After failing with conventional methods, the River City Red Cycling Team has turned to slightly less conventional training methods. Some of our training methods have been adopted by others. For instance, after a "Deliverance" style training camp led by Rider Two, we later learned that CSC/Saxo Bank started standing in cold water after training. They didn't realize it was more about escape instead of swelling, but that is the price paid for early adopters.
In our latest experiment, after using power meters for years, TC has finally decided to reverse engineer this into metered power. We knew that motor-pacing was a sound way to increase one's speed and high-level endurance, but we have taken this to a whole new level. There are rumors that Fabian Cancellara has adopted this technique in a more subtle way, but the originators deserve recognition.
Thus, we bring you the latest combined sprint/high-speed workout from River City Red Cycling:
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Federal Regulations
I just learned that the federal entity that oversees breweries has issued an Industry Circular that clearly spells out that "social media" is considered a form of advertising and therefore must comply with all laws, regulations or interpretations promulgated by the TTB, formally known as the Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. (Try saying that three times quickly - on second thought, don't. It may cause nightmares.)
As a result of this new regulatory interpretation, you can expect to see a number of changes to Facebook posts, Twitter comments, Pinterest pictures, Tumblr Porn (no wait, that won't change), and even Blogs. For instance, starting tomorrow, every blog will start out with a warning that clearly states that pregnant women are no longer permitted to consume this or any brewery/winery/spirits sponsored blog without a note from their attending physician. Those under the age of 21 are similarly strictly prohibited from consuming such contents. Oh sure, we can send them to war, but don't you dare read this blog again until you are 21 or older!*
*Disclaimer - This joke is strictly a joke and is not intended to be taken seriously. We as a brewery and as citizens of this great country of ours are strictly in favor of reasonable consumption of jokes and blog material among consenting adults who have reached the age of majority, but are opposed to underage consumption of such humor. Don't let our attempts at humor suggest otherwise.
Other changes you will now see will include certain disclaimers and warnings appearing prominently on each form of social media coming from an alcohol producer. This will be particularly tough on Twitter, where the mandatory warnings are 137 characters long. From now on, each brewery twitter feed will look like this:
The industry lobbied for even one more character so we could include mandatory exclamation points with three letter words, but we just didn't win that one. For some reason, though, pictures of girls in white one-piece swimsuits with the word "Budweiser" can still be attached to every tweet.
All I know for sure is that you will see a number of changes coming up to all social media in the near-term. In anticipation and upon advice of counsel, we would like to make the following statement:
As a result of this new regulatory interpretation, you can expect to see a number of changes to Facebook posts, Twitter comments, Pinterest pictures, Tumblr Porn (no wait, that won't change), and even Blogs. For instance, starting tomorrow, every blog will start out with a warning that clearly states that pregnant women are no longer permitted to consume this or any brewery/winery/spirits sponsored blog without a note from their attending physician. Those under the age of 21 are similarly strictly prohibited from consuming such contents. Oh sure, we can send them to war, but don't you dare read this blog again until you are 21 or older!*
*Disclaimer - This joke is strictly a joke and is not intended to be taken seriously. We as a brewery and as citizens of this great country of ours are strictly in favor of reasonable consumption of jokes and blog material among consenting adults who have reached the age of majority, but are opposed to underage consumption of such humor. Don't let our attempts at humor suggest otherwise.
Other changes you will now see will include certain disclaimers and warnings appearing prominently on each form of social media coming from an alcohol producer. This will be particularly tough on Twitter, where the mandatory warnings are 137 characters long. From now on, each brewery twitter feed will look like this:
- Federally mandated warning – This Twitter comment is sponsored by an alcohol producer and is solely for consumption of those 21 or older.HEY
- Federally mandated warning – This Twitter comment is sponsored by an alcohol producer and is solely for consumption of those 21 or older.HI!
- Federally mandated warning – This Twitter comment is sponsored by an alcohol producer and is solely for consumption of those 21 or older.FUN
- Federally mandated warning – This Twitter comment is sponsored by an alcohol producer and is solely for consumption of those 21 or older.OH!
- Federally mandated warning – This Twitter comment is sponsored by an alcohol producer and is solely for consumption of those 21 or older.YA!
The industry lobbied for even one more character so we could include mandatory exclamation points with three letter words, but we just didn't win that one. For some reason, though, pictures of girls in white one-piece swimsuits with the word "Budweiser" can still be attached to every tweet.All I know for sure is that you will see a number of changes coming up to all social media in the near-term. In anticipation and upon advice of counsel, we would like to make the following statement:
We hereby take back everything we ever blogged, tweeted, facebooked, myspaced (we really, really take back those things), linkedined or pinterested. We take back every picture of someone drinking beer, smiling or appearing to enjoy our products in any way, shape or form. We will be forthwith removing all statements of support for the great bars and restaurants that support the Drink Local effort (even though we still appreciate it) and will no longer provide information about where adults can find or consume adult beverages. We will be moving our brewery to an undisclosed location and entry will only be allowed through knocking on a back alley door with a small opening in it, behind which a thick man in an suit will stand and only allow entrance if youse don't look like the coppers.I know that some of these things seem drastic, but rules are rules, and besides, they're for your own good, right?
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Doping Post - No. Link Dump - Yes.
I copied all of these links once to write an epistle on doping.
I don't have time and I don't want to focus on it that much, but I thought I would share the links in case you are interested. Some of them are dated as the story kept moving, others take one side or the other, but all part of the picture as it unfolded.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/kimmage-uci-needs-root-and-branch-surgery
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2012/08/the-armstrong-fallout-thoughts-and.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/26/lance-armstrong-doping-whistleblowers
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/26/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120825
http://www.cyclismas.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/full-LA-chart-graphic.jpg
http://velorooms.com/the-doping-section/the-official-lance-armstrong-thread/msg52043/#msg52043
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/08/news/pound-armstrong-foiled-by-made-in-usa-probe_236602
http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/08/keeping-score/
http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/08/endgame/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/opinion/rip-lance-time.html?pagewanted=all
Monday, May 20, 2013
Monday Blah
Ever have one of those Mondays when you just feel like taking the day off? Just forgetting all of your responsibilities and doing what ever you feel like? Not as energetically as Ferris Bueller took the day off, but more like shoving the alarm clock under the bed, drinking coffee in your pj's, reading the comics in the newspaper, playing video games and reviewing the entire Chive history?
Is it too late for me to call work and say in a throaty, horse voice, "I'm not gonna be in today. I just feel terrible. Not sure if I'm coming down with something or I ate something or I just don't feel like it, but in any case, my desk chair is staying cold all day since my ass won't be in it."? No, I don't think it is too late for that. I'll be wasting my day and hitting the kegerator no later than about 2 pm. Maybe noon. With a bowl of Fruit Loops.
Don't tell anyone at the office. Don't tell my Mom. Definitely don't Facebook or Twitter this.
Catch you on the flipside of Monday.
Is it too late for me to call work and say in a throaty, horse voice, "I'm not gonna be in today. I just feel terrible. Not sure if I'm coming down with something or I ate something or I just don't feel like it, but in any case, my desk chair is staying cold all day since my ass won't be in it."? No, I don't think it is too late for that. I'll be wasting my day and hitting the kegerator no later than about 2 pm. Maybe noon. With a bowl of Fruit Loops.
Don't tell anyone at the office. Don't tell my Mom. Definitely don't Facebook or Twitter this.
Catch you on the flipside of Monday.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Saturday Music - Blondie Edition
I don't have a good reason or excuse for posting these videos. I am not really a fan of the first half of this video, but it is an interesting piece of music history in that "Rapture" is considered the first "rap" video to make the charts. I think that is a generous to consider include any portion of video in the "rap" category, but if VH1 documentaries say it and wikipedia confirms it, it must be true. It does, to give credit where credit is due, include call-outs to Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash and is one of the first mass media recognitions of one graffiti artists as "artists" rather than just vandals.
Enough chit chat - time for Saturday music.
Here is a video from Blondie song that I like more. What can I say? I grew up on it.
Enough chit chat - time for Saturday music.
Here is a video from Blondie song that I like more. What can I say? I grew up on it.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Secret Race - One Thought
I had started a blog about The Secret Race, Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle's tell-all book about doping during what is referred to as the Lance Armstrong era.
It is, I believe, an honest attempt to communicate what was going on behind the scenes during those years, both when Hamilton rode with and rode against Armstrong, It is a very good book and the appropriate companion piece to Daniel Coyle's earlier book, Armstrong's War, in which some things are implied but never said.
Too much time has passed for me to detail too much or too long my thoughts on the book, but one passage stood out to me which held the inexorable truth of cycling at every age. I have copied it here.
It is, I believe, an honest attempt to communicate what was going on behind the scenes during those years, both when Hamilton rode with and rode against Armstrong, It is a very good book and the appropriate companion piece to Daniel Coyle's earlier book, Armstrong's War, in which some things are implied but never said.
Too much time has passed for me to detail too much or too long my thoughts on the book, but one passage stood out to me which held the inexorable truth of cycling at every age. I have copied it here.
Cecco had short gray hair and big, perceptive eyes; he looked a little bit like Pablo Picasso. He also had a revolutionary and refreshing attitude about doping, which is to say he encouraged me to dope as little as possible. He never gave me any Edgar; never handed me so much as an aspirin, because Cecco believed that most riders dope far, far too much. Insulin, testosterone patches, anabolics – bah! To win the Tour, you need only three qualities.Of course, how one goes about keeping up one's hematocrit, that is another story, eh? Dr. Spalm jokes about riding a lot, not eating much and taking vitamins. It looks similar to the view from the top.
You have to be very, very fit.
You have to be very, very skinny.
You have to keep your hematocrit up.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Blogging
Blogging is an odd thing to do. It takes time and energy. It doesn't require talent or planning, but it is better with those things.
It is also odd that it is almost a thing of the past. A few years ago we were reading about the boom of Mommy bloggers or Hollywood gossip bloggers. We were reading about those folks making money and that lead to a boom of industry bloggers, corporate bloggers, niche bloggers, etc. The internet was awash with words on every topic. And it was good, for a while.
I liked that people started beer blogs and bike blogs, and that scads of other blogs covered stuff that popped up on my radar screen and I wanted to know more about it. All of a sudden, there was an enthusiast source for information on any damn thing you wondered about. I owned a 2001 or 2002 BMW R1150 GS Adventure for a while. I bought it used and knew little about it, except that I wanted it. The wonder of the internet led me immediately to thousands of words on every aspect of the bike, it's difference and changes from prior models to successor models, what was likely to go wrong, how to fix it, where to ride it and anything else I could hope to wonder about it. It was a revolution of information transfer.
Probably none of those folks, or at least only a few of them, thought that they were going to make a living just posting information about BMW motorcycles, but there were people having adventures on them and selling books or movies or tv shows or appearances, so maybe there was room for an adventure motorcycle blogger to eak out a living and ride motorcycles, eh? But alas, that notion passed and, more importantly, it was discovered that it really is hard to have something interesting to write about regularly, particularly when your topic is very narrow or limited in scope.
That is why, quite honestly, that you will read on this blog about a variety of things that interest me, from beer to bikes to beer to motorcycles to beer, and well, beer again. But anyway, this is a brewery right?
But even as this blog lives and breathes, many others are filled with posts that start with "Sorry for the long break, but this time I really am going to be good about posting." Ominously, those posts tend to be the latest entry and at least 6 months old. And, the young'uns all seem to have moved to Pinterest or Tumblr, where they don't so much write or create something as just repost and repost and respost. I suspect that there is an Orwellian factory someplace that churns out the pictures and posts just so that everyone from 15-25 doesn't recognize what a shit-box of an economy or world that they are inheriting, but in any case, with Tumblr you can "create" your own space, fill your inbox with sexually suggestive questions and bond with the electronic world. But, I think because it's hard, or maybe useless, fewer people are generating "traditional" blogs these days.
This one will hang on while you read it, while it's fun, while it serves a purpose, but it does strike me as an odd thing to do some days.
It is also odd that it is almost a thing of the past. A few years ago we were reading about the boom of Mommy bloggers or Hollywood gossip bloggers. We were reading about those folks making money and that lead to a boom of industry bloggers, corporate bloggers, niche bloggers, etc. The internet was awash with words on every topic. And it was good, for a while.
I liked that people started beer blogs and bike blogs, and that scads of other blogs covered stuff that popped up on my radar screen and I wanted to know more about it. All of a sudden, there was an enthusiast source for information on any damn thing you wondered about. I owned a 2001 or 2002 BMW R1150 GS Adventure for a while. I bought it used and knew little about it, except that I wanted it. The wonder of the internet led me immediately to thousands of words on every aspect of the bike, it's difference and changes from prior models to successor models, what was likely to go wrong, how to fix it, where to ride it and anything else I could hope to wonder about it. It was a revolution of information transfer.
Probably none of those folks, or at least only a few of them, thought that they were going to make a living just posting information about BMW motorcycles, but there were people having adventures on them and selling books or movies or tv shows or appearances, so maybe there was room for an adventure motorcycle blogger to eak out a living and ride motorcycles, eh? But alas, that notion passed and, more importantly, it was discovered that it really is hard to have something interesting to write about regularly, particularly when your topic is very narrow or limited in scope.
That is why, quite honestly, that you will read on this blog about a variety of things that interest me, from beer to bikes to beer to motorcycles to beer, and well, beer again. But anyway, this is a brewery right?
But even as this blog lives and breathes, many others are filled with posts that start with "Sorry for the long break, but this time I really am going to be good about posting." Ominously, those posts tend to be the latest entry and at least 6 months old. And, the young'uns all seem to have moved to Pinterest or Tumblr, where they don't so much write or create something as just repost and repost and respost. I suspect that there is an Orwellian factory someplace that churns out the pictures and posts just so that everyone from 15-25 doesn't recognize what a shit-box of an economy or world that they are inheriting, but in any case, with Tumblr you can "create" your own space, fill your inbox with sexually suggestive questions and bond with the electronic world. But, I think because it's hard, or maybe useless, fewer people are generating "traditional" blogs these days.
This one will hang on while you read it, while it's fun, while it serves a purpose, but it does strike me as an odd thing to do some days.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Risk Takers
The way the world works today, rather than working for one company for the bulk of a career, many of us have many jobs and sometimes many careers. I certainly have done that and in one of my stops along the way I was a lawyer representing banks and large corporations. I worked for a local firm but came in contact with attorneys from some of the giant law firms that operate in big cities as a result.
One of the firms I had contact with was a law firm run by lawyers who had William Boeing for a client. Not, at first, the aeronautical behemoth that is Boeing today, but literally the guy whose name was ultimately a symbol, but in the early 1900's was the name of a guy who started and ran a company. I don't profess to know much about William Boeing or, frankly, his lawyers, but I have my strong suspicions. My guess is that young Bill Boeing was a ballsy dude. You would have to be to start building planes in 1915, wouldn't you? Hell, the Wright Brothers took the first powered flight in December 1903 and the first one lasted just under a minute and covered less than 900 feet. But a decade later, Bill started making planes in Seattle.
And when he hired lawyers, what kind of people do you think he was looking for? Prissy academics or some savvy hard-headed guys who you would want with you in a bar brawl? I do know that many of these guys boasted degrees from prestigious east coast universities, but I have to think that the guys building businesses and law firms in the early 1900's in Seattle were smart, cagey, hard-working and, importantly, willing to take a risk. Clearly that is true or none of them would have ended up starting what they did, much less accomplishing it.
Which is why I used to be so amazed at the irony of the people who populated the giant law firms that sprung from those loins. To suggest that these lawyers were risk-adverse hardly does justice to the notion of understatement. I am, by the way, not suggesting that these folks weren't good lawyers. They were. They knew all the words, all the regulations, all the penalties and all of the volumes and volumes and volumes of ways to paper everything to death so that at no point could they be accused of exercising any judgment of their own. They documented everything so that at any point from that moment until undoubtedly today, they can firmly and absolutely blame the opposing counsel, their own client or anyone else for anything that happened at all. Not surprisingly, this process took a lot of time. And guess what? They charged by the hour. Win/win. Well, not the original meaning of win/win, but what exactly do you mean by that and who gets to define it and why can't we define it as a win now and a win forever and not worry about one side versus the other, eh?
Yes, you can tell that I wasn't cut out for that particular brand of corporate lawyering. It didn't seem to me that we weren't doing the absolute best by the client and the process, but instead doing the safest by the client and the process. I just wasn't convinced it lead to the best outcome and therefore, I wasn't really qualified to play the game. But it did make me want to have a beer with those guys who started those companies all those years ago and learn a bit more about what they thought then, and what they would think now.
One of the firms I had contact with was a law firm run by lawyers who had William Boeing for a client. Not, at first, the aeronautical behemoth that is Boeing today, but literally the guy whose name was ultimately a symbol, but in the early 1900's was the name of a guy who started and ran a company. I don't profess to know much about William Boeing or, frankly, his lawyers, but I have my strong suspicions. My guess is that young Bill Boeing was a ballsy dude. You would have to be to start building planes in 1915, wouldn't you? Hell, the Wright Brothers took the first powered flight in December 1903 and the first one lasted just under a minute and covered less than 900 feet. But a decade later, Bill started making planes in Seattle.
And when he hired lawyers, what kind of people do you think he was looking for? Prissy academics or some savvy hard-headed guys who you would want with you in a bar brawl? I do know that many of these guys boasted degrees from prestigious east coast universities, but I have to think that the guys building businesses and law firms in the early 1900's in Seattle were smart, cagey, hard-working and, importantly, willing to take a risk. Clearly that is true or none of them would have ended up starting what they did, much less accomplishing it.
Which is why I used to be so amazed at the irony of the people who populated the giant law firms that sprung from those loins. To suggest that these lawyers were risk-adverse hardly does justice to the notion of understatement. I am, by the way, not suggesting that these folks weren't good lawyers. They were. They knew all the words, all the regulations, all the penalties and all of the volumes and volumes and volumes of ways to paper everything to death so that at no point could they be accused of exercising any judgment of their own. They documented everything so that at any point from that moment until undoubtedly today, they can firmly and absolutely blame the opposing counsel, their own client or anyone else for anything that happened at all. Not surprisingly, this process took a lot of time. And guess what? They charged by the hour. Win/win. Well, not the original meaning of win/win, but what exactly do you mean by that and who gets to define it and why can't we define it as a win now and a win forever and not worry about one side versus the other, eh?
Yes, you can tell that I wasn't cut out for that particular brand of corporate lawyering. It didn't seem to me that we weren't doing the absolute best by the client and the process, but instead doing the safest by the client and the process. I just wasn't convinced it lead to the best outcome and therefore, I wasn't really qualified to play the game. But it did make me want to have a beer with those guys who started those companies all those years ago and learn a bit more about what they thought then, and what they would think now.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
TV Singing Contests
I think that there will be almost universal agreement that singing contests on television are stupid. I'm not saying that there isn't some entertainment to be had, but really, it's just dumb to suggest that this is a good way to find people who deserve to have record contracts and populated concerts.
I seem to recall that ABBA won a version of a singing contest that lead directly to their international fame and stardom, but does that really contradict my point? ABBA is some entertainment, but they are generally quite stupid, right?
One of the things that is silliest about singing contests on television, and I'm not naming all the names just because there are too many of them when you include all of the minor ones after American Idle and The Voice (although that Adam Levine is so damn adorable . . .), is that not one of the judges on those shows would win the show on which they judge. Their voices are too distinctive or don't have enough range or they can't jump from genre to genre and sound just as good, but then again, we don't want them to. If Garth Brookes can't make it as Chris Gaines, then do we really need every wanna-be singer to move smoothly from pop to rock to country to ballads to hip-hop to standards to reggae to R&B to whatever? I would say, no. I don't want Michael Buble singing Led Zeppelin. Actually, I don't want Michael Buble singing anything, but you get my point.
As a result, these contests do find "singers" that generally have very good voices, flexibility in their genres, are good looking and that appeal to 14 year-old girls (the demographic most likely to vote and vote and vote as if it means a god-damned thing in the world), but they don't actually find people that you want to listen to.
But, and you may find this shocking, that is not my only beef about them. No, here is my beef of the day with singing contests on television. The contestants are usually self-absorbed, vapid caricatures of actual singers and they consistently show no sense about the songs they are singing. I do think that in order to succeed, these contestants have to appear to be having "fun", be "fun" and in the George Bush election trope - be the one you most want to have a beer with. That, however, means that they should always and every time sing something from the K.C. and the Sunshine Band line-up of party rock fun-time happy songs (look it up, kids). But if, god forbid, they have to sing something with some more emotion, could they just take a moment and look at the lyrics?
Several days ago, I saw a performance of Amy Winehouse's song "Back to Black". I guess this person was confusing AC/DC's version of Back in Black with Amy Winehouse's song, or they just weren't bright, but in any case, she sang Back to Black with a shit-eating grin across her face the whole time. I have also seen Winehouse's hit "Rehab" sung the same way. Isn't it enough to even know the chorus and Amy Winehouse's tragic end to know that maybe this song involves a bit more pathos than party attitude? Rehab is not a song about the joys of drinking. They are several hundred of those on the country charts if that's what you want, but Rehab is a much more honest song about the trouble with drinking and trying to hide from the consequences. It is a great, great song, but it was, at most, a darkly humorous song before Winehouse's death and now is just bittersweet at best.
So please, if you are going to sing a song, particularly on television for the benefit of several million people, try to, as the judges admonish, "connect to the song" or "emote" the song, or even just give a crap about the words, please.
And to prove my point - the two Amy Winehouse songs with a proper interpretation of what they express.
I seem to recall that ABBA won a version of a singing contest that lead directly to their international fame and stardom, but does that really contradict my point? ABBA is some entertainment, but they are generally quite stupid, right?
One of the things that is silliest about singing contests on television, and I'm not naming all the names just because there are too many of them when you include all of the minor ones after American Idle and The Voice (although that Adam Levine is so damn adorable . . .), is that not one of the judges on those shows would win the show on which they judge. Their voices are too distinctive or don't have enough range or they can't jump from genre to genre and sound just as good, but then again, we don't want them to. If Garth Brookes can't make it as Chris Gaines, then do we really need every wanna-be singer to move smoothly from pop to rock to country to ballads to hip-hop to standards to reggae to R&B to whatever? I would say, no. I don't want Michael Buble singing Led Zeppelin. Actually, I don't want Michael Buble singing anything, but you get my point.
As a result, these contests do find "singers" that generally have very good voices, flexibility in their genres, are good looking and that appeal to 14 year-old girls (the demographic most likely to vote and vote and vote as if it means a god-damned thing in the world), but they don't actually find people that you want to listen to.
But, and you may find this shocking, that is not my only beef about them. No, here is my beef of the day with singing contests on television. The contestants are usually self-absorbed, vapid caricatures of actual singers and they consistently show no sense about the songs they are singing. I do think that in order to succeed, these contestants have to appear to be having "fun", be "fun" and in the George Bush election trope - be the one you most want to have a beer with. That, however, means that they should always and every time sing something from the K.C. and the Sunshine Band line-up of party rock fun-time happy songs (look it up, kids). But if, god forbid, they have to sing something with some more emotion, could they just take a moment and look at the lyrics?
Several days ago, I saw a performance of Amy Winehouse's song "Back to Black". I guess this person was confusing AC/DC's version of Back in Black with Amy Winehouse's song, or they just weren't bright, but in any case, she sang Back to Black with a shit-eating grin across her face the whole time. I have also seen Winehouse's hit "Rehab" sung the same way. Isn't it enough to even know the chorus and Amy Winehouse's tragic end to know that maybe this song involves a bit more pathos than party attitude? Rehab is not a song about the joys of drinking. They are several hundred of those on the country charts if that's what you want, but Rehab is a much more honest song about the trouble with drinking and trying to hide from the consequences. It is a great, great song, but it was, at most, a darkly humorous song before Winehouse's death and now is just bittersweet at best.
So please, if you are going to sing a song, particularly on television for the benefit of several million people, try to, as the judges admonish, "connect to the song" or "emote" the song, or even just give a crap about the words, please.
And to prove my point - the two Amy Winehouse songs with a proper interpretation of what they express.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Beer Trivia
The brewery gets asked to participate in trivia nights at bars and restaurants once in a while. We hang around, talk about the beer, donate some prizes and generally have some fun. We also decided that we should offer to supply some beer trivia questions just for such evenings. But since all the answers to trivia questions are already on the internet, we post these as a self-trivia challenge or for use at your next trivia night. We just ask that you have a pint of one of our beers in recognition of the several hundred of hours of research we did to come up with the list and confirm the correctness of the answers.*
*Answers not guaranteed to be correct, but they seemed right after a few River City Reds one night.
Questions presented above and then questions and answers together below. Enjoy.
1. Name five styles of beer:
2. What is the primary difference between an Ale yeast and a Lager yeast?
3. Name one piece of the brew house besides the Brew Kettle:
4. After mashing in and sparging, the brew process creates a liquid called what?
5. Alcohol is created during fermentation by the interaction of yeast with what substance found in the wort?
6. How many gallons of beer are in a standard 1/2 barrel keg?
7. According to ancient German law, the Rienheitsgebot, what are the only three ingredients allowed in the production of beer?
8. Beer was first brewed by which group - the Egyptians, the Romans, or the Aztecs?
9. True or False: The Mayflower ship bringing pilgrims to America stopped at Plymouth Rock because of beer?
10. The initials in the beer style IPA stand for what?
11. Select either A or B: During the colonial expansion of the United Kingdom, beer was either a) made in the colonies and shipped to Britain or b) made in Britain and shipped to the colonies.
Questions presented with answers:
1. Name five styles of beer:
Answers include: Amber, Blonde, Bitter, Bock, Brown, Cream, Golden, Hefewiezen, IPA (India Pale Ale), Lambic, Pale, Pilsner, Red, Scotch, Stout and many others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_beer_styles).
2. What is the primary difference between an Ale yeast and a Lager yeast?
Ale yeast is a top fermenting yeast, while lager is a bottom fermenting yeast. Lagers also ferment at lower temperatures and for a longer period of time.
3. Name one piece of the brew house besides the Brew Kettle:
Include Mash Tun, Lauter Tun, Hop Back.
4. After mashing in and sparging, the brew process creates a liquid called what?
Wort
5. Alcohol is created during fermentation by the interaction of yeast with what substance found in the wort?
Sugar
6. How many gallons of beer are in a standard 1/2 barrel keg?
15.5 gallons
7. According to ancient German law, the Rienheitsgebot, what are the only three ingredients allowed in the production of beer?
Water, barley and hops.
8. Beer was first brewed by which group - the Egyptians, the Romans, or the Aztecs?
The Egyptians approximately 7,000 years ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer). Do not believe drunken Belgians when they claim that they did.
9. True or False: The Mayflower ship bringing pilgrims to America stopped at Plymouth Rock because of beer?
True - The Mayflower ship was running low on supplies of beer and therefore didn't continue to their original destination further south but disembarked there. Also, there are disputes about some of the why and how, but the answer is still true under all of these variations.
10. The initials in the beer style IPA stand for what?
India Pale Ale
11. Select either A or B: During the colonial expansion of the United Kingdom, beer was either a) made in the colonies and shipped to Britain or b) made in Britain and shipped to the colonies.
B - By law, all beer was made in Britain and shipped to the colonies. It was prohibited for the colonies to make their own beer. This is how IPA was created - they discovered that beers with more hops lasted longer because it is a natural preservative, so the beer going to India had extra hops so that it lasted during the long journey around Africa better.
*Answers not guaranteed to be correct, but they seemed right after a few River City Reds one night.
Questions presented above and then questions and answers together below. Enjoy.
1. Name five styles of beer:
2. What is the primary difference between an Ale yeast and a Lager yeast?
3. Name one piece of the brew house besides the Brew Kettle:
4. After mashing in and sparging, the brew process creates a liquid called what?
5. Alcohol is created during fermentation by the interaction of yeast with what substance found in the wort?
6. How many gallons of beer are in a standard 1/2 barrel keg?
7. According to ancient German law, the Rienheitsgebot, what are the only three ingredients allowed in the production of beer?
8. Beer was first brewed by which group - the Egyptians, the Romans, or the Aztecs?
9. True or False: The Mayflower ship bringing pilgrims to America stopped at Plymouth Rock because of beer?
10. The initials in the beer style IPA stand for what?
11. Select either A or B: During the colonial expansion of the United Kingdom, beer was either a) made in the colonies and shipped to Britain or b) made in Britain and shipped to the colonies.
Questions presented with answers:
1. Name five styles of beer:
Answers include: Amber, Blonde, Bitter, Bock, Brown, Cream, Golden, Hefewiezen, IPA (India Pale Ale), Lambic, Pale, Pilsner, Red, Scotch, Stout and many others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_beer_styles).
2. What is the primary difference between an Ale yeast and a Lager yeast?
Ale yeast is a top fermenting yeast, while lager is a bottom fermenting yeast. Lagers also ferment at lower temperatures and for a longer period of time.
3. Name one piece of the brew house besides the Brew Kettle:
Include Mash Tun, Lauter Tun, Hop Back.
4. After mashing in and sparging, the brew process creates a liquid called what?
Wort
5. Alcohol is created during fermentation by the interaction of yeast with what substance found in the wort?
Sugar
6. How many gallons of beer are in a standard 1/2 barrel keg?
15.5 gallons
7. According to ancient German law, the Rienheitsgebot, what are the only three ingredients allowed in the production of beer?
Water, barley and hops.
8. Beer was first brewed by which group - the Egyptians, the Romans, or the Aztecs?
The Egyptians approximately 7,000 years ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer). Do not believe drunken Belgians when they claim that they did.
9. True or False: The Mayflower ship bringing pilgrims to America stopped at Plymouth Rock because of beer?
True - The Mayflower ship was running low on supplies of beer and therefore didn't continue to their original destination further south but disembarked there. Also, there are disputes about some of the why and how, but the answer is still true under all of these variations.
10. The initials in the beer style IPA stand for what?
India Pale Ale
11. Select either A or B: During the colonial expansion of the United Kingdom, beer was either a) made in the colonies and shipped to Britain or b) made in Britain and shipped to the colonies.
B - By law, all beer was made in Britain and shipped to the colonies. It was prohibited for the colonies to make their own beer. This is how IPA was created - they discovered that beers with more hops lasted longer because it is a natural preservative, so the beer going to India had extra hops so that it lasted during the long journey around Africa better.
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