The article talks about this. Studies that control for this arrived at the same results. For example, people in similar socio-economic bands as the wealthy/healthy drinker but who do not drink have a lower life expectancy.
But you can't really control for the fact that in our society, teetotalers are relatively likely to be uptight, high stress individuals. People who won't have a drink or two socially tend to be people who are paranoid about maintaining strict propriety and control of their behavior. They're unduly scared of embarrassing themselves. They're a class of people that on average have a harder time than normal relaxing. If you live your life scared of being even a little silly, constantly needing precise control over your behavior and environment, you've got issues that are going to reduce your lifespan.
@gul here's the thing you're probably looking for. Are you willing to pay 80 bucks for a sweet growler?
It is currently beer week in San Diego and yesterday I was listening to KPBS do an interview with the President of San Diego Brewer's Guild (the breweries all take turns) and he was saying there are now over 100 local commercial breweries in the county with another 30 to 40 currently trying to get regulatory approval to start up and that makes San Diego the capital of craft brewing in America. He was also bragging that at the last World Cup of Beer event San Diego based breweries took home more medals than the entire nation of Germany and more than any other place in the US. He credits that to a unique local culture among breweries which actually helps each other and helps people start up new businesses.
Things are more cut throat in Massachusetts. The plot thickens, as the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has opened an investigation: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...er-industry/o4m3VbNmSVw8CdGzVXFoyJ/story.html That last bit proves the Wilcox Group is lying. Anybody who has ever tried Pretty Things knows it is actually a superior product. And then some evidence from out of state: I actually have mixed feelings about this. One man's bribe is another man's discount. But at the same time, there is a set of rules in place, everybody should use the same rule book.
When you are only allowed to use the same 4 things to make beer as every other brewery your aren't going to keep winning awards. I love the beer in Germany, but they know the problem. Several of the Breweries are starting smaller breweries so they can make craft beer.
Well that's essentially the issue, but it's at least a bit more flexible than exactly the same ingredients. They are restricted in Germany to water, yeast, barley, and hops. But there are a lot of ways to generate different flavors within that framework by varying amount, source, and handling of the ingredients. I probably enjoy most some beers that would qualify under the German beer purity law. I think your second point is the larger issue -- establishing smaller breweries. The German beer industry is not dominated by a small number of massive brewers the way it once was in the US, but what they have instead is a number of regional "budweisers" that dominate, and aren't interested in recipe innovation.
The craft beer revolution is reaching into Germany. How a teetotaler unleashed America's craft brew revolution (referring to Jimmy Carter). Thanks to the craft beer movement, American beer, long derided as weak and watery by Europeans, is starting to not only get respect across the Pond, but is surpassing long-established brands in terms of interest. In Germany, long the considered to set the gold standard for beer brewing, craft breweries and distributors are now holding tasting events, introducing the local population to more complex flavors and styles. This is a welcome change for some Germans, who have become increasingly bored with the traditional mild lagers that make up more than 50 percent of beers sales. While the average consumption of domestic beer has dropped by one-third since 1995, during the same time, imported beer sales have almost tripled. "It's easy to get decent beer in Germany. We call it boredom on a high level," says Dirk Hoplitschek of Berlin, who founded a beer-rating site designed to raise interest in non-German beers. Regarding craft brews, he says, "The United States has a 30-year head start. People are traditional here. Maybe it will be a bit slower, but it will happen." Another good article on craft brewing getting restarted in Europe. Stone Brewing is invading Berlin.
Getting back to this, there are many people who live in dry areas of the country, and many who don't drink because they've become parents or are born-again Baptists and such. So in many cases drinking isn't that much of a personal decision but an accident of birth (religion) or geography. That surely gives researchers enough of an unbiased sample to work with.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/growlerwerks/the-ukegtm-pressurized-growler-for-fresh-beer Whoops, totally thought I linked this.
Okay, that thing is pretty awesome, and quite a fine work of craftsmanship, too. Probably I'm not ready to take the plunge just yet, but I could see placing it on my Christmas list.
I like how the NYT's article mentions Slomo and even links to a video article the Times did on Slomo. I thought he was just a local character in San Diego but it appears he has a world wide following. That guy has been rollerblading in slow motion on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach for 15 years and EVERYONE in the city knows Slowmo by sight, he's like a local celebrity, but I never knew he was a doctor who just decided to quit the rat race one day and spend his days at the beach skatting on the boardwalk. To frigging cool. http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000002796999/slomo.html
Ive considered using a soda stream for that purpose, but secondary fermentation in the bottle works just fine.
We saw evidence of that in Munich, and to be honest most of those helles beers taste the same. I can totally see how drinkers, and the brewers would get bored.
Yeah, I mean, that works fine and is what I do, but it also takes time. Being able to do it directly in a portable growler/keg thing with a tap on it sounds pretty good.
A year or so ago I saw another article about the influx of American craft beers that quoted a German saying "German beer is very very good, and it's very very boring." Oddly, a few years ago I made a beer out of fescue seed from Home Depot. It was great! I moistened the seeds till they started sprouting, then carefully watched for the right time to malt them, which I did with some electric space heaters. Then I proceeded as I would for a normal all-grain brew. The fescue mashed just as well as barely would (though the seeds are quite a bit smaller). I can't remember if I added extra alpha and beta amylase, though.
Well, I generally like Shiner, and never had their holiday seasonal variety. The Shocktop… yeah, not a fan of the regular stuff, even though I do like Belgian-style wheats, but I already had the other chocolatey beer and I wanted to compare. It was ok.
I bought some Holiday Cheer last week and it tasted...different...than it usually does. Definitely not as good as it's tasted in the past.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/travel/portland-best-beer-city/index.html?hpt=hp_c3 I like Portland and would even consider moving ther but CNN's John Foystone got this wrong from the get go. No, Portland isn't the city with most breweries not even when you count dinky places which don't even bottle. Portland, as the author tells us, has 64 breweries but, no, that is not the most because San Diego has over 90 with another 40-50 awaiting regulatory approval. He also tries to brag about things Oergon should be ashamed of like bragging that 50% of all the beer sold in the state is brewed in Portland. That is because of state beer laws which have a double set of standards making it hard for out of state imports to get distribution but easy for local breweries to get distribution at least to a wide degree.
Hmmm......is the "sweet growler" over 18 years of age? If so, 80 bucks sounds pretty sweet I must say.
I think the build your own 6 pack is a great idea. Sadly I am slacking off in keeping accurate records of the beers I select. Maybe that will be my "new year" resolution.
http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/06/craft-breweries-north-county-hops-highway/ North county is mostly outside the city limits but a lot of breweries have been moving there because it is cheaprer for industrial space. Anyway they now have officiallu changed the name of highway 78 to "The hops highway" because of the 39 breweries located along it. Basically the tourism authority came up with it as a marketing thing. All are not happy though as the dozen or so wineries, five liquor distilleries, one cidery, and one meadery are feeling left out of the marketing campaign.
I've never had mead - but it sounds about as old school as it gets. Do liquor stores sell it in Georgia? I have to get some. I can't find grappa (distilled grape skins) anywhere.
I do that regularly. My mate owns his own speciailty beer shop, imports plenty. While i do try the beers from various places i do like my American beers. More often than not, Lagunitas, Stone and flying dog beers will make their way into my fridge.
