15% of Caucasians May Have “Churchill Gene”
Ever wonder how some of the great minds could handle so much alcohol? They may have had the “Churchill Gene.” Instead of being a vice, alcohol became the stiumulus for creativity.
Winston Churchill claimed it crucial for The World Crisis, his six-volume memoirs, stating: “always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me.” Novelist William Faulkner drank more intermittently, but claimed not to be able to face a blank page without a bottle of Jack Daniels. Beethoven fell under the influence in the later part of his creative life. Among painters, Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and many others liked a drop or two while working.
Mark Twain endorsed this view saying: “My vices protect me but they would assassinate you!”
Yet until recently science has had little to say about alcohol and the creative process, confining itself to studies of damage, tolerance and addiction. Over the last few years, however, evidence has emerged that some have, if not a Churchill gene, then a creative cocktail gene.
See the whole story at the Prospect.
World’s Oldest Bartender, 95, is Retiring in Pa.
Ever since, except for a 30-month hitch during World War II, the son of Italian immigrants has been tending bar and serving drinks. Guinness World Records dubbed him the longest-serving bartender a decade ago, and he’s earned induction into Jim Beam’s Bartender Hall of Fame and numerous other honors.
Now 95, he’s calling it quits.
via the AP http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iVcWJR1bFTRvp7n_S8_eGIjiDJjwD9AC1HU00
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Minneapolis Zombie Themed Bar
Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den is a zombie themed bar in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The stunning new interior comes straight out of a 1950s Las Vegas lounge (the classic part). The zombie stuff (i.e. the kitsch) is hilarious, and more nuanced than you’d expect from a bar named Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den. In the corner, a small chainsaw sits inside a glass case that reads “In case of zombie attack, break glass.” The bartenders all dress like Simon Pegg in “Shaun of the Dead” — white button-up, red tie and blood stains. The friendly female servers wear long black gowns. Again: This is a classy zombie joint.
Zombie resurrection [startribune]
Posted via web from Ben Hanten
Maker’s Mark, I ain’t mad at ya. It’s Jamie Foxx I’m mad at.
I mentioned the other day that I was unhappy with Maker’s Mark after our trip to Kansas City last weekend. An important part of the trip was to be the Maker’s Mark Bourbon Lounge in the Power & Light District. Not only am I a huge Maker’s Mark fan, I also sell a lot of it at my bar. And, as you know, I have promoted their product here at Drink Update.
So it was more than a little annoying to be denied entrance to the Bourbon Lounge on Saturday night. We were told there was a private party and that there were, “plenty of other places to get in trouble.” What?! Get in trouble? WTF. Basically the manager in charge of watching the door was a condescending jerk, and it was pretty easy to assume we were being denied access because of dress code or some other arbitrary reason. I mean, it was Saturday night in one of Kansas City’s busiest disticts. How much would you have to spend to shut down a large club with a full kitchen on a Saturday night? $60,000?? More?
Well after having a great time at the Kansas City local pubs we ventured back to Yankton. On Monday, I called to find out about this “private party.” I was still mad that one of my favorite brands had shut us out. But I was wrong…. The nice hostess on the phone apologized a million times and explained that it was, in fact, a private party and that it was the first time the club had ever shut down for that reason. Apparently Jamie Foxx had a concert across the street at the Sprint Center and the club was closed for Foxx and 400 friends, entourage, Sprint Center employees, etc.
I still think the manager at the door was a jerk, but….. Really that damn Jamie Foxx was to blame. Maybe next time, Maker’s.
Photos from Kansas City; Royals game & pub crawl
My girlfriend and I hit Kansas City this last weekend for a Royals game and a tour of the Power & Light District. Power & Light is not cool — unless you like bars for an all Abercrombie audience. Not to worry, though, we found some old bars where the locals hang out.
I’ll have more about this trip soon, specifically about how mad I am at Maker’s Mark and their Bourbon Lounge.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.Road trip to Kansas City
My girlfriend and I will be road tripping to Kansas City this weekend. We are hitting a Royals game on Saturday night, followed by clubbing until 3am in the new Power & Light District. Some destinations will be the Maker’s Mark Bourbon Lounge, the Gordon Biersch Brewery, and the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium. There will be plenty of pictures and reviews following our return. If you are interested in following us, I have a wifi camera that automatically uploads pictures to my Friendfeed. Check it out Saturday night.
Cheers! Go Royals!
Photo via emilybaker1216
Blue beer made from glaciers
Here’s a new one for you. Beer from melted glaciers and seaweed.
Geekologie clues us in:
The Japanese, in their unending quest to make the awesomest stuff on the planet (minus robots), are manufacturing blue beer made from melted icebergs (take that you Titanic sinking bitch!). And, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I have already had colored beer on St. Patty’s day before. It made my throw up green!
And the official explanation:
Okhotsk Blue Draft stands out for its cool color and interesting (yet not off-putting) ingredients. The brew is made using water melted from icebergs that float each year onto Hokkaido beaches from the chilly Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the North Pacific ocean bordered by Japan and Russia.
Kid Rock has a new beer. Yaaaaaaay.
I can’t hardly wait. An American lager…. but with Kid Rock’s name attached!! Ahhhhh SUUUUMM.
Detroit — Kid Rock’s Friday night show at Comerica Park was not just a massive concert event. It also was the soft launch of Kid Rock’s new appropriately titled Badass Beer.
“It’s delicious!” said Elizabeth Hussey, 25, of Shelby Township, after her first sip. She praised its “lean aftertaste” and “crisp, summery” savoriness. “It’s not heavy in your mouth; it’s light on your palate,” she said, comparing it to a Sam Adams summer lager.
Of course, Sam Adams doesn’t have a summer lager… And I’m sure an American lager doesn’t taste like Summer Ale. But, she tried it, not me.
“I like it, it’s a workin’ man’s beer,” said Scott Carignan, 34, of Chesterfield Township.
But not so for Bill Watson, 59, of New Baltimore. “We’re here for Kid Rock, so of course we had to get a Kid Rock beer,” he said. But after a few sips, he wasn’t blown away. Would he pick up some from the store? “Probably not,” he said.
From the Detroit News
Beer drinking… By country.
Which country drinks the most beer? America? Germany? No and no. The U.S.A. is #6 and Germany is #3.
No, #1 goes to an unlikely suspect, the Czech Republic. And to illustrate this wonderful knowledge, there is a very cool graph over at Snippets. Thanks to reader Carolyn for the tip.
Man uses beer to entice alleged burglar to leave
The AP tell us:
BAR HARBOR, Maine – Police said a homeowner in Maine used a beer to entice an intoxicated intruder to leave. The intruder apparently didn’t realize that it was a nonalcoholic beer. Bar Harbor police said the homeowner awoke early Monday to find 22-year-old Scott Cote in the bedroom and used the beer to convince him to carry on.
That and more available at AZ Central
Beer bellies revisited
Calories, carbs, beer, beer bellies. They all go together right? That must be why more and more products like Bud Select 55 are being released all the time.
Not so fast. At least one study suggests that beer bellies are not from drinking alcohol at all.
Charlie Papazian at Examiner.com tells us more:
I always look at century old paintings and wondered about those roly-poly folks dancing in the streets or sitting on a stool, smoking a pipe. Did all those overweight, jolly or austere men and women drink so much beer that they had beer bellies even in then.
400 and 500 years ago you couldn’t go down to you local market and pick up a 30-pack of cheap beer. You probably had to work at drinking a lot of beer, yet the belly has been with us for ages. It turns out a recent study by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition may slim down your chances of getting a belly from too much beer.
No it doesn’t matter whether your wearing jeans or not, but evidently the study indicates that it might have something to do with your genes.
A study of thousands of beer drinkers found that although people who drink regularly are more likely to put on weight, they do not necessarily accumulate fat around the abdomen.
Guinness will send you to space. Or to see the Black Eyed Peas.
Oh please, send me to the Black Eyed Peas concert! Are they serious?
The brewer is putting three once-in-a-lifetime experiences up for grabs themed on the colour of its famous black stout beer.
To mark its 250 years in business, the company is sending one winner into space, another to the depths of the ocean, and a third to an exclusive Black Eyed Peas concert.
The Guinness space experience gives one person the chance to become one of the first non-professional astronauts to venture into space with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline.
The competition is open to adults in 28 countries at its website www.guinness.com until the 250-year anniversary on September 24 – dubbed Arthur’s Day.
From the Telegraph
Study shows that beer is better than water after exercising
Ever wonder why cyclists and runner seem to hang around bars? They are rehydrating, of course.
According to a study in Granada, rehydration was “slightly better” in beer drinkers than those who were given only water after a grueling treadmill run to exhaustion in 104-degree heat.
Half the group was given water after the workouts, and the other half were given two pints of Spanish lager. The finding reportedly came after tests on 25 students over several months, with the following conclusions:
Researchers believe that it is the sugars, salts, and bubbles in a beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly… [and] the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst more quickly, and that beer’s carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion.
New Belgium: One of the 7 Best Places to Work
CNN has listed the 7 best places to work, and a brewery made the list. New Belgium, the makers of Fat Tire, 1554, Skinny, Dip, etc., is truly a cool company. They power the brewery with wind, make great product, and value their employees.
After one year of work, each employee receives an ownership stake in the company and a free custom bicycle. After five years every employee enjoys an all-expenses-paid trip to Belgium — the country whose centuries-old beer tradition serves as a model for the Fort Collins, Colo., brewery. Oh yeah, and employees get two free six-packs of beer a week.
I used to live in Fort Collins and I really miss the culture that companies like New Belgium helped promote. People always noticed when a New Belgium bike went by.
Those values include employee ownership. Workers own 33% of New Belgium, which has 320 employees and posted $93 million in revenue last year. A large proportion of the staff participates in strategic planning and budgeting. “People are engaged and committed,” Jordan adds.
Quotes via An office that offers free bikes and beer – Jun. 5, 2009.