Lance Armstrong? With the inaugural Beer Mile World Championship only weeks away, interest in the four-lap, four-beer race is particularly high in Austin, Texas, the city that will host the event, so it’s not too surprising that one of Austin’s most famous residents, banned cyclist Lance Armstrong, recently decided to try his hand at the event. Armstrong’s attempt was short- lived, however, because after he chugged a beer, ran one lap well behind the leaders, and grabbed another beer, he dropped out. He was heard saying “That was not what I expected.” Patrick Hitchins, who finished second in the time trial in 6:08, said, “[Armstrong] drank Budweiser heavy from a 12 ounce can, no widemouth, following strict international beer mile standards. Perhaps his days with Michelob Ultra Lite put him at a disadvantage. He’s probably on his way to a gas station getting some Budweisers right now to practice." |
Jedi Duel Lucasfilm owns the trademark on the Star Wars franchise so when an upstate New York brewery started peddling “Empire’s Strike Bock” beer, Disney-owned Lucasfilm fired up the legal engines and is suing the brewery because the second movie in the trilogy is called The Empire Strikes Back, In addition, marketing materials for the beer feature a poster styled after the opening crawl of letters in the Star Wars movies, declaring “May the hops be with you,” Lucasfilm filed a notice of opposition with the US Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month, noting the similarity in the beer’s name and the title of the 1980 film, as well as the fact that the brand sells its own beverages and food in the past featuring the Star Wars theme. Lucasfilm claims the fact that consumers have been exposed to and accustomed to seeing Lucasfilm’s Star Wars film franchise marks in connection with food and beverages, including wine, increases the already existing likelihood of confusion.” In response a manager at the brewery says it’s all a misunderstanding, because the beer is really just “Strikes Bock,” and it happens to made by Empire, so it’s Empire’s “Strike Bock” beer (which definitely puts the flim in flimsy). The official suit reads: “Applicant’s EMPIRE STRIKES BOCK mark is virtually identical in sound, appearance and connotation to Lucasfilm’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK mark, differing by only one letter in the respective last words ‘BOCK’ and ‘BACK’ and the initial word ‘THE.’” Oh no, might Arnold Schwarzenegger be sued next for saying "I'll be right bock!"? The brewery has been making the beer for seven years, so why is this fight just brewing now they ask. It turns out Empire had reportedly filed for a trademark recently, stirring up some serious cosmic space dust in the process. |
| Feature News from beernexus.com |
Edited by Jim Attacap
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| Calories Count Beer, wine and spirits are fuelling the obesity epidemic and should be labelled with the calories they contain, say some public health experts. A large 175ml glass of 13% ABV wine contains 160 calories, and a pint of 4% ABV beer contains 180.But the vast majority of drinkers are unaware of the calorific value of their drinks, says the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). Because of that the European commission his debating whether to mandate nutritional labels, including calories, on all drinks. At the moment beer is exempt because labelling is only required for food. Currently UK drinks companies have agreed to put alcohol units on the labels – but not calories. One unit of alcohol is 56 calories – so weaker drinks are less fattening, although those with mixers containing sugar will be higher in calories. Among adults who drink, nearly 10% of their daily calorific intake comes from alcohol, it is estimated.But the calories are not the only problem. Alcohol cannot be stored in the body but is converted to acetate in the liver and then released into the bloodstream, inhibiting the amount of fat the body burns from food. |
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