DRAFT Magazine

It’s been a couple weeks in the making, but Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will get a case of Molson Canadian from President Barack Obama.

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson will deliver 24 beers to 24 Sussex Drive, which in case you’re not up on your Canadian trivia, is the official PM residency.

Apparently, however, Harper isn’t much of a drinker. He can always give the beers to these guys.

Most craft breweries boast advertising budgets that rival, well, something very small. Eventually, however, some will grow big and strong and want to get the word out about their product using some form of media, perhaps television. When that happens, it might be wise to learn from Bud Light’s recent struggles.

Both Advertising Age and The Big Money skewer the brand for its “Drinkability” campaign. The former publication says it can be “considered a major factor in Bud Light posting the first full-year sales decline in its history.” Ouch.

The publications focus on the use of marketers and consulting firms to help advertising agencies figure out what consumers want. The upshot? These so-called experts have no idea, but will happily take your money pretending they do. Small brewers take note: Stick to your guns, trust your gut, and go for it. You know your brand better than they do.

That said, we honestly didn’t hate the Drinkability campaign, but what do we know? An example spot is below. Yeah, it could be better.

The downside of loving beer, of course, is that it’s hard to love the massive beer gut you may acquire as a side effect. We try to help you get rid of it — our Beer Runner has some ideas — but the Telegraph’s LifeCoach wants to help as well.

The paper put together a panel of experts — Dr. Dan Rutherford, Sarah Stanner, and Tony Gallagher (trust us, they are experts) — who offer up their thoughts on shrinking the ole gut. The suggestions are quite extensive, more an entire life redo than simply a plan for losing some weight, but we could all stand to get in better shape, right?

Thumbs up indeed!

“Deemed “the Oscars of the food world” by Time, The James Beard Foundation Awards are the country’s most coveted honor for chefs; food and beverage professionals; broadcast media, journalists, and authors working on food; and restaurant architects and designers.”

So says James Beard, regarding James Beard. Whether or not you’re familiar with the hallowed foodie award, you’ll want to know this: four of the semi-finalist nominees for Outstanding Wine and Spirit Professional are breweries. You can find all the nominees online, but here’s the big four:

• Larry Bell (Bell’s Brewery)

• Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head Brewery)

• Jim Koch (Boston Beer Co.)

• Garrett Oliver (The Brooklyn Brewery)

Nothing’s set it stone yet. On March 22, 2010, the finalists will be announced; we’ve got our fingers crossed for the Fab Four, but only five of the 20 nominees will progress to the final round of judging. Don’t worry, you don’t need to check anywhere else — we’ll keep you updated right here.

All this week on DRAFTMag.com, we’ll be checking in with the nominees themselves to see what it’s like to be on top. Brewers unite!

– Mariah Beckman

Lobbies in Washington D.C. might be ruining the country as we know it (discussion for another time!), but the beer lobby, well that’s just fun.

The Beer Institute spent $160,000 during the fourth quarter of 2009 advocating for brews and breweries. The figure might seem high, but it’s actually $10,000 less than the group spent during the same time period in 2008.

One of the major issues on the organization’s docket was beer taxes, but it also lobbied for labeling rights and regulatory matters.

Congress wasn’t the only target of the Beer Institute’s energy. According to the Associated Press, the organization also spent time dealing with the Federal Trade Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Department of Health and Human Services, and other governmental organizations.

We found out beer and baby bottles don’t mix, checked out some pricey scotch, and gave away tickets to the The Brew Your Cask Off Festival. We’ll be back again on Monday. Don’t wait up.

Beer Editor
Surrounded by labels, and your mail

Beer Editor Beer Tasting
Left Hand Brewing Co. Good Juju

Beer Runner
Documentary covers Hood, Coast and beer
Beer Runner beers: Lakefront Fixed Gear Red Ale

DRAFT 150 Best Bars of 2009
Nevada
New Jersey
New York (Manhattan)
New York (The Outer Boroughs)
New York (State)

DRAFTMag.com feature
Getting lifted: Best brews at cruising altitude, part one
Getting lifted: Best brews at cruising altitude, part two

Friday Field Trip
Triple Rock Brewery

Question of the week
What were you drinking during the Oscars?
Answered

We’re buying a beer for…
Apple
The National
Mark Thiessen
Mary Josephine Ray and Daisey Bailey
Cameron Diaz

Greg Jones just wanted to have a little fun. Only problem? Budweiser wasn’t smiling.

Jones, a Maryland resident, launched Baby Beer Bottles Inc., a company that made baby bottles designed to look like Budweiser bottles. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV found out and sued the top right off Jones and his venture.

The entrepreneur understood he was treading on thin ice — the Web site (since taken down) read: “If you are an adult that cannot keep real beer, or a real beer bottle away from your toddler, you should not purchase this gag gift” — but Budweiser still wasn’t pleased. We understand the logic, of course, but the items would still make an excellent gag gift.

Cinco de Mayo, what do we do with you? For us, it’s one of those holidays where you wake up the morning of, realize you haven’t prepared, and grab your friend’s pickup truck to run to the store and buy all the Corona left in stock. You have a great time — you eat some nachos, you play some softball, you drink some tequila, you cut yourself cutting limes — but it could be so much more, couldn’t it?

Rogue Ales believes so. Rogue’s Chipotle Ale is the perfect drink for the perfect independence day celebration. A four-time silver medalist at the World Beer Championships, brewmaster John Maier’s concoction features a sublime mix of sugar and spice. Get it on draft or in 22oz bottles. Eat it with poultry and pork. Or Corona. Your call.