Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Palestine's Oktoberfest

The Christian founded Palestinian Oktoberfest, as reported here, is now able to include Moslems with its new non-alcoholic beer reported here .

Beer in Britain (book)

Martyn Cornell, Amber, Gold and Black: The History of Britain's Great Beers (History Press, forthcoming 2010).

The Big Three Brewers Tempt Showdown with Obama's Stricter Anti-Trust Policies

Holding 80% of the U.S. beer market, the big three, InBev, SABMiller and Molson Coors (all non-U.S. based companies) are raising prices in a depressed economy with "slumping" demand. The Washington Post reports this may trigger an anti-trust investigation. Here is the link.

Beer conference at White House after Cambridge "incident"

The New York Times report mentioned what each of the four men drank.  Vice President Biden, a teetotaler, drank a non-alcoholic beer, Buckler.  President Obama and Professor Gates both drank "light" beers, respectively Bud Light and Sam Adams Light.  Only Sergeant Crowley drank a full-bodied beer, Blue Moon, a craft-style brew produced by Coors.  Only Professor Gates drank a beer produced by an American-owned brewing company. (His favorite beer is Red Stripe from Jamaica; if he had requested it, none of the foursome would have drunk a beer from an American-owned company.)  The beers drunk by Professor Obama and Sergeant Crowley presumably were brewed in the USA, but the companies that own the brands are not American.  Buckler, Vice President Biden's drink, is a Dutch import.  See also the Washington Post essay on beer and race by Maureen Ogle here.

Drug Use and Addiction in War

Tom Langdale wrote this short article, dated July 9, 2009, for High 5 Men's Magazine.

As German beer sales decline, cheap brews displace craft beers

Beer sales are sharply down in Germany.  It's the quality craft beers that have taken the hit.  In contrast, mediocre beer sold at supermarkets at low prices without advertising is flourishing.  For more, see here.

India pale ale (book)

Pete Brown, Hops and Glory: One Man's Search for the Beer that Built the British Empire (London: Macmillan, 2009).  The original India pale ale.

Scandinavian brewing history (articles)

Most of the British publication Brewery History, no. 121 (2009) consists of a special Scandinavian theme.

Siri Aanstad, "Introduction: the Scandinavian Brewing Industry" (26-28)

Siri Aanstad, "A Small, Global Adventure: Mapping Norwegian Beer Exports in the 19th Century" (29-50)

Martin Jes Iversen and Andrew Arnold, "Carlsberg: From Exporter to an Integrated Multinational Enterprise" (51-62)

Martin Jes Iversen, "Carlsberg and the Cartels" (63-67)

Peter Sandberg, "The Pressure of New Innovations on Transnational Cartels and Trade Organisations: The Tin Can and the Increased Competition between the Swedish and Danish Brewing Industries since the 1950s" (68-85)

Sport, Beer, and Gender (book)

Sport, Beer, and Gender: Promotional Culture and Contemporary Social Life. Wenner , Lawrence A. and Steven J. Jackson, eds. (Series: Popular culture and everyday life v. 17) New York: Peter Lang, 2009, 317 p. Here's the link to the publishers webpage for the book.

Upscale craft beers as the "new wine"

The Washington Times reports on upscale craft beers, often high in alcoholic content, that aspire to be America's "new wine."  Now comprising only four per cent of the national beer market, the craft beer brewers hope that in five years their beers will constitute seven or even 7.5 per cent of the market.  For more, see here.