# Another question about the Blues Brothers: They drank $300 worth of beer??!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513 "2010-07-21T21:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/61 "2010-07-23T18:21:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > 1. How come the Good Old Boys arrived at Bob’s Country Bunker ready to play - at 3 in the morning. This has been my source of personal agony ever since I first saw this movie. _Why_ were they so late, and _why_ would they then be angry at the Blues Brothers? The only way I can reconcile it in my mind is to assume that before the Blues Brothers went to the bar, during the scene where they were in the phone booth, (before it blew up), they did manage to complete a call to someone which lead the Good Ol Boys to be delayed, mis-directed, or somehow tricked into showing up so late. I further assume that scene was left on the cutting room floor. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/62 "2010-07-23T20:31:03Z")
Once I catered a medieval banquet at a southern California Grand national Irsh Faire and it was so hot and i was running my butt off that in 6 hours I drank **9 PITCHERS OF GUINESS** and did not even get a buzz. It happens. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/63 "2010-07-23T20:54:14Z")
Sam Stone: The answer to all your questions is that they were on a mission from God and had help from above. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/64 "2010-07-23T21:41:42Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Once I catered a medieval banquet at a southern California Grand national Irsh Faire and it was so hot and i was running my butt off that in 6 hours I drank **9 PITCHERS OF GUINESS** and did not even get a buzz. > > It happens. Guinness is fairly low alcohol beer, especially on draught, so I imagine you were bloated, but still (for the most part) sober(ish)… ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/65 "2010-07-23T22:22:34Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > YES! YES! YES! We (finally) have a winner!!! > > Christ, I’ve never seen so much overanalysis over such a simple point before. Yeah, you are kind of new to this forum. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/66 "2010-07-23T22:25:18Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Other things that need to be investigated about the Blues Brothers movie accuracy: > > 1. How you can totally destroy a mall with two cars and not hurt anyone. > 2. How you can blow up a building full of people with explosives and not hurt anyone. > 3. How come the Good Old Boys arrived at Bob’s Country Bunker ready to play - at 3 in the morning. > 4. There are no unfinished roads in Chicago that terminate 12,000 feet in the air. > 5. It seems impossible that a car could do a backflip over another car by just going in reverse and hitting the brakes. > 6. You can’t jump a giant Pinto hole in a road by slamming on the brakes and closing your eyes. > 7. Most gas station owners won’t let you pump gas for someone else and keep the money. > 8. County Assessors in Chicago won’t open a door for you while they’re still eating a sandwich. > 9. Swat team members don’t go, “Hut hut hut hut” while rappelling down a building. > 10. If a propane tank beside a phone booth explodes, it will blow the phone booth sideways, not send it straight up in the air like a rocket. If you’re inside said phone booth and it does launch several hundred feet into the air, you will probably die. > > Of course, the answer to all of these is, “It’s a joke.” So was the beer tab. It’s about the most plausible part of that whole scene, so I’m not sure why you’re focused on proving that it could be accurate. This is the best post ever. 😃 Of course 24 pints is a lot of booze, but in the context of, say, a British/Irish wedding then that’s only a couple of pints an hour if you are there all day. That’s not counting the champagne breakfast and the whisky toasts, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/67 "2010-07-24T01:05:01Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I’ve always wondered what else they played that night besides Rawhide and Stand by Your Man over and over. There’s a recording of “Sink the Bismark” that was cut from the film. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/68 "2010-07-24T02:15:50Z")
I don’t know what kind of fancy places you guys go to, but in 1997, at a place pretty similar to this one, Budweiser was $1.25 per bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/69 "2010-07-24T16:48:26Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > Next topic: How high up _was_ that overpass the Neo-Nazis drove off of? > > That was the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee. Wiki lists the clearance as about 120 feet. So I’d guess it’s about 130 from the top of the surface…if they drove off the highest point. Sweet mercy. Oh yeah: “I’ve always loved you.” ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/70 "2010-07-25T15:57:45Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > 1. You can’t jump a giant Pinto hole in a road by slamming on the brakes and closing your eyes. At least you have one easily answerable question. They didn’t jump the giant Pinto hole by slamming on the brakes and closing their eyes. They jumped a giant pinto hole by hitting the _GAS_ and closing their eyes. Sheesh.. some people. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/71 "2010-07-25T18:23:09Z")
You’re right! I hope they don’t revoke my Blues Brothers fan club card. Another factual problem - gluing down an accelerator pedal does not enable a 26 ft. RV to go faster than an ex-cop car that’s got a a cop motor (a 440 cubic inch plant), cop shocks, cop tires, and cop brakes. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/72 "2010-07-26T09:47:32Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Jake held up a gas station to get the money to pay the bar tab; that’s why he was in jail. Actually, it was the band’s _room service_ bill from that gig in Coal City. And I think that was just more of Jake’s bullshit. Why would you risk knocking over a gas station rather than simply skipping out on the room service bill? He’s just trying to guilt trip them into joining them. > [@vertizontal](#): > > The only way I can reconcile it in my mind is to assume that before the Blues Brothers went to the bar, during the scene where they were in the phone booth, (before it blew up), they did manage to complete a call to someone which lead the Good Ol Boys to be delayed, mis-directed, or somehow tricked into showing up so late. I further assume that scene was left on the cutting room floor. I don’t think so. They just happened upon the Bunker driving around, they weren’t going there specifically. The Good Ol’ Boys were delayed by the aforementioned God whom they were on a mission for. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/73 "2010-07-26T10:47:27Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > …an ex-cop car that’s got a a cop motor (a 440 cubic inch plant), cop shocks, cop tires, and cop brakes. Fix the lighter. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/74 "2010-07-26T13:47:25Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > > [@Wheelz](#): > > > > Jake held up a gas station to get the money to pay the bar tab; that’s why he was in jail. > > Actually, it was the band’s _room service_ bill from that gig in Coal City. And I think that was just more of Jake’s bullshit. Why would you risk knocking over a gas station rather than simply skipping out on the room service bill? He’s just trying to guilt trip them into joining them. Ah, room service. You are correct. There was a “novelization” that came out about the same time the movie did. I actually purchased it and read it, and in fact I think I still have it somewhere. It was either based on an early draft of the script that was subsequently trimmed, or it was padded to fill out the length of a book. For instance, each band member is recruited one-by-one rather than having most of them still playing together. Anyway, there was a scene in the book detailing Jake’s gas station holdup. He used a fake gun that Elwood used to shoot coins into toll-booth baskets. The scene ends with Jake launching a stream of quarters at the gas station attendant while attempting his getaway. And as I recall, his reason for the holdup was indeed to cover for his bandmates. You probably can’t take that as canon, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/75 "2010-07-26T13:51:44Z")
I bought that too! It also had something about them squatting in a vacant model house to use as a rehearsal hall. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513/76 "2010-07-26T14:03:43Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Actually, it was the band’s _room service_ bill from that gig in Coal City. And I think that was just more of Jake’s bullshit. Why would you risk knocking over a gas station rather than simply skipping out on the room service bill? He’s just trying to guilt trip them into joining them. It could have been the type of situation where they were ready to check out, but when the manager discovered their room service bill he had some goons literally block their exit. I don’t know how common this sort of thing would be in the hotel business, but it’s not unheard of in other service industries like bars. And remember these guys probably wouldn’t be staying in the most respectable of lodgings either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-about-the-blues-brothers-they-drank-300-worth-of-beer/547513.md?page=3)