Tag Archives: Beer

No CO2, No Beer

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Beer Shortage Looms in Europe As CO2 Supply Dwindles

By Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer |
Beer Shortage Looms in Europe As CO2 Supply Dwindles

Beer drinkers in Europe could soon find that their favorite pub’s taps have run dry.

Credit: Shutterstock

Forget the conundrum of whether your glass is half-empty or half-full — pretty soon, plenty of beer glasses in the United Kingdom may not have anything in them at all.

Soda drinkers won’t have much to toast with, either. And it’s all due to a severe disruption in the European supply chain of industrial, food-grade carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas that lends the beverages their fizz, gas industry website Gasworld reported on June 19.

The CO2 shortage isn’t just affecting beverages — it’s also serving up a generous helping of trouble for meat production in Europe. Carbon dioxide is used in meat packaging to slow the growth of microbes and preserve the meat’s color and freshness, and in slaughterhouses, CO2 is used to stun animals prior to killing them, representatives of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) reported in a statement released June 21.

The trouble began with the recent closure of several industrial plants that provide liquid CO2 across northern Europe; they were shuttered “for various reasons, including maintenance and refurbishment,” affecting a number of businesses that produce or distribute food and beverages, Gavin Partington, director general at the British Soft Drinks Association, said in a statement on June 20.

BMPA officials reported on June 21 that the CO2 shortage would likely last “approximately four weeks.” In the days that followed, the flow of CO2 across northern Europe slowed to a trickle, with the U.K. the hardest hit by the CO2 scarcity. On June 26, a widely used British wholesale food and beverage company began rationing distribution of carbonated drinks, restricting businesses’ purchases to no more than 10 cases of beer and a maximum of five cases of cider or soda, CNBC reported.

Meanwhile, concerns were growing that meats, beer and carbonated beverages would disappear from British supermarket shelves “if a normal supply of CO2 is not restored as quickly as possible,” Ian Wright, a representative of the U.K.’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said in a statement released June 29.

A purified gas

CO2 that puts the fizz in your beer and soda is fundamentally the same as CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere, but it must be food-grade quality. In other words, to be used in food or drink, CO2 has to be purified according to local regulations and standards, and then shown to be free of contaminants, chemist and American Chemical Society member Richard Sachleben told Live Science.

This CO2 is typically produced as a byproduct of industrial or chemical manufacturing processes, such as those used in ammonia plants. It is dissolved in liquid in sealed containers under high-pressure conditions, Sachleben explained. Once the CO2 is sealed up, it has nowhere to go until the container is opened, which is why you see fizz rising in a bottle after you open the cap and release the pressure inside, enabling the CO2 to convert to gas and escape, he said.

“As long as you maintain the pressure, carbon dioxide will stay in the liquid — if you release the pressure, it’ll release into the atmosphere,” Sachleben said.

But in case you’re wondering if the U.K. and the rest of Europe could get some relief from the CO2 shortage by siphoning CO2 from the atmosphere — that wouldn’t be a practical solution, Sachleben told Live Science.

Even with rising levels of atmospheric CO2 due to climate change, CO2 in the air is still only about 400 parts per million, and is mixed with nitrogen, oxygen and other elements. It would therefore be quite a costly and time-consuming challenge to extract and refine purified CO2 from air — at least in the amounts that are typically collected from industrial processes, he said.

Original article on Live Science.

from:    https://www.livescience.com/62968-beer-shortage-co2-supply-dwindles.html

What’s In Your Beer?

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The Shocking Ingredients In Beer

…by Food Babe

I have to confess, I’m not a beer drinker, but there’s someone in my household that loves it, so I had to figure out the truth. Is beer really healthy? Why are the ingredients not listed on the label? Which brands can we trust? Which brands are trying to slowly poison us with cheap and harmful ingredients? All of these questions were going through my head at once at lightning speed. So a year ago, I started to research what was really in beer and after questioning several beer companies, reading books about food science, and talking to experts, the information I discovered was downright shocking.

I see it all the time. Someone who eats organic, makes the right choices at the grocery store, is fit and lives an extraordinarily healthy lifestyle but then drinks beer like it is going out of style.

Caring about what you eat doesn’t necessarily translate into caring about what you drink and this is a HUGE MISTAKE.

Before we get into what exactly is in beer that you should be worried about, let’s talk about how body reacts to alcohol in general.

Alcohol is metabolized by the body differently than all other calories you consume. Alcohol is one of the only substances that you consume that can permeate your digestive system and go straight into your bloodstream. It bypasses normal digestion and is absorbed into the body intact, where it goes straight into the liver.

Your liver is your main fat-burning organ. If you are trying to lose weight or even maintain your ideal weight, drinking alcohol is one of your worst enemies. The liver is going to metabolize alcohol first vs. the fat you want to get rid of – making weight loss even harder. Additionally, one of the primary functions of the liver is to remove environmental toxins from your body – if it is overtaxed with alcohol, the normal removal of these toxins becomes extremely diminished and can result in rapid aging, loss of libido, and other diseases.

The one thing that has gotten me before and I’m sure many of you – is the health marketing claims on alcohol products making drinking them seem like a good idea and an added “benefit” to your health. The low alcohol content of beer makes it appear as an innocuous beverage and something people throw back without even thinking about it. Who hasn’t seen those studies that say a beer a day is great for you (I want to ask who ever stops at just one beer?)?

So, inherently, alcohol by itself is not a healthy person’s best friend – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Beer, especially American beer, is made with all sorts of ingredients beyond the basic hops, malt and yeast. There are numerous other ingredients used to clarify, stabilize, preserve, enhance the color and flavor of beer.

When you drink beer, there is almost a 100% chance that you don’t know what you are drinking (unless you quizzed the beer companies like I did). The ingredients in beer are not required by law to be listed anywhere on the label and manufacturers have no legal obligation to disclose the ingredients. For regular beer, calorie levels and percent alcohol are optional and for light beer calories are mandatory but alcohol levels are optional.

Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, author of Appetite for Profit, and president of Eat Drink Politics told me the reason that beer companies don’t disclose ingredients is simple: they don’t have to.

“Ingredient labeling on food products and non-alcoholic beverages is required by the Food and Drug Administration. But a whole other federal agency regulates beer, and not very well. The Department of Treasury – the same folks who collect your taxes – oversees alcoholic beverages. That probably explains why we know more about what’s in a can of Coke than a can of Bud. You can also thank the alcohol industry, which has lobbied for years against efforts to require ingredient labeling.”

I figured if the beer companies aren’t required to tell us the exact list of ingredients, I needed to investigate this for myself and asked them the pointed questions until I got the truth.

Slide1

 

First of all, I was able to obtain a baseline list of “legal” additives allowed in beer from the book “Chemicals Additives in Beer” by the Center of Science and Public Interest. This list allowed me to ask specific questions about each beer I investigated. For example – beer sold here in America can contain several of the following ingredients:

  • Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) –  alcohol is already addictive with some people, but with MSG?! Holy smokes.

  • Propylene Glycol (an ingredient found in anti-freeze)

  • Calcium Disodium EDTA (made from formaldehyde, sodium cayanide, and Ethylenediamine)

  • Many different types of sulfites and anti-microbial preservatives (linked to allergies and asthma)

  • Natural Flavors (can come from anything natural including a beavers anal gland)

  • High Fructose Corn Syrup

  • GMO Sugars – Dextrose, Corn Syrup

  • Caramel Coloring (Class III or IV made from ammonia and classified as a carcinogen)

  • FD&C Blue 1 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)

  • FD&C Red 40 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)

  • FD&C Yellow 5 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)

  • Insect-Based Dyes: carmine derived from cochineal insects to color their beer.

  • Animal Based Clarifiers: Findings include isinglass (dried fish bladder), gelatin (from skin, connective tissue, and bones), and casein (found in milk)

  • Foam Control: Used for head retention; (glyceryl monostearate and pepsin are both potentially derived from animals)

  • BPA (Bisphenol A is a component in many can liners and it may leach into the beer. BPA can mimic the female hormone estrogen and may affect sperm count, and other organ functions.)

  • Carrageenan (linked to inflammation in digestive system, IBS and considered a carcinogen in some circumstances)

During my investigation, I couldn’t get a single mainstream beer company to share the full list of ingredients contained in their beer. But I did get some of them to fess up to the use of these ingredients in writing so I’m going to share this information with you now.

Carcinogenic Caramel Coloring

Newcastle, a UK brand, confessed to using what I would consider one of the most controversial food additives. Toasted barley is usually what gives beer its golden or deep brown color, however in this case, Newcastle beer is also colored artificially with caramel color. This caramel coloring is manufactured by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure, which creating carcinogenic compounds. If beer companies were required by law to list the ingredients, Newcastle would likely have to have a cancer warning label under California law because it is a carcinogen proven to cause liver tumors, lung tumors, and thyroid tumors in rats and mice.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Many of the beers I questioned contained one or more possible GMO ingredients.

  • High Fructose Corn Syrup (Guinness – unable to provide an affidavit for non-GMO proof)
  • Corn syrup (Miller Light, Coors, Corona, Fosters, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Red Stripe)
  • Dextrose (Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch Light, Michelob Ultra)
  • Corn (Red Stripe, Miller Coors Brand, Anheuser-Busch Brands)

Most beers brewed commercially are made with more GMO corn than barley. Many of the companies I contacted dodged the GMO question – however Miller Coors had a very forthcoming and honest response. They stated “Corn syrup gives beer a milder and lighter-bodied flavor” and “Corn syrups may be derived from a mixture of corn (conventional and biotech.)”, admitting their use of GMOs.

Slide2

Pabst Blue Ribbon responded saying their corn syrup was “special” and “made of carbohydrates and some simple sugars like dextrose and maltose.  The sugars are fermented into alcohol and CO2, and the carbohydrates, both from the corn syrup and the malt, remain in the beers as flavor, color and body components.”

Dextrose and maltose can come from a variety of substances that are sweet, but likely are derived from GMO corn because it is super cheap for a company to use corn instead of fruit or other non-GMO sources. With cheap beer – you are not just getting a cheap buzz, you are getting the worst of the worst.  Just like with cheap fast food – if you don’t invest in your beer – you will be drinking a lower quality product like Pabst Blue Ribbon that is made from GMO Corn and Corn Syrup.

In 2007, Greenpeace found unapproved and experimental GMO Rice strain in Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser, Bud Light) beer. Anheuser-Busch responded saying their US-grown long-grained rice “may have micro levels” of a genetically engineered protein called Liberty Link, but added that the protein is “substantially removed or destroyed” during the brewing of beer sold domestically. Don’t you think it’s hard to trust any beer company that gets caught using experimental food made in a laboratory? GMOs have not been tested long term on human beings and one of the main pesticides (Roundup) they spray on GMO crops are linked to inflammation, cancer and other diseases. 

Guinness

High Fructose Corn Syrup & Fish Bladders

Speaking of trusting companies, let’s get one thing straight, Guinness beer is no longer owned by the Irish, they are now owned by a large beer conglomerate called Diageo and manufactured in over 50 different countries. No matter how many St. Patty’s Day celebrations you’ve had with this dark stout, it’s time to stop because they use high fructose corn syrup in their beer. But, Guinness beer also contains isinglass, a gelatin-like substance produced from the swim bladder of a fish. This ingredient helps remove any “haziness,” solids, or yeast byproducts from the beer. Mmmmm… fish bladder sounds delicious, doesn’t? The sneaky thing this beer company does like many of the companies mentioned here today is create an illusion of using the best ingredients when in actuality what they tell you publicly on their websites is a complete farce. On Guinness FAQ’s – they have a question that states: “What are the key ingredients in Guinness” and the answer doesn’t reveal the whole picture – it only states “Our key ingredients – other than inspiration – are roasted, malted barley, hops, yeast and water.” What BS, right?  You have to call, email, question and know the right things to ask to even have a chance at getting the truth. This is insanity.

So What Beers Are Additive and GMO Free?

If you enjoy the occasional beer and wish to maintain your healthy lifestyle, choosing one without GMOs and additives is ideal. Unfortunately, most of the mainstream beers available have additives, but luckily, there are a few that don’t. For example, Sierra Nevada, Heineken, and Amstel Light appear to be pretty clean (but these companies still wouldn’t disclose the full list of ingredients to me. They did say they use non-GMO grains, no artificial ingredients, stabilizers or preservatives).

German Beers are also a good bet. The Germans are very serious about the purity of their beers and enacted a purity law called “Reinheitsgebot” that requires all German beers to be only produced with a core ingredient list of water, hops, yeast, malted barley or wheat. Advocates of German beers insist that they taste cleaner and some even claim they don’t suffer from hangovers as a result.

An obvious choice to consider is also Certified Organic Beers. They are required by law to not include GMOs and other harmful additives. Organic beers also support environmental friendly practices and reduce the amount of pesticides and toxins in our air, support organic farmers – which is a huge plus. (To this day, the beer drinkers in my family haven’t found one they love so if you have suggestions, please let us know in the comments!)

Craft & Microbrews Beers – For certain local craft and micro beers, you can ask those companies for a list of ingredients and many of them will be up front with you. However, companies like Miller Coors are slowly closing in on craft beers and buying them up one by one… like they did when they created the unique popular variety called Blue Moon (the beer you drink with an orange) and Anhesuer-Busch did this with Rolling Rock and Goose Island Brewery. Make sure your favorite craft and microbrew is still independently owned and controlled before taking a sip.

In the end – if you decide to drink beer, you are definitely drinking at your own risk for more reasons than just the crazy ingredients that could be in them. The key point to remember is – if you like to drink beer and want to be healthy, drink it infrequently and quiz the beer companies for the truth. Find a beer that you can trust and stick with it.

For your reference, here are some important questions to ask your favorite beer company:

  1. What are the ingredients in your beer – all of them from start to finish?

  2. Are any of your ingredients GMO?

  3. Do you use any soy, corn, or rice processing ingredients? (Examples include: dextrose, corn syrup, etc.)

  4. Do you add any natural, artificial flavors or colors to the beer? (Examples include:  yellow #5, caramel coloring, red #40, MSG, natural flavors)

  5. Are there any additional preservatives, stabilizers and/or clarifying agents added to your beer during processing? (Examples include: propylene glycol, Calcium Disodium EDTA, anything ending in “sulfite” like sodium metabisulfite, Heptylparaben, isinglass)

If you know someone who drinks beer – share this post with them.

These ingredients are no joke. We must inform and protect each other from these industrial chemicals, untested and potentially harmful ingredients and it starts by sharing your knowledge with the ones you love.

from:    http://foodbabe.com/2013/07/17/the-shocking-ingredients-in-beer/#more-13939

Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

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Sex, Beer & Politics: Riddles Reveal Life of Ancient Mesopotamians

Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 26 January 2012 Time: 03:09 PM ET
ruins of babylon as seen in 1932
At the time the tablet was written, more than 3,500 years ago, Babylon (shown here as seen in 1932) Babylon was one of the most important cities in southern Mesopotamia, controlling an empire in the region. It’s possible the writer of the tablet’s riddles lived within this kingdom. The tablet’s current location is unknown.
CREDIT: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, in public domain

Millennia before modern-day Americans made fun of their politicians or cracked crude jokes over a cold one, people in ancient Mesopotamia were doing much the same thing.

The evidence of sex, politics and beer-drinking comes from a newly translated tablet, dating back more than 3,500 years, which reveals a series of riddles.

The text is fragmentary in parts and appears to have been written by an inexperienced hand, possibly a student. The researchers aren’t sure where the tablet originates, though they suspect its scribe lived in the southern part of Mesopotamia, near the Persian Gulf.

The translation, by Nathan Wasserman, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, and Michael Streck, a professor with the Altorientalisches Institut at Universität Leipzig, is detailed in the most recent edition of the journal Iraq.

Rare riddles

The text was written in Akkadian, using cuneiform script. It was a language commonly used by the Babylonians, along with other ancient kingdoms in the Middle East.

“This is a relatively rare genre — we don’t have many riddles,” Wasserman told LiveScience in an interview, referring to riddles written in the Akkadian language.

Unfortunately, researchers are not certain where the tablet is presently located. In 1976, it was housed in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. At that time, a scholar named J.J. van Dijk published a copy of the Akkadian inscription, which the researchers used for their translation.

Since 1976, Iraq has been through three wars and, during the 2003 invasion, the museum was pillaged. “We tried to figure out where the tablet is now, [but] I don’t know,” Wasserman said. He added that the tablet is small and not very impressive-looking, something that a looter may take a pass on, “I very much hope that it is still there,” Wasserman said. [10 Battles for the Control of Iraq]

Political humor

Some of the decoded riddles are crude and sexual, while others are complex and metaphorical. One of them reveals what appears to be a bit of political humor, albeit with a dark, violent twist.

He gouged out the eye:

It is not the fate of a dead man.

He cut the throat: A dead man (-Who is it?)

The answer is a governor.

“This riddle describes the power of a governor namely to act as a judge who punishes or sentences to death,” write Streck and Wasserman in the journal article.

Wasserman has seen examples in other Akkadian texts of people criticizing their leaders. “We have some interesting traces of political criticism, and [I] might say even say political anger,” he said. “It could be a kind of political humor expressed in this governor riddle.”

While the governor riddle reflects a sort of gallows’ humor, others are much lighter.

In(?) your mouth and your teeth (or: your urine)

constantly stared at you

the measuring vessel of your lord (-What is it?)

The answer, it appears, is beer.

Crude and lewd

Politics and beer were not the only things the scribe commented on. Two of the riddles, now in a fragmentary state, are sexual, crude and difficult to understand.

One of them, whose translation is uncertain, reads:

The deflowered (girl) did not become pregnant

The undeflowered (girl) became pregnant (-What is it?)

The answer, strangely enough, appears to be “auxiliary forces,” a group of soldiers that tend not to be reliable.

Wasserman said that the meaning of this riddle eludes him. “I don’t understand what is really going on,” he said, adding that auxiliary forces are often below-average soldiers, “and they are not really trustworthy, sometimes they run away in the middle of the battle.”

Another riddle, this one even more fragmentary and whose translation is uncertain, is also very crude.

… of your mother

is by the one who has intercourse (with her) (-What/who is it?)

The researchers aren’t sure of the riddle’s solution since the answer has been lost.

Ancient metaphor

One of the riddles appears to rely on metaphor to get its point across.

The tower is high

it is high, but nonetheless has no shade (- What is it?)

The answer is sunlight.

“You have to think about the riddle like the ‘Lord of the Rings‘ or ‘The Hobbit’; it is metaphor,” Wasserman said. Imagine you are outside and see a beam of light going from sky to Earth. [Science Fact or Fantasy? 20 Imaginary Worlds]

“It looks like a tower, but it gives no shade, of course, because it’s light itself,” Wasserman said. “The answer is the proof for its own validity.”

The last riddle relies on logic:

(Note the translation of the first line is uncertain)

Like a fish in a fish pond

Like troops before the king (-What is it?)

The answer is a broken bow.

Archery was widely used in the ancient world for both warfare and hunting. If your bow was broken you would be able to do neither.
CREDIT: steve estvanik | shutterstock   archers

War, Architecture, and Beer B.C.E.

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ncient Texts Tell Tales of War, Bar Tabs

Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 16 December 2011 Time: 11:39 AM ET
Inscription about King Nebuchadnezzar II
In addition to the inscription this stele depicts King Nebuchadnezzar II standing beside a ziggurat he built at Babylon. The tower is dedicated to the god Marduk. This is one of only four known depictions of Nebuchadnezzar known to exist, and the best preserved.
CREDIT: The Schøyen Collection MS 2063, Oslo and Londo

A trove of newly translated texts from the ancient Middle East are revealing accounts of war, the building of pyramidlike structures called ziggurats and even the people’s use of beer tabs at local taverns.

The 107 cuneiform texts, most of them previously unpublished, are from the collection of Martin Schøyen, a businessman from Norway who has a collection of antiquities.

The texts date from the dawn of written history, about 5,000 years ago, to a time about 2,400 years ago when the Achaemenid Empire (based in Persia) ruled much of the Middle East.

The team’s work appears in the newly published book “Cuneiform Royal Inscriptions and Related Texts in the Schøyen Collection” (CDL Press, 2011).

Nebuchadnezzar’s tower

Among the finds is a haunting, albeit partly lost, inscription in the words of King Nebuchadnezzar II, a ruler of Babylon who built a great ziggurat — massive pyramidlike towers built in ancient Mesopotamia — dedicated to the god Marduk about 2,500 years ago.

The inscription was carved onto a stele, a stone slab used for engraving. It includes a drawing of the ziggurat and King Nebuchadnezzar II himself.

Some scholars have argued that the structure inspired the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. In the inscription, Nebuchadnezzar talks about how he got people from all over the world to build the Marduk tower and a second ziggurat at Borsippa.

“I mobilized [all] countries everywhere, [each and] every ruler [who] had been raised to prominence over all the people of the world [as one] loved by Marduk…” he wrote on the stele.

“I built their structures with bitumen and [baked brick throughout]. I completed them, making [them gleam] bright as the [sun]…” (Translations by Professor Andrew George)

It wasn’t the only time Nebuchadnezzar made this boast. In addition to this stele, similar writings were previously discovered on a cylinder-shaped tablet noted Andrew George, a professor at the University of London and editor of the book.

George points out that the image of Nebuchadnezzar II found on the newly translated stele is one of only four known representations of the biblical king.

“The relief thus yields only the fourth certain representation of Nebuchadnezzar to be discovered; the others are carved on cliff-faces in Lebanon at Wadi Brisa (which has two reliefs) and at Shir es-Sanam,” George writes in the book. “All these outdoor monuments are in very poor condition and their depictions of the king are much less impressive than that on the stele.”

On the stele, a bearded Nebuchadnezzar wears a cone-shaped royal crown with a bracelet or bangle on his right wrist. In his left hand, he carries a staff as tall as he is and in his right he holds an as-yet-unidentified object. He also wears a robe and what appear to be sandals, common footwear in the ancient world.

George goes on to say that the stele was likely originally placed in a cavity of the Babylon ziggurat before being removed sometime in antiquity. (He declined an interview request due to time constraints.)

Conquest of Babylon

Another intriguing inscription, which discusses violence, looting and revenge, dates back about 3,000 years. It was written in the name of Tiglath-pileser I, a king of Assyria. In it, he brags about how he conquered portions of Mesopotamia and rebuilt a palace at a city named Pakute.

One section deals with his conquest of the city of Babylon, defeating a king named Marduk-nadin-ahhe.

“I demolished the palaces of the city of Babylon that belonged to Marduk-nadin-ahhe, the king of the land of Kardunias (and) carried off a great deal of property from his palaces,” Tiglath-pileser writes.

“Marduk-nadin-ahhe, king of the land of Kardunias, relied on the strength of his troops and his chariots, and he marched after me. He fought with me at the city of Situla, which is upstream of the city of Akkad on the River Tigris, and I dispersed his numerous chariots. I brought about the defeat of his warriors (and) his fighters in that battle. He retreated and went back to his land.”

Grant Frame, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who translated the boastful inscription, writes in the book that the Babylonians may have provoked the Assyrians under the rule of Tiglath-pileser I into attacking them.

When a female tavern keeper gives you a beer …

Another newly translated document is the oldest known copy of the law code of Ur-Nammu, a Mesopotamian king who ruled at Ur about 4,000 years ago. He developed a set of laws centuries before Hammurabi’s more famous code from 1780 B.C., which includes the “an eye for an eye” rule.

In some ways, Ur Nammu’s code is more advanced. For instance, it prescribes a fine for someone who takes out another person’s vision, rather than an eye for an eye. Scholars are already aware of much of the code from later versions.

However, the fact that this is the earliest known edition allows researchers to compare it with later copies and see how it evolved. For instance, the copy sheds light on one of the oddest rules governing what you should pay a “female tavern-keeper” who gives you a jar of beer

Apparently, if you have the female keeper put the beer on your tab during the summer, she will have the right to extract a tax from you, of unknown amount, in winter.

“If a female tavern-keeper gives [in] summer one beer-jar to someone on credit its nigdiri-tax will be […] in win[ter]…” (Translation by Miguel Civil)

The lesson? If you live in ancient Mesopotamia don’t put the beer on your tab.

from:  http://www.livescience.com/17522-ancient-texts-tales-war-bar-tabs.html

 

Bowser Beer for Dogs

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OK, so maybe your pooch likes to hang out on the couch and watch the game, now there is something for the thirsty guy:

 Bowser Beer For Dogs Earns World Record

First Posted: 11/8/11 06:49 PM ET Updated: 11/8/11 06:49 PM ET

If ever there was an achievement that deserved a toast, a beer for dogs would certainly be it.

And the makers of Bowser Beer, a brand brewed specifically for pooches, have double the cause to enjoy a little hair of the dog: Their achievement has been officially as honored as the first beer for dogs by World Records Academy, an online database of offbeat achievements.

Bowser Beer, which unlike human beer has no hops, no carbonation and no alcohol, has been around since 2007, but the honor still gives spokeswoman Jenny Brown a reason to hoist a glass in celebration — even as she’s trying to comprehend the complete magnitude of having official recognition for making the first beer specifically for dogs.

“I’m surprised it didn’t show up in my Google alerts,” she told HuffPost Weird News when informed of the honor.

The concept of a beer brewed for dogs sounds potentially dangerous since hops, alcohol and carbonation are all bad for canine tummies, but Brown insists her pooch pilsners and labrador lagers are safe for dogs and their owners.

“Hops are toxic, so our beer is flavored with a sweet malt barley,” she said. “It’s human grade, which is good because some people drink it by accident.”

The beer is currently made near Phoenix, but the whole brouhaha first began four years ago when Brown was living in Washington, D.C., and created some pretzel treats for some dogs for a holiday party.

After so many customers scooped them up, she decided to offer them at a Pet Expo. Then it hit her, “What goes better with pretzels than beer?”

The obvious answer was “nothing,” so Brown and family brewed up a beef-and-malt-barley-flavored non-alcoholic beverage that she gave to her dogs to sample.

After four prototypes, there was a clear winner and that became the basis of Bowser Beer. Since that auspicious beginning, Brown and her brewing brood have added a chicken flavor called “Cock-A-Doodle Brew.”

Bowser Beer is currently available in more than 40 states and Brown has a team of taste-testing terriers — among other breeds — to ensure quality control.

“Some dogs like it straight from the bottle, others like it over food and others like it frozen,” she said.

Although Brown makes sure to inform potential customers that her hound hooch won’t get schnauzers soused, she admits some people are disappointed by that.

“Some people say, ‘Oh, I’d like to get my dog drunk,’ and I say, ‘But who’s going to walk you home?'” she said. “There was one guy who told me, ‘My dog prefers double malt scotch to single,’ and I thought, ‘How sad that he knows the difference.'”

for the video, go to from whence the article came(th):   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/cheers-bowser-beer-first-beer-for-dogs_n_1071762.html?ref=weird-news

Ahhh, the Weirdness of Space

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This is quite interesting and fun and informative for those of you who are planning a trip to Outer Space:

6 Everyday Things That Happen Strangely in Space

Natalie Wolchover, Life’s Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Date: 19 March 2011 Time: 11:53 AM ET
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Intro123456
Next
Welcome to Weightlessness
The crews of the International Space Station (Expedition 26) and the shuttle Discovery (STS-133) pose for a photo inside the newly attached Leonardo storage module, known as the Permanent Multipurpose Module, on March 1, 2011.

Credit: NASA

Watched pots, as they say, never boil. Besides, even if they did, why watch them? You know exactly what boiling water looks like.

But I bet you don’t know what it looks like in outer space.

Here are six everyday occurrences — including the boiling of water — that happen very differently in microgravity, plus explanations as to why.