The BLager
twitter.com/TheBlager:
Beers of Summers Past: 2009 Revisited.
If my memory serves me correctly, “Happy Hours” beer is a Budweiser product. The title does bring up an interesting point in the English language and drink vocabulary: why is it called Happy Hour when it often runs for several hours?
Found in Kunming, China.
Smacking Carlsberg Around The School Yard
Marketing, beer marketing in China in particular - is….mostly a ghastly combination of exploitation and harassment. I was once bullied into drinking a Carlsberg Chill by a scantily clad beer girl (an occupation that does not seem to exist outside of China and Taiwan, to my knowledge. Beer girls have to wear atrocious outfits that some what resemble a cheer leading uniform and cowgirl boots, they barrage you into buying disgusting beer that comes from other countries, and sometimes they even drink what you begrudgingly purchase from them). Ever since then, I’ve had beef with Carlsbarf.
Now they are trying to “woo women” with a “gender neutral beer” aka tasteless crap with a stupid label.
WELL, I just want to tell you that we should not chalk up the beautiful country of Denmark, nor the Danish beer market, nor the Danish beer drinker, to Carlsbarf’s pitiful marketing ploys.
Look at this brand, Mikkeller. Dude was a home brewer just a couple of years ago! Awesomesauce. And now he’s storming the Danish buds of taste with his inventive antics. And then there is his brother, of Evil Twin Brewing. This man has gone ahead and done the unthinkable….blended beer and wine! Disco beer is the name, and upon first thought you might think “ewwwwwwwwww” but come on, you gotta try it before you knock it. Remember, 2011 is the summer of experimental beer drinking (that’s soooo official). Also, we all have a mini crush on Denmark and this is the perfect way to get to know it a little bit better. Lastly, it might make a great house warming gift HINT HINT HINT.
Beer and Ice Cream
CC Family Restaurant is an establishment in Cambridge, Ontario. Countless folks drive by this place daily, and ask themselves “what’s with the beer and ice cream?”
Well, let me tell you that going out for beer and a fancy ice cream dessert is the thing to do among the trendy in China. Walk into any popular cafe, and you will see couples, families, and groups of friends ordering large sundaes and big bottles of Budweiser. Obviously, CC is trying to bring the trend over to Canada. I think next time I will go in and check to see if it’s catching on.
I say, boycott the Mainland, ship to Taiwan and India! And get the Dalai Lama to be your sponsor. I would like to see a photo of him holding a bottle of Rogue. But really, it is interesting that the PRC banned this considering their revolutionary roots, and Rogue’s cover art utilizes the clenched fist - symbolic of revolution. A quick search of Google images of the word “communism” brought up this photo.
Its debate time. No, I’m not talking about American Politics, whether Michelle or Bristol is the better dancer, or the Year of the Tiger and the Madhya Pradesh show down (ok so you weren’t debating that last one, but maybe you should). I am talking about THE DEATH OF THE DIVE BAR! But, if NY Dive Bars are dead, then they are zombies, because they just won’t die.
Thinking about American beer culture, as a whole, and as its defined, is easier when comparing to other countries’ beer culture. For example, PBR = not good. It became trendy in the US because it’s cheap. In fact it’s so trendy, things like this happen. In China, American things are trendy. In fact, they are so trendy, that things like this happen. But you have to admit, that marketing spin is nothing short of genius. No wonder the Economist runs an article every week about China taking over the world. And then there is Scotland, which is just getting weird. Who knows what demographic they’re after. If beer marketing = world domination, which it does, then maybe you should start believing what you read in the Economist (but probably not).
