Does the shape of a beer glass make you drink faster?
The Economist – one of my favorites – has a recent piece on whether or not a beer glass can influence the pace of drinking.
The story is based on a study at the University of Bristol, where a researcher set out to test the difference between drinking out of a straight glass, such as a pint glass, and a glass with curved edges, like a flute. It was found that the majority of subjects downed the beer out of a flute quicker than out of a straight glass.
The reason being that those drinking out of a flute can’t easily tell how much they have imbibed because of the curves in the glass, and therefore aren’t as good at pacing themselves.
From the Economist:
Dr Attwood’s hypothesis is that a beer drinker, wishing to pace himself through an evening, is monitoring the volume remaining in the glass, probably with reference to the halfway mark. A curved-sided glass, though, makes exercising such judgment hard—as she demonstrated by calling her volunteers back a week later and asking them to estimate from pictures how full various glasses were. Most volunteers thought the halfway mark in the flute was lower than its true value, and if a volunteer had drunk from such a glass originally, the degree of misestimation correlated with how fast he had drunk. If a glass is half-full to start with, however, this reference point is lost from the beginning.
I don’t think this small study quite proves the point, but it is something to drink over.
- Matt Pritchard
What’s your craft beer personality?
I recently ran across this article by George Lenker breaking down 5 craft beer personality types: the beer geek, the beer populist, the beer gourmand, the know-it-all and the beer snob. Here’s a quick snippet of how Lenker describes each type:
The Beer Geek: They delight in talking about their favorite beers and rarely feel they need to come off (as) the smartest monkey in the brew zoo (even though they often are).
Beer Populists: While we are not obsessive, we really enjoy all types and styles of beer. Like beer geeks, we like to share our passion, but we do so by making craft beer seem accessible, which it is.
Beer Gourmands: These folks are casual craft beer drinkers (and) might even be seen enjoying a Michelob or a Budweiser once (in) a while.
The Know-It-All: These types are beer geeks with a flaw: They share their knowledge, but with an attitude that doesn’t encourage discussion.
Beer Snobs: Not only do they make beer aficionados like myself roll our eyes, they also turn off potential new craft beer lovers by their incessant need to dominate conversations.
I personally think labels like these are pretty lame, but Lenker does a pretty good job rounding them up. Where do you think you fall?
Read the full article here.
- Matt Pritchard
Tamarack Brewing Co. hosts Community Tap Night to benefit GSA
A friend of mine is part of the Grizzly Scholarship Association so I thought I’d pass this along to anyone interested in downing some beer for a cause.
Missoula’s Tamarack Brewing Co. is holding a Community Tap Night tonight (Tuesday, May 15) to help out the GSA. For every beer sold, 75 cents goes toward the organization. The event takes place from 6 until 9 p.m.
Here’s a little about the GSA:
Each year, Montana Grizzly Scholarship Association donors give The University of Montana the financial strength to educate deserving student-athletes and to build programs that we can all take pride in. We face the enormous challenge of rewarding dedicated student-athletes with scholarship assistance. The GSA has committed $1.4 million toward scholarship expenses for the upcoming academic year.
- Matt Pritchard
Does beer make you smarter? Possibly
Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago claim in a recent study that men who imbibed in a couple of beers were better at deducting a brain teaser than those who drank nothing.
To reach that surprising conclusion, the researchers devised a bar game in which 40 men were given three words and told to come up with a fourth that fits the pattern.
For example, the word “cheese” could fit with words like “blue” or “cottage” or “Swiss.”
Half the players were given two pints. The other half got nothing.
The result? Those who imbibed solved 40% more of the problems that their sober counterparts.
Also, the drinkers finished their problems in 12 seconds while it took the non-drinkers 15.5 seconds.
While I sometimes believe I’m a bit smarter after a couple of pints, it’s hard for me to believe that’s true. If I was, I think my brain would probably tell me to avoid that third one … cheers.
Check out the full story here.
- Matt Pritchard
Beerjobber.com ships beer directly from breweries, just not to Montana
With so many breweries sprouting up all across America, it’d be nice to buy beer that you normally can’t find at your local market. That’s where a relatively new service hopes to fill a void.
Beerjobber.com works with breweries and connects them with beer lovers. Users of the service can place orders from specific breweries over the site and then Beerjobber picks up the beer and ships it to your doorstep.
When I first saw this, I didn’t think it was legal. And in some states, like Montana, it isn’t. (When I asked them over Twitter they said, “Unfortunately no. MT has some of the strangest laws in the country!”)
Nonetheless, they do ship to some 38 states and they’re adding breweries all the time. So if you live outside the Big Sky, it’s worth a shot to see if they deliver to you. Prices are around $50 per case and shipping ranges from $6 to $20.
- Matt Pritchard
Missoula biotech firm looks to turn brewery waste into shaving cream, soap
Adrienne Bull, a chemical engineer from Corvallis, pours a biochemical product into a vessel last September. Photo by KURT WILSON/Missoulian
Blue Marble Bio, a biotech firm with a facility in Missoula, has teamed with InBev (present owners of Anheuser-Busch) to turn brewery waste into products such as shaving cream and soap. It basically works by converting the waste into carboxylic acid, which then can be used in cleaning supplies and grooming products.
Of course, reusing the remains of the brewing process is nothing new. Often what’s left is used as livestock feed. But this process could lead to a new market for the leftovers.
Blue Marble Bio began testing waste grain from Anheuser-Busch about a year ago and is scaling up the process for a small facility in Missoula.
If all goes well, Blue Marble will develop a pilot-scale biorefinery at an Anheuser-Busch brewery at a yet to be identified location.
Read the full story here.
- Matt Pritchard
‘Drinking Made Easy, Missoula’ hits airwaves Feb. 29
Mark your calendar. Zane Lamprey’s “Drinking Made Easy” featuring Missoula airs Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 6 p.m. In the show, Lamprey and sidekick Steve McKenna hit up the Iron Horse, Big Sky Brewing, the Rhino with Bayern Brewing’s Jürgen Knöller, Reds, Bodega and the Testicle Festival. If you’re not familiar with the show, the premise is pretty simple: you watch Lamprey and McKenna drink … a lot. There’s also a drinking game involved, pleepleus and some witty banter.
I checked out a preview and the episode is definitely worth watching if you get a chance. The show airs on HDNet , which is available on DirecTV and Dish Network, so set you DVR.
- Matt Pritchard
Pangaea by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Popped open a bottle of Dogfish Head’s Pangaea the other day, which I bought last March in Arizona. The idea behind it was to make a beer that contains ingredients from every continent: crystallized ginger from Australia, water from Antarctica, basmati rice from Asia, muscavado sugar from Africa, European yeast and North American maize.
Here’s Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione explaining the beer:
After trying the beer, I’m honestly not sure what to say. It was a little bitter and a little sour with notes of the ginger coming through. I don’t think I was quite prepared for it. If you find it on your travels when it’s available, then take the plunge. But be warned, it’s definitely unique.
- Matt Pritchard
Missoula company buys Butte distributor
Not much to do about craft beer, but beer news nonetheless.
Missoula-based Zip Beverage Co. recently completed its purchase of Butte’s Thompson Distributing Inc., which has been in business since 1976. The Montana Standard reports the Thompson family decided to sell after seeing the trend of small distributors being bought up by larger companies in the wake of InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008. With the sale, Zip will expand to Dillon, Twin Bridges, Three Forks and Butte, and projects to have annual sales of 2 million cases of beer per year.
Read the full story here.
- Matt Pritchard
Grizzly Growler changes in works
Grizzly Growler will have some slight changes in the works over the next couple of weeks starting with a new email address, GrizGrowler@gmail.com. I am moving on from my job at the Missoulian to go back to school (accounting of things), but will be maintaining the blog and Facebook page. Check out the updated Montana breweries map on the left-hand side, which is up now, and look for an updated list of Montana craft breweries and a list of 2012 Montana beer festivals and events.
- Matt Pritchard