The Death of Beer?

broken beer bottle/flikr

The Atlantic investigates the slow fall of "big beer" in The Death of Beer? Money quote:

Follow any dude in oversized glasses into a bar, and you'll see why PBR and Yuengling are doing alright—they've spent serious time and money positioning themselves as the hipster drink of choice. Yes, they're cheaper than Bud Light, but by the slightest of margins. Hardly enough to explain the difference in sales.

Effing Hipsters. The marketing is no surprise, PBR is now owned by a hipster who also owns such venerable culinary pop culture icons as Chef Boyardee and Bumble Bee Tuna.

The difference in sales refers to the big dogs of beer -- Bud, Coors, and the rest. Apparently while "big beer" sales have decreased, craft breweries are increasing in market share but this hasn't slowed the tide of decrease in beer drinking by Americans. Instead folks are drinking more wine and spirits. Is it that American tastes are becoming more bourgeois of the continued democratization of wine as viticulturist look beyond the verdant slopes of California and spirits with the recent renaissance in cocktaillery?

The Republican Obama Effect

I read an interesting article today Whatever happened to the Black Republican Wave:

This was supposed to be ''the year of the black Republican.'' Google the phrase and you'll get more than 20,000 results, most of them ending with a question mark. Prompted largely by a May 10 New York Times article, ''Black Hopefuls Pick This Year in GOP Races,'' media outlets pounced on the Great African-American Republican Narrative of 2010. Chock-full of Tea Parties and history (''the most black GOP candidates since Reconstruction''), the story was not only eminently discussable, it was also a perfect platform on which to stack another favorite talking point: the Obama effect. Despite very different political views, black Republicans were inspired by Barack Obama's victory and were now throwing their own black hats into the ring.

Conservatives, especially, welcomed the news, heralding more than 30 black Republicans running for Congress as proof that the right isn't racist. ''[This] shows that conservatives have no barriers to entry except on policy and philosophy,'' wrote Ed Morrissey on Hot Air.

But then came the primaries. In Alabama, Les Phillip, who made waves with ads saying President Obama ''played with terrorists,'' got crushed by both his white opponents. Even white incumbent Parker Griffith, a former Democrat who switched parties last year, beat Phillip by 17 points. Baptist minister Jerry Grimes lost in North Carolina's 1st district, and Lou Huddleston, who won a Cumberland County North Carolina Republican Party straw poll in February, got walloped in the 8th district. Despite his years of service as an aide to Colin Powell, Huddleston proved no match for Tim D'Annunzio, a businessman who raised money with ''machine gun socials.'' (For $25, supporters got a plate of barbecue and the opportunity to shoot an Uzi.) In Mississippi, Fox News analyst Angela McGlowan, endorsed by none other than the Sarah Palin, lost to both her competitors, catching only 15 percent of the vote.

There are still dozens more primary elections to come, but, so far, it seems voters in the South are less excited than the news media about 2010's crop of black conservative candidates.

In South Carolina - of all places - there is a Republican candidate for the first that is African American, Tim Scott. So far, he hasn't faced the race baiting his fellow candidate Nikki Haley has. The polling, while sparce has him ahead. But will the polling pan out? Despite high flying endorsements from groups like the club for growth and the scandal ridden head of the minuteman, Jim Gilchrist, can Scott pull ahead of the scions of two of South Carolina's leading political families - the Campbells and the Thurmonds? Even without such well knowns, the race is crowded (9 total are running). For Scott then perhaps it's just a matter of surviving to the eventual run off. And more importantly can he over come what has thus far proven to be a Bradley Effect on the right? We'll find out tomorrow.

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As a side note, it's interesting to see the final campaign finance reporting as it shows Tim Scott for congress having paid $5450 to The Mace Group LLC for website and "messaging." The Mace Group also operates and maintains Will Folks outfit -- FITSNews who has been very supportive of Scott's Campaign and published many reports on Scott. But just to show you how incestuous and byzantine SC politics are -- Scott also hired Starboard Communications owned by Walter Whetsell, a direct competitor of the proprietor of FITSNews.

Sundays were meant for drinking

...and who better to drink with than theater and movie master, culture critic extraordinaire Orson Welles:

So go ahead and pass the Paul Masson or, if you're in our neck of the woods -- Andre. Thanks to my friend Tug of About-Today for sharing the link to NYMag with this gem of a video.

Cilantro Vodka

Summer time is upon us in Columbia which means it's time to sit on the porch sipping some Dee-lish cocktails. This year my friend Scott of Corley Mill Catering turned me on to the idea of infusing vodka to expand on cocktail capabilities.

An herb that really pleases the pallet of my friends and finds regular and versatile use in our kitchen, and we grow it in our garden, is cilantro. So what better way to experiment with vodka infusion than with something we have readily available and know we like in various combinations?

Just to add a twist and some extra versatility to the concoction we zested a lemon and put just a few pieces in the mason jar with the vodka. I didn't add too much because Lemon Zest is potent and could easily over power the flavor of the cilantro.

This concoction, assuming we can demonstrate a modicum of self control, will steep for at least a week. I look forward to sipping on a nice V&S -- or adding it to a Bloody Mary for a nice kick. Even better could be a delightful martini. If this works -- later this summer I might try making a cocktail variation of Tom Kha Gai

Jake Knotts, Nikki Haley and the peril of SC Politics

Ben Smith earlier today noted an article by CBN's David Brody regarding the religion of Republican Gubernatorial front runner Nikki Haley. Those questions and the underlying implications were magnified this evening by what I witnessed at this evenings broadcast of Pub Politics.

[For the record Pub Politics had "technical issues".... with their sound/p.a. equipment, at the bar. so that will probably translate into their not posting the what was web streamed.]

If you don't know, it was tweeted, retweeted and subsequently is already on CNN. I was there, he then reiterated directly to me, and Corey Hutchins of the Free Times among other folks. Sen. Jake Knotts said (paraphrasing) we've already got a rag head in the white house we don't need one in the Governor's mansion. Because in my mind rag head is an unpleasant, derogatory stereotype that - post 9/11 - was used in reference to Arabs and Muslims - I asked him to clarify, did he mean Sen. Sheheen, Vincent is of Lebanese Catholic heritage and is the democratic front runner or Nikki Haley - the Republican front runner who was born and reared a Sikh of Indian origin who is his natural antagonist.

Without reservation he said he was not referencing his colleague Mr. Sheheen, but was in fact talking about Nikki Haley. To paraphrase and not use Sen. Knotts colourful language he went on to say that her father owned the local Sikh temple and imply that she was possibly receiving funds from extra-national sources, and on and on and so forth. At this point most of my companions at the table were light headed with disbelief at what we were hearing but came to reality when we realized it was Jake Knotts, and when he himself reminded us that he didn't give a damn he tells the truth and what he believes, which is pure Jakie -- he does speak his mind.

I ordered another beer and watched as Corey cornered Jake furiously typing on the qwerty keypad on his phone, while Wes Donehue was trying - unsuccessfully - to dissuade the Senator from speaking with the local reporter. I imagine the Free Times will have something up soon with the treasure trove of quotes that Hutchins received from the free wheeling Senator.

What followed was a flurry of phone calls by operatives on both sides of the aisle and the reactions, and denouncements that the national media have already picked up. Ah South Carolina Politics -- what a swamp.