Through the Looking-Glass

The good people at the Wharton School of Business offer a bi-weekly newsletter (free registration required) looking at trends and theories in business (something other than the infamous case-study approach of their rivals up the coast in the People's Democratic Republic of Cambridge).  Being Wharton, they generally have something relevant to say -- and being in Philadelphia, they reflect some of the no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase attributes I'm now discovering about a city I once wrote off as little more than a place to consistently purchase Yuengling Porter. 

The latest issue of Knowledge @ Wharton takes a run at the current attempts by Anheuser-Busch (and, to a lesser extent, Miller Brewing) to move the marketing of beer out of the Stone Age.  As the article deftly explains, the damage is likely done for anyone already of drinking age (legal or not)... beer as low-brow beverage seems to be hard-coded at about the time kids become aware of advertising for beer.

In other news, CNN is currently running a video story (nasty javascript link I couldn't grab) about TurboTap, a device that supposedly reduces foam while allowing for higher tap pressure -- faster pours without ticking off the patrons.  I'm not entirely convinced, especially about the claims that the device also works for Guinness, but then again I prefer a proper two-minute two-stage pour on my stouts.