Brian Alberts

@brewedculture

Historian, writer, dad studying the cultural history of beer. Footnotes and pizza both Chicago style. He/him

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Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 20d

Credit where it's due: Stars & Stripes understood German beer strength much better in 1968 (and was talking up Rauchbier!)

Text clip from June 1968 issue of Stars & Stripes magazine. Reads: "To settle age-old arguments over the alcohol content of beer, one should remember that in Germany "percentage" has nothing to do with alcohol but refers to the Sammwuerze, the extracts which determine flavor and punch.

The alcohol content roughly amounts to one third to 1/4 of the Stammwuerze. Thus an extra powerful 16-percent bock has an alcohol content of 4 to 6 per cent -- and that's about the top for any beer."

Goes on to say "...Scotch fans probably would enjoy Bamberg's Raunbeer [sic], which has a faint whiskey flavor because the malt has been smoked."

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 22d

Grocery store near me has been selling $5 twelve packs of Outlaw Light for a couple months now. Guess you could say it's a...steal.

Photo to grocery store pallet filled with light blue cardboard 12 packs of Outlaw Light beer. Priced at $4.98.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 23d

Keep it up, maybe we can get them wearing Kossuth hats.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 24d

Huh, so this is how Boomer dads felt when Ford put out the retro-muscle Mustang 20 years ago.

Random internet photo of a 2005 Ford Mustang (red), which mimics the lines of the late 60's Mustang Fastback muscle cars.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 25d

Reading U.S. military coverage of Munich's Oktoberfest in the 1950s, and they keep describing the festival beer as super strong, usually 18% (!). My only guess is that they confused ABV with Original Gravity (German brewers often use a percentage scale that I struggle to understand/convert)

Clipped screenshow of magazine text from a 1954 issue of Stars and Stripes. The relevant text is circled in red and reads: "The main aim of the Oktoberfest, to put it bluntly, is the drinking of the strong 18-per cent "wiesnbier," which is sold at the fest only in liter measures."

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 25d

Oh wait, found it.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 25d

Been a minute for this one. It's good and all, but the bottle doesn't say what kind of beer it is anymore. Doesn't even say the word "beer."

Photo of a bottle of Kona Big Wave beer on an outdoor picnic table

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· 28d

Finished up with Lassen NP, Lava Beds, and Crater Lake NP (that blue!). Even saw a whole new kind of rainbow. Kids' first real road trip in the books.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jul 12

Spotted on the shelf to boot. It's how I know this Sierra Nevada joint is legit. @beervana.bsky.social

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jul 12

oh hi Chico!

Exterior shot of Sierra Nevada Brewing facility on Chico, CA. Shows pale stone building with large windows and copper brew kettles visible inside.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jul 9

Oregon coast and California Redwoods seem pretty mid tbh. But I've seen the world's biggest cherry pie before, so they never really had a chance.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jul 3

Craft Beer & Brewing has published the recipe for Common Country Ale, Mount Vernon's historical collab that's based on a cookbook recipe in Martha Washington's library. Brew your own version! ...oh, and if you could have it ready by tomorrow, that'd be great. www.beerandbrewing.com/recipe-washi...

Promo photo from Mount Vernon for Common Country Pale Ale. Shows the torso of one of the site's actors in colonial garb, holding a can of the beer in his hand. The beer label shows an image of young George Washington.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 13

Welcoming the Washingtons to Washington! I'm so lucky to get my hands on some Common Country right after its release in Virginia. More breweries in Virginia and Maryland have expressed interest in brewing their take on this beer. I'm hoping to get some Washington State breweries to join in, too!

Photo of my hand holding up a can of Common Country, an America's 250th anniversary collab beer that I played a small part in creating. Behind the can is an image of Mount Rainier from a forested area full of blooming plants.

While I love exploring Mt. Rainier national park and have been to places like this, this particular image is from a wall hanging in my home.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 11

This and the vintage MLB cans are neat and all, but I'm surprised by how sleepy Anheuser Busch's celebration of its 150th has been. AB has both a unique position in American beer and the most impressive archives of any US beer brand. They could be telling spectacular stories and they just...aren't.

PR image of Budweiser Beechwood Reserve beer label. Label is red and reminiscent of classic Bud label, but has MLB logos and Budweiser's 150 insignia. Relevant tagline for this special edition is "Brewed with 150 years of baseball history and aged with Beechwood Baseball Bats"

I hope they dusted the bats off before brewing with them.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 10

Fascinating history, but I'll quibble. The 1872 Sunday liquor ban was slightly more successful, and way more interesting, than they imply. - Lasted 1.5 years - Saw lots of open defiance - Generated a whole new local political party - revolved around a murder case in ways I don't fully understand

Headline clipped from Chicago Tribune, Oct 21, 1872. Reads:

"A Dry Day

Effect of Mr. Washburn's Order on Saloon-Keepers.

The Drinking Population Reduced to Plain Seltzer.

Physician's Prescriptions and Obliging Apothecaries Alleviate the Sufferings of a Few

The 'Sunday Law' Generally Observed in the City."

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 2

The kegger was eventually swallowed up not just by its immediate controversies but by cultural shifts in the way Americans thought about youth and drinking. It's a great story. Here's a clip from a podcast I made about it. open.spotify.com/episode/4WhS...

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 2

Within a few years, the kegger's attracting major music acts and crowds up to 10,000, while raising serious $ for the library. It also draws ire from the community and the attention of major beer brands. It became an exemplar, and casualty, of the ways drinking culture was shifting in the 1970s.

Black and white photo of Elvin Bishop performing at 1974 Aber Day Kegger. Photo is from behind Bishop and band, showing the stage and massive crowd beyond.

Photo from 1979 kegger showing behind the draft taps. Dozens of kegs are set up inside a rodeo corral, organized into rows of 5 or so daisy chained kegs that allowed beer to flow continuously. A line of volunteers is sitting on the first keg in each row, facilitating pouring to the crowd on the other side of the fence.

1975 newspaper clipping from the Missoulian, showing a photo of a lounging man propping up a souvenir pitcher from the kegger on his chest and mouth. Above is a graphic headling of a beer barrel reading "The Kegger - Should it be?"

Photo of 1979 kegger, taken from atop a high hill overlooking the kegger stage and crowd. In the background can be seen numerous cars and support vehicles.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 2

June 1, 1972 U. of Montana students turn sociology homework into a charity kegger/concert, to support their uni library. For $2, they offer 6 bands and bottomless Olympia beer. 3000 people show up, so they do 7 more. The Aber Day Kegger becomes the biggest college beer event west of the Rockies.

Screenshot of newspaper headline, reading "Beer Bust to Raise Funds for UM Library" from the Missoulian newspaper, June 1, 1972

Black and white photo of '72 kegger. Focus is on a Black woman singer belting a note into a microphone with attendees in 70s summer fashion watching in background. Some sitting, some standing. Cups of beer can be seen in their hands. Singer is Goldie Ritchie with a band called the Weston Davis Group. Photo via Montana Memory Project.

Photo is early kegger (possibly '72, but if not it was a similar early one) taken from behind the serving lines. Shows a man holding a pitcher of full beer, talking to some attendees. Behind him a shirtless man in overalls and a western hat is filling a cup with beer from a system of linked kegs. Behind him is a crowd of attendees being served by volunteers against the backdrop of a conifer forest. Photo by Earl Sherron.

Black and white photo of two highly inebriated kegger attendees lying on the ground. Behind them are multiple discarded paper cups and other improvised beer vessels, like a milk-type plastic jug. Photo via Montana Memory Project.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Jun 1

So I've always focused on the beer halls in this photo (downtown Chicago, 1858) and never paid much attention to the line of horse-drawn carriages across the street. But now I can't stop wondering what it's like to parallel park one of those things.

1858 photo of Randolph Street in Chicago, taken from the bell tower of city hall (facing north). Shows numerous brick buildings of 2-5 stories, some with visible signs indicating beer saloons, coffee houses, and the Sherman House hotel. On the street at the bottom of the photo are several horse-drawn wagons, a few traversing the street and several more lined along the curb the way parallel parked cars would today.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· May 18

Re: the Schlitz news Anyone notice that the press statements by Pabst are basically identical for both Schlitz and their pulling of various other brands a few weeks ago?

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· May 2

Second, I'd love to see craft/the BA appropriate this idea. Craft beer represents more of America's rich cultural landscape than international conglomerate macros ever could. They got macro ad budgets, but craft generates more and richer stories than any marketing team could ever keep up with. 2/

Partial screengrab of Budweiser ad copy from circa 2017, a red background with a can of Budweiser on the left side, only "Budweiser" has been replaced with "America." The can's America starts the tagline "America is in your hands."

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· May 1

Tired of inflation news? Read about how, on this day 182 years ago, laborers and soldiers across Munich launched a 3-day riot over an 8% increase in the price of a beer. www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2020/7/...

Portion of an 1844 historical sketch of Munich's Lager Beer Riot of 1844. Image shows a portion of what is now Talstrasse in Munich, centered on the Isartor gate. Chaos rules the street as a few soldiers and gendarmes try to combat a crowd of rioters. In one part of the crowd is a large barrel filled presumably with beer, as this riot involved the looting of some 36 Munich breweries.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 22

La Forge meme: Top text (La Forge disapproves): "Axe throwing in craft breweries."

Bottom text (La Forge disapproves): "Axe throwing in data centers."

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 20

"More Beer, Less Collar" In 1911, the Richmond Times-Dispatch shared reports of German beer sellers facing jail time for underfilling glasses below the legally stamped pour line. Court considers the act "deception of the public."

Scan of newspaper clipping, Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 20, 1911:

"MORE BEER, LESS "COLLAR"

Serving Short Measure is Made Criminal Offense

Munich. Wednesday. April 12.

Serving short measure in beer and the deception of the public by tilling steins"
and' "seidels" with froth so as to form
what Is popularly known as a "collar."
has just been Judged an offense punishable by Imprisonment by the criminal court here. The tenant of a gigantic beer house, who was charged
with defrauding the public In this way,
was sentenced to six weeks In jail
and a fine of $750. and five of his
waiters to terms of from one to three
weeks in jail.

Evidence showed that it has become
customary to serve glasses of beer In
which the liquor did not reach the
legally stamped mark Indicating the
proper measure, the drinking vessels
being tilled with froth.
Public indignation led to the suit,
which was instituted by several custtomers.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 15

4/14/1837: William Crawford begs the Chicago City Council to let him keep brewing. Unfortunately, he'd built what was likely Chicago's first brewery on land he didn't own. It belonged to a canal company who later gave it to the city for use as a "public commons." You might know it as Grant Park.

$Photo of a written ”Petition of William Crawford to Occupy Public Ground as Brewery,” submitted to the Chicago City Council, dated April 14, 1837. Transcript: "To the honorable the President and board of Trustees of the City of Chicago: The undersigned petitioner humbly [shiveth???] that through the persuasion of friends, and with the full purpose and expectation of purchasing the lot when offered for sale, he has induced two years since to erect a building for a Brewery on fractional section fifteen on the shore of Lake Michigan then belonging to the state as canal land. And as the said land has since been sold by the canal commissioners reserving however a large commons and making it over to the town of Chicago for the use of its citizens as public grounds…[?]…the petitioner unluckily located himself on said commons and further as he has gone to great expense and trouble it would prove ruinous in the extreme to be compelled to move said building this summer. He further [shiveth???] that as buildings are scarce and far between where he is located it cannot possibly be any injury or inconvenience to any person moreover as there can be no filth or anything unpleasant as such a premises must be kept perfectly sweet and the air pure in order to make good and wholesome beer. Your petitioner therefore humbly prays that you honorable body will grant him the privilege of remaining on said ground one year from 14th July next or such time as you in your wisdom may deem meet. And your petitioner will ever pray William Crawford"$

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 11

My national parks posters are multiplying.

Photo of the interior stairwell of my house, showing a row of WPA-ish style national parks posters in a lower hallway (previously posted) and a new series of five additional posters on the upper walled banister of the stairwell. Shown parks depicted in the posters include Rocky Mountain, Indiana Dunes, Olympic, Devil's Tower, Yosemity, Mount Rainier, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Great Smoky Mountains, and Canaveral.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 8

Best Star Trek crew, wrong answers only

Screenshot from a 1996 awards show skit where the cast of Frasier filled in for the crew of the Star Trek starship Voyager, with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). This image shows a closeup of Janeway with Daphne (Jane Leeves) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) wearing Starfleet uniforms.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 7

bsky.app/profile/kott...

Still shot of Robin Williams in Good Beer Hunting, right as he said the line "Son of a bitch...he stole my line."

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Apr 3

Current doom-masking obsession: decorating my home with posters for national parks that some or all of us have been to. Several more are in the pipeline. It's been quite fulfilling to realize just how many parks I've managed to see over the years.

Photo of a wall in my home, showing five framed posters for U.S. national parks. The posters are all artistic depictions from the same series by Robert Decker. Parks shown include Olympic, Canaveral, Great Smoky Mountains, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Mount Rainier.

Brian Alberts@brewedculture· Mar 31

Starts in one week! There's still time to learn why beer halls like the four in this photo managed to cheese off an ex-Chicago mayor for like 25 years.