National drugstore chain Walgreens has gotten into the beer business. Starting in December, the Illinois-based retailer began offering a house brand called Big Flats 1901, noted for its affordability: 50 cents a can, or $2.99 for a six pack.

The beer industry is notable for creating useless contraptions for the dispensing and distribution of beer, so it’s nice to see something that actually looks useful. The Bottoms Up Beer Dispenser fills beer cups through the bottom of the cup, you know, like magic would.

Early Celtic rulers of a community in what’s now southwestern Germany liked to get their drink on with beer according to an article in Science News. Let’s party like it’s 500 B.C.!

It’s been a Polish national drink for centuries, but for years Żubrówka has been banned in the United States. Now, after decades of work on two continents to formulate and brand a legal version of the alcohol, its producers are taking a shot at the American market.

Scientists have confirmed what many people have suspected for years… if you need hangover relief, simply take some caffeine and a painkiller.

The Brewers Association has voted to change their designation of “small” in its definition of a “craft brewer” and ups the amount of beer that an independent brewery can produce.

Four Loko, my high-alcohol, super-caffeinated, hard-to-get Saturday morning breakfast treat is being recycled into ethanol and other products after federal authorities told manufacturers the beverages were dangerous and caused users to become “wide-awake drunk,” according to the AP.

CES officially starts today in Las Vegas. Since gadgets and social networking parties (the old-school, meatspace type) are typically part of the scene, electronics manufacturer Nvidia has brought both together with the “kegputer.”

Do you still walk all the way over to the oven or grill to check the temperature of the meat your cooking? Well, now there’s an App for that. The iGrill is an iPhone-compatible, bluetooth-enabled meat thermometer that let’s you check in on your food from any room in the house.

A computer security company released a browser extension that keeps (online) drunken social disasters at a minimum. Social Media Sobriety Test administers a set of tests to keep you from sharing drunken wall posts, or Tweeting about how great a drink Malibu and Milk is.

A few years back, I was nowhere near my fryer for Thanksgiving and I decided to try brining for the first time. Brining a turkey makes a pretty moist bird… the secret is in the salt.

Not unlike the delicious deep fried turkey, the turducken has swooped in as one of the birds that all the cool kids will be eating this Thanksgiving.

A brewer in Colorado is seeking beer resumes from the nation’s most beer-minded men and women for its 2011 Beerdrinker of the Year contest. The competition seeks and honors America’s most passionate, knowledgeable beer lovers.

Everyone seems to takes their cues on how alcohol affects the mind and body from an eclectic mix of knowledge: personal experience, pop culture, tall tales of long nights, the latest studies to make the news, and second-hand tips. Lifehacker posted a good meta-article culled from a few reliable sources about the science of alcohol and its effect on your brain and body when you drink.

Boston Beer is launching a champagne-like brew later this month to prove that beer can be worthy of a New Year’s toast. The limited run beer, called Infinium, will be sold in 750-ml bottles with foil-covered cork tops, like champagne.