You are currently browsing the Beer Steins category.
By Nick Falsone | The Express-Times
Hey, at least I didn’t spill much beer.
This is probably one of the only positive statements that can be gleaned from my performance Saturday night in the beer stein races during ArtsQuest’s inaugural Oktoberfest. SteelStacks in South Bethlehem hosted the event, which ran for consecutive weekends and ended Sunday evening.
ArtsQuest spokesman Mark Demko told me the event was a great success and the organization is already working on ideas for next year.
“More than 23,000 people attended the first Oktoberfest presented by Yuengling, which is excellent for a first-year festival,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Aside from typical Oktoberfest sites like beer drinking, polka music and bratwurst, the event featured a number of competitions including the stein races.
The drunk and sober alike volunteered to participate.
I was somewhere in between, closer to the sobriety end even though the Yuengling Oktoberfest draughts packed a punch, when my wife convinced me to make an ass out of myself.
The object of the stein race is simple enough: Six Musikfest mugs are filled with beer and placed on two tables that are about 30 feet or so from one another. You grab the six mugs from one table, run over to the other table and put down all six mugs.
Then, you pick up the other six mugs and run them back to the starting point.
Finally, you wait for a guy with a microphone to tell you and dozens of spectators that you’re slower than the vast majority of your fellow participants, including a few lushes who were probably on the cusp of projectile vomiting into the Lehigh River.
I came in at 12.3 seconds, which was slower than Express-Times News Editor Ashleigh Graf. It also was much slower than the guy with a New York accent who claimed he was from Germany and donned a beer-stained T-shirt imprinted with a lederhosen pattern.
But while Graf and the pseudo-German beat me in expediency, it needs to be noted that both spilled mass quantities of beer, but were not penalized. There’s video evidence out there of Graf’s spillage, but she’s declined to publicly release the footage.
I didn’t protest to the guy with the microphone, who seemed to be serving as both MC and referee. But in hindsight, perhaps I should’ve said something. Speedy delivery from UPS or FedEx is great, but if the package is damaged or missing something, it doesn’t really matter how long it took to get to the doorstep?
Besides, my poor time mark was quickly forgotten by almost all the spectators, who seemed more interested in witnessing serious lapses in mobility rather than efficient and delicate transport of brewed beverages.
And there were plenty of lapses. People crashed into fences, dropped entire beers, lost footwear, slipped on puddles of stale beer and, in at least one case, crawled to the finish line. There were no serious injuries as far as I could tell.
So for Demko and those at ArtsQuest, I have two ideas for next year — hold more beer stein races and get more liability insurance.
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
The name says it all: Chick Beer. The website and packaging may say even more. In an unapologetically, bubblegum pink color scheme with the LBD — little black dress — as its logo and a six-pack designed to look like a purse, the latest beer marketed for dainty female drinkers has caught the attention — and indignation — of lady blogs.
A post on Jezebel.com this week titled “Chick Beer: Ugh, Really?” called the concept “offensive” in reference, perhaps, to the sales pitch on Chick Beer’s website: “We love Chick Flicks, Chick Lit, and now we can love Chick Beer!! Enjoy!”
The upstart from Maryland is the latest brewer to try and lure female beer swiggers with promises of low-calorie, smoother, lighter and less carbonated brews to prevent the pesky side effects of bloating.
Carlsberg and Molson Coors also recently launched girlie beers, with Copenhagen and Animee respectively. Copenhagen is a wheat malt and rice-based beer, while Animee is described as a “lightly sparkling and finely filtered” beer that also comes in pink ‘rose’ and zesty lemon flavors.
Chick Beer also donates five percent of all profits to charities that empower women.
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago. Add a comment
The name says it all: Chick Beer. The website and packaging may say even more. In an unapologetically, bubblegum pink color scheme with the LBD — little black dress — as its logo and a six-pack designed to look like a purse, the latest beer marketed for dainty female drinkers has caught the attention — and indignation — of lady blogs.
A post on Jezebel.com this week titled “Chick Beer: Ugh, Really?” called the concept “offensive” in reference, perhaps, to the sales pitch on Chick Beer’s website: “We love Chick Flicks, Chick Lit, and now we can love Chick Beer!! Enjoy!”
The upstart from Maryland is the latest brewer to try and lure female beer swiggers with promises of low-calorie, smoother, lighter and less carbonated brews to prevent the pesky side effects of bloating.
Carlsberg and Molson Coors also recently launched girlie beers, with Copenhagen and Animee respectively. Copenhagen is a wheat malt and rice-based beer, while Animee is described as a “lightly sparkling and finely filtered” beer that also comes in pink ‘rose’ and zesty lemon flavors.
Chick Beer also donates five percent of all profits to charities that empower women.
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago. Add a comment
This is magic what this guy does. Anyone can learn this though. Thought I’d share.
If you have an awesome beer art to share, join us at the Pub for Beer Enthusiasts, Beertaps.com Pub.
Posted 1 year, 6 months ago. Add a comment
This week, I have come across some interesting beer steins stories that I thought I would share with you. One almost brought me to tears. And another story did bring me to tears, but in a different way.
Senator Ted Kennedy was loved by many. When Goo Goo Dolls Johnny Rzeznik met him, they must have hit it off because Ted gave Johnny an entire set of beer mugs with “United States Senate” on them. Can you imagine having a collection like that in your home bar? I would love something like that in mine. Well, it seems that over the years Johnny has broken three of them. He has one left. That’s about enough to make a grown man cry.
Traditionally, beer steins have been a story line based in historical events. You might find warriors on horses to commemorate a war that was fought in the middle ages. You might find the king and knights eating at a table in the banquet hall to tell the story of a firstborn child or a marriage. But, we have finally stepped into a new era of historical events. There are now World of Warcraft beer steins to commemorate the popular video game. Very artistic and elegant, they stand up to the quality of other steins. I just still haven’t wrapped my brain around this step yet.
Phil Broughton, a Berkeley Radiation Expert, has got the answer to the perfect beer stein. It keeps your beer cold for hours, possibly days if that’s necessary. He made his own personal beer stein with laboratory equipment designed to keep liquid nitrogen cold enough so it doesn’t boil off into vapor. So, when he took his beer stein to Oktoberfest and gave it a whirl, a bartender talked him into putting them on the market. He has sold them for $375, which is a very good price because these babies are going to be collection items one day.
Posted 1 year, 9 months ago. Add a comment
Putting a bar in your home can be so easy if you are willing to be creative. You might want to hire a contractor and spend tons of money. But, you can do it yourself if you just form a plan and then figure out the best way to put it together.
The back of your bar can be as easy as installing shelves that reach the ceiling on both sides. Place a mirror in the middle and hang a television. Now, you have a sports bar look that makes you feel like you are in a real sports bar. But, that was easy. Here are a few ideas you may not have thought could be so easy.
The next thing you might want to add to your home bar is the glass holder that hangs above the bar. You’d be surprised how easy it is to make one. You need wood slats that form the base of your frame. The perfect size wood slat for this part of the glass holder is about 2 in. X 2 in. Then, you need wood slats to serve as the holder for the different types of stemware you have. But, this part is actually the teamwork of two different sized slats. One is about 2 in. X 1/8 in. and the other is 1/4 in. X 1/4 in.
The best way to attach these slats is with a handful of nice looking, gold nails. Run 2 in. X 2 in. slats horizontally spaced as far as a foot between. But, it’s a little classier if you place them about 4 inches from each other. Vertically, you will run your 2 in. X 1/8 in. slats about an inch apart. But, make sure to place a 1/4 in. X 1/4 in. slat under each one. Drive a nail through the 2 in. X 1/8 in. slat and the 1/4 in. X 1/4 in. slat where each 2 in. X 2 in. slat sits. That way, you’ll create a nice ledge where you can hang your stemware. Attach your glass holder to the ceiling with hooks and chains. You’ve got a great look that has functionality.
For glasses with handles like mugs and coffee cups, create a wood slab where you can screw golden hooks into and use them as hangers. You can stack all other types of glasses or you can create another wood slab with clamp-like holders directed upward. If you can’t find the clamps at a hardware store, you can take the time and make them yourself using a sheet of metal. The gauge shouldn’t be too thick but strong enough not to bend to the weight of the glass.
Cut your metal using metal cutting shears in 4 in. segments. Drill a hole through the metal and into the wood slab you have ready for hanging in your bar. Then, screw the metal clamps to the wood slab and begin hanging all the glasses you have left.
Now, every glass in your bar is off the counter. Watch television or enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror. But, you’ll have plenty of counter space for other things like liquor dispensers and pretzels.
Posted 1 year, 10 months ago. Add a comment
This year when we’re drinking your home brew for Thanksgiving…
What? You’re not making beer for Thanksgiving? You don’t have a home brew that you make special for Thanksgiving?
Well, how weird is that?
It must not be a tradition everyone shares. But, see if you can relate to any of these:
- Sitting on the couch and eating Thanksgiving while watching football.
- Same thing…sitting on the recliner with a food tray.
- Saying, “It’s not worth it. We’re going to a restaurant.”
- I ordered Pizza and Wings one year…
That was the year I had just finished my home bar and I made my first home brew for our New Happy Thanksgiving Tradition.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoys their own traditions, whatever they may be!
Posted 2 years, 2 months ago. Add a comment
One thing you can do to make your home bar more Your Home Bar, make your own design on your own mugs. Display them proudly in your home bar and let your friends drink out of them. You might even learn enough about it to make mugs for your friends and family, OR turn it into a business.
How?
Finally, secrets revealed to have the best and most inexpensive glass etching processes.
Here’s how to etch glass with Advanced money saving tactics and turn any project into a professional looking art glass….
This resource goes over all the processes of etching glass from the basics of finding designs, to creating stencils through various processes, and into etching the final product. Essentially, there are three major forms of glass etching:
- Cream Glass Etching
- Sandblast (abrasive) Etching
- Acid Etching
Some people don’t understand how easy and inexpensive glass etching can be with these methods. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be as expensive as websites price their supplies and equipment, even more so if you’re sandblasting glass.
The Secrets inside reveal the different ways to approach abrasive etching and cream etching, with a comprehensive knowledge of everything you need to know.
Step By Step Guide to Etching.
How To Make Large Glass Etching Stencils from Small Designs.
How To Get a Sandblaster for Abrasive Etching on a Budget.
And So Much More…
There are also 6 Free Bonuses if you order Today… Of course, they might let you get away with it if you order tomorrow. Just don’t take too long! You’ll want to get the free bonuses.
Etching Glass to Make Your Own Personal Beer Steins
Posted 2 years, 3 months ago. Add a comment
The great celebration of German culture was kicked off early this year for some people because Oktoberfest actually was meant to correspond with the beginning of Fall. Moorpark, California is one such community celebrating Oktoberfest according to tradition. But, most communities will throw together their celebrations for 18 days in October the way they are used to doing.
Donning the lederhosen, eating some brats, and hoisting beer steins are the traditions of Oktoberfest. But, there are people who don’t know anything about it. To me, my first Oktoberfest reminded me of a trip I made as a kid to Disney World. I remember hearing the music and watching the dancers as we walked by one part of the theme park. But, a few years later I would eventually go to a real Oktoberfest and there was so much more to it than Disney’s version.
Lederhosen – Shorts that extend to the knees and are commonly worn with suspenders. Credited mainly to Bavarian people, Lederhosen went out of style at one time because people believed they were peasant clothing and not appropriate for city dwelling folk. But, they were brought back by clubs who meant to preserve their cultural heritage.
Brats – Bratwurst served like a hotdog, only topped with onions, peppers and a whole plethora of other toppings.
Beer Hoist – A game that involves beer, mugs and lifting with one arm. You can start a collection with the beer steins you get at Oktoberfest if you go year after year.
Oktoberfest is over by now and it seems throughout the world, wherever it is celebrated, it went down without much of a hitch. No deaths were reported. Very little violence. It’s just a fun time. And the reason I go…
Well, other than meeting new people and having a good time…I love the St. Pauli’s Girl dress that many of the beautiful ladies at Oktoberfest are wearing.
Posted 2 years, 3 months ago. Add a comment
When you are trying to create a bar in your home, of course you begin with the taps and the handles, mirrors and signs. You built a bar! It has to look right. Right?
But when the bar is in place and you think you have it all, what kind of lame bar serves draft beer in plastic cups? And I’ll be willing to bet that’s what you have. Red plastic cups that you bought at the grocery store. Hmm…all that work and then you tap out at the end.
Well, you can add some specialty glasses so that your friends are drinking in style. This is where it gets tricky, but you can manage. You don’t just want to get mugs of any kind. You need to stock up your cabinets with mugs of all kinds.
Vintage mugs from old fashioned beers add such a touch of class. Especially when you have friends asking you where you got the mugs. That’s when you realize saving money on those red plastic cups wasn’t worth it after all.
But, don’t stop there. You should have Pilsners and Pints, Dimpled Mugs and Retro Pubs. Get mugs with different logos like Coors, Molson, Blue Moon and Killian. It’s a blast to make sure that you drink out of the right glass for the right kind of draft.
Logo Beer Glasses
Posted 2 years, 4 months ago. Add a comment