As I sit here, leaves are beginning to fall from the trees… some of them right into my beer mug. Although the crisp days of autumn are not quite upon us yet here in New York, I recognize that the Octoberfest is the perfect beer for today’s climate. This seasonal German style lager is hitting the spot.

Spaten Ur-Oktoberfest is one of the finest amber lagers that you can buy. Taste a bottle and I think you’ll agree.

Looking for something with a nice, malty, nutty flavor but that’s not too strong? Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen might be the brew for you!

You’ve heard the hype about low calorie counts, but how do these new beers taste? What happens when you drastically reduce calories? The Chicago Tribune did what we here at Brian’s Belly wanted to do… assembled a panel of taste testers.

Simon at his Norfolk Single Dad Blog has been entrenched in his “Corned Beef Hash Challenge,” whereby he found a dozen or so corned beef hash recipes on the web and is pitting them up against each other. Our own recipe is hashing it out with the internet’s best creations.

According to the Wall Street Journal (and other sources) dozens of colleges are up in arms over a new Anheuser-Busch marketing campaign that features Bud Light beer cans emblazoned with local schools’ team colors. Stupid promotion, or stupid reaction to the promotion?

National sales of craft beer rose 9 percent in the first half of 2009 despite the economic downturn, the Brewers Association reported recently. Take that, Big Beer!

Anheuser-Busch has begun to roll out SELECT 55, “the lightest beer in the world” in 15 test markets across the country. The “smooth, golden lager” targets active consumers looking for new lower-calorie options, according to the company’s press release.

Back in June, I excitedly told you about Bakon Vodka, billed as “the only vodka you’ll ever want to use to make a Bloody Mary, a great Bar-B-Q companion and the essence of a delicious crisp slice of peppered-bacon.” Here is our review.

The Wall Street Journal blog has a post about the recession and how it is affecting beer sales and drinking habits. Have you changed your drinking habits?

Box of beer anyone? MillerCoors has begun testing the sale of $20 draft-beer systems for your fridge. MillerCoors, which is the U.S. distribution system for SAB Miller and MolsonCoors (confused? I think they want it that way) has begun testing the 1.5-gallon “Home Draft.”

Stephen Colbert chimes in on the “Beer Summit” where Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and James Crowley insist on three different brands of foreign beer for their White House meeting.

If a mosquito bites me after I’ve had a beer, can it get drunk? An interesting question that PopSci.com has tackled, since no major alcohol-related insect studies have been conducted on this topic.

Sometimes I hate to blog about things that everyone else is talking about. But we cover beer news, and you may have heard some mention about the so-called “beer summit” that President Obama will be arranging. Our take? Too bad they’ll be drinking foreign beer.

What started as a college drinking game is expanding beyond the frat house. Beer Pong leagues are popping up around the country–and there’s actually some substantial money in the game for expert players.