Yearly Archives: 2003

Why I’m not foaming over higher beer taxes

BEER TAXES, oh brother.

Everybody’s griping about Gov. Rendell’s new beer taxes, and they want Joe Sixpack to lead the fight against ’em. I’m sorry, I’m just not up to it.

Taxes give me a headache. I’m still struggling over my Form 10-something-or-other, and the government is telling me I can’t deduct Advil as a business expense. Every year it’s … Read the rest

What Was It Like in the Bad Old Dry Days?

WHAT WAS Philadelphia like during Prohibition?

Though the 18th Amendment banned the sale and consumption of alcohol nationwide in 1919, the city was notoriously described as “wet as the Atlantic Ocean.”

* Estimated number of illegal taverns citywide: 8,000. (About 1,300 operate today.)

* Between 8th Street and the Delaware, north of Chestnut Street, hundreds of saloons and speakeasies, known … Read the rest

Philly will be a little drier with departure of Jim Anderson

LAST SATURDAY at the annual KitchenAid the Book and the Cook’s beer tasting at the Penn Museum, Dogfish Head Brewing’s Sam Calagione tapped another one of those over-the-top ales that makes beer-drinking so much fun in Philly. This one, called Shock and Awe 120 Minute IPA – an intensely hopped brew that takes two hours to cook and about six … Read the rest

Deus Brut, the bubbly of bottled beers

What’s the champagne of beers? Miller High Life, of course.

But a new Belgian ale, Deus Brut des Flandres, might be the Dom Perignon of beer. Take a look at the bottle and label, and you’ll see it bears a remarkable resemblance to the prestige cuvee of the Moet et Chandon.

Deus (say it DAY-ews) is made much like Champagne. … Read the rest

Guinness, we hardly knew ye

WHAT’S THE difference between Guinness Stout and Coors Light?

Judging from the sound of the blather coming out of St. James’s Gate in Dublin these days, not much.

You can’t read the morning newspaper through a glass of the creamy stout – yet. But the way the folks at Guinness talk, you’d think their famously black-as-ink Irish ale is the … Read the rest

Who sez drinking beer won’t keep you warm?

   WARNING: In cold weather, do not drink alcoholic beverages because they cause your body to lose heat more rapidly and make you feel colder. – Centers for Disease Control advisory.

   WARNING: Avoid alcohol in extreme heat because it can cause dehydration and make you feel hotter.    – Centers for Disease Control advisory.

OK, which one is it?

Let’s pick a … Read the rest

Finally, Sunday sales starting at State Stores

THIS WEEKEND greets the biggest improvement in Pennsylvania booze history since they started accepting credit cards at beer distributors. For the first time in at least 84 years, state residents will be able to legally buy wine and spirits on Sunday.

Finally, you can wake up on the morning after a Saturday night kegger, head down to the liquor store … Read the rest

First Annual State of the Sleaze Report

   “There’s no doubt that today’s consumer is looking for more in an ad than girls in bikinis.”

Patrick Stokes, president, Anheuser-Busch, 1992

HOW TRUE. Ten years later, consumers are getting more than a quick flash of cleavage.

As the 2003 beer commercial season froths into Super Bowl action, viewers are being treated to increasingly candid references to penis … Read the rest