Thursday, January 22, 2009

He’ll Drink To That!

Just a couple of Obama beer stories to round out Inauguration Day (from several sources):

New York & Boston: A beer named after President-elect Barack Obama, which Red Hook-based Six Point Craft Ales stopped selling after Election Day, was tucked away by some barkeepers for Inauguration Day celebrations.



The ale, which became very popular with its touch of citrus, had made its debut in March during the Democratic primaries, and it sold out in just six days.


But Six Point brought it back Hop Obama from August through Election Day, donating part of the proceeds to Project Vote.


"It was our fastest-selling beer ever," the New York Daily News quoted Six Point spokesman Jeff Gorlechen as saying.


The beer became so popular that barkeepers, who still have a keg or two left with them, decided to use it for the bigger occasion, Obama's inauguration.
--- ANI

Obama Beer on Tap in Kenya

Sarah Childress reports from Nairobi, Kenya:


The Obama inauguration wasn't hard to miss here, the East African country where Obama’s father was born and is buried.


Big screens popped up across Kenya for outdoor viewing of the festivities: at the University of Nairobi, where Obama gave a speech in 2006; out in Kisumu, the largest city in the land of the senior Obama’s tribe, the Luos; and in the village of Kogelo, where Obama’s father was born.
On tap in the bars: “President” lager. Kenyans used to toast with Senator beer, a popular brand nicknamed “Obama,” back when he announced his run for president.


Now that he’s won, though, you can’t order up a Senator anymore. East African Breweries Ltd., which brews Senator, has introduced the special-edition President brand, advertised for “those who know they can make a difference.”

The formerly Senator beer is a unique liquor from the company because it is brewed without malt. Following the innovation, the government of Kenya waived some taxes from the product, making it the cheapest in the market.


The Senator beer gained its fame when Obama, an African-American was elected as a Senator of the Illinois State in the USA, whose roots can be traced back to Kenya. In fact, most Kenyans nicknamed the brew ‘Obama’.


However, things have changed since then. Obama is no longer a senator, but a president of the US. This as well, has got the EABL marketing department thinking. As a result, the name has been rebranded in a sequence to trail the ‘Obama glory’. The beer is now ‘President’.


“This is what the customers want. They have always associated the drink to Barack Obama, and we have to keep with the pace,” said Lemi Mutahi, now the ‘President’ brand manager.


The name ‘Obama’ has however been used world over by different companies as brand names to market various products due to ‘Obamamania’ which has rocked the world in the recent past.


So, Knight there you have it. You can have your president and drink him, too!
Sir Bowie “not drinking it, just reporting it” of Greenbriar

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can't beat the Kenyans for irony when it comes to beer.

Having spent a fair amount of time in Kenya and East Africa in general in 83/4 period... i'm guessing they'll have relabelled the Cobra beer that i used to drink out there instead of water....:))
The rule was you did'nt pay any of the rural folk for services or photos in cash...as that money was usually squandered by the head guy of the household or village on beer or spirits in the local town...... where, totally clattered, they would then steal a car and generally crash it and kill theirselves on the way home, depriving the family of a breadwinner/farmer/elder.

I'm also guessing that Barack hasn't sanctioned that Kenyan brew, seeing as his own father, railroaded out of government, took to drinking heavily back in his village, and i believe dying , himself in a car crash..

Sir Dayvd ( drink responsibly ) of O

dkWells said...

A Knight's dream, "I have a dream, when everyone drinks a beer named after me!"

Sir Hook the Sometimes Humble of Warrick