• Record Beer Consumption at Oktoberfest — And It’s Only Half Over

    October 3, 2012 Author: Scott
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    It seems the party in Germany is large this year.  On any given year Oktoberfest brings drinkers together from all over the world for the opportunity to  drink themselves into oblivion.  This year, however, the record is being broken.

    The number of Bierleichen, or “beer corpses” — a term referring to people who have drunk themselves into a state of unconsciousness — jumped by almost 20 percent to 445, most of them aged 30 or under, according to the Red Cross.

     

    Visitor numbers to the famous folk festival have increased to 3.6 million from 3.5 million at the same time last year, thanks to sunnier weather, the organizers said. And the all-important statistic — the number of one-liter Mass glasses of beer guzzled — rose by almost six percent to 3.6 million, up from 3.4 million last year, the Bavarian capital of Munich said on Sunday.

     

    At this rate, the festival could top last year’s all-time record beer consumption of 7.5 million liters — which would be an impressive feat given that the 2012 Oktoberfest has a fifth less space than usual due to an adjacent agricultural fair which ended on Sunday.

     

    More Lost Children

     

    A total of 60 oxen and 26 calves have been devoured, and the sale of fried chicken portions is up five percent. The number of children lost and handed over to staff also rose significantly, to 93 from 56. By Saturday evening, a total of 2,600 lost items had been handed in, including a French horn, a hearing aid, two wedding rings, a pair of suit trousers and two pairs of Lederhosen.

     

    Watchful security guards also confiscated a total of 63,000 empty beer glasses that visitors had tried to smuggle out of the tents as free souvenirs.

     

    The number of police operations logged at the festival rose six percent to 1,059 from 999 at this point last year.

     

    No Attempted Killings

     

    “Happily, there were no attempted killings during the first half of the festival, and no extremely serious injuries,” the Munich police said in a statement. That’s despite the increased use of the heavy beer glasses in tent brawls.

     

    Glasses were used in 38 assaults, up from 26 in 2011. “Striking people with Massglasses or throwing them is an extremely dangerous offense. That is why it was very important that we are able to arrest 25 attackers on the spot,” said Robert Kopp, deputy president of the Munich police.

     

    If you didn’t make it this year, there’s always next year, but who’s to say if it will be another record breaker.

    Source: http://www.spiegel.de/

  • [Infographic] How Long Does it Take to Afford a Beer?

    September 27, 2012 Author: Scott
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    We all work hard for our money, but how long does it take the average person to save enough money for one beer?  In the United States it takes about 5 minutes to save the average amount (although I think $1.80 is a little low unless this is retail, not bar prices).  India seems to take the longest at almost an hour.

    ON SEPTEMBER 22nd, the beer started flowing at Oktoberfest in Munich, an annual Bavarian beer festival which confusingly begins at the end of September. Last year, over the course of the 16-day event, visitors glugged 7.5m litres of beer, sold at an average princely price of €9 ($12.50) a litre, which is what a typical large stein holds. Germans love beer and down around 100 litres per person a year. Away from the Oktoberfest beer is readily affordable. Analysts at UBS, a Swiss bank, have calculated that it takes a German earning the national median wage just under seven minutes of work to purchase half a litre of beer at a retail outlet. At the bottom of the pint glass, low wages and high taxes mean that boozers in India must toil for nearly an hour before they have earned enough to quench their thirst.

    Source: http://www.economist.com/

  • It’s “National Drink Beer Day” This Friday

    September 24, 2012 Author: Scott
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    The aptly named beer, The Raven by The Raven.

    September 28th is National Drink Beer Day in the USA.   It can also be called “National Drink A Beer Day”.  For those of you outside the USA, you already missed August 5th as International Drink Beer Day.  I’m not sure what you have planned this Friday, but it should include drinking down a mug of your favorite brew.

    So do you plan on celebrating National Drink Beer Day?  If so, what are your plans?

  • Mike Rowe Stars In Discovery Channel’s “How Booze Built America”

    September 14, 2012 Author: Scott
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    He’s dissected owl vomit, shoveled road kill from the streets and inspected his fair share of sewage plants. But now, Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe gets to clean himself off and pull up barstool for Discovery’s new three-part seriesHow Booze Built America (premiering on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 10/9c).

     

    In each hour-long installment, Rowe travels the country for a history lesson on how alcohol helped shape our nation, from the Puritans landing the Mayflower early because they ran out of beer, to the boozing ways of former presidents George Washington (who distilled his own whiskey) and Thomas Jefferson (who brewed his own beer). Historical reenactments and interviews with experts will also help Rowe get in the spirit(s). We’ll drink to that!

     

    Source: http://www.tvguide.com/

  • Free Logo Glass from Newcastle

    July 19, 2012 Author: Scott
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    Want a free pint glass?  Just hope over to the link below and fill out a short survey.  Of course, if a free glass isn’t your kinda thing, they’re willing to pay you $2 instead.  Just make sure to have a picture of you and a Newcastle beer ready to publish on Facebook.

    https://www.facebook.com/newcastle

  • Beer Drinkers are More Likely to Have Sex on the First Date

    June 26, 2012 Author: Scott
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    Want to increase your odds of getting lucky on a first date?  Find someone who drinks beer.  A new study points to evidence that those who consume alcohol (not necessarily on the date) are more likely to have sex on the first date.

    Both men and women who enjoy a pint are 60 per cent more likely to sleep with someone early in a relationship, statistics show.

     

    This applies to both gay and straight people, according to Christian Rudder, a Harvard graduate who set up dating website OKCupid.

     

    After analysing the profiles and interactions of hundreds of millions of users, Mr Rudder found that beer-drinking was the most useful indicator of whether people are likely to have casual sex.  He also found the three questions that best predicted whether couples would actually go on to have a long-term relationship.

     

    1) Wouldn’t it be fun to chuck it all and go live on a sailboat?
    2) Do you like horror movies?
    3) Have you ever travelled around another country alone?

     

    The data suggests that compatibility on sensation-seeking may be even more important than more obvious compatibility testers such a date’s opinion on religion, sex, and smoking, observed Psychology Today.

    So there you have it, four questions you can ask your date on your first date to gauge your odds of getting lucky that night.  I would suggest asking if they enjoy beer first, and then perhaps ask the next three questions while enjoying a beer.  If they don’t like beer, well, you’re on your own.

    Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/