I've been on the road doing a speaking gig and am just now catching up on what's up with the rest of the world, including news about three people I know (and like):

Gilbert King, one of the most decent humans I know, had an op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times. It relates to the topic of his new book. When he's not busy writing books, he's a professional photographer. (And a husband and dad. Totally unclear to me how he finds the time for all of this. Does he ever sleep?) (Plus, and yes I'm shallow, he's horrifyingly good looking.)

Second, the totally swell Jim Arndorfer is the subject of a front-page feature piece in today's Wall Street Journal. The paper's website is suffering serious Wierd Issues at the moment (it keeps freezing), so I'll simplify things by posting a link to Jim's blog, where's he's posted a workable link to the piece. It's the entry titled "WSJ Covers Beer Blog." Again, I'd send you straight the WSJ piece itself, but their site is suffering serious wonkiness at the moment.
[SEE NOTE BELOW]

Finally, I learn that the inimitable Charlie Papazian has taken up blogging. (Charlie! I beg you. Stop now while you can.) Charlie is the most calm guy I know. He's verrrrrrrry caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalm. When I'm around him, I land in the caaaaaaaaaaaaalm zone. (Thanks to Stan for this tip about Charlie's blog.)

Addition to original blog entry: Full disclosure. I know Jim only by phone and email. He's called me on numerous occasions to interview me for pieces he's working on for the Miller Brewing magazine titled "Brew." I have no other affiliation with Jim, the blog, the magazine, or Miller Brewing.

I am never paid for my insight (such as it is) and I extend to him the same courtesy I show to all the newspaper/magazine reporters who call me on a regular basis: I share my knowledge of the brewing industry's history.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amy Mittelman has followed up on the issues and politics of the proposed California beer tax hike. You can read her blog entry here. (I think it's one of those blog format where the entries don't have separate urls, so it's the entry for April 21 titled, appropriately enough, "Fat Taxes.")

As is often the case, tip 'o the mug to David Fahey at the Alcohol and Drugs History society website.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anchor Liberty Ale is one of my favorite beers -- and the guy who makes it, Fritz Maytag, is one of my favorite people. (Well, okay, Fritz's brewers actually MAKE the beer.... but let's not quibble...)

And today is Liberty's 33rd birthday (thanks for the tip, Jay.) Fritz is one of those people who knows, and enjoys, history (probably one reason I like the guy so much), and he released the beer on this date because it's the anniversary of Paul Revere's famous (albeit misreported) ride.**

So, here's to Paul Revere, to Fritz, to Liberty Ale -- and to liberty itself, which I hope you all "revere" as much as I do. Without it, we're nothing.

* Whoops! Original title made it sound like it was Anchor's b-day. It's not... Got so carried away that I lost my typing-train-of-thought.

** Another addition to the original blog entry. If you're interested in a marvelous, thorough take on Revere and his ride, read David Hackett Fischer's book Paul Revere's Ride. Fischer is a terrific historian and one who can, gasp, communicate with a general audience.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To be sung to the tune of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair."

In the 1880s and 1890s, the prohibitionists attacked drinking in part by going after drinkers' wallets: raising tavern license fees, raising brewer' taxes, etc.

Today's prohibs are still at it.

A thoughtful look at a Wisconsin attempt to control/reduce drinking by raising taxes is here at Amy Mittelman's blog. Amy wrote about the late 19th century relationship between the alcohol industry and federal tax policy in a terrific dissertation titled "The Politics of Alcohol Production." She's also the author of a book titled Brewing Battles.

And that reminded me of Jay Brooks's blog on the subject of beer and taxes a few days back. As always, he's got much to say on the subject, he being one of the staunchest defenders of our right to drink. To read Jay's piece, scroll down to the entry for April 11.

Thanks and a tip 'o the mug to David Fahey for alerting me to Amy's blog.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I could see this coming: people rising to defend Portland as America's "beer central."

A few days ago, my globally ethical (ethically global??) pal Matthew alerted me to an article in the current issue of Time magazine, touting Denver as the best place to tour breweries and drink beer.

"Hmmm," I thought. "Someone's bound to challenge that claim -- because surely Portland, Oregon, wins the prize with no contest at all."

Sure enough -- the Portland defenders are on the job. See Stan's blog, which also references a blog I didn't know, Beervana.

But the Time article got my attention for something entirely different: Its characterization of "artisanal" brewers as hippies and Grateful Dead addicts...

Huh?

I don't think so. (Well, okay, maybe craft brewing contains a disproportionate number of people who like the music of the Grateful Dead. But people stopped equating fondness for the Dead with being a hippie, oh, I dunno, maybe thirty years ago?)

Laid-back hippie-tude doesn't cut it in craft brewing. The work's too hard and the industry is too brutal. That's a lesson learned that, historically (and what is my perspective except historical?), every homebrewer who tries to turn pro learns reaaaaaaaaaaaaal fast.

Besides which -- long hair and a beard do not a hippie make. I'm so old that I was there the first time around and I oughta know.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but:

For reasons not worth mentioning, tonight my husband and I spent time remembering a long-ago trip to Colorado Springs. (We think this particular visit was c. 1990. Doesn't matter.)

Anyway, we both still enjoy vivid memories of the Starr Kempf sculptures. If you've seen them, you know why we remember them with such clarity. If you've not seen them, they're worth a trip to C. Springs. He was an extraordinary artist.

In either case, some online images of Kempf's work:
The Kempf family page

Even better images taken by a visitor.

The Wikipedia entry.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I'm researching a book, most of what I read doesn't make it into the final version of the manuscript. If I quoted from or referred to everything I found, my books would end up being 2,000 pages long and who the hell wants to read a doorstop? (Not me!)

The result is that I have to pick and choose and I often leave out some juicy stuff.

I was reminded of that yesterday while working on my new book (which is about meat, not beer). I tracked down a copy of a book titled The Great Metropolis, which was published in 1869, because it contains a chapter on New York City's markets.

And then I remembered that this book also contained a chapter on lager beer gardens -- and that it was quite comical.

Just the kind of thing you beer buffs might want to read -- and you can do so for free online. (Hooray for digital databases!)

This book, and zillions of others, is at a website called Making of America, which is hosted by the University of Michigan and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Frankly, the search mechanism is crude and clunky, so I'm creating a link that will take you directly to the chapter in the book itself.

Just in case that link goes haywire (although I did test it):

The site is Making of America.

Once there, use the "browse" feature (not the little search box, which won't get you anywhere) to find a book called The Great Metropolis. The author is Junius Browne, and the lager beer chapter begins on p. 159.

But the link above should take you straight to correct page.

Enjoy!

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Man, those people out in California are having way more fun than I am -- mainly because they spend a whole lotta time consuming fabulous food and drink.

Now it's the always enjoyable Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River -- brewing up a flower-based Italian beer.

You can read about and see photos of the proceedings at Jay's blog. It's his entry for April 12 titled "Italian Brew At Russian River."

Come to think of it, it's all Jay's fault. HE's the one having too much fun -- and he keeps telling the rest of us about it!

No, maybe it's my fault. I keep reading his damn blog.............

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I dislike blogging. I do it, but I don't particularly like it. It's a necessary evil, part of the writer's deal these days, blah blah blah.

I dislike because of the anxiety it provokes. This chronic unease that I must. post. something. TODAY.

Turns out, according to a recent piece in the New York Times, that I'm not imagining my blogging-induced anxiety.

Mind you, unlike the people mentioned in the article, I'm not trying to make the top ten on Technorati or earn money from blogging. Either goal would deposit me for all eternity in a pit of insanity and anxiety. I try to save my angst, anxiety, and neuroses for the books I write.

But still................

I often wonder if, in, say, another ten years, people who are in their 20s and 30s now will experience an epiphany along the lines of: the incessant flash, scroll, glare, ding, ping, and hum of their email, cellphones, blackberries, and whatever else they're chained to visually and aurally has permanently wired them for anxiety and they've lost the capacity for "calm."

Has left them, in short, about the same place as humans were 15,000 years ago when our species existed in a constant state of anxiety induced by the equally constant need to fight or flee.

Now THAT is a scary thought.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This story broke yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. That's a for-pay site, so I can't send you there, but here's a free although shorter and skimpier version of this tale of dumbassness in action.

In brief: Wal-mart hires small company named Flagler Productions to videotape in-house functions: sales meetings, annual meetings, gatherings of company honchos, etc.

These are "unscripted" moments: male Wal-Mart execs dressed as women, singing and dancing on-stage to rally the company troops. Wal-Mart execs joking about unsafe gas cans sold at the stores. A Wal-Mart exec introducing Hillary Clinton as "one of us." (No doubt many of these tapes are already up and running at someplace like YouTube.)

There are lots of such meetings and Wal-Mart becomes Flagler's main source of revenue.

But in 2006, Wal-Mart dumps Flagler. No surprise, the production company, having lost its main customer, nearly goes under.

Until the owners realize something: Wal-Mart and Flagler never signed a contract stating the terms of their relationship.

So Flagler owns the tapes. They can do whatever they want with them.

Like sell copies to lawyers representing a family that is suing Wal-Mart for selling a particular kind of unsafe gas can. The same can that company execs made jokes about because it was, ya know, so unsafe.

All I gotta say is: This is truly THE dumbass move of the day, week, month. Hell, of the millenium.

Ooooooooohhhhhhhhh, man. I mean, I'm not a lawyer. Not even in the ballpark. But even I would know enough to (a) sign a contract if I entered into a business relationship; and (b) create a contract guaranteeing from now to eternity Wal-Mart's ownership of said tapes.

It'll be awhile before I find a dumbass move to top this one.

Well, okay. Maybe not. After all, there's a presidential campaign going on and George Bush is still in the White House.......

Meantime, Wal-Mart, I hereby offer my services as a contract reader. My fee? A mere one-tenth of what you paid the company honcho that hired Flagler. And I guarantee my work.

You know where to find me.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who are now totally confused by the media's coverage of yesterday's events: no, April 7 was NOT the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition.

Please -- take my word for it. I know what I'm talking about. I may not know much, but I am dead certain of that one thing.

Anyway, where was I before I started all this countdown stuff?

Well, here's one thing I missed:

My pal Jay Brooks issued a call for a new national "day": You know: like Boss's Day, Mother's Day, Kiss Your Therapist Day.

Jay suggests designating July 18 as "International Brewer's Day." You can read the details at his blog. Scroll down to his entry for April 4th titled "Session #14: Beer People." It's at the end of that entry.

I second the motion.

And picking up on the more general topic of that blog entry by Jay: "Beer People": What's not to love about beer people? I've yet to meet one I didn't like.

In no particular order, here are links to just a few of the websites run by people who love beer -- and who, in my opinion, exemplify all that's good not just about "beer people" but about people in general:

There's Jay's blog of course. You just won't meet a nicer guy.

There's Stan's blog -- currently running "slow" because he and his family are traveling more-or-less around the world.

TRULY a swell guy, James Spencer

In it for the love of the beer, my favorite brothers Groucho and CHUD

Mr. Cool himself, Rick Lyke

The fabulous Carolyn Smagalski

One of the nicest guys on the planet, Bryce Eddings

Historian, food guy, and beer guy Bob Skilnik

Everybody at the Brewers Association

The inimitable Lew Bryson

Stephen Beaumont. I don't know him, but god he's good-looking....

Alan from Ontario. I don't know him either, but he's very smart and so he's also probably good-looking. (Smart = sexy.) (You knew that, right?)

Russ from Maine -- who boggles my mind because he manages to keep up such a great blog.

Hmmmm....... I just realized that this list could go on and on and on. And I've got a book to write (I've only cranked out 7,000 words. That means I've got about 100,000 to go. Must. Get. Busy.)

To be continued.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Celebrating April 7, the 75th Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 7, 1933. Sirens blared. The beer trucks rolled. People danced in the streets and crowded into taverns to raise a glass in honor of legal beer.

It was the day hope arrived in a glass.

I've written a piece about that day. It's in today's Los Angeles Times under the title "The day the beer flowed again."

I hope you'll take a look.

I hope you'll listen to the recording of the speech Gus Busch gave that day.

Perhaps you'll share a beer with your family and friends, or join one of the special events hosted by bars and breweries around the country.

But no matter where you are, or who you're with, take a moment to honor the day hope arrived in a glass.

Thanks for taking time these past few weeks to share this countdown with me.

Now go! Have a beer!

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 6, 1933:

By mid-afternoon, thousands of people surrounded the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. A string of 1,500 trucks crawled along Arsenal Street, entering the brewery on 7th Street, where workers loaded each with kegs and crates, and then rolling back out on to Broadway to await the midnight signal.

Up in Wisconsin, the general manager of Fox Head-Waukesha Brewing, who had once worked for Barnum and Bailey Circus, knew something about organizing parades of large objects.

Instead of acrobats, he had 40,000 cases of beer; instead of elephants he had dozens of trucks that would haul the beer. The drivers would spend the evening napping in their cabs. At 12:01 a.m. on the 7th, a hired bugler would sound reveille to waken them. (There was no chance the drivers would take off early: they'd turn their ignition keys over to federal inspectors, who would hand them back at midnight.)

And so it went around the country in the towns and cities lucky enough to have functioning breweries. Huge crowds gathering to watch (and hoping for free samples). Trucks lining the streets for a mile or more. Tavern patrons sipping coffee, chatting, and dancing to radio or live music while they waited.

New Beer Eve, some people called it. An adult's version of Christmas, with the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve thrown in for good measure.

The moment wouldn't last forever, of course. In another day, maybe two, bartenders would sweep up the confetti and stack the empty bottles. They'd swab down the bar and wheel away drained kegs.

Party goers would crawl home to nurse their hangovers and sleep before returning to the grind of daily life: worrying about bills, fixing dinner, changing kids' diapers.

But on April 6th, Americans reveled in the moment -- one sweetened by the knowledge that brewers were hiring workers and paying millions in tax revenues into federal, state, and municipal treasuries.

On April 6, help -- and hope -- were on the way.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 5, 1933:

Meet Jake Ruppert, Master Party Pooper.

Ruppert owned one of the nation’s largest brewing companies, Ruppert Brewing located in New York City. (He also owned the New York Yankees. He’s the guy who snatched Babe Ruth from Boston.)

In 1933, Ruppert was president of the United States Brewers Association, the brewing industry’s trade and lobbying organization.

And on April 5, 1933, in his role as USBA president, he ordered brewers to hold back on beer deliveries until 6 a.m. on April 7.

Not 12:01 a.m., as everyone expected, but 6 a.m.

Never mind that dozens of cities had planned celebrations that would begin before or at midnight. Never mind the big live radio broadcast that would air the first legal “glug” at 12:01.

Never mind the airplanes scheduled to depart from several airports at 12:01, loaded with beer for President Roosevelt. Never mind the people camping out at local taverns, ready to grab the first glasses the bartenders passed over the bar.

Never mind all that. Ruppert said no dice. You gotta wait till 6 a.m.

Why? Because he feared that midnight beer deliveries would provoke a “carnival” atmosphere, causing merrymakers to lapse into “untoward celebration.”

To which August A. “Gus” Busch, Jr. of Anheuser-Busch replied “Huh?”

Well, okay, what he actually said was that he could not “imagine” Ruppert issuing such an order without consulting his brother brewers, or the USBA’s vice-president, Rudolph Huber, (who also happened to be VP of Aheuser-Busch).

And since Ruppert hadn’t contacted Gus or anyone else at A-B -- well, as far as he, Gus Busch, was concerned, the party was on. He would roll out the barrels at 12:01 a.m. Brewers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia issued similar announcements.

To which the nation heaved a sigh of relief -- and got back to the business of staking out barstools.

Source: “Jake Ruppert Warns Against Beer ‘Carnival’” in Milwaukee Sentinel, April 6, 1933, p. 3.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 4, 1933:

City leaders and beermakers picked up the pace. B-Day was coming up fast. Time to finalize arrangements, hire truck drivers, and track down extra bartenders.

In Chicago, brewers and hotel owners finally agreed on the terms of that city's events. Hotel owners had asked brewers to hold off on deliveries until 7 a.m. on the 7th. (What? They thought people needed a good night's sleep -- preferably at a hotel -- before they began drinking??)

After considerable debate, the hotel owners finally conceded: if brewers began delivering at midnight, the hotels would start pouring.

At least people in Illinois could expect the taps to flow. A whopping 29 of the 48 states were still dithering over details and had not yet passed the legislation needed to allow local beer sales on April 7.

Maybe that was just as well. The vast majority of the states didn't have any breweries, and the few hundred beermakers who planned to have trucks rolling on the 7th didn't have enough beer even for their local markets.

(For the record, the happy states were: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illlinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, with the District of Columbia thrown in for good measure.)

(So if you live now in one of those other no-fun states? No parties for you come Monday! You'll have to wait for your state's "real" anniversary........)

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 3, 1933:

Wisconsin newspaper reporter Lionel C. Moise sat down in front of a microphone at a radio station in Milwaukee. (Remember: it's 1933; no commercial television yet. You want mass media? You got radio.)

Live, and on the air -- and for the "edification" of the nation's youth who had suffered the misfortune of reaching adulthood "during the arid years" -- Moise was ready to describe and assess the "stimulation and flavor" of the "new" 3.2% beer versus old, pre-prohibition lager.

Like any good reporter, Moise had done his homework. He'd signed on as a temporary assistant brewmaster at a local brewery so that he could "scientifically" test the beer's content. He also downed "sufficient cubic centimeters to equal" six 8-ounce glasses of beer, after which hard labor he stopped to "ponder the result."

Now he was ready to share his findings with a radio audience. It's not clear if Moise enhanced the broadcast by sipping, smacking, and swallowing his way through a re-enactment of his previous research -- but he did render a verdict.

3.2% beer, Moise announced, "is all that has been promised -- and more." "It is agreeably surprising," containing both the flavor and "stimulation" of lagers brewed during the "pre-drought days."

"Two quarts," he added, "made me pleasantly light, but not giddy."

To which the no-doubt envious audience added: "Nice work if you can get it."

Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel, "Layman's Beer Verdict Heard on Radio Today," April 3, 1933, p. 1 and "Radio World 'Tastes' Brew," April 4, 1933, p. 3.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

City officials and beermakers around the country began announcing their plans for the evening of April 6 and wee hours of April 7.

The national centerpiece would be a live radio broadcast from Chicago, St. Louis, and Milwaukee, beginning at 11:30 pm and hosted by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

Remember, in 1933 commercial television had not yet arrived, so people gathered around their radios the way we congregate now in front of our flat screens. And programming focused on sounds rather than images.

In this case, there would be the usual round of speeches and music. But the program would also feature:

-- the roar of three aircraft departing from the St. Louis airport. Each would carry a case of beer. Two planes were headed to Washington, carrying beer in two cargos, one for President Roosevelt, one for Vice President Garner. The third plane was destined for New York and former governor and presidential candidate Al Smith, a fervent supporter of ending Prohibition.

-- the sound of trains loaded with beer pulling out of Chicago railyards

-- the hiss and swoosh of the first beer tap being pulled at a Miluwakee tavern

-- general merrymaking and mayhem from taverns and hotel bars in the three host cities.

Several people were schedule to speak during the broadcast, including Gus Busch, Jr., son of Anheuser-Busch president August Busch, Sr. and general manager of the A-B brewery.

As I noted the other day, you can hear his speech here -- but why not wait until the witching hour itself? Just after midnight on April 7!

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

No matter how good the news, we humans will find some way to squabble over the details. Milwaukee beermakers, labor unions, and the Wisconsin state legislature spent the last few days before Legal Beer arguing over the legality of metal kegs.

On March 31, one house of the legislature adopted a bill that banned the use of metal kegs.

Brewers protested, explaining that the ban would force them to cancel contracts with the Wisconsin companies already hired to fabricate the metal containers.

Worse yet, said Fred Pabst, Jr., of Pabst Brewing Company, the lumber for old-style wooden barrels would have to be imported from "Arkansas and some of the other dry states" -- meaning states that had long supported Prohibition.

Pshaw, said members of organized labor, which supported the ban on metal kegs. We want to drink beer "out of wooden barrels, as in the olden days."

This tempest in a teapot -- er, barrel -- raged on for a few more days. But the story had a happy ending: on April 5, the legislature passed a new bill that allowed brewers to use the metal containers.

Beer might be back, but the "olden days" were gone for good.

Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel, April 4, 1933, p. 1; and April 6, 1933, pp. 1 and 17.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)