Anytime a big company like Inbev reports double digit problems like this something's afoot. The company is blaming two things: the rising costs of raw materials and slipping sales in Brazil. Part of the problem in Brazil was an early Carnival this year - Ooo, that pesky calendar!

There are beer brand loyalists and then there are beer brand loyalists.

Bill Bramanti loves Pabst Blue Ribbon so much that he's had a replica of a PBR can made of his coffin. Although he doesn't intend to put it to its final use for some time, he did use it as a center-piece for a party he threw this weekend. Even so, it still served a valuable purpose beyond macabre conversation piece - he filled it with ice and plenty of Pabst.

Want to see the thing? Check out Chicago Man Plans His Beer-Can Burial.

You can’t turn on the news here in the US without being told how bleak the financial future is. The real estate crisis, the credit crunch, the Baer Stearn's bail-out; it’s enough to make you want a beer. But, no, the price is going up there, too, right?

This is why Anheuser-Busch is in such good shape for the coming lean times, at least according to W. Randolph Baker, AB's CFO. AB has almost always maintained or improved their situation when the rest of the market has suffered. This is because the company is diversified and sells less expensive brands of beer like Busch and Natural Lite.

Here’s how the thinking goes. People will always drink beer. But as financial situations worsen they will buy cheap, or sub-premium as the article terms it, beer. Sub-premium, mmm! Makes you want to order one right now, doesn’t it? There’s a certain logic at work there I suppose and given the provable success of it in the past I can’t really dispute it.

For my part I’d rather just buy fewer good beers.

Cinco de Mayo has become a popular holiday well-beyond Mexico's borders. Whether or not the celebrants north of the border fully grasp the meaning of May fifth in Mexico is really beside the point; it is becoming something of a St. Patrick's Day for Mexican culture. Check out these four ways to enjoy Mexican beer for Cinco de Mayo.

Vermont brewer Magic Hat looks poised to aquire the west coast Pyramid Breweries which includes the brands Pyramid and MacTarnahan's.

From the press release at MagicHat.net:

"The combination of these two well established, high profile craft breweries will be very complementary given our respective brand portfolios and the geographies in which we predominantly operate. Additionally, there will be a number of important benefits for Pyramid to be part of a private company versus continuing to operate as a stand alone public entity. This consolidation makes both good strategic and financial sense and is well timed, particularly as the beer industry's competitive dynamics continue to intensify," said Pyramid CEO Scott Barnum. "The Company will continue to have offices in Seattle, its historical home, and will seek opportunities to capitalize on the enhanced assets and capabilities of the new combined entity," he added.

Martin Kelly, CEO of Magic Hat said, "We have a great deal of respect for Pyramid's brand heritage, award-winning beers and its dedicated employees, and look forward to consummating this transaction, which provides both strategic and financial benefits both to Pyramid's and Magic Hat's stakeholders."

OK, let's settle this. A previous post about Bud Light Lime has received a few comments about one limed lager's superiority over another. Despite my curmudgeonly mumblings about citrus and beer these lime infused lagers are becoming popular with some pretty biased partisans on both sides.

Sounds like it's time for a poll to me. Remember the About Beer voting motto - Vote early; vote often! And check out the other beer polls when you're done here.

It seems an unlikely thing to have to refute or cover up but back in December the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad felt compelled to issue this press release: BOCOG: report on beer-fed vegetables untrue. I don't know about you but this news comes as a huge relief to me!

Hey, did you hear? Reinheitsgebot is 482 years old today!

If you don’t know, this is the famous German beer purity law. Though it’s been watered down a bit in the last few years it remains a significant part of the story of beer.

Deciding what beer is has been a problem for brewers and beer lovers alike for as long as there has been beer. Can it contain honey? Chocolate? Pomegranate? Well, I’m not sure. While I’m pretty liberal in what I’ll allow in my brew and still call it beer I acknowledge that there’s got to be a line somewhere. Reinheitsgebot gave us a base line for defining beer that still works today – beer is water, hops, yeast, and barley. Adjuncts that violate the purity law are fine with most of us but the further the brew drifts from what’s made from those four basic ingredients the less beer it is.

Dare I say king of beers?

Nah, I probably shouldn't.

Anyway, the World Beer Cup 2008 concluded and, while they didn't actually name one overall winner because it would be incredibly difficult, there were some big winners. You can check out the complete list but here are the top categories:

World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster - Large Brewing Company
Blue Moon Brewing Company
Warren Quilliam

World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster - Mid-Size Brewing Company
Privatbrauerei Hoepfner GmbH
Peter Bucher

World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster - Small Brewing Company
Port Brewing Company and The Lost Abbey
Tomme Arthur

World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster - Large Brewpub
Pelican Pub & Brewery
Darren R. S. Welch

World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster - Small Brewpub
Bend Brewing Company
Tonya Cornett

Coming up on May third and fourth is the Great Green America Festival. It will be held on the grounds of the Mount Hope Estate in Manheim, Pennsylvania. The festival is, per the press release, "a weekend full of 'edutainment' creating a family oriented, fun-filled eco-folk fest, complete with music, games, food arts and crafts, that has as its core preserving our environment. Check out GreatGreenAmericaFest.com for more information.

Why am I mentioning this on my beer site? Well, not only does the Mount Hope Estate host this festival but it is also home to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and the Swashbuckler Brewing Company. The folks at Swashbuckler sent me a few of their brews to sample and I was impressed. For the Great Green America Festival brewer Mark Braunwarth has produced a very nice Belgian Wit. It will be served during the festival along with the brewery's year-round beers, wine and mead.

1. Wetlands Wit - Swashbuckler Brewing Company
2. Fat Altbier - Swashbuckler Brewing Company
3. Scotland's Terror - Swashbuckler Brewing Company