Traveling on SuperBowl Sunday? There are few worse places to be than in an airplane at 35,000-ft when you would much rather be at home, at someone else's home or at the local pub watching the fame with friends, family and lots of food. If you must fly, you might want to think about using JetBlue. The discount airline offers live DIRECTV, so you'll be able to see the game, and you won't even have to miss out on beer and munchies because the airline will be giving out free beer and cocktails to travelers during game-time flights. They will also offer plenty of snacks (no hot wings, unfortunately), such as Doritos Munchies Mix, Terra Blues Potato Chips, Nuts Jumbo Cashew Halves and Nabisco 100 Calorie Pack crackers.

The selection doesn't compare to what you'll find at most SuperBowl parties, but you have to given them credit for trying. After all, they could do a lot worse than free beer, snacks and football!

Now that Bulgaria has joined the European Union, some of the previously high taxes on Bulgarian goods have been eliminated. Bulgaria is known for having good wine, but it is beer that has people from other EU countries flocking to the stores to buy it now that some of the taxes have been lifted. Boza beer apparently claims to help women's breasts grow larger.

Upon hearing of its claims, your first thought might be why taxes would matter, since there are surely people who would pay anything for a product - let alone a beer - that could do that. The following thought, of course, would be about how accurate this claim is.

Boza is made from fermented wheat and/or millet and has a low alcohol content. The original recipe has been around for thousands of years and dates back to Pre-Ottoman Turkey. It has always been considered to be a very healthy drink, a "warming and strengthening beverage" with approximately 1,000 calories per liter. For comparison, milk has about 630 calories per liter.

It is unlikely that Boza actually does increase the size of women's breasts, although with the high number of calories it contains, it is certainly possible that it could cause weight gain in general if enough is consumed.

Don't get too excited from the headline.

Bars and restaurants in California aren't going to be giving away all their beer, but this year, for the first time, they will be permitted to give out free samples of beer, much in the same way that free samples of wine and spirits are sometimes given out to promote new brands or new products from those industries.

Previously, beer companies could only offer tastings at their own plants or breweries, but the new law allows for up to 8-ounces per person per day, to be given away promotionally, provided that it is served in a glass at an establishment that already serves beer or spirits. The tastings can last no more than one hour and can only feature one type of beer, which effectively prevents consumers from having more than those 8-oz (without paying for more, anyway). St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch was the driving force behind the new law, pushing the issue on the grounds that existing law excluded a major portion of the beverage industry. They plan to offer tastings of some of their seasonal products in the future.

The primary objectors to the legislation were the religious groups behind the California Council on Alcohol Problems, which basically tried to say that all beer tasted the same (unlike wine, in their opinions) and that this would cause drinking problems. Clearly, legislators did not agree with their thinking and neither would any of the many beer lovers out there, all of whom can attest to the fact that beer does vary from brand to brand and even batch to batch.

Back in August, we started looking at a category of beer that is getting increasingly popular as awareness of celiac disease and gluten intolerance grows: gluten free beer. At the time Anheuser-Busch was just starting to test their own gluten-free brew, but it must have been a success because the company is now ready to release their newest product. Redbridge beer is completely wheat and gluten-free and is described as a "full-bodied lager brewed from sorghum for a well-balanced, moderately hopped taste." It contains 4.8% alcohol per bottle and will be sold in six packs at higher end grocery stories (described as "stores carrying organic products) and in some restaurants.

This marks the first truly mainstream GF beer on the market, as others like Bard's Tale Beer's Dragon's Gold and Ramapo Valley Brewery's Passover Honey Beer are all produced by small breweries in small batches and are not available everywhere.

Aside from willpower and peer pressure, there are few things that can actually dissuade someone who really wants to drink from drinking. That's why AA has a 12-step program, not a 1-step one. But some scientists in Australia have just announced that they have a drug that may stop people from drinking. The compound blocks the production of a chemical called orexin that induces euphoria. So far, the compound has only been tested on rats, but it was remarkably successful in stopping the compulsion to drink alcohol in rats that had developed/were forced to develop an addition to it. In fact, they completely stopped drinking it when offered.

The theory is that the pleasurable effects of drinking, or the perceived pleasure that triggers the orexin system, are what drive the cravings and taking that away eliminates the reason for the craving to exist. Presumably, the drinker would still feel the effects of the alcohol, but there would no longer be any type of "high." Scientists also think that a similar treatment could be developed to treat other addictions, such as binge eating.

Obviously, it still has a long way to go before something like this will be available to the public, but it certainly sounds like it could help some people eliminate a step or two if they have a drinking problem.

In southwest England, Trading Standards officials carried out a survey of various pubs and other alcohol-serving venues and discovered that one in five pints had noticeably less liquid than it should. Given that this shortabe happend with such regularity at many different locations, perhaps the theory is that once you've had a few pints, you won't really be worried about a few extra mouthfuls. Or, perhaps the quality of bartenders has simple declined, since it is much more difficult to pull a drink with the appropriate amount of foam than you might guess.

Officials recommend asking for a top-off if the drink appears to be a bit short, not only to ensure that you're getting what you've paying for, but to encourage vendors to be a bit more careful in their pouring in the future.

Some beer drinkers will tell you that the best place to drink beer is on the couch, with a sports game on and a couple friends around. Others will point you to their favorite after-work pub. A few will scoff at the notion of American beer entirely and advise you to pick an import, a wine or a cocktail, instead. In truth, there are a lot of great American brews and more people are realizing it all the time. If you're looking for the best, though, you might consider taking a look at the recommendations for the five best places to drink American beer from Christopher O'Hara, author of Great American Beer: 50 Brands that Shaped the 20th Century. His picks include: the Ironworks Barbecue in Austin, Texas; Blue and Gold Tavern in New York City; Straub Brewery in St. Mary's, PA; St. Nick's Pub in Los Angeles, CA; and Axel's Inn in Milwaukee, WI.

Of course, given the number of brewers in the country, there must be far more than five great ones. It never hurts to have a jumping off point if you're going to hit the road (not while drinking, of course), to track them down.

Coca Cola will be making its first entry into the alcoholic beverage market in Australia. The soda company has partnered with SABMiller to promote three types of beers, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller genuine Draft and Pilsner Urquell. Currently, all three beers are sold in Australia, but they only make up 0.13% of the 1.6 billion liter per year beer market. All will be marketed as premium brands.

The speedy growth rate in the premium beer sector (up 15% over 5 years) explains why Coca Cola is interested in expanding beyond sodas, which have remained steady and without increase over the same time period in the country.

Though Coke will not be releasing its own brand of beer at the moment, one has to wonder if the company will eventually branch out into that sector, which seems as though it could be more likely if this venture is a success.

One of the things that is largely off limits to anyone with celiac disease is beer. Almost all beers are made with malted barley and other gluten-containing ingredients, such as wheat, barley, rye and/or oats.

New Grist is a beer that is brewed entirely gluten-free using sorghum, hops, water, rice and gluten-free yeast grown on molasses. It is produced by the Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is available in approximately 1/3 of the country. Right now, New Grist is carried by stores that include Whole Foods, which is likely to make the beer more widely available.

To get an idea of how in-demand such a product is, it is interesting to note the Anheuser Busch is actually testing a gluten-free brew of their own. It isn't ready for the market yet, but simply the fact that the country's largest brewery is interested in offering what many would consider to be a niche market means that celiacs are being recognized as a significant portion of the population.

Other gluten-free beer options include Dragon's Gold and HB (formerly called Passover Honey Beer).

Sonoma Foie Gras, a California company, is going on the offensive by threatening Whole Foods with legal action for pressuring some if it's suppliers to discontinue their sale of foie gras. Whole Foods has a written policy against cruelty and does not carry the delicacy. The chain would prefer to do business with companies who do not support the industry.

Give the tradition of lambic beers, which are naturally fermented with airborne yeast, a try instead of relying the antiseptic modern brews. They have a unique dry, tart flavor that develops into fruityness as the beers mature and are blended together. They pair well with strawberry rhubarb tart.

American Italian food remembers its roots with dishes like fried calamari and fettuccini alfredo, offering diners something refreshingly familiar: big servings, thick and delicious tomato sauces and lots of atmosphere. Frank Bruni picks his favorites.

Sometimes the development of a 3-star dessert starts with something old - like a recipe from Catherine de Medici - but in the hands of a master chef, sweet and savory still make new and wonderful combinations.

The Minimalist, Mark Bittman, prepares fried fish with fried ginger.

Frank Bruni dines at Buddakan, with a two star review.

 

After Brakspears the beers brewed by Fuller's have to be my favourite brews so it is great to see that Fullers is doing rather well on the other side of the pond.

At the bi-annual Brewers Association World Beer Cup Fuller's were awarded two gold medals. That's an American competition but in the UK Fuller's as a whole was recognised at the Publican Newspaper Awards as the best regional brewer.

Their ESB brew was voted the best 'English-style Extra Special Bitter' and the Vintage Ale walked away with the gold in the 'Old Ale' category.

Budweiser is official beer of World Cup, the most internationally watched sporting event in the world. They bought the rights for the 2002 and 2006 games for about $80 million in 1998 - before they knew where those games were to be hosted. The problem is that this year's World Cup is hosted by Germany and Germans don't like Budweiser.

For Germans, beer and football (soccer, for the Americans) go hand in hand and Germans are some of the biggest beer drinkers in the world - with many outstanding brews coming from their own country. The prospect of having to drink only Budweiser at the games was something of a slap in the face to German brewers. One fan, cited the Wall Street Journal, even said "This is just the worst beer you could imagine." Bad publicity poured from fans and the press. And to make matters worse, the beer had to be sold as "Anheuser Busch Bud" because of a legal battle over the Budweiser name rights with a Czech brewer that makes "Budweis" beer.

With the prospect of millions of potential beer drinkers, both in stadiums and at home, Budweiser knew they had to do something. Fast.