“Pop a Top,” written (and originally recorded) by Nat Stuckey, recorded by Alan Jackson, 1999. The beer-chugging tune was a hit for Jim Ed Brown in 1967.
Alan Jackson website
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Attention bratwurst fans: there’s a plant-based, beer-infused sausage with your name on it. Welcome to 2019.
Video: “First Bratwurst of Summer” by Those Darn Accordions
Those Darn Accordions website
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Beer-swilling protesters … oh wait, it’s a beer festival near DC’s Navy Yard. Great timing.
Demonstrators protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house in DC this morning, chanting “I Like Beer!” and singing “What do you do with a drunken justice, what do you do with a drunken justice, what do you do with a confirmation early in the morning? Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” In case you were blacked-out or in a drunken stupor last week, this refers to Judge Kavanaugh’s spirited “I like beer” defense during his Judicial Committee testimony.
MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt followed-up, sounding a bit disappointed: “The promised keg did not materialize.”
In a related development last week, the conservative Federalist Society hosted an “I Still Like Beer” party.
More:
“PBR-Drinking Kavanaugh Protesters Chant Outside McConnell’s Home ‘I Like Beer,'” David Rutz, Washington Free Beacon
“Brett Kavanaugh Protesters Bring Beer, Chant ‘Chug’ Outside Mitch McConnell’s House,” Jenna Amatulli, Huffington Post
“Kavanaugh protesters bring beer, chant ‘chug’ outside McConnell’s home,” Aris Folley, The Hill
Update:
“Kavanaugh supporters drink beer to celebrate his confirmation,” Aris Folley, The Hill
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During his sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh affirmed one thing as true: He really likes beer, and he liked it while he was a student at Georgetown Prep, the pricey Jesuit high school in the DC suburbs. Young Brett even listed himself as “Treasurer of the Keg City Club” in his high school yearbook. Surely Bill Shine, the former Fox News exec who is now White House Communications Director, advised him to declare his love of suds whenever those wine-sipping Democrats questioned him about his heavy drinking, since America’s Joe Sixpacks are Trump’s core voters.
One thing wrong with Brett Kavanaugh’s high school beer drinking: It wasn’t legal. As AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer points out, Maryland’s drinking age was raised to 21 in July 1982, when Brett Kavanaugh was a 17-year-old high school junior. He danced around this fact during committee testimony to avoid perjury, saying senior classmates could drink legally, but all this does is implicate the Georgetown Prep upperclassmen who bought him beer when he was 17.
Mr. Kavanaugh may have technically avoided perjuring himself about this one fact, if not several others, but he clearly has a rather distant relationship with the truth. Hey, we almost wrote this without using the phrase “sober as a judge.”
More:
“Brett Kavanaugh likes beer, but not questions about his drinking habits,” By Allyson Chiu, Washington Post
“Kavanaugh wrongly claims he could drink legally in Maryland,” Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press
“Brett Kavanaugh’s slippery answers about high school partying matter,” Matthew Yglesias, Vox
“At the Center of the Kavanaugh Accusations: Heavy Drinking,” Mike McIntire and Ben Protess, New York Times
“Many teens drink. Rich ones like Kavanaugh are more likely to abuse alcohol.” Suniya S. Luthar, Washington Post
“Trump on Kavanaugh: ‘I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,'” Caitlin Oprysko, Politico
“Kavanaugh’s High School, Georgetown Prep, Warned Parents in 1990 of ‘Sexual or Violent Behavior’ at Parties,” Jon Schwarz and Camille Baker, The Intercept
After the horror of the Parkland school shooting, many were outraged that the perpetrator was able to buy a military-style rifle at the age of 18, when he was still too young to buy beer. President Trump has suggested raising the minimum age for purchasing an assault rifle to 21, and so has Florida Governor Rick Scott, but the NRA isn’t having it. To address the gun/beer inequity, we expect the NRA to propose lowering the legal drinking age to 18 any day now.
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“Umqombothi,” written by Sello Twala and Attie van Wyk, performed by Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Umqombothi is the Xhosa name for maize beer, the poor man’s comfort. Filmed by Roy MacGregor for S&H Films.
Yvonne Chaka Chaka website
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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott chugged a glass of beer in 7 seconds on Saturday whilst celebrating with members of the UTS Bats Australian Rules football club. The schooner reportedly held about two-thirds of a pint; assuming an Imperial Pint of 568 ml, that’s about 380 ml.
Former PM Bob Hawke is said to have chugged 2.5 pints (1420 ml) in 11 seconds back in 1955. Mr.Hawke’s rate of chug (1420/11) was 129.09 ml/sec, while Mr. Abbott’s rate of chug (380/7) was a puny 54.29 ml/sec. Mr. Abbott is a Liberal and Mr. Hawke was a Labor leader; perhaps there’s a political lesson here.
Germany’s anti-trust agency (Bundeskartellamt) has fined 21 sausage manufacturers and 33 individuals $460 million for illegal price-fixing over two decades. Gott im Himmel!
The ring is alleged to have met in Hamburg’s luxurious Hotel Atlantic. Wonder what they ate?
Sausages are central to the German identity, second only to beer. In related German crime news, thieves in the city of Krefeld broke into a warehouse and stole 300,000 liters (80,000 gallons) of beer. Ten truckloads. Worth $3 million. Right before Germany’s big World Cup celebration party.
More:
“German sausage makers in meaty fine over price-fixing,” BBC News
“Bundeskartellamt imposes fines on sausage manufacturers,” press release
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Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May, is the biggest Mexican holiday in the entire United States. Oh sure, the holiday commemorates the 1862 Battle of Puebla, so kids in that Mexican city get the day off to watch a parade, and gringo-infested beach resorts get a little loco, but the rest of Mexico carries on as usual.
North of the border, it’s a different story. The community-based Mexican-American celebrations were co-opted by marketers for big multinational brewers, tequila importers, and mega-food purveyors. In other words, St. Patrick’s Day with mariachis. Is this a great country, or what?
More:
“Cinco de Mayo: A History Obscured by Beers and Burritos,” Jason Ruiz, Long Beach Post
“U.S. Marketers Turn Cinco de Mayo Into Pan-Ethnic National Celebration, Joel Millman, Wall Street Journal
“Does Mexico Celebrate Cinco De Mayo? Find Out How Holiday Became Mainstream,” Susmita Baral, Latin Times
“Why is Cinco de Mayo More Popular in America Than in Mexico?” Brian Greene, U.S. News & World Report
September 28th is Drink Beer Day in the USA, an ancient holiday first celebrated way back in 2009 as “Arthur’s Day” after Arthur Guinness, who founded his brewery on September 28, 1759 (which may have been his birthday).
More:
“25 Amazing Facts for Drink Beer Day,” Jason English, Mental Floss
“Day Devoted to Hoisting Guinness Starts to Leave a Bitter Taste,” Douglas Dalby, New York Times
“Guiness-Fueled ‘Holiday’ Troubles Many in Ireland,” Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press
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