"beers" news and stories

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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