I'm turning to my f-list, and anyone else who might wander by, for some help.
I'm working on the next installment of Canon vs. Fanon, which includes Daniel's fondness for chocolate/candy and alcohol. I'm having a little trouble with my research, and I hope that some of you out there might be able to clarify things for me.
I know very little about alcoholic drinks. Aside from the occasional half-glass of semi-dry or dry wine, I don't drink; my husband drinks even less, so he's no help, either. :) I know nothing about beer, American or otherwise. I can't tell the difference between light beers or dark ones or imports or whatever else is different about them. I have this vague idea that canned beer is less classy than bottled beer, but I don’t know where I got that assumption, or whether or not it's true.
I know even less about hard liquor, whether it's whiskey, vodka, tequila, scotch, rum, or whatever else might exist out there. I've never stepped foot in a bar, so I don't know how to identify the glasses or drinks in any given scene to determine what the characters are drinking.
Can anyone help me? I've already gotten some nice info out of
princessofg regarding Upgrades, although I have to admit that I don’t actually know what a pilsner is. :) But to be really thorough, it would be ideal if I knew exactly what the characters are drinking. Since fanon makes various assertions regarding imports and microbrews – which, as I've said, mean absolutely nothing to me – it would be enormously helpful if all you knowledgeable people out there could tell me precisely what kinds of beer, liquors, and other alcoholic drinks are consumed by Daniel, or in Daniel's company, or by other members of SG-1.
As far as I can tell, the episodes in question are as follows (reference to one small S9 spoiler from Ethon):
COTG. Beer at Jack's. Can anyone tell from the shape of the bottle or the label what brand they're drinking?
Upgrades. Daniel drinks beer –
princessofg identifies it as dark beer – and the others are drinking something else – pilsner? – and Jack has a shot of something a little stronger. Any more clarification?
2010. They drink champage at the ceremony and there are used wineglasses at the dinner table. I'll touch on Teal'c in the actual post.
Absolute Power. Daniel opens champagne. Anyone know which label costs $2,000 per bottle?
Threads/Moebius. Teal'c and Daniel carry a cooler between them as they join Sam and Jack on the little dock of the fishless/fish-filled pond by the cabin and Daniel pulls out two beers. Can't see a label, but maybe someone with better resolution can spot it.
Season Nine Spoiler! Ethon. Mitchell offers Daniel a beer (in a can) in the closing scene. Which brand? Can anyone tell? Is there a difference in quality/snobbishness/taste between bottled and canned beer?
Besides that, Jack offers Daniel a Budweiser in Shades of Grey; they're drinking Guiness in
While I intend to touch upon them in the final post, drinks offered off-world, whether or not Daniel drinks them, don't offer any indication towards preference, as the team usually isn't in a position to do anything other than accept or decline. On a similar note, I'll expand on the problems inherent on relying on episodes like 2010, Upgrades and Absolute Power for absolute canon.
Thanks to all of you in advance! :)
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However, and I will recheck, but I'm virtually 98% sure that the beer Cam gives Daniel (and Daniel drinks) in Ethon is a Coors Light.
A pilsner beer is basically any light amber-colored beer. There may be more to it than that (such as there are wheat beers, etc.), but that's not really evident by color. I'll look closer as I recheck.
In Full Alert, when Jack comes home with the Heinekin beer, Kinsey is in his living room and declares "You're out of Scotch", to which Jack replies, "If I knew you were coming, I would have hidden the good stuff". I take this as canon evidence that Jack is a Scotch drinker. (This might not be verbatum, I'm relying on my memory right now). Extrapolating backwards, I think it's safe to assume the shot Jack was drinking in Upgrades was also Scotch.
Without getting into a whole diatribe about it, I construe Jack's reference to the "good stuff" as single-malt Scotch. The best kind of Scotch. There are good blended Scotches as well, but true afficianados (snobs) turn their noses up at the blends. It's a dig at Kinsey, implying that he's not worthy of a decent single-malt.
Okay, off to review the other eps now and see what I can come up with.
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So, light beers vs. dark beers means... what? And is Coors Light decent beer? And "light" beer means less alcoholic, right?
Looking forward to what else you can tell me. And your willingness to strain yourself by watching more eps of SG-1 on my behalf is really touching! :)
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Hee! Oh, yeah! It's such a sacrifice, but I'll force myself for you, hon ;)
Okay, a bit about beers. Light-colored beers are not necessarily 'light' in terms of calories. Yes, they're generally a bit less than the darker beers, but it's more about the flavor of the beer. Pilsner beers are lighter in flavor and less-filling. It has to do with the ingredients used to make the beers and the brewing style and I'm no expert in that stuff.
Dark beers can vary from being just a bit heavier in taste than a pilsner (light) beer, right on up to being quite thick and heavy. Guiness is quite a dark, thick beer, very rich in taste. Hops, an ingredient in beer, contributes greatly to how bitter or tart a beer tastes. And there are also Porters and any number of 'styles' of beers.
For the purposes of your discussion, it's probably best to simply consider light and dark beers. Light beers may, or may not be, low calorie. They're simply lighter in flavor and consistancy - the sort of thing you'd want to drink on a hot summer day. Dark beers vary from the darker amber color of Daniel's beer in Upgrades, right up to the much darker color of the Guiness at Jacks in Lost City
Oh yes, alcohol content. The pilsners do (generally) have a lower alcohol content. Darker color doesn't *always* equate with higher alcohol content, but the Guiness from Lost City has a significantly higher alcohol content than, say, Coors Light.
Oh, I just rewatched the end of Ethon. It is Coors Light indeed. And um... it's known as 'Rocky Mountain piss water' to us locals, so no, it's not a great beer. Truthfully, not a truly terrible one either, but it's cheap and plentiful. Personally, if I'm going to drink something... mainstream like that, I prefer Bud Light.
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COTG After much study of the scene and liberal use of the zoom feature on my DVD player, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's Moosehead beer they're drinking. I had to keep in mind that these scenes were shot ten or so years ago, so labeling has changed since then, but I think I could *just* make out the shape of a moose on the label. Moosehead is a halfway decent Canadian beer, available here in the states. It's darker and heavier than the average American beer, but I don't know that it qualifies truly as a 'dark' beer.
Upgrades Since there are no bottles on the table, it's impossible to tell exactly what the brands are, but Daniel's beer is quite dark. I'd remembered it as only slightly darker than the others, but no, it's truly a dark beer. Could be a Porter, Guinness or any of a number of popular dark beers. Jack's shot definately *could* be scotch, but that amber color doesn't really tell us a lot - just that it's not tequila, vodka or gin, which are (usually) clear. There are a ton of whiskeys it could be. But I take it as Scotch because of the much-later-in-canon comment to Kinsey. (And I'll shut up about cultural changes, perceptions and popularity of various liquors over the years. Not germain.)
Threads/Moebius/200 Same scene, shot slightly differently each time. Even with max zoom on, it's practically impossible to tell much about the beer bottles Daniel takes over to Jack and Sam. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Budwieser (not light), but that's only because of what I could see, the labels were red and white and they were longnecks, which Bud comes in.
That's about it. I can't ever remember seeing Daniel drink wine, other than the Champagne in Absolute Power, but I'm not sure how much that counts. In that case, he seemed more enthralled with its price than anything else.
In Momento Mori we see Daniel eschew any alcoholic drink in favor of water, even though he ordered a martini for Vala. Of course, he was driving presumably, so...
Oh! I know of two champagnes that might cost that much. Dom Perignon and Cristal. There are probably others.
Anything else I can help with?
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Moosehead is an excellent beer. Far from the category of Coor's Light.
But then, Budweiser at the cabin? Jack has broad taste in beer.
Thanks so much for scrutinizing the dvd's! Since she posted this I've been all thinky about it. Hee.
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These are fantastic and will be a huge help. Thanks so much!
One thing you might be able to tell me: am I insane, or is Daniel, at the end of Threads, holding only one bottle instead of two? The camera doesn't zoom in as much, so it's hard to tell. But it would be a hilarious little detail to add to the "close enough" differences if I'm right.
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You know, as far as the end of Threads is concerned, I have to admit that I *assumed* it was two bottles, so I was focusing more on the labels than the number of bottles.
He's holding them a fairly conventional way for people who pick up multiple longnecks. One between index and middle fingers and another between middle and ring fingers.
I'll have to check the dvd when I get home. I *think* there's sound effects of two bottles, but it isn't all that unusual an error, especially since they used this scene three different times in three different eps.
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Or not. :)
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I love this insight, because it meshes so well with so much going on during Absolute Power. Thanks!
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And actually, I discovered something. At the risk of violating the 4th wall thing, they actually are trying to hide the labels from us. In Fire and Water Jack has a beer bottle in hand when Sam and Teal'c walk in. When he puts the bottle down, he actually turns the label away from camera! D'oh!
But actually, I think it's also Moosehead. Same label as in CoTG. And um, I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I sort of suspect that the can that he pops open to pour in a glass? Yeah, I'm thinking Moosehead again. I guess it's not totally unlikely that they'd use a single brand for a couple of eps.
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Is this still going to just be Daniel and drinking, fig? Or are you stretching to Jack's palate, since he does find beer such a good substitute for...food. :-D
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But also, these days Moosehead comes in green bottles, at least here in the US. But back in the late 90's? In Canada? Who knows?
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Wait, wait, he's drinking from a bottle, but he pours from Sam from a can? Bit lacking in the hospitality department, isn't it?
And I like the idea of continuity with the brand. Surely most people stick to one brand out of preference?
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Of course, that's since turned around with "product placement" and now companies PAY to have their products shown on tv shows.
I wouldn't doubt Moosehead is available in Colorado. It's been imported to the US for a while. I had it on tap at the real "Cheers" bar when I visited Boston *cough* years ago.
I think people tend to have brand preferences for beer, but may be willing to try out different types. Like sometimes not in the mood for Heineken. Or more in a mood for Guinness. I live in an area where we have seafood feasts. Some people only like a kind of beer for that. Others prefer any kind. My ex-boyfriend who was a rabid beer drinker preferred coke/pepsi when doing the feast. So maybe it depends on the occassion?
But I'm not a beer drinker myself, so it's hard for me to judge.
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You'll sometimes see 'fake' labels show up on shows, too, but I can't remember them ever doing that in Stargate.
Morley brand cigarettes is probably one of the more famous 'fake' brands, from the X-Files television program. And I can't remember where it was, but I saw Morleys show up on another program of the same era.
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I don't think it's any different than other beverages. Some people nearly always drink the same thing, some like variety. I drink tea, coffee, water, juice (various kinds), soda or milk on a regular basis. My husband drinks cola, cola and more cola. He rarely drinks alcohol. I'll drink wine, beer, sherry, port or hard cider. Depends on what I'm eating, what I'm in the mood for, and what's available. I don't drink a *lot* of alcohol- it's expensive, high in calories, and I'm behind the wheel of a car a lot, and don't drink at all when I'm driving. But I like variety when I do.
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It was definitely Coors Light that Mitchell gave to Daniel.
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Yeah, I think you're right! I think Ethon was Coors Light! Did Daniel drink it? Because that is NOT a snobby sort of beer. At all. In fact it's a fairly awful beer if you are a beer snob, even a mild one.
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And yes, Daniel drinks the crappy beer! And it is crappy.
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Interestingly enough, Daniel drinks it, but hesitates just a moment before he does. I suspect it's not up to his standards ;)
That he does it for Mitchell makes it all the more important. I guess.
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I have to consider this one, but I think it fits nicely with the slowly-forming hypotheses.
All of you are being so helpful!
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Mitchell, on the other hand...
Hmmmm. :)
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I think regs and their adherence to them may vary from base to base whether it's even allowed in the facility, but I'm just going by my military knowledged friends.