoberfest blend, Samuel Adams is the self-proclaimed Beer Lover’s Choice. Offering brewery tours and a glimpse into the brewing process and favored ingredients, the Samuel Adams brand has positioned itself as an historic patriotic, American beer, despite it’s relatively short 20 year history.

About The Author: Steven Elias is a freelance writer from Dallas/Fort Worth. He currently runs a website on wedding photographers in Dallas and Dallas wedding venues. Visit him at www.thedallasweddingphotographers.net.

Catoberfest?

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If you’ve spent more than five minutes on the Web in the last few years, you’ve encountered Lolcats: Photos of cats with amusing captions and imaginative spelling. I’ve often found them amusing, and have even featured a few here. There are several sites dedicated to them, the most famous of which is probably I Can Has Cheezburger.

But how about a site dedicated to beer-themed lolcats?

There is such a thing.

Catoberfest.

Don’t drink “light” beer to save calories

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Everybody is more health-conscious these days. Or, well, it appears that way.

Bud Light is the best-selling beer in America, producing about 39 million barrels every year. While the calorie-count doesn’t figure into their advertising so much any more, it still factors into some people’s buying decisions.

Let’s not forget, as flavor-poor your basic industrial American lager is, the “light” version has even less. To my palate, a light beer tastes basically like water.

But is it worth it? Does it make sense to have light beer, or even ultra-light beer, as part of a diet to reduce your calorie intake?

In a word, no.

Let’s examine that with a little math. (Don’t worry, it’s only a little. It won’t hurt you.)

Budweiser weighs in at about 145 calories per 12 ounces. Bud Light, about 100.

If you have two beers a day, you’re saving 90 calories.

A McDonald’s double cheeseburger is 440 calories.

That means, after five days of suffering through two flavorless light beers each day you will have saved enough calories to have one (1) McDonald’s double cheeseburger. Never mind any sort of really good food.

What kind of bargain is that?

Personally, I’d much rather have just a few really flavorful beers in a week.

Market share, visually

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words. As much as we love craft beer around here…well, just have a look:

(click to embiggen)

“Specialty Brewers” is what they’re calling craft brewers (at least as defined by the Brewers Association). The entire craft beer market in the U.S. is smaller than sales of Natty Light.

Natty Light!

It puts things in perspective, don’t it?

Boost your wi-fi signal with a beer can

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Hey, more and more craft beers are becoming available in cans. Why not put some of that metal to good use?

Discovery Channel: Boost Your WiFi Signal Using Only a Beer Can

I love a good hack, especially one that requires me to throw back a cold one before hand (or during). This simple wifi boost has actually been shown to increase signal strength by at least 2 to 4 bars. And, well, I will drink to that.

 

For this project you are going to need scissors, a utility knife, some adhesive putty and an empty beer can. More than one empty beer can is acceptable but don’t kid yourself, the router only needs the one.