Craft Beers

Anheuser-Busch Brewery

Several weeks ago, when the boys and I were golfing, the Starter paired us up with a high-level executive for Anheuser-Busch.  We learned several things, some of which I’ll share with you today.

The first point he made answered a question I have pondered for several years now, ever since Stella Artois became available in almost every venue in the United States.  This beer, purported to be among the oldest brewed in Europe was purchased by Anheuser-Busch, primarily for distribution rights.  It certainly qualifies as a crafty beer, but may be brewed in other places than its native Belgium.  At least that might account for a statistic I saw a few weeks ago saying the Belgians no longer find it attractive.

Anchor-Steam

Our golfing companion said that Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) had purchased 175 craft breweries  the rights to distribute them in the last year.  The movement to consolidate small breweries began in the United States when Anchor Steam, a San Francisco Brewery, found itself in financial troubles and was bailed out by Frederick Louis Maytag III in 1965 and subsequently by an investment company and most recently by Sapporo.  Anchor Steam remains brewed in San Francisco and, at least to my taste, is much the same as it was sixty years ago.

It would appear that the Budweiser move (which includes replacing most of the Pabst-brewed beers in Milwaukee with craft beers and some historic brands, such as Stroh’s, Schlitz, Ballentine’s, Andecker and more than a dozen others.) reflects a trend in American beer consumers.  It is not unusual nowadays to find even modest bars with half a dozen or more craft beers in tap.

A far cry from the days when I was at Marquette.  One of my favorite jokes is about a couple, driving into Milwaukee in the early morning hours.  The breweries were all lit up, with steam pouring out of their smokestacks.  The wife says, “Do you see all the beer they are making?  There’s no way you’re going to drink all that beer.”  To which he replied, “Well, I’ve got them working nights.”

Although Coors still advertises they make their beer in the Colorado mountains, Budweiser is brewed in at least four American cities, and no other traditional brew has a major market in the U.S.  Instead major breweries like Sam Adams bring different beers to market seasonally, craft beers, such as their Rebel IPA are harder to find.

Another possible attraction of the craft beers might be thed choice of alcohol content.  When I first tried beer, in Iowa, the law limited alcohol content of beer to 3.2%, a rule I am, sure passed away many years ago.  O'Shea's seels a Double IPA with an alcohol content of 7.4%, the "double" relating specifically to the alcohol. I can't remember the last time I got a "buzz" from beer, but in my younger days there were times, even at 3.2%.
More likely, the beer content effects the smoothness and "bite" of the brew, and tastes will vary on both those issues.

I have a kegerator and my sons insist I stock it with craft beer.  Their recent favorite is Elysian Space Dust, but O’Shea’s, where I buy my kegs doesn’t routinely stock that.  Similarly, the Rebel Ale and Goose Island IPA.  The one I can depend on is Sculpin, a San Diego craft beer that is one of my favorites.  It is a little pricey though, about $115 for a five-gallon keg.

Making one’s own beer has become increasingly popular, possibly because of cost.  O’Shea’s estimates they service more than 200 occasional brew-masters in Orange County.  Even Mary went to a presentation by a home beer brewer, but hasn’t shown any interest in brewing herself.

Oh well, I still have my Sculpin.

My next Post is borrowed from NPR which had a short feature connecting the dots between dead cows, rat poison, and a life-saving drug called Warfarin.  I hope you will join me.

Junk Mail and Solicitations

I’ve taken to taking a nap, usually for 30-60 minutes, and usually, somewhere between 2:00 and 4:00 PM.  There are a couple interesting points.  First, I am blessed to be able to set an internal clock for 30, 60, or 120 minutes and wake, almost to the minute after sleeping deeply.  Second, almost every other day my sleep is interrupted by a solicitation call.  So often, that I have taken to napping with both of my phones: landline and cell, within easy reach.

I am sure that, like many of you, I have seen an increase in the number of solicitation calls.  I saw a recent statistic that said the cost of such “Robo-calls” is less than 1/10^th of one cent, which explains why many are to a dead line, and return calls from caller ID are seldom able to be completed.  I have one particular nuisance call, a heavily-accented Indian or Pakistani male who, mostly identifies himself as representing a pharmacy service.  On one occasion, I engaged him, since he was explaining how I could get a Federal Grant, a scam I recently had seen on Snopes.  Even when confronted, he was unapologetic and persistent.  I have blocked more than four dozen numbers, but still receive calls from all parts of the United States and the Americas.

I was at a conference where an FBI Agent was discussing fraud and asked the agent how I could report this company.  He confessed they are virtually powerless to stop them unless someone has given them serious money and federal laws have been broken.  But, I was also having problems with legitimate charities.

Raising money for charities is Big Business and a specialist in the field can command a mid-six-figure salary.  I discovered a website that tracks how much a charity pays in overhead, the biggest part of which goes to raising money.  If you haven’t checked out your favorites, do so at www.charitynavigator.com   Having that knowledge gave me an idea: my biggest problem was continual solicitations from charities to which I contribute.  I was receiving letters from some on almost a weekly basis.  So, I sent them all a response in their own envelope: 19 in all.  The letter I included was one of two, depending on their Charity Navigator rating, but both were identical in the message that said, “If I receive a request for money and have contributed within the last 12 months, I will NEVER send you money again.” The difference in the letters referred to their rating on Charity Navigator.  I received two responses, one confessing they didn’t know about Charity Navigator and would comply with disclosing their financials to receive a rating.  A second said they would comply and only request money annually.

Apparently, there was some positive effect as I receive fewer requests than I used to, but Mary still supports at least two charities who regularly remember her birthday, acknowledge her gift, or other nuisance requests, which I would have stopped paying.  My alumni requests are pretty good now, as are some of my charities.

As I write this, we are seeing appeals for the Texas and Louisiana victims of Hurricane Harvey with Irma in the wings.  The American Red Cross is being criticized for the donations that reach the victims, a problem they still confront in Haiti.  The Wounded Warrior Project got rid of some of its highly-paid administrators and greatly improved its Navigator rating.  I had stopped contributing, but am making an annual contribution now.

My next Post will feature what has happened and is happening to craft breweries and how the change has affected our drinking habits.  I hope you will join me.