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Beer is the third-most-consumed liquid in the world (after water and tea), but not long ago it was still surprisingly hard to find a decent beer bar in Los Angeles. No, not an ultra lounge cordoned off by velvet ropes and cologne-soaked bouncers or a high-end speakeasy specializing in retro cocktails. A bar. One that serves craft-brewed beer. Not anymore. The beer is pouring. A handful of new beer bars, such as recently opened Stout in Hollywood and soon-to-open the Surly Goat in West Hollywood are making the city more amenable to suds sippers. And after 18 painful months of...

In a U-turn that appears to put penny-pinching before the health of the defenders of the motherland, the army said it would keep giving the cigarettes for another two years. This reversed a decision earlier this year to halt the controversial policy. "Everyone can choose to spoil or not spoil their health," Andrei Zezin, the officer in charge of the army's catering corps, told a Moscow radio station. "We have the cigarettes in our warehouses and therefore we are going to keep handing them out until there are no more left. Realistically, we can meet demand for two years." The...

My wife and I are enjoying a chilled Chimay Blue ale for the first time...oh my, oh my, OH MY! Fellow beer-drinking Freepers, does it get any better than this? Your best beer recommendations would be appreciated... Try to ignore the coming collapse for a few moments and have a wonderful weekend! Signing off, Third Person, on the outside looking in.

Wow! Just WOW! I was looking online for work when I came across an add, "Campaign Manager, Plover Wisconsin" - looked a little deeper and ended up at his site. You really got to check this out. Only thing I came away with is, "Can't do any worse than what we have now." GO GEORGE GO! Enjoy

PORTLAND, Ore. - Learning to brew your own beer in Portland, a.k.a. Beervana, would seem to be pointlessness personified. Yet 80 homebrewers and brewers-to-be spent a rainy Saturday morning doing just that in a stark warehouse warmed only by two boiling kettles. "It's not pointless at all," said Michel Brown, a well-known Portland homebrewer who began making his own beer 38 years ago at the age of 17. He was teaching the advanced class in the back room at F.H. Steinbart, the 91-year-old brewers supply store. Steinbart regularly offers free classes such as the one Saturday. "By brewing your own, you...

Andrew J. Burwitz, 20, of Appleton, Wis., allegedly tried to do a drive-by shooting at the home of his ex-girlfriend's family and another random house. Police found him because he failed to roll down his car window and shattered it when he made the first shot.

While wine snobs have blighted the earth for thousands of years (you can bet there was at least one guy curling his lip at the vintage of Jesus’ first and best miracle), beer snobbery is a relatively young art, especially in the U.S. This is because every beer in the country once tasted exactly the same. Oh sure, there were Bud lovers and MGD aficionados who would swear they could tell the difference, but if you gave them a blind taste test, you’d soon discover they’d just keep asking for another “test taste” until there wasn’t any beer left and...

It came as a surprise to discover that monks were no longer involved in the beer-making at Trappist brewer Westmalle during a visit to research for a feature of Trappist beers. With the exception of small-scale Westvleteren that is pretty much the case at all seven Trappist breweries in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is largely the result of demographics – the average age of monks at many monasteries in western Europe is up in the 50s, 60s or 70s, hardly an age to be pushing around barrels. The modern brewery is also very much automated, requiring fewer people on...

During the recent UN General Assembly meetings in New York, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman painted a picture of Malaysia that many like to see - a multiethnic mosaic of religions, races and beliefs. "The Malaysian government has introduced the One Malaysia concept," Aman said. "It aims at fostering appreciation and respect for all races, seeing diversity as a source of strength. It envisages unity that arises from true acceptance instead of mere tolerance." Yet the same day that Aman extolled the virtues of one Malaysia for all, a judge's ruling back home conveyed an image of the Southeast Asian nation...

CARROLL, Iowa (AP) — Police had no trouble identifying two men accused of trying to break into a Carroll apartment. Police were responding to a call about an attempted burglary when they pulled over a car matching the alleged suspects' vehicle. Inside the car, officers found two men with their faces blackened with permanent marker. Police said the caller described two men with painted faces attempting to break into an apartment Friday night before driving off...(snip)

The Washington City Paper reports that the team's vendors were selling beer to patrons while they made use of the facilities last Sunday during their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The report says a poster named Gracelander first complained about the washroom sales more than a year ago on the Redskins' official message board ExtremeSkins.com. "[W]hat made me mad was when I went to the bathroom at the start of the 3rd quarter and this guy was in the BATHROOM selling beers to guys who waited for the urinals. I found this just wrong on so many accounts." While...

In the surprisingly small world of big-league craft brewing, there are some names - young as the community is - that carry a little magic in them: Port Brewing of San Marcos, CA...Three Floyds Brewing of Munster, Indiana...Victory Brewing of Downington, PA...Stone Brewing of Escondido, California...Russian River...North Coast...Dogfish Head...Founder's...Surly... Firestone-Walker...Goose Island...and the list goes on and on. They're everywhere - literally. Allagash, in Maine, is perhaps America's best brewer of Belgian-style ales. Ommegang, in Cooperstown, New York, is the leading innovator of Belgian ales given a left-handed American spin. Great Divide, in downtown Denver, is world-famous for it's high-octane, hop-crazy...

'Ho White and the Seven Dwarves' beer advert angers Disney A beer advertisment featuring a ranchy version of Snow White has reportedly raised the ire of Disney. Published: 7:00AM BST 16 Oct 2009 The link to Snow White in the advertisement has reportedly angered Disney. Photo: adelaidenow.com.au The x-rated advertisement, for Jamieson's Raspberry Ale, depicts the fairytale heroine blowing smoke rings while lying in bed with seven semi-clad dwarves. In this Disney dystopia, Snow White has been renamed "Ho White", while the loveable dwarves Sleepy, Happy and Doc are rebranded Filthy, Smarmy and Randy - supposedly to represent different types...

HAYWARD, Wis. – Shoppers in a Wisconsin grocery store got an unexpected surprise when a 125-pound black bear wandered inside and headed straight for the beer cooler. The bear stopped Friday night at Marketplace Foods in Hayward,.. It calmly climbed up 12 feet onto a shelf in the beer cooler where it sat for about an hour while employees helped evacuate customers and summoned wildlife officials.

An Australian beer company has landed itself in Disney's cross hairs with an ad campaign featuring the likeness of Snow White in bed with semi-nude dwarves. The Foundry, brewers of Jamieson's Raspberry Ale, said the "Ho White" campaign, based on characters from Disney's 1937 animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," is designed to convince consumers the beverage is "anything but sweet," The (Sydney, Australia) Daily Telegram reported Friday. The campaign, which includes advertisements online and in bars, features "Ho White" blowing smoke rings while in bed with dwarves renamed "Filthy, Smarmy and Randy" by the company.

Click and watch. There's no sound.

BLOWING smoke rings as she lies back in bed with seven semi-naked dwarves tucked alongside, it's Snow White like you've never seen before. Now this risque version of the fairytale favourite, renamed "Ho White" to promote a local beer, has drawn the wrath of Disney. The Jamieson's Raspberry Ale campaign, launched by brewers The Foundry online this week, features an adults-only take on the fairytale character, with dwarves named Filthy, Smarmy and Randy replacing Sleepy, Happy and Doc.

A proposal to increase the state beer tax drew support and criticism in Madison on Tuesday. Some think it will help crack down on drunken driving, while others aren't as sure. Advocates and opponents of the beer tax increase piled into the public hearing. After the bill's author, Representative Teresa Berceau (D-Madison) rattled off Wisconsin's notorious drinking statistics, she said the tax is affordable for the average drinker and would fund reform against drunken driving. "We're talking about drinking a six-pack a day, seven days a week to generate an additional dollar of taxes. If you're drinking more than that,...

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's detectives are looking for a man who stole 11 cases of beer from a convenience store — and only went in twice. A news release said the man grabbed six cases of Bud Light and one of Budweiser about 11 p.m. Sunday, put it in his car and went in for more. The statement released Monday said the man then grabbed two more cases of each. After loading that into his gold Mercury or Crown Victoria, he took off.

Left or right, we can all agree that our health insurance industry is in serious need of treatment, as we live in a time when a small number of companies make record profits while they cut costs by rejecting the claims of thousands of sick and desperate people. The obvious question is: What can Americans do to get out of this seemingly self-perpetuating rut? The answer is anything but obvious and might surprise you. To illustrate it, you need look no further than your local beer aisle. Today we can go into any supermarket or liquor store and find dozens...

NEWRY, Maine — A Maine couple has taken the crown in the North American Wife Carrying Championship over a course that featured a muddy water hole and two log obstacles. Dave and Lacey Castro of Lewiston beat a field of 41 teams to win the competition Saturday at Sunday River ski resort in Newry. They covered the 278-yard course in 54.45 seconds. For their effort, the couple won Lacey's weight in beer and five times her weight in cash — $485. In all, teams from 11 states competed in the 10th annual race in which a man has to carry...

The image of a baby sucking on a beer bottle is drawing eyes to a billboard on Route 154 in Deep River, Connecticut. "There's a lot of conversation about it, and that's good. Something like that makes people think and start talking," said Wayne Martin, who owns the bakery and deli next to the billboard. That's what the people who designed the billboard were trying to do. They say you take special care of your child as an infant and you should be doing the same when they're teenagers. That means not letting your teen drink. "Letting kids drink young...

Utilizing the words BEER and/or BREW, or a combination thereof. This is for a contest taking place in my local college pub, of which I'm an alumni. Muchas Gracias!

A brewery has launched a low alcohol beer called Nanny State after being branded irresponsible for creating the UK's "strongest beer". Scottish brewer BrewDog, of Fraserburgh, was criticised for Tokyo* which has an alcohol content of 18.2%. Campaigners welcomed the 1.1% alcohol Nanny State but said the name showed a lack of appreciation of the problem The 3,000 limited edition bottles of Tokyo* contained six units of alcohol - twice the recommended daily limit. The company had insisted the £9.99 high strength beer would help tackle the country's binge-drinking culture, because customers would drink it in smaller quantities. The name...

After last weekend's California Republican Party convention, a spokeswoman for potential Senate candidate Carly Fiorina dissed the results of rival Chuck DeVore's self-commissioned straw poll, telling CNN's Peter Hamby: "Let me get this straight, you want me to comment on a Chuck DeVore straw poll that was conducted in the DeVore hospitality suite on Saturday night with a bunch of college Republicans and a lot of free beer flowing?" Beer and college students may go together like Republicans and no-tax pledges, but can candidates really capture conservative students' support with an abundance of ale? Not so easily, according to Michael...

A brewer criticised for making what it claimed is Britain's strongest beer has unveiled an ale with a 1.1 per cent alcohol content, which it has called Nanny State. BrewDog said it launched Nanny State in response to the outcry caused after launching Tokyo* with an 18.2 per cent alcohol content. In July health experts said a high-alcohol percentage can cause as much damage as drinking to excess. A 330ml bottle of Tokyo* contains six units of alcohol - twice the recommended daily limit. BrewDog, based in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, said the stronger beer will help change the country's binge-drinking culture...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AP) - A judge in Malaysia has upheld a court verdict to cane a Muslim woman for drinking beer, news reports said Monday, re-igniting a controversy over Islamic justice in this moderate Muslim-majority country. The Star newspaper's Web site and national news agency Bernama said the chief Shariah judge of Pahang state ruled that a Shariah High Court's verdict against Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was correct and should stay. If the punishment is carried out, Kartika would become the first Muslim woman to be caned in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the 28 million people...

September 27, 2009 Police: Man doused with gasoline, burned By JULIE MURPHY Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -- A man suffered severe burns to his face, chest and hands during a fight over beer, cigarettes and money Saturday afternoon. He had to be airlifted to the Orlando Regional Medical Center Saturday for treatment of his injuries, officials said. Dean Allen Fultz, 47, was transported first to Halifax Health Medical Center shortly after 3 p.m. with "serious burns," said EVAC Ambulance spokesman Mark O'Keefe. Fultz was airlifted to Orlando about 30 minutes later, Daytona Beach police Chief Mike Chitwood said. Fultz was...

Ancient ale Prehistoric yeast takes beer drinkers back millions of yearsBy Suzanne Bohan Contra Costa Times Sep 24, 2009‎ GUERNEVILLE, Calif. - Inside a stainless-steel tank at a brew pub here overlooking the redwood-rimmed Russian River, a 45-million-year-old yeast proves its mettle. And the remarkably resilient prehistoric microbe hasn't just garnered a devoted pack of Fossil Fuels Beer fans, it's also providing palpable proof of the tenacity of life on this planet. When the Australian-born owner of Stumptown Brewery, Peter Hackett, first learned of the ancient yeast, he doubted this long-extinct strain would ferment anything drinkable. It took the urging...

 Now days, being homeless is more competitive than ever. Only the most clever and creative signs are going to get people to let go of their precious spare change. This makes for some pretty awesome homeless dude signage.                                                  

Gay times at Munich's OktoberfestMunich's annual beer festival got underway to the collective clinking of tankards on Saturday. Gay Days at the Oktoberfest ... a couple dressed in traditional Lederhosen kiss. "Gay Days" at the Oktoberfest have their origins in the 1970s when the Munich Lowenclub (Lions Club), a gay fetish society whose members are confusingly known as "bears", booked the balcony in the Bräurosl tent. The owners expected a football club, and were taken aback when a group of gay men turned up. But the beer drinkers proved to be big-spending revellers, and, according to the waitresses, were more...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who suffer a traumatic brain injury from a car crash or other mishap are more apt to survive if they had been drinking at the time of the injury, according to a study published Monday. The finding "raises the intriguing possibility" that giving alcohol to brain injured patients may improve outcome, the study team suggests in the Archives of Surgery. Alcohol and driving "is and will always continue to be bad -- it contributes to over 40 percent of traffic-related fatalities," first author Dr. Ali Salim of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles emphasized in...

The Mayor of Munich has opened the 176th Oktoberfest beer festival with the traditional cry of "It's tapped!" It took the mayor, Christian Ude, just two swift strokes to pound a spigot into the first massive keg of beer. Following festival protocol, he handed the first litre mug, called a "Mass", to Bavarian Governor Horst Seehofer.

Two weeks ago a group of four men, Steve Hoyland Jr. with friends Bruce, Ken and Erik, set off on an overnight offshore fishing trip. They left at noon on a Tuesday and went about 120 miles out into the Gulf. They were having a great night of fishing, catching big snapper, grouper, ling and kings. About 3 am, two of them went down below to catch some sleep. The two remaining on deck were catching fish and drinking beer, enjoying the warm tropical night air. All at once, Bruce got a big run on his line. This thing went...

Back to web version Thursday, Sep 10, 2009 Posted on Wed, Sep. 09, 2009 Big beer, big movies: Both fall flat By ROBERT W. BUTLERThe Kansas City Star The other day I watched the new documentary “Beer Wars” because … well, because it has the word “beer” in the title.But Anat Baron’s film (she was one of the founders of Boston Beer Co., makers of the Sam Adams line) ended up making me think about movies.Bear with me. (I almost wrote “beer with me,” but I retain a smidgen of self-respect.)“Beer Wars” (you can pick up a DVD at...

Beer could stop bones going brittle Drinking beer regularly could stop bones from going brittle, according to scientists in Spain. A study found that the bones of women who drink beer regularly are stronger, making them less likely to suffer from osteoporosis. It is thought that the high level of silicon in beer slows down the thinning that leads to fractures and boosts the formation of new bone, the journal Nutrition reports. Beer is also rich in phytoestrogens, plant versions of oestrogen, which keep bones healthy. Bones are made up of a mesh of fibres, minerals, blood vessels and marrow,...

The cheaper the beer, the more of it that college students will drink. Men are more open than women to a stranger's proposition for sex. The opposite sex looks more attractive after a few drinks. Share New study underscores the problem of binge drinking on college campuses. To many, the above statements may seem obvious. But to some researchers, they may be the starting point for months of study, culminating in published research. But is such research worth the time, effort and money that goes into it? For some topics, the surprising answer may be yes. In the case of...

Drinking a bottle of wine or five pints of beer in an evening instead of over the course of a week gives you a big waist, British researchers say. They found the pattern of drinking rather than the total amount of alcohol consumed has a greater effect on waist size. In women the effect was even more pronounced... The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, was presented at the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona. The team studied almost 30,000 men and women in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic ...

Yesterday I wrote a piece for my host paper here in Berlin, der Tagesspiegel, defending American beer. Needless to say, the reaction from commenters has been swift and harsh. But because it's in German, I'm really only seeing half the debate. What do Americans think about German beer? And what do readers think about the piece? Remember, it's for a German audience, but I hope the arguments can get some discussion going. Read the piece in translation below; read it in the original German here. Dish water. Piss. A joke. There are a lot of stereotypes about American beer here...

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The beer bike will ride on in Amsterdam. The outsized bikes, seating groups of people around a central bar, are something of a fixture in the city's center. .. ... They will, however, need permits from the various city boroughs, and those permits are likely to come with restrictions on hours of operation and requirements for a sober driver. While non-drinkers already typically steer the bikes, their size has also been an issue .. One of the better-known operators, PartyFiets.nl, offers two-hour tours on bikes that seat up to 22 people and carry 30 litres (7.9 gallons)...

All good things must come to an end, and such is the case with the bartending career of Angelo Cammarata. At 95 years young, he's the world's oldest bartender, but he plans to finally throw in the bar towel some time in the next couple of weeks. As an interesting AP story points out, Cammarata served his first drink - a bottle of Fort Pitt beer - at his father's grocery store just moments after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. He's been slinging the sauce ever since and only rarely indulges in alcohol himself, one of those secrets to a...

MILWAUKEE - Anheuser-Busch InBev is dropping its "Fan Cans" promotions from communities around the country where colleges, including Boise State University, have complained that the effort - which sells cans of Bud Light in school colors - promotes underage drinking and infringes on trademarks. The cans have no college logos, names or other identifiers - just 27 color combinations.

ZACHARY, LOUISIANA (WAFB) - Zachary police say surveillance video shows a woman steal a 12-pack of beer from a small grocery store by putting it between her legs and waddling away. She is also suspected of shoving several cans of soda into her top. The Miller Light and soft drinks were taken from the Cross Roads Grocery on August 2. "It's just amazing how people go this far to steal," said David McDavid with the police department. "It just doesn't make sense." However, this "beer between the legs" bandit apparently didn't work alone. The video also shows a man try...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009Police say transient stole truck, 19 guns to acquire more beer By Mike Peters Maybe if he just hadn't run through the power lines in north Greeley. Or maybe if the burglar alarm just wasn't set at Big R. Or maybe if the cop hadn't Tased him five times. Maybe today, Cruz Marceleno would have what he wanted all along: beer. Instead, he's in jail. In one of Greeley's biggest burglaries, a homeless Greeley man is accused of stealing a truck, some generators and 19 guns — including six assault rifles — for a total of nearly...

“Whiskey River,” Willie Nelson “Margaritaville,” Jimmy Buffett “Friends in Low Places,” Garth Brooks “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” David Allan Coe “Alcohol,” Brad Paisley “All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight,” Hank Williams, Jr. “Pop a Top,” Alan Jackson “I Gotta Get Drunk,” George Jones, Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson

SUNGAI SIPUT, Malaysia (Reuters) – Religious authorities in Malaysia postponed on Monday the caning of a Muslim woman convicted of drinking alcohol until after the holy month of Ramadan. The planned caning of 32-year-old mother of two Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno has drawn criticism from rights groups concerned by the rise of Islamic laws in this traditionally moderate country, even though Kartika had accepted the punishment. Earlier on Monday it appeared she might have been freed when a court order that would have transferred her to a prison where she was to have been caned was ruled invalid by an...

Malaysia beer woman spared caning Kartika's case has raised questions about Malaysia's modernity Islamic officials in Malaysia have unexpectedly freed Kartika Sari Dewa Shukarno, who was due to be caned six times this week for drinking beer. She pleaded guilty to the offence under Islamic law committed in 2007 and has not appealed against her sentence. She would have been the first woman in Malaysia to be punished in such a way. The case has provoked controversy in a nation where Malays are subject to Islamic law, while the large Chinese and Indian minorities are not. A van had taken...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - It could be the ultimate show of school spirit, the perfect tailgating accessory or just another Bud Light can. Budweiser is brewing up some controversy after releasing school-themed beer cans, but some say the drinks could up underage drinking. If you're a Gamecock or Clemson fan, this bud's for you. The "fan can" design is the latest marketing gimmick from Anheuser-Busch. "I think they're gonna do excellent for football season," said Bob Blessing. A Carolina graduate himself, Blessing is anxiously awaiting football season as a fan, and as a manager at Total Wine. "Sales are constantly...

(CNN) -- A Malaysian model, who is set to become the first woman in the Southeast Asian country to be caned for drinking alcohol in public, wants her punishment carried out in public. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno said Thursday that if the intent of the Islamic, or Shariah, court that sentenced her was to set an example for other Muslims, then the flogging should take place in the open. "Let's be transparent about it," she said. "We want to challenge them," added Kartika's father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib. "The law is a little bit wrong. They say they are gentlemen who...

A clerk at a Ben White Boulevard convenience store has been charged with murder after police say he shot and killed a man who was stealing a 12-pack of Budweiser early Sunday morning. Jorge Luis Vielma, 22, and another man were on a "beer run," according to police, and attempted to flee after taking the beer. Police say Juan Romero, 23, a clerk at the Shell gasoline station at Ben White and South First Street, fired about a dozen shots at Vielma outside the store as he ran for a friend's waiting Mitsubishi Eclipse. Vielma later died inside the car;...