Belch.Com

A thirsty German swapped his stepdaughter’s Beagle for Beer.

From the AP here:

BERLIN (Reuters) – A thirsty German sold his 6-year-old step-daughter’s pet beagle to the owner of a bar to pay for beer, the Bild newspaper reported on Friday.

The unemployed man offered to take the dog for a walk and then stopped at a bar where he convinced the owner to buy the 3-year-old dog for 40 euros ($53).

The man spent the proceeds quenching his thirst for beer.

They mix the drinks and insult the customers. Next year they will light your cigar too.

From Reuters here:

Staring with glowing red eyes at a young woman strolling by, bartender Chapok slowly extends his arm to offer her a gin and orange.

She takes the glass, murmurs a flustered “thank you” and walks away while the cocktail-mixing robot turns his attention back to a row of bottles.

Chapok is one of around 30 robots at Vienna’s annual Roboexotica, which showcases how home-built machines deal with the modern pastime of hanging out in bars.

Robots were invited to demonstrate their skills in categories like mixing cocktails, serving drinks and snacks, bar conversation and smoking cigarettes and cigars.

A camel broke out of its pen and ate 200 Christmas mincemeat pies and a six pack of Guinness.

From Reuters here:

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Staff at an Irish riding school were forced to postpone festivities after Gus the camel chomped his way through 200 mince pies and several cans of Guinness intended for their Christmas party.

Gus, starring in the riding school’s Santa’s Magical Animal Kingdom show, helped himself to the feast while staff were getting changed for the party.

The 11-year-old camel, originally from Morocco, cracked open six cans of Ireland’s famous stout with his teeth after the door to his stall was left open.

Pabst Brewing may not be in the same league as Anheuser Busch or Miller Brewing, but as a company, the brewer manages, brews and markets some of the best National Regional Brands.

In their stable, Pabst has Ranier Beer, Lonestar, Olympia, Blatz, Strohs, Piels, and more. Of course, old staples of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Schlitz are on the list too. The company is still privately held. And its excellent website is located here.

At least, according to one elderly woman in St. Louis. Her husband brought her a beer, but it was warm, so the woman shot her husband in the chest 5 times. The couple had been living without power for a few days since a rough winter storm swept through the area, so tempers were likely frayed.

From the St. Louis Today:

A St. Louis man was shot to death Sunday night over a warm beer, police said.

St. Louis police say a woman shot her husband, who was about 70 years old, four to five times in the chest after he tried giving her a warm can of Stag beer.

Police said the wife admitted shooting him about 5:40 p.m. in the kitchen of their home in the 5100 block of Terry Avenue. Police said the home had no electricity at the time.

Homicide detectives would not identify the man. The woman, whom police also did not identify, was taken into custody.

A beer, called “Santa’s Butt Winter Porter” is banned in Maine because the label depicts St. Nick sitting on his wide hiney atop a large keg of ale. The ban is in place because the beer “may appeal to children.” The beer is made in England, but imported by the Shelton Brothers. The Brothers are suing the state of Maine because they think that the state is engaging in censorship.

After all, even if the beer appeals to children, they aren’t allowed to buy it until they are 21, right? From the AP here:

A beer distributor says Maine is being a Scrooge by barring it from selling a beer with a label depicting Santa Claus enjoying a pint of brew.

In a complaint filed in federal court, Shelton Brothers accuses the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement of censorship for denying applications for labels for Santa’s Butt Winter Porter and two other beers it wants to sell in Maine.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, contends the state’s action violates the First Amendment by censoring artistic expression.

States have the power to regulate alcohol through the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition in 1933. “But I don’t know where they get the idea they can ignore the rest of the Constitution,” Shelton said.

The homepage of the beer is located here. In it, they describe how the English store the beer thusly:

We hasten to point out that in England butt refers to a certain barrel used in brewing — a very large barrel, in fact, holding 108 imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage.

And the final bit or irony? The Shelton Brothers operate out of Belchertown, Mass. Heh.

Two words: Gross. Buckets.

Jones Sodas are the only bottled sodas that you can get in Starbucks. Lots of my friends love to hang out at Starbucks and sip lattes and fraps and pumpkin flavored spicy teas. I hate most coffee and absolutely refuse to pay more than a buck for a cup of coffee anywhere. So when I go to Starbucks to hang out with my coffee addicted friends, I often have to bring my own bottle of soda, which is always Diet Coke.

Now Jones Soda has a new holiday pack featuring sodas flavored with turkey, peas, sweet potato and even antacid.

From Reuters here:

SEATTLE (Reuters) – After introducing the world to new soft-drink flavours like fish taco and salmon, Seattle specialty beverage maker Jones Soda Co. is offering a new flavour: Green pea.

Green pea, along with other unusual sodas such as turkey and gravy, dinner roll, sweet potato and antacid flavour, will be part of the company’s $10 to $15 “holiday pack” of bottled drinks available nation-wide.

Peter van Stolk, chief executive of Jones Soda, said on Monday the collection of strange-flavoured sodas usually sell out quickly, even though he can not stomach the drinks. Past flavours included broccoli casserole, corn on the cob and Brussel sprout.

“Why people buy it is beyond me. I can’t drink a bottle of this stuff,” said van Stolk.

Jones Soda, which sells traditional sodas along side more exotic flavours like fufu berry and green apple, first introduced the holiday soda pack in 2003, gaining notoriety for its turkey and gravy flavor soda.

“We have the market share leader in turkey-flavoured beverages,” said van Stolk. “We know we can’t compete with Coke or Pepsi by playing their game, but we know they’re not going to come out with a turkey flavour or antacid flavour.”

This is a great story of a hometown landmark restaurant. A soldier in Iraq, from Newport News VA, whipped out some Pierce’s BBQ sauce at a Barbecue in Iraq. All of his friends were instantly hooked. They sent a call to Pierce’s asking for more sauce, and more is on the way.

I’ve been meaning to get back by this place and have some great BBQ.

From the Daily Press here:

The Marines are going to get their barbecue sauce.

Four gallons of Pierce’s Pitt Bar-B-Que sauce might not make it in time for a Marine Corps birthday barbecue Friday, but the yellow-and-orange-labeled sauce is on its way to Al Asad, Iraq, nonetheless.

Pierce’s received an e-mail request last week from a group of Camp Pendleton-based Marines stationed in Iraq. A former member of their unit was from Newport News and pulled out the sauce at a recent barbecue. The Marines were hooked.

The guys of Combat Logistics Battalion 1 liked the sauce so much that Sgt. Wesley C. Brown wrote to the restaurant and asked if they could possibly get some more sent to them. He hoped to have it in time for the Corps’ 231st birthday on Friday.

“The sauce has a sweet kick to it,” wrote Brown, a 29-year-old from Phoenix, in an e-mail. “It is by far the best sauce I’ve had!”

Pierce’s responded with gusto.

“If we can do something to make them feel more comfortable, it’s worth it,” Pierce said Monday. “We’re definitely very proud to do this for them.”

I love me some red wine.

From Reuters here:

LONDON (Reuters) – A compound found in red wine and grapes can extend the lifespan of obese mice and help them enjoy a healthier old age, scientists said on Wednesday.

The molecule known as resveratrol not only enabled the mice to live longer than other overweight rodents, it also reduced the negative health effects of eating a high-calorie diet.

This handy little calculator can tell you.

Click here to go to the Drink Calculator.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Guinness unless it is mixed into a Black and Tan or unless it is used as flavoring for stew. But now its coming as a Red Frothy Beer. In limited distribution, unfortunately.

From Reuters here:

Guinness, the dark Irish drink known as the “black stuff”, could soon be turning red.

Manufacturer Diageo plans to produce a version at its Irish brewery using lightly roasted barley, which will have a reddish colour, and give it a trial run across the Irish Sea in Britain.

“If you held up a pint of Guinness to the light, the red would come through. It’s a very deep red,” a Diageo spokeswoman said.

Diageo plans to test Guinness Red on drinkers in British pubs in the coming months but has no plans to launch it more widely, either at home in Ireland or in about 150 other countries where Guinness is sold.

Heh.

From Reuters here:

Two drinks daily help men avoid heart attack

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Even healthy men may benefit from a drink or two daily to help lower the risk of heart attack, medical researchers reported on Monday.

“Our results suggest that moderate drinking could be viewed as a complement, rather than an alternative,” to lifestyle interventions such as regular physical activity, weight loss and quitting smoking, said the study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

The report said previous studies have linked moderate drinking to a lower heart attack risk, compared to the risk run by those who do not drink at all. The apparent protective effect may be that alcohol appears to raise the level of so-called “good” cholesterol in the bloodstream.

It seems that the latest fad food at State Fairs and other popular gatherings in the South is “Fried Coke.” Its deep fried dough balls coated with Coca Cola Syrup. Yum. I think?

From the AFP here:

CHICAGO (AFP) – Fried Coke has become the latest artery-clogging hit at US state fairs, local media reports.

The gooey Coke-battered nuggets topped with cola syrup won the “most creative” title at the Texas state fair in Dallas last month. Since then, the deep-fried phenomenon has spread to North Carolina and Arizona.

Fried treats are as big of a draw at state fairs as the rides and prize-winning farm animals. Twinkies, cookies and even pickles are stuck with a stick, dipped in batter and then seared in the deep fryer.

Gonzales has also had more success with changing his recipe than Coca Cola did. He reworked the recipe to make the dough less cakey and more spongy so it would soak up more of the cola syrup.

“They were good before, but they are even better now,” Gonzales said.

There is a new drink out there that is supposed to provide 350% more energy than Red Bull. It has almost 35mg of caffeine per ounce. In a single can there is 280mg of the pick-me-up.

The site here says it tastes like a carbonated atomic fireball. I might like to try one of those.

Wanna make more money? Drink. Go to Happy Hour. Get to know your co-workers.

From NBC4 here:

Survey Shows Drinkers Have Higher Salaries

If you’re looking to make more money at your job, have a cocktail.

A recent study found that drinkers take home more money than those who avoid libations altogether.

Female drinkers earn 14 percent more than nondrinkers, while male drinkers make 10 percent more than abstainers, according to a study from the Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank.

Additionally, social male drinkers — those who visit a bar at least once a month — bring home another 7 percent in pay on top of the 10 percent premium.

“Social drinking builds social capital,” said Edward Stringham, an economist at the foundation. “Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks.”

No wonder they call it Happy Hour.

In a move that has left many Mexicans saddened, Brown-Foreman Corporation, makers of Jack Daniels whiskey, has bought the Herradura company. Herradura is a top-shelf smooth tequila, and is the best for shots and margaritas, if you can afford it.

From Reuters here:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s national pride, bruised time and again by a steady invasion of U.S. investors and culture, took another blow Monday when one of its finest tequila makers was swallowed up by an American company.

The $876 million buyout of Casa Herradura by Brown-Forman Corp. left a bitter taste with some regulars at cantinas in Mexico City.

Casa Herradura is 136 years old, family owned and makes El Jimador and Herradura, ranked 3rd and 10th among the world’s top tequila brands.

Made from distilled agave cactus plants, tequila is Mexico’s national drink. But in recent years, a shortage of plants has sent prices soaring.

One shot of Herradura sells at 60 pesos ($5.50) at the Ardalio cantina, almost double the price of all rums, less than all vodkas and at the same price as whiskies, including Brown-Forman’s Jack Daniel’s brand.