Also in the January/February 2012 issue of Draft Magazine...
Congratulations to the following Beer Bars from NE Ohio, making the list of America's 100 Best Beer Bars.
BUCKEYE BEER ENGINE | Lakewood, Ohio
LA CAVE DU VIN | Cleveland Heights, Ohio
MCNULTY’S BIER MARKT | Cleveland, Ohio
Winking Lizard Tavern’s
As published in Draft Magazine (January/February 2012)
Talk about the perfect pairing: DRAFT blogger Tim Cigelske proves that craft beer and running are the secrets to keeping fit and loving life.
I can’t stop running and drinking beer.
As I write, I’m on day 406 of drinking at least one beer and running at least one mile every day. Usually, it’s much more than the minimum.
This somewhat obsessive-compulsive streak strikes some as an odd pairing. But if I ever had any question that craft beer and running are better together, this experience has erased any doubt.
Why would someone even attempt this, you ask?
A few days before turning 29, I decided I wanted to do something memorable for the last year in my 20s. I wanted to go really big. I asked others for ideas, and a suggestion from a friend to combine my hobbies struck a chord. It sounded reasonable at the time.
I had no idea what I was getting into. Since starting this streak, I’ve had more than 800 beers and run more than 2,000 miles—most of them not at the same time. Today, a day without running or beer would feel unnatural.
It hasn’t always been easy. I ran through Milwaukee’s worst blizzard in years and another time on a treadmill at 1 a.m. in a New Jersey hotel. I chugged a PBR just before midnight during a busy day of work and travel. I’ve finished the occasional late-night run after a happy hour. You have to be both determined and flexible to keep up this streak.
Thankfully, most days aren’t so adventurous. People often ask me how I can keep this up every single day. I tell them you have to pace yourself, and I wouldn’t be doing it if I ever felt unhealthy. I can honestly say that I’ve never felt better, and it turns out there is some scientific basis for this.
According to the findings of a study entitled “Beer, Marathon, Genetics, Inflammation and the Cardiovascular System,” athletes who drank wheat beer after exercise had stronger immune systems and shorter and fewer colds than those who drank an alcohol-free placebo. Another study, “Beer, Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Disease,” found that subjects who regularly drank moderate amounts of beer were less likely to suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure and had lower body fat. So to paraphrase a television commercial, beer is a nutritious part of a complete lifestyle.
My own performances reflect these findings. Shortly after I started this streak, I entered a 5K and ran my fastest time since I competed in high school cross-country and track. The night before, I carbo-loaded with New Glarus Wisconsin Cran-bic. Nearly a year of beer and running later, I ran another 5K and set a personal record.
Originally, I was going to try this experiment for exactly one year. As the days passed and I fell into a comfortable routine, I realized I didn’t want to stop. It was too much fun. But I did want to celebrate 365 days at the Great American Beer Fest.
In late September, I flew into Denver and met beer drinkers and runners from around the country. I ran and drank with groups at the Highland Tap and Irish Snug. I sampled from the hundreds of breweries at the world’s largest beer festival. Finally, I topped it off with a 30-mile run for my 30th birthday, joined by fellow beer drinkers and runners.
I completed one year of beer and running with an average of roughly one beer for every three miles. Never does beer taste sweeter than as a reward after a good, hard run.
Along the way, I’ve met countless kindred spirits. This summer I met a man who has been running every single day for longer than I’ve been alive. A friend presented him with a 30-pack of beer to celebrate 30 years of running. His story and those of the other beer and running enthusiasts I’ve met through social media led me to believe that my journey isn’t quite as crazy as it seems.
I’ve learned beer and running complement each other. They both teach you pacing, balance and that you can enjoy what you love every day.
So after I finished my longest run ever, I washed down ibuprofen with a mug of beer. And I decided to keep going. •
Tim Cigelske is DRAFT’s Beer Runner blogger. He lives (and runs, and drinks) in Milwaukee with his wife and daughter.
Coors Outscores Bud
By Consumer Reports
Our experts conducted blind taste tests of eight top-selling regular and light beers, plus offerings from Trader Joe’s and Walgreens (yes, beer from a drugstore). And the winner is: Coors regular, by, let’s say, a field goal. It has balanced flavors with some citrus notes, and no off-tastes. It’s a Consumer Reports Best Buy, at $6.45 for a six-pack. Three runners-up are also CR Best Buys: Name Tag (Trader Joe’s), Big Flats (Walgreens), and Miller High Life. Coors outscores Bud
All of the tested beers are lagers, which usually have a mix of floral, fruity, yeasty, malted-grain, and boiled-hop (pungent) flavors. Most are pale yellow and light-bodied, and don’t stay foamy for long. Other face-offs:
Regular vs. light.
Light beer will save you about 20 to 50 calories per can (due to lower carbs and slightly less alcohol), but no tested light scored high enough to be very good. Best of the bunch is Miller Lite. Worst is Corona Light, a bitter brew with traces of tinny and sulfury off-notes.
Price vs. taste.
Corona Light costs far more than higher-rated Miller Lite; and Corona Extra costs about twice as much as three better beers.
Store brands vs. big names.
Trader Joe’s and Walgreens stood up to the competition, doing about as well as Miller High Life and besting Corona Extra and Bud.
Cans vs. bottles.
We tasted beer from cans, which may seem less refined than bottles, but they keep light, beer’s nemesis, from getting inside. Light can react with beer within weeks or even days to create compounds similar to those a skunk uses to defend itself.
Bottom line.
None of these beers has enough complexity and balance to be excellent, but Coors comes fairly close.
As printed in Runner's World Magazine
Beer Run!
A (somewhat) scientific look at how a postrun pint (or two) impacts your favorite activity. Biggest surprise? It's different for women.
By Christie Aschwanden Image by Eddie Guy From the February 2012 issue of Runner's World
Beer Run!
I stood at the end of a ridiculously grueling trail amid the red cliffs of Western Colorado. Around me, runners enjoyed various cold, locally brewed beers wrapped in neoprene sleeves emblazoned with a sketch of the mountain we'd just torn up and down and the words "I survived the Summit and Plummet." It was not yet 11 a.m.; we'd just finished one of the hardest five-mile runs in North America. We'd earned those beers. At least, that's what we told ourselves.
It's a common ritual among my running buddies. We run, then we drink. And we're not alone. The outfit that organized today's informal run often congregates at Grand Junction's Kannah Creek Brewing Company following its weekly trail runs. Paonia's Elegantly Attired Running Ladies, my women's group, meets every Friday evening for a run that finishes at Revolution Brewing. And then there's the famous Hash House Harriers, with chapters around the world, which calls itself a drinking club with a running problem. Among runners, coffee is perhaps the only beverage more popular than beer.
My friends and I often joke that we're carbo-loading when we split a six pack together, but once in a while I wake up groggy and wonder: Could my drinking habit be hurting my running?
Turns out the research on alcohol and exercise is as herky-jerky as our culture's attitude toward the bottle. Most early studies investigated alcohol's potential as a performance enhancer. It seems ridiculous now, but during the 1904 Olympic Marathon, U.S. gold medalist Thomas Hicks was given a mixture of brandy, strychnine, and egg whites in an effort to gain a competitive edge. Many coaches then believed alcohol boosted energy.
In more recent years, not surprisingly, that belief has been largely disproved. One study on sprint-and middle-distance runners, for example, found that at most distances the more alcohol the athletes had, the slower they ran. Still, another study on male cyclists found that drinking the equivalent of two shots of hard liquor one hour before exercising didn't give athletes any distinct advantages, nor did it significantly harm heart rate, blood pressure, or oxygen uptake. Even a hangover doesn't seem to diminish your aerobic capacity—it just makes you feel lousy, so you underperform. But at the same time, there's evidence to suggest that drinking after a workout might spoil recovery of muscle damage and reduce the amount of energy stored in muscles.
So what was all this conflicting information really telling me? Being a former scientist, I had my own theories about how drinking and running mix, and I couldn't resist putting them to the test. The nearby Colorado Mesa University had just opened the Monfort Family Human Performance Research Lab, a state-of-the-art exercise-science facility that seemed like the perfect venue to explore alcohol's effects on running performance. My friend Gig Leadbetter, Ph.D., coaches the school's cross-country team and is an exercise scientist at the Monfort Lab. He's also a home brewer and winemaker and, without any arm-twisting, agreed to put together a study for Runner's World.
Learn how to eat right for a lighter, leaner, faster you!
As Taken From beer-BUZZ.COM
The Beautiful and Ugly Sides of Beer Drinking
Have
you ever thought there would be health benefits of drinking beer? Well
there are few health benefits of drinking beer. In the recent years
many health benefits have been identified with drinking beer. The
University of Maryland has researched and found some positive effects of
drinking beer.
Beer
is a famous beverage consumed worldwide by the people. Beer is an
excellent source of various minerals, proteins and vitamins. Moderate
consumption of beer have surely positive effects on your health. Some of
these benefits include the following:
Beer
helps in the prevention of heart diseases. It is a good source of
Vitamin B6 which build up the compound called homocysteine. Beer also
decreases the formation of clots.
Beer improves the blood circulation.
The
bone density gets increased with moderate consumption of beer and as
such there are less chances of having fractures and osteoporosis.
Beer
offers good amount of vitamin B12 and folic acid which is very
necessary for the normal growth, good memory and concentration.
You can avoid the risk of having type 2 diabetes by consuming moderate amount of beer.
It
has been found that regular beer drinkers have lower levels of blood
pressure, compared to people consuming similar amount of wine or other
alcohol. It is also soothing in summers.
Beer has been proven to have positive effects on old people. It helps to promote blood vessel dilation, sleep and urination.
Regular beer drinkers have lower risk for kidney stones.
Beer decreases the chromosomal damage from radiation exposure because of beta-pseudouridine.
Beer makes you sleep better by reducing the stress.
Apart from the health benefits of drinking beer, there are some risks also associated with beer:
Your
weight might get increased. Beer contains no fat but alcohol and
residual sugars in beer contain calories. A glass of beer contains
around 150-450 calories. So just think about it before you drink beer.
Excessive drinking can damage the liver and stress kidneys.
Thus,
we have seen the positive as well as negative sides of drinking beer.
Amount is very important when you are consuming alcohol. Drinking beer
helps only when you are willing to drink responsibly.
We have plenty of information on wine as well. Please look at our wine portal at wine reviews.
Article from articlesbase.com
Artist Joseph Borsuk Designs Beer Mug for Guitar Mania
The fourth round of Guitar Mania in downtown Cleveland is upon us! Sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland artists create 10-foot tall Fender guitars that will adorn the city once again.
Dontcountmybeers.com, is particularly interested in this frothy design submitted by Cleveland area artist, Joseph Borsuk. Titled "100 Bottles of Beer on the Coast", it is a nod to the Ohio City neighborhood which has become a mecca for beer and breweries within Cleveland. Notice the guitar head which doubles as a beer tap, and the neck which becomes the stream.
"I'll have to come up with a cool way to create the beer mug handle", says Borsuk. "And if chosen, I'm counting on a Cleveland establishment like Great Lakes Brewery, McNulty's Bier Market or the new Market Garden Brewery to be a sponsor."
Kick-off to this event is May of 2012, but the judging for which designs will be chosen takes place between January 12 and February 3 at Arts Collinwood, 15605 Waterloo Rd., Cleveland, OH 44110 where all submitted ideas will be on display. Opening reception is Thursday, January 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Links:
www.cleveland.com/guitarmania/
Congrats to Mike Heller for finishing 4th in the MAC conference meet, earning First Team MAC Honors.
Today is International Beer Day
as reported on Newsnet5. Click on the Newsnet5.com logo for the entire story
Posted: 08/05/2010 On Thursday, beer lovers are being asked to hoist a
mug and celebrate its makers – both large and small. Aug. 5 has been designated International Beer Day, a day
that internationalbeerday.com suggests should be
dedicated to "revel in the culture of beer, bars and breweries." "This day-long focus on the world's favorite beverage
will be akin to what takes place on St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo, except
even better because International Beer Day is focused specifically on
appreciating beer," the website states. International Beer Day started in 2007 in Santa Cruz, Calif.
The beer day website credits its founding to Jesse Avshalomov, Evan Hamilton,
Aaron Araki and Richard Hernandez. Avshalomov said they decided there should be
a celebration of beer so they convinced a bar to go along.
Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/entertainment/weird_news/today-is-international-beer-day#ixzz1c1SFzxPc
As published in the Washington Post
Miss Manners: Number of beers consumed isn’t covered by etiquette
By Miss Manners, Published: September 28 | Updated: Thursday, September 29, 12:01 AM
DEAR MISS MANNERS: We had a dinner with our nephew, who was bringing his fiancee to meet us for the first time. He also brought her mother and younger brother (6 years old) to our home.
My husband had four beers during their 31 / 2-hour visit. I was quite aware of this because no one else was drinking, and he was setting his empty bottles on the kitchen counter. After the dinner, I told him since no one else was drinking, it was more socially acceptable to have had only two beers.
We are quite at odds about this situation — he is upset that I am correcting his social etiquette. What do you say?
GENTLE READER: We have a jurisdictional problem here, because Miss Manners is unable to locate a two-beer cutoff rule in the annals of etiquette.
Can you get your husband on some other charge? Disorderly behavior? Un-hostly behavior in not offering beer to guests? Tax evasion? (Oh, wait, tax evasion is not supervised by etiquette, either.)
If not, your husband is right that you are the one who overdid it.
As seen on
Wade Boggs drinks 64 beers on cross country flight
I know this is old but have you heard the story of baseball hall of famer, Wade Boggs, drinking 64 beers on a five hour cross country flight? Click on WADE BOGGS to view the story as told on PTI.
I just want to know, "WHO WAS COUNTING?"
As reported
on Healthy Beer
Drinking Attention: Beer Can Be Healthy "Beer in particular has plenty
of nutrients, such as protein, B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium,
iron, niacin, and riboflavin." Liver
Health: The Beer Drinker's Best Herbs
To Read more, go to : http://www.askmen.com/sports/health_100/137_mens_health.html#ixzz1bGCERwJH
As reported by 
Yuengling beer coming to Northeast Ohio Monday
Posted: 09/12/2011
CLEVELAND - The bootlegging runs over the Pennsylvania border for Yuengling beer have finally come to an end. America’s oldest brewery is set to begin sales of its Yuengling beers in Northeast Ohio Monday.
Fans of the beer celebrated the long-awaited arrival of the beverage that has cult-like following, and some residents around the state even camped out Sunday night and beverage stores prepared for an influx of customers.
As viewed on 
Many young adults love to play Beer Pong. Click on BEER PONGto see it taken to the next level of skill.