The Beer Review Journal

Probably one of the things one least expects to come across on a visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank is a high-spirited beer festival in full swing.

But that is exactly what visitors to the small Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh were treated to at the weekend.

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The brewery's main challenge is getting its product to market under the strict travel restrictions imposed by the Israeli military on this part of the West Bank.

The only route in and out of the village is controlled by an Israeli military checkpoint, there for the protection of three settlements lying east and west of the village. Taybeh residents and their wares need special permits to use the roads.

Backpackers crossing Europe might care to take a trip to the Austrian capital Vienna for some unique entertainment.

A local cafe is to hold a very special version of Munich's world famous Oktoberfest beer festival - for dogs.

Furry visitors to the Bunter Hund cafe will be treated to special canine beer, as well as the same pretzels and renowned Bavarian veal sausage given to attendees of the real Oktoberfest, reports Ananova

Cafe owner Manuela Kirsch - originally from Munich - told the news website: "We will even be giving out free beer to dachshunds, Bavaria's favourite dog."

The St. Sixtus Trappist Abbey brewery is the only one left where the monks still do the brewing. Its three kinds of Westvleteren beer (Blonde, 8 and 12) are only available by reservation. You make a phone call to find out when, how much and which beer can be reserved. You call back at an indicated time, make an appointment with the operator and give the license plate number of the car that will collect the order.

A blush of green is spreading across that pint glass in your hand. If you haven't noticed it, you soon will. That's because beer is going organic.

Domestic sales of organic food and drink grew from $1 billion in 1990 to $14 billion in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Organic beer still represents less than 1 percent of U.S. beer sales, but those sales doubled to $19 million between 2003 and 2005 (the last year with available figures), according to the Organic Trade Association. In 2005, organic beer ranked with coffee as the fastest-growing organic beverage.

I wasn’t really paying attention until his drink arrived. What I saw is the most threatening assault to American manhood since facial moisturizer.

I nearly vomited. It looked like a champagne flute on steroids, but it contained this guy’s beer. The icing: the guy actually picked it up by the stem, stuck his pinky up in the air and brought it delicately to his lips. I wanted to pound three (canned) beers and crush them all on my forehead at once to make up for this guy’s total lack of manhood.

In my humble opinion, there are three things that males can acceptably drink beer from: cans and bottles, Solo cups and glasses.

"If self-chilling cans are the beer drinker's Holy Grail, then we've found it for them. It has taken two decades and a lot of work to get this far, but everything is finally ready to roll, and the first cans should be hitting the open market within two years," said Dr Cullen Sabin, Tempra Technology's chief scientist.
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About the size of an ordinary 500ml beverage can, the invention uses thermal, insulating and heat pump technology to cool its contents in three minutes flat. Activated by twisting an integral self-cooling device on the container's base, a natural desiccant inside draws the drink's heat through an evaporator and into an insulated heat-sink container, reducing the temperature by a minimum of 30F (16.7C).

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Billed as an entirely environmentally friendly solution to the age-old problem of warm beer, the Instant Cool Can (IC Can) contains only natural products. Completely non-toxic, it has even been designed not to explode if thrown on to a fire at a beach party.

"I have personally eaten every component and suffered no ill affects," said Sabin.

Michael Jackson, 65, who was widely regarded as the English language's leading writer and authority on beer and who earned the nickname "the beer hunter" after his TV documentary of the same name, died Aug. 30 at his home in London after a heart attack. He had Parkinson's disease.

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Starting in the mid-1970s, Mr. Jackson was credited with reviving worldwide interest in a range of beer styles and traditions, some long-forgotten. He also helped popularize the Campaign for Real Ale and the U.S. microbrew movements, which championed better-quality beer.