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.