To me, it is. But I also don't care one iota about sports (though I can make exceptions for women's rugby and any sort of obstacle course competition on Animal Planet).

On that note, The Washington Post is currently featuring a fun alternative (or addition) to March Madness. The lucky participants started taste-testing 32 beers and have so far gotten the contenders down to a precious 16. But three rounds remain - the quarterfinals, semis, and finals on April 6 - before a champion is named.

Tasters downed their fair share of beers, which ranged from Miller Chill to Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout, and represent the mainstream to the microbrew; the wheat-y to the hoppy; the ale to the stout, and back again.

A few of my personal favorites in the bunch include the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (deliciously full of hops) and the Sea Dog Blue Paw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale for those summer nights down the shore, but the Post really did choose a fine array (including a few classics - or duds, depending on your taste in beer - Schlitz, Michelob Lager, and the aforementioned new Miller Chill).

Head over to the site now to track your favorite, er, player.

LandShark Lager, rather than Corona, is the new top brew of Jimmy Buffett. It's not hard to see why. The bottle is emblazoned with shark fins and bears a casual-looking font that it is easy to associate with the beach and Buffett's "laid-back vibe." The self-described "original island lager" looks to be a microbrew, and because the bottles declare that the beer was made by the Margaritaville Brewing Co., consumers have little reason to doubt their microbrew assumption. The beer, however, is made by Anheuser-Busch.

Increasingly, Anheuser-Busch and other large companies are trying to hide their involvement with some of their products, hoping that consumers who ordinarily might be put off by a big brewing company's involvement will be tempted into buying the brews. Anheuser-Busch sells organic Wild Hop Lager and Stone Mill Pale Ale labeled as the "product of Green Valley Brewing Co." Coors has a craft beer called Blue Moon in its lineup, though you wouldn't know it to look at its packaging, either.

"I see it as smart marketing for them," said one restaurant owner, whose grill does a brisk trader of LandShark. "There's kind of a reverse snobbism that says if a big company makes it, it can't be good. If it was called Budweiser LandShark Lager, it probably wouldn't be selling as well."

Krait Prestige (US) / King Cobra (UK) is Cobra Beers newest entry into the high quality beer world. Cobra beer, started in 1989 in the UK by Karan Bilimoria, a Cambridge law student, brews Indian style lagers. While not many of you may have heard of the brewery, they produce excellent beer that is now exported to over 35 countries. In 2005 and 2006 they won countless awards including 12 Gold medals in 2006 at the prestigious Monde Selection in Brussels- The World Selection of Quality competition. Unable to use the Cobra trademark in the US they launched Krait, a snake in the Cobra family, in 2004. They are available in around a dozen states so far.

Cobra Beer is having Poland's Browar Belgia and the famous Rodenbach brewery in Belgium make a special pilsner style lager for them. What is most interesting is that this 8% abv. brew is re-fermented in the bottle for natural carbonation. Now this is done with quite a few other fine beers, but they say they are going for a product more similar to "champagne" and is sold in a similar style bottle. I haven't tasted it myself but in the Beverage World article they claim that it looks and has a head like a "champagne", and the taste is "extra smooth, soft, slightly fruity, and it's incredibly drinkable." Reviews I trust such as this one from The Beer Advocate who say it tastes "very dry, medium bodied with subtle flavors" make it sound pretty tasty to me.

Several months ago, I did a beer taste test, so that I could teach my fairly green beer-palate. Since then, I've been trying different beers to see if I can find something out there that I like.

I recently tried an Italian beer, Birra Moretti. My logic was that it might taste good to me, since I love Italian Pinot Grigios and other wines. Birra Moretti is the name of the brewing company that was founded in 1859 by Luigi Moretti. The brewery is based out of Udine, Italy.

The beer was a pretty pale golden color, which is a good sign for me, but it had the same funky smell as a Heineken, which I definitely don't like. I also found the taste of Birra Moretti to be a little bit too bitter.

I guess I'll stick to wines from Italy, and leave the beer to...the Germans?

Anheuser-Busch is thinking outside the keg. It's tapping a test run of Wild Blue Blueberry Lager in four markets, including Bloomington, Minn.

As a self-professed beer geek and sometime home brewer, the grandaddy of fruit beers, lambic, has been on my brewdar for years. Lambic, with a flavor that intermingles sweet, musty and tart, scarcely deserves to be lumped under the term beer. In case you're wondering, I like it, but like a good stinky cheese, some varieties require a second tasting for true appreciation. As for American craft brews that have fruit flavorings – I've been underwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like nothing more than for Wild Blue to be the first world-class US fruit beer. With an alcohol level of eight percent, it might make a better dessert beer. But I'm not hopeful given the word on Beer Advocate. The kindest thing its tasters have to say is, "Not actually horrible, but... Where did they get this blueberry flavoring?"

Beer Advocate is tired of people pouring bad beers. You know you have encountered at least one brew that either had no foam or was left as flat as a board, after having too much "head" produced during pouring. Pouring beer from taps is more challenging than pouring beer out of a bottle, but everyone needs to start somewhere. Beer Advocate has put together helpful instructions on how to pour a beer, complete with a short video clip demonstrating the perfect pour. This method, summarized here, will also work for pouring sodas and other carbonated beverages.

1. Get a tall, clean glass (preferably a pint glass).
2. Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle and slowly pour the beer directly into the center of the side of the glass.
3. Once the beer is half poured, turn the glass upright and continue pouring to produce foam, which will ideally be 1-1 1/2 inch thick.
4. Enjoy!