Greetings, beer lovers! Happy Friday, and once again (or perhaps ‘not again’, just like last Friday night), ‘tis chingchongchinaman here as your guest FNBB blogger. You may initially be thinking: what’s up with the German in the title for this FNBB? That is, besides 3CM being his usual pretentious loser self. Plus, given 3CM’s:
(a) running theme in the last two FNBB’s of social distancing and beer, and
(b) promise to continue the theme this week,
What’s the deal? Well, once you translate the term: everyone here knows about the idea of product placement in movies, TV shows and such, as a form of mass media advertising. Early last month, I saw something akin to product placement, although I doubt that it was intended as such, in an on-line video production in an art form that is at the total opposite of popular appeal compared to movies and TV.
The art form in question is, of course, opera. The opera featured, after a fashion (of which more anon), was Carmen, in a production by the Staatsoper Hannover (Hanover State Opera) in Hannover (well, duh), Germany. While the full video is no longer available on-line, you can read the PR-like fluff about this production from this link at the Opera Vision website. This Hannover production occurred during the pandemic, last October, before a socially distanced live audience, with a reduced orchestra, no chorus, and no children’s chorus, as well as the individual singers mostly keeping well apart from each other (until the very end). In other words, the Staatsoper Hannover re-tooled Bizet’s opera, both music and text, to come up with a socially distanced and pandemic-compatible version of the opera. It was definitely not your standard Carmen, and was in the spirit of what the Europeans call Regietheater, which in turn American opera queens (of all genders) call “Eurotrash”. But self the loser will indulge in more pointless opining on that later, as he needs to get back to the main point of FNBB, after all.
Where beer comes into the picture is that this production of Carmen featured boxes and crates from three German brands among the propers. In alphabetical order, the German labels were:
Leave it to 3CM the loser to be probably the only person in the world, and viewer of this video, to notice this. So, to indulge fully my nerd tendencies, after nothing these 3 brands, I later looked them up on teh interwebz. They all, or at least the parent breweries, have a pretty long history.
From the Berliner Kindl history page, the parent brewery dates back to 1872 (translations c/o Google Translator, natch):
“Die Brauereigründung in Rixdorf
“Alles beginnt mit acht visionären Männern, die am 1. Februar 1872 in Rixdorf die „Vereinsbrauerei Berliner Gastwirte zu Berlin AG“ gründen. Mithilfe ihres Kapitals von 1 Million Thaler etablieren sie innerhalb eines Jahres eine moderne Brauerei, die am 19. Juli 1873 feierlich eröffnet wird. An diesem Tag findet auch der erste öffentliche Ausschank statt.”
“The founding of the brewery in Rixdorf
“It all begins with eight visionary men who founded the “Vereinbrauerei Berliner Gastwirte zu Berlin AG” on February 1, 1872 in Rixdorf. With the help of their capital of 1 million Thaler, they set up a modern brewery within a year, which is ceremoniously opened on July 19, 1873. The first public bar will also take place on this day.”
The actual production of the beer specifically called “Berliner Kindl” dates from 1890:
“Das erste „Berliner Kindl“
“Während in Berlin vor allem obergärig gebraute Biere angeboten werden, erfreut sich das untergärig gebraute Pilsener immer größerer Beliebtheit. In Rixdorf entschließt man sich als eine der ersten Brauereien in Deutschland, ein Bier nach Pilsener Brauart zu brauen. Man nennt es – in Anlehnung an seine süddeutschen Verwandten –„Berliner Kindl“.”
“The first "Berliner Kindl"
While top-fermented beers are mainly offered in Berlin, the bottom-fermented Pilsener is enjoying increasing popularity. In Rixdorf, one of the first breweries in Germany decided to brew a beer in the Pilsener style. It is called - based on its southern German relatives - "Berliner Kindl".”
Moving several hundred km west in Germany from Berlin, we go to Dortmund, and to Brinkhoff’s, where the parent e-marketing collateral on Brinkhoff’s No. 1 reads:
‘Ein Bier wie sein Revier.
BRINKHOFF's No.1
Unser ganzer Stolz: BRINKHOFF’s No.1. Ein echtes Premium-Pils, gebraut nach dem Rezept des ersten Braumeisters unserer Brauerei, Fritz Brinkhoff.”
“A beer like his territory.
BRINKHOFF’s No.1
Our whole pride: BRINKHOFF’s No.1. A real premium pilsner, brewed according to the recipe of our brewery's first master brewer, Fritz Brinkhoff.”
Brinkhoff’s history page has brief backstory on the establishment of their brewery:
“1887
Die eigentliche Geburtsstunde von Brinkhoff’s No.1. Aus Versehen wurde nämlich ein sogenannter „Fehlsud“ aus hellem Malz an einen Aachener Kunden verschickt. Doch ganz unerwartet fand das neue Gebräu reißenden Absatz. Der helle Bier-Typ war also geboren und damit die Grundlage, auf der Fritz Brinkhoff das Brinkhoff’s No.1 entwickelte, wie wir es heute kennen. Dabei kamen ihm seine Kenntnisse zugute, die er seinerzeit auf seiner Wanderschaft durch die Region Pilsen erworben hatte.
1887
The actual hour of birth of Brinkhoff’s No.1. A so-called “wrong brew” made of light malt was accidentally sent to a customer in Aachen. But quite unexpectedly, the new brew found great sales. The light beer type was born and with it the basis on which Fritz Brinkhoff developed the Brinkhoff’s No.1 as we know it today. In doing so, he benefited from the knowledge he had acquired on his wanderings through the Pilsen region.”
Dortmund is about 210 km west from Hannover. So now we do the ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ thing and travel to Hannover, between Dortmund and Berlin, to cover the 3rd beer. Lindener Spezial. This last is the one of the 3 beers present in the opera staging that is actually based in Hannover. From the top-level page on Lindener Spezial:
Lindener Spezial
Hannovers Spezielles
Das Lindener Original. Betont hopfig für den speziellen Geschmack aus Hannover. Lindener Spezial ist ein untergäriges, goldgelbes Vollbier mit einer betonten Hopfennote.
Alkoholgehalt: 5,1 % vol
Stammwürzegehalt: 11,8 ° P
Lindener Spezial
A Hanover speciality
The original Lindener. With a noticeable hint of hops for that special flavour from Hanover. Lindener Spezial is a bottom-fermented, full-bodied beer, gold in colour and with a distinct note of hops.
Alcohol content: 5.1% vol
Original wort content: 11.8 ° P
From the history page on the parent company for Lindener Spezial:
“Unsere Brauerei ist ein Stück pures Hannover. Und unsere Wurzeln reichen bis 1546 ganz tief in die Geschichte dieser Stadt hinein. Unter dem Lokalmatador, Brauer Cord Broyhan, entstand 1526 ein neues, obergäriges Bier und der wirtschaftliche Aufschwung für die Stadt folgte auf dem Fuße. 1546 gründeten die Hannoverschen Brauer eine eigene Gilde in der Stadt. Geprägt wurde die Institution rund um das flüssige Gold erstmals durch den „Broyhan-Taler“, benannt nach dem gleichnamigen Brauer.”
“Our brewery is a piece of pure Hanover. And our roots reach deep into the history of this city until 1546. Under the local hero, brewer Cord Broyhan, a new, top-fermented beer was created in 1526 and the economic boom for the city followed quickly. In 1546 the Hanoverian brewers founded their own guild in the city. The liquid gold institution was first shaped by the ‘Broyhan Taler’, named after the brewer of the same name.”
It’s not completely clear to me how old the Lindener Spezial brew actually is, e.g. if it is of the same later 19th century vintage as Berliner Kindl and Brinkhoff’s No. 1. That aside, what seems obvious about all 3 of these German brews is that they’re industrial-scale, mass-market beers, e.g. the kind of beer that would feature at arena sporting events and such. This clearly contrasts with the craft brews and microbrews that are the lifeblood of FNBB discussion. But you know what: it’s OK. Large-scale beers for mass events and consumption clearly have their place by sheer dint of volume, while craft brews and microbrews cover more specialized niches. The beer world is a big one, and there’s room for all.
Oh yeah, back to the opera video itself. You can get a sense of the production from this YT sample video:
Granted that one should always be wary of reading internet comments, it’s pretty obvious from the YT comments that those responders didn’t care for this production. I can understand why, on several levels. For one, the arrangement of the score for this production was definitely not your standard Carmen, e.g. without the famous Act I Prelude to start things off. It also interpolated extra pre-recorded passages (in German, of course — for an opera nominally set in Spain), as kind of “inner monologue” from Don Jose. Likewise, if you look carefully at the footwear of Evgenia Asanova (as Carmen), she’s wearing sneakers, hardly footwear to suit a nominally sultry femme fatale. However, in fairness, because this production was done with no intermission, sneakers were an eminently practical option to preserve Asanova’s feet for the night. Overall, this was one of those online video “been there, seen it” experiences, one that I wouldn’t watch again and where once was enough. The charitable interpretation is that at least the Staatsoper Hannover at least gave some of their artists work and a paycheck.
(Late edit: to address a valid question regarding ‘product placement, yes or no’: my impression is that from the back of the house, one really can’t see the branding if you were there in person. But on a computer screen, or your big TV screen if you watch streaming stuff on a big-screen TV, you can see the branding.)
In keeping with the German theme (ja) here, tonight’s featured beer selection is a Gras Mähen, by McAllister Brewing. The description on the side of the can reads:
“A true German Pilsner, brewed in accordance to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516! Crystal clear, with a malt forward taste that finishes with the noble hop bitterness of Saaz and Tettnanger. A great lawn mower beer!”
“Gras Mähen” Google-translates to “Cut the grass”, hence the “lawn mower beer” verbiage. This does indeed have a slightly bitter after-taste, presumably from those particular hop varieties. Overall, it worked out OK with tonight’s dinner.
With that, time to turn it over to you folks. What beer (or other libation) are you drinking tonight? Anyone brewing their own? Inquiring minds, etc..
