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Harry Smith

Harry Smith

Posted: July 29, 2009 02:28 AM

Just a Minute: Beer Profiling


Doesn't what you drink say something about who you are? James Bond... Martini. Shaken, not stirred. Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses... Willie Nelson and Toby Keith.

As the big summit meeting at the White House draws closer, I'm wondering what we can learn from the beer preferences of Henry Louis Gates and police officer James Crowley. Gates told the Boston Globe he likes Becks or Red Stripe. Becks is a straight ahead pilsner. Foreign without being froo froo. Red Stripe is from Jamaica... It's vacation in a can. Sergeant Crowley is said to like Blue Moon. Blue Moon is a Belgian wheat ale brewed in Colorado, preferably served with an orange slice.

Whoa. Did these guys get their beer choices switched at birth? Or are their beer choices more a reflection of their aspirations? Skip Gates wanting to be more macho. Sergeant Crowley wanting to seem more mellow. Let the beer buzz begin. Just a minute. I'm Harry Smith, CBS News.

 
 
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10:22 PM on 07/29/2009
The thing that is consciously ignored about what the beer choice reveals is that the Blu Moon is a Belgian WHITE beer! Racially pure, don't you know. Where are the dark stouts???
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10:19 PM on 07/29/2009
After the first one or two it doesn't matter that much anyway.
04:20 PM on 07/29/2009
If you are interested in the controversy over Gates' arrest, you should watch a special live episode of Basic Black, PBS Boston’s series on the African American experience, this Thursday, July 30, at 7:30 p.m. at www.wgbh.org/basicblacklive. Our panel will be reprising last week's discussion on the topic, as well as addressing other issues affecting people of color.
03:09 PM on 07/29/2009
Beer Profiling

Bud ,Blue Moon ,Red Stripe and Becks are all foreign owned .

Sam Adams is now the biggest selling American Owned in the US .
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Economike
02:46 PM on 07/29/2009
The only beer: Anchor Steam
02:39 PM on 07/29/2009
Having tended bar in a restaurant / bar frequented by the coeds of a large university, I'm here to tell you:
Blue Moon is consumed primarily by sorority girls.

Gates wins the bartender's respect here. Hands down.

If you're looking for a good domestic pilsner, please look in to Lagunitas Pils or Oskar Blues' Mama's Little Yella Pils. For a great lager in the vein of Red Stripe (made by a great brewery and still in a stubby bottle), try Session Lager by Full Sail.
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sunnygirlnyc
03:33 PM on 07/30/2009
OMG! i like totally love Blue Moon!
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Weirdwriter
02:08 PM on 07/29/2009
I live in a state with a host of wonderful breweries, thank heaven. For furrin brew, IMHO, nothing beats Guinness Stout.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
KIVPossum
Moldova Marsupial
01:45 PM on 07/29/2009
In the states I stay with Stella. In Western Europe, it's still Stella. Eastern Europe puts me in Stare Melnick land.
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Puller58
Man of Mystery
11:54 AM on 07/29/2009
Beer tasting contest. Winner gets to have the endorsement bestowed upon them. Pfft.
01:47 PM on 07/29/2009
In the words of Benjamin Franklin:

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. "

Hopefully there will be some understanding that comes out of this - at least between those two. I am more concerned, as Ed Schultz has been talking about, the fact that it is really more about the use of authority than racism per se.
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
BlackJAC
It's better to be a black king than a white knight
10:41 AM on 07/29/2009
And yet the Sam Adams brewery, where The World's Most Award-Winning Beer is brewed, is practically next door to them both.
11:29 AM on 07/29/2009
While Sam Adams isn't bad, I find that there's almost always a smaller-time brewer who blows every big national name out of the water. Here's my short-list based upon distribution areas I've lived in:

Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Cleveland, OH (everything they make, but especially Burning River Pale Ale)

Brewery Omegang - Cooperstown, NY (several single-bottle Belgian Trappist-style ales, some of which are even cave-aged -- and the prices are fantastic)

Victory Brewing Co. - Downington, PA (big fan of the Golden Monkey Belgian Trippel)

Heiner Brau - Covington, LA (blows the local New Orleans area standard, Abita, out of the water in every respect)

Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. - Kiln, MS (maybe not as good as Heiner Brau's offerings, but easier to find)

Anyone care to add their own two cents?
01:28 PM on 07/29/2009
You hit the nail on the head with Great Lakes Brewing Co. I first came across it several years ago while staying at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland for business. My favorite is the Eliot Ness Amber Lager, but GLBC offers a large selection with a brew to please every taste. If microbrews are your fancy, you should spend some time in Portland, OR where there are dozens upon dozens of great microbreweries. I also have to give an honorable mention to Dos Equis Amber, one of the best of the large Mexican beer contingent.
10:09 AM on 07/30/2009
Like you, my brother is a beer connesieuer and he too loves the Great Lakes beers. When he's in Ohio, he'll pick up a couple of cases (at least 6 different brews) My tastes aren't so sophisticated. Genesee makes a nice tasing bock but it;'s seasonal. I'm good with Michelob's Amber Bock.
10:39 AM on 07/29/2009
In heaven they have no beer...
01:32 PM on 07/29/2009
Sounds like H*ll.
11:12 PM on 07/29/2009
sorry i meant HUmans not just man...
11:11 PM on 07/29/2009
god made mari.juana and man made booze so....
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dino213aa
10:22 AM on 07/29/2009
Blue Moon, Beck's, Red Stripe... might as well have asked for Beast Lite.. I'd go with Wittekerke or even Hoegaarden before Blue Moon.
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The Albany Kid
From the 518 to the 651
12:32 PM on 07/29/2009
I'm not as elite as you, but I have to agree, Hoegaarden is great! Provides more foundation for late night humor too (based on the name).
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Economike
02:45 PM on 07/29/2009
Fransiskaner Weiss Beer
09:29 AM on 07/29/2009
The cop falsified his report.

Nothing funny about that.
11:30 AM on 07/29/2009
Wow, what are you doing here? You should be reporting this to Internal Affairs in Cambridge and bringing your proof (which I'm sure you have) to the Boston Globe.
09:27 AM on 07/29/2009
Dead Guy Ale, all around!
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Weirdwriter
02:06 PM on 07/29/2009
As in "Frozen Dead Guy Days" in Nederland, Colorado?
04:10 PM on 07/29/2009
Nope, there is a high alc content ale made in Oregon called "Dead Guy Ale', sometimes
hard to find but well worth the search...............In the early 1990s Dead Guy Ale was created as a private tap sticker to celebrate the Mayan Day of the Dead (November 1st, All Souls Day) for Casa U Betcha in Portland, Oregon. The Dead Guy design proved so popular with consumers and especially Grateful Dead fans, that we made it the label for our Maierbock ale. Even though the association with the Grateful Dead band is pure coincidence, we have gratefully dedicated Dead Guy Ale to the Rogue in each of us.
09:26 AM on 07/29/2009
Becks and Red Stripe are too light for my taste. Blue Moon is a pretty good wheat ale, the best I know of in the states. Of course it's a far cry from the excellent heffeweissens available in Germany.

My favorite American beer is Samuel Adams, hands down. It has a wonderful "tooth" - the flavor and texture from the hops.