Clamps & Gaskets: News Roundup for Weeks 50/51, 2013.

A bi-weekly, non-comprehensive roundup
of news of beer and other things.

Weeks 50/51
8 December - 21 December 2013

• 2013.12.21
  Frank Zappa Day observed, in Baltimore, Maryland.



• 2013.12.21
  The Washington, D.C.-area celebrated the December Solstice (first calendar day of winter) with a record 72 °F temperature, as much of the rest of the nation suffered through winter storms. Via Capital Weather Gang (Washington Post).


• 2013.12.20
  German brewers petition UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to recognize the Reinheitsgebot (the German beer purity law, originally promulgated in 1516) as a world heritage tradition. Via The Salt (NPR).


• 2013.12.20
  What alcoholic beverages look like under a microscope. Via BevShots (at Mashable.com).


• 2013.12.19
  The CFO for Lost Abbey Brewing Company (San Marcos, California) is arrested for stealing funds from a non-profit arts organization. Promptly fired by brewery. Via ABC 10 News.


• 2013.12.17
  Singer Ray Price —"who changed country music while staying true to his own sound"— dies at age 87. Via Notions Capital.


• 2013.12.18
  Data from over 40 million credit and debit cards stolen at Target stores. Via Toronto Sun.


• 2013.12.16
  A panel of American beer writers select their 10 favorite IPAs of 2013. Via Thrillist.



• 2013.12.16
  Small and independent American breweries contributed $33.9 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012. Via Brewers Association.


• 2013.12.15
  U.S. National Archives to make billions of records publicly searchable on internet. Via Washington Post.


• 2013.12.15
  "Before the advent of refrigeration and advances in the science of fermentation in the mid-nineteenth century, almost all beer was, to varying degrees, sour." Via Christian DeBenedetti (in New Yorker Magazine).


• 2013.12.15
  Peter O'Toole, star of Lawrence of Arabia, and many more films, dies, aged 81. Via The Guardian.



• 2013.12.15
  After several years of declining numbers, independent bookstores may be making a comeback. The number of operating bookstores was up 6.4% in 2013. Via Washington Post.


• 2013.12.13
  British Library uploads one million public domain images to the internet for public reuse. Via Boing Boing.


• 2013.12.13
  Yahoo Mail suffers nearly week-long outage. Via New York Times.


• 2013.12.12
  Washington, D.C.-area 'craft' breweries engage in tussle over naming rights. Via Washington City Paper.



• 2013.12.10
  U.S. beer sales declined by 2.3% (4.8 million barrels) between 2007 and 2012. The sales of the top 9 brands fell by 25%. Via Brookston Beer Bulletin (quoting AOL story).


• 2013.12.10
  The great jazz guitarist Jim Hall has died, age 83. Obituary via New York Times. Appreciation via Jazz Times.


• 2013.12.10
  The United States is now home to a Trappist brewery: Saint Joseph's Abbey, in Spencer, Massachusetts, brewing Spencer Trappist Ale, the 10th Trappist brewery in world. Via Belgian Beer Specialist.


• 2013.12.10
  In its inaugural year, the North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) honors the best beer-writing in North America. Via YFGF.


• 2013.12.09
  New study finds abstaining from alcohol can lead to a shorter life than drinking moderately. Via Business Insider.

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• Clamps and Gaskets is a bi-weekly (usually) wrap-up of stories  not posted at Yours For Good Fermentables.com. Most deal with beer (or wine, or whisky); some do not. But all are brief, and many are re-posts from twitter.com/cizauskas.
• The Clamps and Gaskets graphic was created by Mike Licht at NotionsCapital.