Happy St. Patty's Day!

Since I don't have any green shirts to wear today, I'll be celebrating this St. Patty's Day with Guinness stew . . . and, of course, with Guinness!

Could this give Gatorade a run for the money?

An article in Britain's Daily Mail reported of a scientific experiment that actually made the following conclusion: beer is more effective at rehydrating people than water after exercise! Apparently the experiment was conducted in Spain, whereby one group was given two half-pints of lager after exercise, while another group was given water. After those two drinks, both groups were only allowed to drink water, and the beer group was found to be better hydrated than the water group. Scientists attributed beer's hydration power thusly:

Researchers suspect that the sugars, salts and bubbles in a pint may help people absorb fluids more quickly.

Now after reading this article, I have to wonder two things: 1) Where can I find a pint of Guinness? And 2) Why didn't I find this article in The Onion???

Happy Green Beer Day!

On this day of green beer, whether you're singing along to the Phyrst Family, doing the Case Race at The Rathskeller, enjoying the potato soup at Sine', or kickin' back at Murphy's . . . happy St. Patty's Day, boy-o's!

A Guinness taste test

When it comes to beer, my father and I are loyal Guinness fans. He's been to Ireland a few times already, and has assured me that the Guinness I get here in the U.S. is nothing compared to the authentic Irish brew. This weekend I finally got to sample some actual, authentic, pure Irish Guinness—and special thanks to my friend Sam for bringing some back from his trip to Ireland last summer!

I can safely say that the Irish brew is noticeably different than the American brew . . . but the differences are so subtle and so hard to pinpoint that it's actually hard to give preference of one over the other. The Irish brew is just as dark, maybe a tiny bit thicker, with a slightly sweet taste that actually borders on being bitter. It's still just as smooth going down, though! And I think the Irish brew might have had a slightly higher alcoholic content, because I buzzed big time from it (though at the same time, I was also running on an empty stomach).

One day I'm sure I'll make it to Ireland to drink some Guinness in an actual Irish pub, but until that day comes, I can only make due with the wonderful Guinness I get here. I'm just glad for the opportunity to taste the genuine article beforehand, just to whet my appetite for the future.

I'm feelin' kinda low, Apu. Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau?

Last night, just for fun, I bravely made the Simpsons concoction Skittlebrau. Apparently, while mine was just a whim, someone took the Skittlebrau premise seriously enough to try finding the perfect mix between alcohol and Skittles! Though I'm not as brave as that guy was, mixing it with Bicardi or Coors. I tried mine with Yuengling Lager, and it was okay. The Skittles began to dissolve very fast when they hit the brew, and by the time I drained the glass, most of the outer candy coating had dissolved away.


The dissolved sugar gave the beer a slightly funny taste, but it wasn't noticeable until you hit the bottom of the glass. The candies themselves were rather soft afterwards, too, tasting almost bland.

In the end, though, it was a worthy experiment. And it just goes to show that The Simpsons can corrupt and inspire us in many more ways than we imagined.