Projo Beer Blog

AP Photo
Wayne Meyer, co-owner of the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company restaurant, holds up Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., beer, right, and Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., beer, left, at his restaurant in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is inviting drinkers of its beer to choose between an Obama and McCain ale in the "alection" of 2008.

The Obama beer is leading 4 to 1, according to an Associated Press story, which notes that real polls also show Obama with a commanding lead.

It was the beer my father used to drink. Maybe it's the beer your father drank too.

And now it's making a comeback.

In Milwaukee, the return of the beer that made Milwaukee famous "is creating a buzz," according to the Associated Press. "Stores are depleted of their stock within days, they're taking names for waiting lists and limiting customers to just a few six- or 12-packs each."

For those of us who remember its most recent taste and reputation, this might be hard to believe, but Schlitz was the world's best selling beer from "1903 until Prohibition in 1920, and regained the crown in 1934 until the mid-1950s," according to the Associated Press.

The story attributes the beer's demise over time to a strike by brewery workers, a change in the fermenting process, barley problems that made the beer go flat quickly and, finally, an attempt to solve the problem by adding seaweed extract, which would turn solid if the beer sat on the shelves too long.

The owner of Schlitz, Pabst Brewing Co., is recreating the old, pre-seaweed formula, using notes and interviews with old brew masters to concoct the pilsner again, according to the Associated Press.

It's being reintroduced in the Midwest before it goes national.

I can't wait to crack one and toast Dad.

Journal columnist Bob Kerr says you should "feel free to cry in your beer" now that Budweiser has been sold to a Belgian company.

"Yup, this Bud's for Belgium," Kerr writes.

Read his column.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light, has agreed to a takeover by a giant Belgian brewer, a union that creates a global beer leader and brings to an end one of the most iconic names in American business.

The board of directors of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. on Sunday accepted a sweetened $52 billion takeover offer from Belgian brewer InBev SA, according to a joint press release.

The deal, which is subject to shareholders' and regulators' approval, would create the world's largest brewer and create the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide.

Read the full Associated Press story.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- After weeks of public bickering, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.'s board is likely to accept a sweetened buyout offer from the Belgian-based brewer InBev SA as early as this weekend, a published report said.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both cite unnamed sources in reports Friday that the talks have become friendly.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Journal Food Editor Gail Ciampa writes about summer brews this week.

Here's the beginning of her article, This season, why not try a different brew?:

Warm weather and cookouts are coming. That means dining and drinking outdoors and many a thirst turns to ice cold beer with a frothy head. But you don’t always have to reach for an American-style lager made with malted barley.

Last summer, I made wheat beers my seasonal favorite. Now I learn that I am not alone. While not taking the world by storm, and not new by any means, wheat beers are a fast-growing segment in the beer world. They’ve been among the darlings of brew pubs which specialize in craft and international beers. Now more beers made with malted wheat are appearing on drink menus in all manner of restaurants.

Read the full story.

By Bill Van Siclen
Journal Arts Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Beer drinkers used to have it easy. Back in the B.C. (before craft-brewing) era, most bars and restaurants stocked the same handful of nationally advertised brands from the same handful of nationally dominant beer companies. Now, of course, it’s not unusual to find familiar labels such as Bud and Miller mixed in with more exotic brews with names like Skull Splitter, Yellow Snow Ale and Ruination IPA.

The number of beer-related events has also boomed in recent years. Once confined to that frothy rite of fall known as Oktoberfest, beer tastings and festivals now take place throughout the year.

The latest reminder that Oktoberfest isn’t just for October anymore arrives this weekend in the form of The Great International Spring Beer Festival. An offshoot of the long-running Great International Beer Festival, the festival takes place Saturday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. In all, more than 250 brews will be available for tasting, ranging from traditional American-style lagers (think Miller and Coors) to European imports (Guinness and Heineken) to a wide array of artisan-made ales, stouts and specialty beers.

Read the full story.