February 18, 2011 – USA Ski Jumping (USASJ) and Lagunitas Brewing Co. have announced that the California-based brewery will become the official malt beverage of USA Ski Jumping, beginning immediately and continuing through the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The four-year, six figure agreement gives Lagunitas the rights to domestic event presence, co-branded apparel and product, and use of the USASJ logo in digital and social media outlets.

Lagunitas, a Sonoma County, CA brewery, is looking to expand into European markets in 2012 and will reach new territories with USASJ leveraging the widespread international popularity of ski jumping. In addition to event presence, Lagunitas will craft a limited supply of a USASJ licensed ale with a percentage of product sales going back to the organization to support the quest for top international results.

“Lagunitas understands that they are much more than a sponsor. They’re a partner in helping grow the ski jumping sport out of the margins and onto the front page,” said USASJ Executive Director Jeff Hastings. “We are thrilled to have them. They have a broad and growing market and a very loyal customer base we hope to engage.”

Lagunitas has always supported music festivals and other regional events; this will be Lagunitas’ first major sportssponsorship. With sustained growth since its founding in 1993, Lagunitas CFO Leon Sharyon saw the partnership with USASJ as an opportunity to help both organizations grow with little risk involved.

“We have always proudly supported our community and friends in need. It was clear that the USASJ needed a few new friends,” said Lagunitas CMO Ron Lindenbusch.“This sponsorship is right in line with our basic philosophy – we try to find ways to turn beer into money to help the cause and we always seem to make a few new friends of our own along the way.”

USASJ was formed in May of 2010 after the United States Ski and Snowboard Association acknowledged that it would not be able to fund a national team program. The new entity is looking to reestablish the sport of ski jumping in the United States. With over 900,000,000 TV viewers worldwide last year, the sport ranks among the most popular in Europe and Asia. USASJ and Lagunitas hope to bring a similar level of excitement back to the United States in the run up to the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Definition of silver-tongued: a person who is able to clearly and effectively express themselves, or who has a clever way with words. While at once it is admission of sophistication, it is in some cases an accusation of deceptiveness.

I wanted to make sure I clearly defined that term before I moved on any further. I am referring to the latter bit of the definition.

I’m currently working on a blog article for my own blog, over at Rantings, but I thought that this little piece of the pie deserves even more attention due to its level of deceptiveness.

What I’m talking about is thujone and how some of the less scrupulous absinthe brand representatives spin the info to make it seem like it plays an important role in the consumption of absinthe.

For those of you who have not yet read my previous blog post about the authenticity of absinthe that is available in the U.S., let’s just say that thujone really plays no part at all. Reports of its significance and/or its effects are highly exaggerated, and have been proven incorrect by recent scientific studies. Continue Reading »

The wine world – particularly in Europe – has been hit hard by the painful blows struck to the international economy. Producers and sellers have had to deal with increased competition, changes in consumer behavior and deleterious farming factors caused by global warming. As a result, France is overhauling several regulations governing its wine production.

Some of the revisions can be seen as a positive step toward updating the country’s rigid and slightly antiquated rules. For example, in 2009, vin de table wines – the bastard bottlings sitting at the bottom of the French viticultural totem pole – were granted permission to list both vintage and grape variety on their labels. Continue Reading »

A German marketing firm has caused quite the controversy over in Europe with the patenting of the name ‘Fucking Hell’. The firm has expressed the desire to use the trademark for “the marketing of a beer among other things.”

“In German the word for a lager beer is a Helles Beer, so we have also patented the name ‘Fucking Hell’, which means lager from Fucking of course.” — Stefan Fellenberg, ‘Fucking Hell’ trademark co-owner and spokesperson. Continue Reading »

This was like “Watchmen” meets “V for Vendetta”. While stray cats rejoiced, riot police were no match for the onslaught of fresh milk which local farmers have apparently weaponized to fulfill their political agenda.

According to the New York Times, European Farmers Protest Fall in Milk Prices:

After months of complaints by European dairy farmers angry over low prices, protesters in Brussels on Monday poured milk onto the streets, hurled eggs and other missiles, and started fires that filled the air with black smoke. Continue Reading »