News Roundup

A collection of items tangentially related to the Chronicles that I've been gathering for some time ...

• Courtesy of the BBC: Irish pubs are dying out in the homeland.  And the reasons cited for the decline?  The nationwide workplace smoking ban and stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws.  Talk about unintended consequences...


• Courtesy of BoingBoing: History Magazine's article on mealtimes throughout the ages. Note the quality "nuntion" or "nuncheon" offered to peasants in Shakespeare's time...


• Various sources report on the fallout from the unfortunate death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock.  The Milwaukee Brewers decided to uphold the principle of personal responsibility by continuing to permit alcohol in the clubhouse -- not necessarily surprising, but still notable when the Cardinals, owned by the Busch family, took the opposite action.


• Next time I'm back in Milwaukee, I need to stop by the Comet Cafe for a Wisconsin Cow Bomb (scroll down almost to the bottom).  Guinness, Jameson's, chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream.  Sounds like a fantastic dessert to me, but then again I prefer to chase my Jameson's shots with Guinness anyway.


• Eric Asimov of The New York Times continues his occasional substitution of beer for wine in  the weekly "[Beverages] Of The Times" feature... recently hitting brown ales and bocks.  I still think the reviews run a bit to the snooty side, but at least he's making an effort to level the playing field.


• Staying with the NYT, the Travel desk offers a lovely vacation idea of touring Germany looking for the unique regional beers.  I take exception to only one remark, that of never finding rauchbiers again outside of Bamberg.  I've sampled the Schlenkerla Rauchbier a few times from my local specialty store (in a half-liter bottle) and enjoyed it greatly, even agreeing in large part with the reviewer's take.


• From Gizmodo, a heads-up that the annual Crumpler "Beers for Bags" event is coming soon to New York and Toronto. If you're in the market for some kind of messenger bag, this might be a fun way to pick one up.
  


• Finally, courtesy of Gridskipper: As if we need another reason to love Seattle, one of its state legislators has proposed allowing dogs in the bars. I'm all in favor of this change, having spent a fair amount of time on outdoor terraces and even low-key dog-friendly bars in Milwaukee.