50 Beers from Around the World- Red Stripe (Jamaica)

"Hooray, beer!"

That is the famous catch logo for Red Stripe beer, the most famous export from Jamaica after the late Bob Marley.

The beer is named after its red stripe logo (did we really need to wiki that?), and it was first brewed in the capital Kingston on July 31, 1918.

Red Stripe was first imported to the United States in 1985, but it wasn't as popular as initially anticipated. That all changed when the brew began sponsoring reggae events and by the mid-1990s one could even find the beer in grocery stores in places like Mount Airy, NC.

There is also some interesting trivia associated with the beer. Reportedly, it was temporarily banned in America in 1989 because drug smugglers were putting cannibis in several of the brand's brown bottles.

In 2009 during the Beer Summit with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cambridge, Mass., police officer Jim Crowley, President Barack Obama and Veep Joe Biden, Gates initially wanted to have a Red Stripe. But, word spread out and Boston beer lovers and perhaps right-wing hotheads like Rush Limbuagh made an issue of it, so Gates ordered a Sam Adams Light instead. Limbaugh, who is a cigar fan, has probably smoked a Cuban himself!

SIDEBAR: Shocking news out of Turkey as a company in the southeast city of Gaziantep has developed 'instant Turkish coffee' according to Yigal Schieifer with the blog Kebabistan. According to the post/news story, Semesttin Yilmaz developed the new 'Shazili' brand of instant Turkish coffee with both sweet and non-sweet versions to find a unique niche on the market. But, according to Kebabistan, the real thing should be enjoyed at the Mandabatmaz Restaurant in Istanbul. Closer to home, one can drink Turkish coffee at Tallulah's*, a Turkish joint, in Chapel Hill, NC.

*-Alas, it is not spelled correctly on our links!

50 Beers From Around the World- Lasko Pivo (Slovenia)

Ahh, if only we could get away from it all and go to the Kluze fortress in northwest Slovenia.

But in the mean time, we can blog about Lasko Pivo, the Slovenian brew that was founded by gingerbread baker Franz Geyer in 1825.

Lasko Pivo participates in the famed Festival of Beer and Flowers in the city of Lasko, Slovenia.

Other interest destinations in the Slovenia, a former Yugoslav Republic which borders Austria and Croatia, is the Emerald Route which takes tourists by waterfalls and forests......must be nice!

SIDEBAR: It is so nice to wrap up an evening to a very hectic day with a refreshing Blue Moon with the company of my favorite Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell of Delaware (yeah, I guess you know by now that politically, of course, I can't stand her!) who is vying for Vice President Joe Biden's old U.S. Senate seat. Of course, this is one 'beer summit' that Biden would probably want to miss! The Republican witchy woman has joined me for beer and laughs at The Washington Street Ale House in Wilmington, Del.*, where she is making fun of President Barack Obama and I am taking shots at America's favorite unemployed mama grizzly Sarah Palin. Who says: "Why can't we all get along?!"

*-An actual place which does indeed serve teh trendy brew Blue Moon.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.on Life After the 'Beer Summit'

Since there are many things going in Washington, DC, these days both politically and weather-wise, focus on the aftermath of the intriguing 'Beer Summit' has been all but ignored.

But, since Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is now promoting his new PBS series "Faces of America," which is airing soon, in the media, questions are being answered as to how he and Cambridge, Mass., police officer James Crowley are getting along.

For those you don't remember or reside in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in July of 2009, Gates was arrested by Crowley who suspected him of breaking into what turned out to be his own house as he was fumbling with the front door. Crowley suspected that Gates might be an intruder.

President Barack Obama commented on the incident, which sparked a discussion about race in America. Obama spoke on Gates' behalf which lead to a media brew-ha-ha which were resolved with brews when Obama, Gates and Crowley met at the White House for a Beer Summit. The surprise guest at the brewsky-sharing was Vice President Joe Biden.

Gates told "The New York Times Magazine" that he and Crowley are actually getting along well, and have even met socially:

"We had a drink at my favorite pub in Cambridge. We met at the River Gods cafe several months ago, and he gave me the handcuffs," Gates said refering to the handcuffs which were used during his arrest.

He added that he gave the hand-cuffs to the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian.

Gates told the NPR show "Talk of the Nation" that he now gets along with Crowley quite well, and that the Cambridge police officer is a 'very nice man.'

The Beer Summit became such a sensation that even Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) initiated one of his own while running in his senatorial campaign that would prove to be a huge political upset.

I was curious as to which beers were drunk by whom at the Beer Summit, and it took me a long time to discover that information, but thankfully I found it on a blog for "The Chicago Sun-Times."

Obama had a Bud Light. Gates drank a Sam Adams Light. Crowley went for a Blue Moon. While Biden had the non-alcoholic Bucklers beer. I may have asked for a Petra Beer, but I suspect the White House would have difficulty finding the Jordanian beer (which I've never drank).

When asked by the "NYT Magazine" what he thought America might evolve into as we become a more mixed-race society. Gates responded by saying:

"I'm looking forward to the time when we all look like Polynesians."