Beer For A Rower?

Last week, when my dear wife had done some grocery shopping, she brought home a beer I had never tasted, Saratoga Lager, which is brewed by Olde Saratoga Brewing Company in Saratoga Springs, in upstate New York. 'Springs' of course comes from the mineral springs in the area which made the city famous once upon a time. Otherwise the city is probably best known for the Saratoga Race Course, which was opened in 1863. There are still many springs in the city and many of them are covered by small pavilions, so for example Columbian Springs.

Saratoga Lager is "handcrafted", as it reads on the label, "with an 'Old World' attention to details & brewed in the grand tradition of the Marzenbiers of Germany Saratoga Lager is smooth & medium-boded with a rich aroma." And, yes, it had a 'German' taste to it.

Now, what has this to do with rowing, you ask? Well, the label on this beer (seen on top) shows horse racing (middle), the pavilion of Columbian Springs (upper right), old town of Saratoga Springs (lower right), winter sports (lower left), and rowing races (upper left) on Saratoga Lake. According to information on the 'six-pack' the packaging design is by local Saratoga artist, Karin Vollkommer, who has used turn of the century images of Saratoga. If you look closely on the label, the boats racing on the river are actually six-oared shells.

And as HTBS has stated before, rowing and beer go together!

Beer - A Great Help To Crews In Training?

My earlier posting about Brakspear’s ale, triggered Tim Koch to send me a message with a superb Brakspear ad. Tim writes “Your postings on rowing and alcohol prompt me to send a picture of the advertisement from the 1928 edition of the Oarsmans Companion on display in the Auriol Kensington RC ergo room. I like the idea that oarsmen in training should only drink the purest beer. It reminds me of the old advertising by-line for ‘Craven A’ cigarettes which urged you to smoke them ‘For Your Throats Sake’.”

It is a great ad, I must say. I remember in 1991 when I was at an international regatta at Gladsaxe Rostadion, Lake Bagsværd, outside of Copenhagen. In between heats, I saw the members of the Australian coxless four relaxing, playing ping-pong and drinking beer. This was an hour before they went out to easily win the final. A couple of weeks later, they became the world champions in the coxless four in Vienna, Austria.

I like to believe that the Danish beer the Australian fellows drank had something to do with their success that year.

Guinness's Rowing Ads

Regarding my entry about Brakspear's Henley Ale on 20 March, one of my blogs loyal readers and contributors, Hélène Rémond, writes in a comment, that "Guinness has also used rowing images to advertise its brand. I have found two Guinness ads published in the British Rowing Almanack in 1953 and 1954, which read 'Have a glass of Guinness when you're tired' and 'Lovely day for a Guinness'. One features a sculler which would regain his strength by drinking a pint and the other infers that Guinness suits the rower who wants to take the lead. The mascot of the brand, the toucan, acts as cox of the crew. A third one appeared in a document published in 1981 by the London Rowing Club celebrating its 125 years of rowing with the following caption : 'Row of Guinness', reminiscent of the blades slicing the water in harmony." Great contributions, Hélène, many thanks!

'Skål' Rowers!

For a few years, starting in the beginning of the 1990s, and not understanding better, I collected material to compile a rowing encyclopedia from mostly a Swedish point of view. Interested in all kinds of aspects of rowing, I assembled everything that I could find about moving a watercraft with an oar or some sculls. So, not only was I fascinated with the sport of rowing, I wanted to cover every culture part of it, too. I contacted a lot of different institutions to get information.

The other day, among my rowing stuff, I happened to find an envelope from W.H. Brakspear & Sons PLC, the brewery in Henley-on-Thames. It was sent in April 1995 and contained a label for one of their products, Brakspear Strong Ale, or Henley Strong Ale, as it was also called. It was launched in 1989, first in cans, and then later also in bottles. The label, which you see on the left, has a nice scene overlooking the bridge in Henley and, of course, some boats on the river. Lovely picture for a beer, and it was not bad at all because I did try it when I went to Henley during the 1990s. Early in the 2000s, the Brakspear brewery part of the company was sold off to another brewery.

Talking about drinking, in the mid- and late 1800s, the liqueur Punsch (not to be confused with punch served with fruit in a bowl) was very popular in Sweden. The Swedish Punsch, which is a product from arrack, sugar, water, and other flavours, is still sold these days, and well-liked among students, especially at the universities in Lund and Uppsala where drinking Punsch at academic festivities go with singing songs to celebrate this noble drink. It can be served well-chilled, or hot, the latter together with Swedish pea soup. Whether you drink it hot or cold, it is likely that you will end up with a severe and long-lasting headache. One of the brands of Punsch during the late 1800s was Sports Punsch, which on the label had sailing, horse racing, and a coxed outrigger four. My wife, who has tried Punsch once, thinks it is ‘dreadful stuff.’