BEER - A TALL COOL ONE, PLEASE?!

A TASTY BEVERAGE
GUINNESS
ANOTHER PINT
MILLER TIME
CAPTAIN MORGAN
CORONA
MICKEY'S
AND YES. JACK DANIELS

A TASTY BEVERAGE

Consuming a refreshing alcoholic beverage is a deeply engrained part of the human experience, we've been doing it since the dawn of civilization. Hard liquor is the newest addition, being perfected for the most part during the 1500's. Wine has been in the making for several thousand years and beer and ale style drinks have been brewed for about 10,000 years. 10,000 years, not much else has stood the test of time like a tall cool one.

GUINNESS

Perhaps the most respected beer, Guinness has been around since 1759 when it was first brewed by Arthur Guinness at St. James Gate in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. Technically Guinness is a stout, which is a dark beer made mostly of malts. Guinness was the first one to brew a stout and it was originally dubbed a stout-porter, as it was his variety of a porter beer.

BRIAN BORU

For their logo, which you can get on a shirt at www.t-shirtking.com, Guinness uses the 11th century harp of Brian Boru. Boru was the king of Munster and the most famous High King of Ireland. After becoming king he became known as Brian of Tributes (Boru), because he used collected money to rebuild monasteries and libraries that were destroyed by Viking invasions. Guinness also makes another beer, called Harp.

ANOTHER PINT

There are many different kinds of beer, because ingredients used to make it differ from region to region giving the beverage distinct characteristics unique to the maker.

Basically beer is produced by the fermentation of starchy grains and other plant materials. Beer has been around forever and was brewed by the Sumerians, Egyptians and Mesopotamians way back in 4000 B.C.

MILLER TIME

Milwaukee, Wisconsin was built on beer brewing and the Miller Brewing Company was a cornerstone of that birth. Fredrick Miller kicked it off in 1855 with his first batch of Miller beer. With his passion to create a beer well above common standards, he grew a small local brewery into the second largest in the country. His catchy phrases have become part of the American lexicon, with people all over quoting, "It's Miller Time".

MICKEY'S

Another Milwaukee tasty beverage maker. If Miller was the polite upscale beer, Mickey's was the big mouth Irish malt liquor. Serious fun seeking apply only. During the middle ages malt liquor was as valued as fine Orient silk. Malt liquor was the real reason why the Crusades were fought.

CAPTAIN MORGAN

Rum. A pirate's favorite brew. Fittingly that Captain Morgan was one of the most notorious pirates the seven seas ever saw. He was clever, cunning and ruthless. The term cutthroat could have originated with him, he would even pilfer his own crew. A good pirate he was, when on land, but at sea it was another story altogether. One particularly unlucky voyage found him and his crew enjoying a tad too much rum, some of the men went below with lit candles and consequently ignited a store of gunpowder causing the ship to explode beneath their feet. These days, Morgan followers are known as Morganettes and you can be one by donning a swank Captain Morgan shirt.

CORONA

Nothing Better. Corona is the very image of vacation in the sun. It's a light lager and traditionally enjoyed with a lime. Founded in 1925 by Pablo Diez Fernandez, Corona quickly became a national brand of Mexico. Pacifico, Victoria and Leon and other labels of the Corona family. Corona was first exported in the late 70's and by 1986 it ranked second in the US among imported beers with Heineken leading the way. Funnily, it was a Heineken distributor that started the rumor of Corona containing urine, so as to damage the import from biting into his business. Luckily, Corona was successfully able to squash the rumor and sue the distributor. But if you ever heard that urban myth, rest assured, it is simply a myth.

AND YES. JACK DANIELS

"Bartender. Whiskey". The drink of choice for any old west gunslinger. Lincoln County, Tennessee was where Jack Daniel first made his whiskey mostly from corn, with rye and barley malt. The old "yeasting back" process was used, which required the retention of a portion of the mash from the previous run, in order to start a new batch, also known as the "sour mash" batch. He also insisted on using an old traditional leaching process to smooth the newly-made whiskey after it came from the still. It took an additional ten-to-twelve days for whiskey to "leach" through the vats packed with charcoal, but Jack Daniel thought it was well worth the time and effort. No one knows for sure where the idea of "charcoal mellowing" began, but it was known as the "The Old Lincoln County Process," and Lincoln County whiskey was considered to be the finest made. He later moved his operation to Lynchburg to take advantage of its abundant supply of limestone water. The water was iron free and constantly flowing at an even 56 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the perfect source.