Always Be Alert for Batted Balls

I have never caught a foul ball at a baseball game. Probably because I usually don't sit close enough. But if I were ever in that position I hope I would snag the ball as gracefully as this guy and the Mets-Cubs game, and without tumbling over the railing into the section below.



But I would never want to be this guy. Through hardly any fault of his own a foul ball smashed his beer cup and doused 13 people (someone counted).



No surprise the ball was hit by the Mighty Pooh Holes. It takes a strong man to douse that many people.

I'm Calling for a Boycott of Carlsberg as a Show of Solidarity

The workers at Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen are striking this week after management imposed unfair demands on them by changing a long-standing policy without first consulting the union.

Since the company was founded its workers were permitted to drink as much beer as they wanted throughout the day, so long as they were not drunk.

Carlsberg suddenly and without prior notification instituted a ban on drinking on the job other than during a 30-minute lunch break. That gives them time to pound three maybe four beers tops without being drunk after lunch.

Seems like the strike was necessary to combat the heavy-handed tactics of management.

If this happened in America Poop on Me would sue Carlsberg so fast they wouldn't even have time to chug three beers at lunch.

Btw, truck drivers are exempt. Since it's not advisable to drink and drive and all their trucks were equipped with ignition control devices, the drivers were never subject to the all you can drink rules. And since they often eat lunch away from headquarters they were given three beers to take on the road with them, a policy that will not change. But as a show of solidarity the truck drivers are striking too.

And we should follow their lead until Carlsberg's management loosens these draconian rules.

I'd liked this story if it were just about the beer policy, but I love this story because the workers are striking over it.

Best Beer Slogan Ever

A Scottish brewery called BrewDog is getting some attention for its Toyko beer which authorities want to ban because of its 18.2% alcohol content and its label which contains the best beer slogan ever:

"Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time to time, have excess."

Can't Even Afford to Cry in Our Beer

The nation's top brewers plan to raise prices this fall.

Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors both say they're going to raise prices.

Anheuser-Busch said in a statement it plans on raising prices on a majority of its volume in the bulk of its markets this fall to cover some increases in its costs.

Sales of Miller Lite -- MillerCoors' flagship -- and Bud Light -- the top brand for Anheuser-Busch -- have both been suffering amid the recession.

Prices across all beers, however, have been rising. In 2008 the price of beer, ale, and other malt beverages sold for at-home consumption rose 5.3 percent, according to the government's Consumer Price Index. As of July, prices on those same items were 4.6 percent higher than they were a year ago.

Beer Summit Update

For the record, it was Bud Light for Obama, Sam Adams Light for Gates, Blue Moon for Crowley and nonalcoholic Buckler for Biden.
I'm glad Gates decided not to go with the Red Stripe.
Why did Biden drink a non-alcoholic beer? Is he in recovery? [Update: Biden has alcoholism in his family so he doesn't drink. There are reports he's never tasted alcohol but I didn't see that anywhere reliable enough to believe it.]
I also would have liked to see them go with bottles and not mugs. It would have been more fitting of the spirit of this "boys night out." This way seems like Michelle nagged him to use the mugs -- and of course the coasters.



And who shows up in a suit when someone invites you to their house for a beer?

Tonight's Beer Summit

I am greatly looking forward to tonight's Beer Summit between President Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates and Sargeant James Crowley, the cop who arrested Gates for breaking into his own home.

I like the idea because I think a lot of the racial problems in this country could be solved by white people and black people getting together for a beer, proverbially of course. But if white people and black people interacted more they'd realize we're not all that different, and we don't all hate the others.

My only problem is the President's reluctance to name his favorite beer for fear of offending someone. I think the President and the Administration try a little too hard to do the popular and politically correct thing, especially annoying when it involves something as stupid as the President's favorite beer.

Speaking of favorite beers, Crowley prefers Blue Moon (hopefully with orange slices) and Gates likes Red Stripe.

Which is humorous because last weekend Pizza Parlor Derek and I were making fun of a guy at the next table for ordering a Red Stripe.

But what nerve these guys have to request their own preferred beers while drinking at Obama's house. Social ettiquette requries that when you go to someone's house you drink whatever they serve. And if you want a special brand of beer, you bring it yourself. Wouldn't that be awesome to see Gates strolling into the White House toting a 6-pack of Red Stripe in a paper bag?

What Exit Are You Drinking?

A New Jersey brewery is using the state's congested and often-derided turnpike to promote its beer.

Cherry Hill-based Flying Fish Brewing Co. (motto: "Proudly Brewed in New Jersey: You Got a Problem with That?") has undertaken an ambitious project of releasing a special beer in honor of turnpike exits, one at a time.

The beers are being made in limited runs and sold in 750 milliliter wine-size bottles.

The first, a Belgian-style ale, came out earlier this year in honor of Exit 4, the exit nearest the suburban Philadelphia industrial park that Flying Fish calls home.

The next beer, Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat Ale (an intersection of styles) is a tribute to Woodbridge's exit, where the Turnpike meets the Garden State Parkway.

Joe Orlando, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, said it's a bad idea to associate a highway with alcohol. Flying Fish has answered the authority's concerns with disclaimers that the beer isn't endorsed by the authority.

"There's been a brokered peace here," Orlando said. "But don't expect to see it in any of our rest areas."

Initially, that didn't satisfy Mindy Lazar, executive director of New Jersey's chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "The combination of a roadway and advertising for any kind of a beer doesn't make any kind of sense," she said.

The company plans to introduce more exit beers every few months.

Muller said he's not sure if all 29 exits will get their own beers.

Muller said he hopes its fans will help come up with future beer concepts linked to the exits, which are near malls, the Meadowlands sports complex and peach orchards, not to mention right under the approach of planes landing at Newark Liberty International Airport.

That's a change from the original idea. Muller said initially he wanted to have each beer's alcohol content match the exit number -- Exit 6 beer, for instance, would have 6 percent alcohol. Most beers have about 5 percent alcohol.

"But then we thought pretty quickly that Exits 1, 2 and 3 were going to be pretty boring for brewing, and then Exits 16, 17 and 18 were going to be really dangerous."

Upcoming Product Reviews

"Wendy's will start selling boneless wings this month starting at $3.99.

Sweet & Spicy Boneless Wings will be made of chicken breast. They will be tossed with three sauces: Sweet & Spicy Asian, Honey Barbeque and Bold Buffalo.

Orders will contain seven to nine pieces depending on weight and start at the suggested price of $3.99.

An ad campaign supporting the new offering will begin on June 22."

I never eat at Wendy's because I don't like anything on their menu but this is a game-changer.

"Anheuser-Busch is launching a wheat version of Bud Light this fall.

The national roll-out of Bud Light Golden Wheat the week of Oct. 5 is the second extension of Bud Light, after the St. Louis-based brewer launched Bud Light Lime last year. Bud Light Lime has since become one of the company's most successful new products.

It's a way to boost sales since the different versions typically cost more than the original, by about $1 to $1.50 more a six-pack, he said.

Anheuser-Busch came up with an offshoot of Bud Light that uses unfiltered wheat, orange and coriander to give its stalwart brew a new twist. The beer has a cloudier look since the wheat is not filtered and has a sweeter taste.

Levy said the company is working on its advertising for Bud Light Golden Wheat and said it expects to spend about the same as it spent last year on Bud Light Lime's launch — around $30 million — to market it through television, national print, online and other media.

The new beer has a few more calories and carbohydrates than Bud Light: 118 calories compared to 110, and 8.3 grams of carbohydrates, up from 6.6 grams. The new brew has slightly less alcohol at 4.1 percent by volume, compared with Bud Light's 4.2 percent."

I don't really like Bud Light, nor do I care that much for these wheat beers but it should be interesting to try. I have a feeling the Concierge will take one sip and say "too much coriander."

We Need These Guys To Spice Up the Swine Flu Stories on the News

I'm getting bored with these swine flu stories. So I think every newscast should hire a mariachi band.
One of my favorite commercials ever.

Bud : Mariachi Band - kewego
A man offered some Budweisers to a Mariachi band once in a restaurant. But, unfortunately, he didn’t know how greatfull they would be!

The Concierge Was Just Looking Out For His Own Safety and the Safety of Others

For several years, the Concierge has engaged in a subtle war with the man who held the aisle seat in the row in front of him at Shea Stadium.
Every Sunday the man would leave his tote bag adjacent to his seat, partially in the aisle.
As a form of silent protest the Concierge would step on his bag every time he descended the aisle.
While I thought the Conch was just being petty it is too bad he isn't an Ottawa Senators fan. If he were, this incident may have been avoided.

"A 21-year-old man was taken to hospital after he fell about 25 feet from the upper deck of Scotiabank Place during the second intermission of the Ottawa Senators’ victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night.

According to witnesses, the man sailed headfirst past and over a few stunned onlookers in the rows ahead of his seat before tumbling over the low railing at the bottom of the third level and falling onto a row of seats in the level below.

Senators president and CEO Roy Mlakar said the man was carrying two beers when he stumbled over a purse.

“He was not inebriated,” said Mlakar, who confirmed that the man had been treated on the scene for lacerations and that he was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.

“He seems fine, he’s totally cognizant. He recognizes that there’s nothing serious.”

He added that two other people the man landed on in the section below also were treated at the scene, and that a third person, a 33-year-old woman, sustained a non-critical neck injury and also was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons.

Mlakar said it was the first such accident in the 13-year-old arena’s history."

Product Review: Heineken DraughtKeg

I recently purchased a Heineken DraughtKeg (basically a minikeg) to bring to Hershey for Leary's wedding, so I could drink in my room without the obtrusiveness of a bunch of bottles or cans.
The keg holds 5 liters, roughly equal to 10.5 pints or 14 12-ounce beers.
At a cost of $18.99, that's a pretty good value, especially in contrast to the hotel bar.
It wasn't that big, or that heavy, and fit perfectly in the hotel fridge, which was quite convenient.
I asked The Concierge to tap it for me and here's his review of the product with my thoughts mixed in:

"The Heineken Keg is a fun product, easy enough to use but has room for improvement. The two step tapping of the keg is easy enough but tapping results in a premature discharge of beer."

The Conch prematurely discharged beer all over my sandals.

"Perhaps there is a written warning about this...who reads the directions on how to open a beer though. The pouring feature is a bit counterintuitive because you pull up on the lever instead of pressing down - this is actually the simpliest way to design the keg flow but people enjoy pressing down on a tap. Finally, the pours of beer have a lot of bubbles (foam), almost look like it was pressurized with nitrous oxide rather than CO(2)."

There was a tremendous amount of foam, and not just after the initial tap, each subsequent pour, even days later, was about 25% foam.

"Perhaps the pressure loss from seepage over the time the keg is tapped requires extra gas so that you don't run out. However this feature does make it fun pouring beer directly into your mouth. All said, this is a good product but I prefer ice cold bottles because of the lack of excess foam."

I prefer bottles as well but was happy with the keg because it did stay fresh for days afterwards (I still have some left), it promises to stay fresh for up to 30 days.

I also like the fact that this is more eco-friendly because it has much less packaging than bottles or cans. But I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to discard the keg when I'm done. Does it go out with the regular trash?

With the foam being a secondary issue for me, my biggest complaint was that the keg leaks. The small hose through which the beer is dispensed always held a few drops after each pour and despite my best efforts to shake, tap and wipe those drops away I still found a small puddle of beer on my refrigerator shelf.

The biggest thing the keg has going for it is novelty, so I'd recommend buying it once, and deciding for yourself.

More Stories of Parental Neglect

Following the disturbing incident involving a small child drinking Mike's hard lemonade, now this video surfaces from a Chattanooga Lookouts game. A small child drinking beer at a ballgame with his father in the next seat.



If you think the bottle was empty then you didn't notice the kid's sudden behavioral change after he got drunk, he was waving and laughing, clearly losing all his inhibitions.

But compared to the haircut they gave him maybe letting the kid have a beer was the best decision these parents made.

Funny or Douchey?

A man in Illinois loves beer so much he wants to be buried in a beer can.
Bill Bramanti ordered a special coffin and had it painted to look like a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
No word on why he likes Pabst Blue Ribbon.
But to make this even cooler, Bramanti hosted a party and filled his casket with ice and beer.
He might as well enjoy the casket while he still can.

What a Waste of Alcohol

A beer truck overturned on a highway in Illinois, spilling most of the 1,140 cases (27,360 beers) that were on board. The only consolation is that it was Beck's.

If you have the stomach for it you can watch the spilled beer trickle down the roadway.

When German Cultural Icons Collide

The two best things to come out of Germany are German beer and German Shepherds.
Unfortunately these two cornerstones of German culture don't always peacefully coexist.
Beer drinkers along the Rhine River in Dusseldorf often throw their empty beer bottles on the ground.
And the broken glass caused a problem for the police force's 20 German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds.
So the police dog handlers paid $89 for shoes like those that are worn by sled dog.

If I Could Only Teach Diesel This Trick

Sarah Pewitt has what some may call the perfect pooch.
3 year old Charlie the chocolate lab will bring you a beer.
She started by putting a treat in the fridge. Then she put a towel on the door handle and taught Charlie how to pull the towel to open the door and get the treat. Then she put a beer on the ground and got him to fetch it just like he would a tennis ball.
Then she put the beer in the fridge and Charlie knew what to do.



For the doubters among us there is video evidence.
Next she wants to teach him how to make a sandwich. I don't think that will work out quite as well.

It's Been a Year But It Seems Like Yesterday

Dennis Green's famous "Crown Their Ass" speech is a year old. But I say it never gets old. I'm glad Coors Light finally started using it in their ad campaign.

Always Wear a Cup