NY Times writer, Carol Kaseuk Yoon, has written an article about beer consumption and the productivity of scientists. More specifically, Czech ornithologists. (It should be noted that the Czech Republic has the “highest rate of beer consumption on earth.”) Yoon is a science reporter/writer and her page of awesomely titled articles confirms that. Even better? The scientist who found time for this incredibly valuable experiment is named Dr. Grim. How can you get good results with a name like that?

The article reads like something out of Bizarro World. In a nutshell, Dr. Grim wrote a paper stating that beer is to blame for the underachievers in our scientific community. More beer = less published papers. Panic ensued and “the paper has quickly been making the rounds among biologists, provoking reactions like surprise, nervous titters and irritation.”

Nervous titters aside, what if you’re just a bad scientist? What if you’re lazy? Or just plain dumb? Not everyone can be Charles Darwin. We call bullsh*t on this one. And so does this guy. He calls-out Dr. Grim, who “on occasion enjoys more than 12 beers in a night and has only two English publications in the past nine years, so one might conclude that he’s a case study of the suds phenomenon.” The scientist from Discover Magazine ask a valid question: Which is the cause and which the effect?

Now, if that wasn’t enough alcoholic science for you, scientists in Germany say that wine makes your brain shrink. Most studies on alchohol and health have dealt mainly with the heart, blood pressure, and antioxidants, but no one until now has actually done a comparative study on the brain, specifically the hippocampus.

Researchers at the Göttingen University in Germany said that wine drinkers had a smaller hippocampus as compared to beer drinkers. The hippocampus is a vital area of the brain and plays a critical role in memory and spatial awareness.

Reporting in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholics, the researchers revealed that hippocampus in wine drinkers was 10 percent smaller than that of healthy adults. In non-alcoholics, the hippocampus measured 3.85ml, while in wine drinkers it measured just 2.8ml. In contrast beer drinkers had 3.4 ml of hippocampus in their brains, while other spirit drinkers had 2.9 ml. Beer drinkers also had low levels of a compound called homocysteine, which plays a role in the development of heart disease, stroke and dementia.

As the craft beer sector continues its explosive growth, there are more and more stories trickling into the media and onto the Internets about beer and health. Even Asheville’s favorite beer-imbibing parent, Edgy Mama, wrote about it in her Mountain XPress column earlier this year. It’s been some time since we’ve done a dedicated Beer & Health post, so here are some new resources for you to peruse while enjoying your favorite malt beverage.

Olivaria.by—Ten benefits of beer. Since they say it’s actually good to have a beer while sick, we feel less guilty for having that Hopslam earlier this week. (It was actually the only thing we could taste.)

AllAboutBeer.com—Older article, but a goodie. Discusses the untruths of the “French Paradox.” Also, says that teetotalers have a higher risk of silent stroke than light to moderate drinkers.

Realbeer.com—One of those low- or no-carb fanatics? These diets say beer is bad based on the “distorted train of logic that equates malted barley with maltose and the high ‘glycemic index’ (G.I) of this sugar.”

SpatenUSA.com—German brewer says beer’s caloric count is comparably low to other drinks like wine, lemonade and milk. Beer also “promotes tissue drainage and sodium expulsion.”

WFTV.com—Hops fight cancer! “A compound found only in hops (the flavor component of beer) called xanthohumol shows toxicity to human breast, colon, ovarian and prostate cancers. The compound inhibits a family of enzymes commonly known as cytochromes P450 that can activate the cancer process.”

Want more? Google “beer health” and you’ll see how much there is read on the subject.

Hopslam: Part Deux
We received a few more cases of Bell’s Hopslam today. If you missed it the first time around, here’s your last chance. Asheville Beer Blog absolutely loves this beer right now. [Bell’s Brands]

Strange dealings at Ølfabrikken
As excited as we were to finally add Ølfabrikken Abbey Ale to our beer list, we are saddened/confused/indifferent to read this news via BeerAdvocate this morning. Follow-up shows that the brewery’s website has been shut down. He-said, he-said. [Nanobryg]

Pump up that Vitamin B
A Filipino brewer is adding Vitamin B in its beer to “make beer a healthier habit.” [ABS-CBN Interactive]

Update from the Incredibly Stupid Department:
Police in St. Augustine, Fl., arrested Tina D. Williams, 46, on the charges of “drunken driving, child abuse, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving without a license.” Seems she had a case of Busch beer strapped in the front seat of her car and her 1-year-old daughter in the back with no seatbelt or booster. Ugh. [USAToday]

Update from the Higher Than Thou Department:
Because we had to suffer through the nothing-new-to-learn that was Super Tuesday (except that Huckabee is possibly a smidgen more popular than everyone thought), let’s wrap-up today with a little politics. Utah Republicans are “proposing a law banning the sale of cold beer in grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations. The bill would be an effort to get people to drink less beer or not drink at all.” [Daily Utah Chronicle]

Don’t forget to get tickets for the Winter Warmer festival at The Garage tomorrow.

The weekend is also POPAsheville, Asheville’s local music festival organized by Stephanie Morgan of Stephanie’s ID. There will be 34 pop/indie/alternative band performances, all showcased between 7:30pm and 2:00am both nights at The Grey Eagle, the new Rocket Club, and Stella Blue. Tickets for the entire weekend are only $15 and a wristband will get you into all three venues for both nights. 

Our sources at Brooklyn Brewery give us news that the previously-only-on-tap Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen Weisse will be released in the 750ml format in March. Bottles will be extremely limited. Garrett himself confirms here. 

Asheville’s beloved Edgy Mama has a great article on beer and health in her MountainXPress column this week. She says beer is good for you.

Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen Weiss keg coming to Barley’s
According to a thread on Beerinator, Barley’s Asheville is getting a keg of the Brooklyn-Schneider Hopfen Weiss, the version brewed at Brooklyn Brewery. We called them to confirm the news this afternoon and while they are not sure when they’re getting it or when it will put on, it IS coming. This is a keg-only release in the South, so be sure to get out and try it. We’ve heard it’s really hoppy. (We almost feel bad for complaining last week, but not really.) Updates to follow.
Source: Beerinator

Brewgrass is sold-out and don’t show up without a ticket
Tony Kiss writes about the Brewgrass Festival today. All 3,500 tickets were sold out weeks ago. “If you don’t have a ticket, please don’t come,” said Brewgrass founder and director Doug Beatty. “The tickets are gone.”
Source: Asheville Citizen-Times 

James Bond loves his Guinness
The only way Daniel Craig can get through his workouts for the upcoming Bond movie is with a Guinness afterwards. “Daniel joked the only thing keeping him going is to have regular pints of Guinness. He said it’s all part of his regime, and that Guinness is really good for the heart.”
Source: Stuff.co.nz

Former brewermaster of Steelhead on 5-month brewing trip
Female brewer and former brewermaster of Steelhead Brewing in Eugene, Ore., is on a beer tour. Teri Fahrendorf is traveling to brew with other brewers across the country. And she wears trademark pink rubber boots. You go, girl. Keep up with her travel blog.
Source: Joe Sixpack

It’s official: You can buy beer in stores in PA
My old friends, rejoice. You can now buy beer at convenience and grocery stores, presumably in quantities of less than a case. For all the great beer available in Pennsylvania, it’s time the archaic beer laws changed which only allowed take-out services in bars and brewpubs.
Source: Herald Standard