The Inevitable Return Of The Great White Dope

Part of my hiatus from blogging has been my hiatus from tasty brews. It's hot, and I have been quaffing watery mass-produced stuff in ice cold bottles. It is cheap, works well at BBQs, is low in calories, and for some reason, all of that has been very compelling. Shhhh. Don't tell. Gotta maintain this facade. So instead of talking about how I am not really worthy of beer snobbitude, let's talk about why no one else is drinking beer these days. What the heck is going on?

Miller Light recently debuted Chill, a Mexican Vacation themed beer, based on the michelada, which is apparently a popular drink at Mexican resorts. They test launched it in Texas, so I am not really sure if they want the people who vacation in Mexico, or the people who came here from Mexico to drink it. But either way, they want someone, to drink something brewed by Miller, and soon. They be hurtin'.

UK beer sales are down, so naturally, analysts blame the rain (…?) Really? Do people in the UK really drink more beer when it is nice outside? Do they drink more OUTSIDE than inside? Do they not go to pubs when it rains? Or it is because so much of the consumption of beer happens during big events?

Even Guinness is struggling. The company that owns the brewer may even shut down their historic St. James brewery in central Dublin. (NOOO! I haven't visited there yet!!) Why? Smoking bans are driving beer drinkers out of the pubs. They are buying beer at the supermarket and taking it home, but a Guinness is tied to the idea of a pint from a tap. Huh. Sales are still strong in the US due to our infatuation with anything imported.

Japan isn’t drinking beer this year, either? Notably, the young people stayed away, so what ARE they drinking? Oh, apparently imported wine is making a big surge there now. Huh. So yay for California wines, I guess.

************

I actually have overdue drafts of reviews of TEXAS beers, saved on another ‘puter. I swear they will be coming soon. “Soon,” loosely translated as, “whenever I get off my lazy summer keister and edit them.”