Free Republic

In an attempt to combat dwindling attendance levels and add new members to their shrinking congregations, some churches in the U.S. are starting to think outside the box -- by embracing the bottle. Church-in-a-pub is a Forth Worth, Texas congregation that enjoys craft beer with Sunday evening services. The meetings are described as "salvation and everlasting life with really good beer." Church-in-a-pub is unique, but not alone in its quest to combine spirituality with suds. Beer-serving, religion-focused events now exist in New York, Atlanta, Boston and New York thanks to a group called Theology-on-Tap, and in Allendale, Michigan, members of...

We did the heavy lifting for you, sampling nearly a dozen pumpkin and fall beers. Whether in soups, lattes, candles or cookies, pumpkin is here. And before we get into Thanksgiving or Christmas, let's pause and raise a glass. ‘Tis the season for pumpkin beer, y’all. We sampled nearly a dozen pumpkin brews and ciders to help you choose which one (or three) to bring to that fall party. (Protip: Total Wine sells them individually so you can build your own six-pack.) We sampled both pumpkin beers and fall seasonals since we know not everyone wants Jack (o'-lantern) in his...

COLUMBUS, Ga., - A Georgia man said he went back into his burning home to save his beer after making sure his family was safe. Walter Serpit, who walks with a cane, made sure the six adults and two children who live in the home made it outside safely. He then went back in to get his beer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. "I told them to get the kids out and everything, and me myself, being an alcoholic, I was trying to get my beer out," Serpit said. "I went back into the house like a dummy and the door...

<p>Six adults and two young children were inside watching television when the room began filling with smoke. After the children were rescued and everyone made it outside safely, Walter Serpit told WVTM television that he went back inside to retrieve his beer.</p>

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - Officials are still investigating the cause of a house fire that broke out on 42nd St. near Oates Ave. in Columbus, Thursday afternoon, but residents are blaming a newly installed water heater. Six adults and two young children were inside watching television when the room began filling with smoke. After the children were rescued and everyone made it outside safely, a man who walks with a cane went back in the burning house to retrieve something he left behind. "I told them to get the kids out and everything, and me myself, being an alcoholic, I...

A shocking photograph of a toddler drinking from a can of Bud Light at a Cleveland Browns' tailgating party has gone viral after it was posted online. The photo was posted on Webstagram by John Cogar, a personalization specialist at Party City who lives in North Olmsted, Ohio. He posted the image on Monday along with the comment 'starting early these days!' The timing suggests the photo might have been taken at a tailgate on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns visited the Detroit Lions and lost 31:17. Tailgate parties are a football ritual, with supporters gathering at the stadium carpark...

The same racetrack that's provides its fans bacon flavored cotton candy, bacon martinis and a brisket and doughnut sandwich is now trying to convince people that beer, bacon and a milkshake make for a good treat. Texas Motor Speedway will be selling the Shake 'n Bacon beer milkshake for the November Sprint Cup race weekend. The main ingredients in the shake are Rahr Ugly Pug beer, Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and of course bacon

The state of Michigan will give out an estimated $577 million of taxpayers' dollars this fiscal year in the form of tax credits to various companies. But getting information from the state about those deals remains a challenge. In at least one instance, a popular beer website sheds more light on what happened to a deal the state brokered than the state organization charged with its oversight. In 2009 the Michigan Economic Development Corp. approved up to $723,000 in tax credits for the Michigan Brewing Co. to expand to produce Kid Rock's "American Badass" beer. The MEDC doesn't mention anything...

I’ve taken a lot of flak from establishment media types and angry federal employees for my contention that the hullabaloo over the so-called government “shutdown” is excessive. The fact is most government activities have not stopped and most government employees continue to work. However, one activity that has stopped – and, man, this is personal – is the approval of new beer labels and recipes. From USA Today (tip of the hat to my dad): All new beers that get bottled or canned to be sold across state lines must be approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade...

<p>Jews make up only 0.2% of the world population, yet comprise 22% of Nobel laureates. What's the deal?</p> <p>Jews have a reputation for being smart. The fact that all three recipients of this year's Nobel prize for Chemistry are Jewish is yet another brick in the wall of that long-lived perception.</p>

Having gained international fame for stealing beer from campers and starting a fight with a cow, a feral pig in Australia is dead having been hit, most likely by a truck. Locals dubbed him "Swino" after he was featured in a write-up last month for guzzling 18 beers belonging to campers near Port Hedland and then proceeding to pick a fight with a cow.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The federal government shutdown could leave America's craft brewers with a serious hangover. Stores will still offer plenty of suds. But the shutdown has closed an obscure agency that quietly approves new breweries, recipes and labels, which could create huge delays throughout the rapidly growing craft industry, whose customers expect a constant supply of inventive and seasonal beers. Mike Brenner is trying to open a craft brewery in Milwaukee by December. His application to include a tasting room is now on hold, as are his plans to file paperwork for four labels over the next few weeks....

Full Title: Now the shutdown's getting SERIOUS... as government closure dries up the nation's beer supplyUS federal shutdown closes agency responsible for alcohol licensing Craft brewers on the frontline facing financial disaster Small businesses and start-ups put on hold indefinitely One brewer claims shutdown will cost him $8,000 a month As the US government shutdown enters its ninth day the closure is threatening to leave America’s craft brewers nursing a serious hangover. While stores across the country will continue to stock a range of beers and ales on their shelves, the shutdown has closed an obscure agency, which quietly approves...

LANSING, Mich., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A proposed law in Michigan is aimed at ensuring beer drinkers who pay for a pint get at least 16 ounces. The measure was introduced in the House last week, MLive.com reported. It would ban what barflies refer to as "cheater glasses" with thick bottoms so they look like they hold a pint but actually take a few ounces less. State Rep. Jim Irwin, a Democrat from the college town of Ann Arbor, said the state regulates meat and other foodstuffs to make sure buyers get what they pay for. Irwin introduced a similar...

An unexpected discovery awaited a team of Israeli archaeologists in a drainage canal dating from roughly 2,000 years ago: an aluminum bottlecap. From a beer bottle. No, the good people of ancient Sussita weren't producing aluminum metal. The meaning of the startling discovery is that millennia after its construction, the drainage canal was still working, centuries after the city's final destruction by earthquake. Made of aluminum and feather-light, the bottle-cap floated on rainwater that washed into the canal, says Dr. Michael Eisenberg, head of an Israeli archaeological team digging the site. This canal, or less romantically -- a sewer, passed...

**SNIP** But who in their right mind would pay $2000 for a single, 12.7 oz. bottle of beer? Quite a lot of people, it turns out, judging by the frenzy unleashed Wednesday over the release of “Dave,” an English Barley wine from Hair of the Dog Brewing in Portland, Oregon that sold out less than five hours after it went on sale. Admittedly, it was just a tiny batch of 12 bottles, but still. **SNIP** What’s so special about Dave? First brewed in 1994 — that’s right, it’s 19 years old! — it achieves the absurdly-high alcohol level through a...

When a 61-year-old Texas man came into an emergency room claiming he was dizzy and was found to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.37 percent, doctors assumed he was drunk. Despite the fact the man claimed he hadn't consumed alcohol that day, most doctors still thought he was a "closet drinker," NPR reported. It turned out that those medical professionals were wrong: the man had "auto-brewery syndrome." His stomach contained so much yeast that he was making his own in-house brew, literally. Before he was diagnosed with the syndrome, the patient's wife -- who was a nurse -- was...

A group of guys in New Zealand decided to play a prank on one of their good friends, Russ—which involved secretly plumbing his home, so that beer came out of every tap. Commissioned by New Zealand beer brand Tui, Russ’ pals snuck into his house while he was out, to plumb in kegs of beer, and wire hidden cameras to catch their unsuspecting friend’s reaction. When Russ got home, he discovered the icy cool golden liquid treat dripping out of a tap in his kitchen sink—and went on to discover that beer, too, flowed out of the tap and showerhead...

<p>A western Pennsylvania man has been charged with driving drunk while carrying an open can of beer _ on a riding lawn mower.</p> <p>Murrysville police say they found 55-year-old Thomas Marrone driving the mower along a road just before 1:30 a.m. Aug. 30.</p>

This medical case may give a whole new meaning to the phrase "beer gut." A 61-year-old man — with a history of home-brewing — stumbled into a Texas emergency room complaining of dizziness. Nurses ran a Breathalyzer test. And sure enough, the man's blood alcohol concentration was a whopping 0.37 percent, or almost five times the legal limit for driving in Texas. There was just one hitch: The man said that he hadn't touched a drop of alcohol that day. "He would get drunk out of the blue — on a Sunday morning after being at church, or really, just...