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Just when the controversy over the banned FourLoko has died down, a beverage company has come out with straight Scotch in a can, just like soda pop. Though there’s been no uproar so far, as was the case with the alcohol-caffeine combo FourLoko, Scottish Spirits’ “Scotch in a Can” is being marketed as a “distilled and matured in Scotland for a minimum of 3 years in oak casks.” It has notes of “honey, vanilla, butterscotch, apples and pears,” and a “hint of peat and smoke in the background,” as described on their site. Each can contains about eight shots or...

Beer aficionados are pouncing at the rare opportunity to buy one of the world's most elusive and revered beers for the first - and perhaps only - time in the United States. It is called Westvleteren XII, and it is often hailed as the "world's best beer" by reviewers and fans. Westvleteren XII is produced by Trappist monks in Belgium and sold at the abbey of Saint Sixtus in the Belgian countryside. The beer can usually only be purchased by reservation at the abbey - and reservations are extremely hard to come by. But when the abbey found itself hurting...

A Drink a Day May Keep Alzheimer's Away Fran Lowry   August 26, 2011 — Light to moderate drinking seems to reduce the risk for dementia and cognitive decline, according to a new study published in the August issue of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. A meta-analysis of 143 studies on the effects of alcohol on the brain showed that moderate drinking, defined as no more than 2 drinks a day for a man and no more than 1 drink a day for a woman, reduced the risk for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia by 23%. "It doesn't seem...

Political pollster Nate Silver summarized the results of a recent Gallup poll this way on Thursday. "In case there weren't enough reasons to be depressed about the country: Popularity of beer at record low." OK, it's not crystal clear that a record has been shattered, but the nation's adoration of beer has dropped to its lowest point in the past 20 years among adults, according to the poll that was released Wednesday. Among those asked which alcoholic beverage they would most often drink, 36% said beer was their pick. Beer just beat out wine as the top choice. Wine was...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a bill that officially classifies beer as alcoholic. Until now anything containing less than 10% alcohol in Russia has been considered a foodstuff. The move, signed into law on Wednesday, will allow ministers to control the sale of beer in the same way that spirits are controlled. Russian alcohol consumption is already twice the critical level set by the World Health Organization. Although vodka has long been the traditional tipple in Russia, beer has soared in popularity, being marketed as a healthier alternative to spirits. Over the past decade, beer sales in Russia have...

WE might not have our own space program yet, but we sure as hell have our priorities right. Two Australian companies have developed the very first space beer. With the space tourism industry preparing for take off as early as next year — Saber Astronautics Australia teamed up with the Four Pines Brewing Company to develop the very first beer that can be consumed safely in space. Jaron Mitchell, the founder of Four Pines, said the creation of space beer was an event for the history books. "Wherever humans have journeyed or conquest to throughout history in the last few...

For anyone who has been to a music festival, a big gig - or even just a loaded bar full of thirsty punters, there's an invention that will make your life easier... and possibly a little bit drunker. It should also light up the dollar-signed eyes of bar owners everywhere. It's an invention that has literally come from the ground up, and uses common-sense technology to fill a plastic beer glass from the bottom

HELSINKI - Finnish scientists are analyzing a golden, cloudy beverage found in a 19th century shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, hoping new beers can be modeled on an ancient brew. The VTT Technical Research Center of Finland said Tuesday that through chemical analysis it aims to determine the ingredients and possibly the recipe used in brewing what it called "one of the world's oldest preserved beers." VTT scientist Arvi Vilpola said he had "the honorable task" of being the one on the research team to sample the brew. "It was a little sour and you could taste...

Professor Charles Cockell from the OU explains how the experiment worked A small English fishing village has produced an out-of-this-world discovery. Bacteria taken from cliffs at Beer on the South Coast have shown themselves to be hardy space travellers. The bugs were put on the exterior of the space station to see how they would cope in the hostile conditions that exist above the Earth's atmosphere. And when scientists inspected the microbes a year and a half later, they found many were still alive. These survivors are now thriving in a laboratory at the Open University (OU) in Milton Keynes....

The NAACP has approved a resolution condemning what it calls "racist elements" in the labeling of a popular Irish beer. The vote has sparked a war of words between the black civil rights organization and Guinness & Company, the maker of Guinness Stout. At the center of the controversy is NAACP objection to the use of the word “stout” to describe what some refer to as a black beer. Guinness Stout beer is known for a distinctive dark color and a flavour derived from the use of roasted barley. The most popular beer in Ireland, the Guinness brand enjoys world...

By now it’s become a disturbingly familiar pattern for conservatives: A candidate who seems promising at first glance wins a Republican primary, and then suddenly the press — often fed by a Democratic rival’s opposition-research team — begins looking in-depth at every controversial and regrettable statement and act that candidate ever made. Just days after it’s too late to change the nominee, the choice of GOP primary voters appears to be an egregious mistake.

Australians pride themselves on drinking beer just about anywhere and for any occasion - but what about in space? A Queensland astrochemist believes beer and the cosmos are more closely linked than we would have first thought. James Cook University's Centre for Astronomy director, Dr Andrew Walsh, combines his two passions - beer brewing and space study - to bring his science "down to earth". His research involves identifying different substances, molecules and chemicals in space and in doing that has he discovered many of the chemical ingredients in beer are out there.