This week, Anheuser-Busch is launching Select 55, a new 55-calorie beer and “the world’s lightest beer.”

Two ad agencies are testing the limits of brand loyalty by trying to crowdsource $300 million in funds to buy Pabst Brewing Co.

If there is one place that doesn’t like meddling, it’s the local pub, and in Great Britain the growing number of glass related pub injuries has led the government to investigate changing the beloved pint glass into a controversial plastic pint.  According to recent statistics, over 5,000 pub-goers a year get glass related injuries from bar altercations, a figure that government officials believe can be lowered with a newly designed pint glass or simply changing the material.  Design Bridge, the firm working on a plastic alternative, must tread carefully over this touchy subject due to the sense of tradition that [...]

The Table Tender is a beer dispensing system that’s built into a table which allows bar patrons to serve themselves without worrying about lines or even leaving their seats.  Similar to Minibar, a nightclub in Amsterdam that allows you to serve yourself, the Table Tender allows patrons to avoid the hassle of waiting for the attention of the bartender.
The system, which requires custom installation from Table Tap, can be designed to the specifications of each bar or restaurant and can dispense any number of beverages, though beer seems the obvious choice.  The Table Tender keeps track of how much beer [...]

Short of integrating a breathalyzer into the body of the iPhone, Dutch brewing company Grolsch might have figured out the next best thing with their new “Walk the Line” app. Utilizing the iPhone’s motion-sensing accelerometer, the application tracks a user’s ability (or lack thereof) to refrain from weaving when attempting to walk a straight line.

PSFK recently wrote about the crowd-sourced-design of Australian beer ‘Nelson’.  The Melbourne-based micro brewery has recently teamed up with local Indie band The Temper Trap to design a limited-edition label for the brew.  The now London-based band collaborated alongside graphic artist Reece Hobbins to visually represent their unique sound.
Mess and Noise explains:
a white silhouetted human profile, which symbolises the mind as the “hub of emotion” and the human “condition” (a reference to their debut album Conditions, out tomorrow). The maze leading up the neck represents the obscurity of the Nelson beer project, as well as a sense of “confusion that [...]

Australasian alcohol company Lion Nathan recently launched their 6 Beers of Separation campaign for their beer, Tooheys Extra Dry.  The competition offered young people a chance to meet the person they found most inspiring, attempting to demonstrate the concept of ‘6 degrees of separation’.  Entrants were asked to submit a video entry to be considered, and now with four Australian finalists chosen, the microsite is streaming their progress.  With eighteen days and $12,000 at their disposal, the finalists must meet with five people, each person intended to move them one step closer to the person they aimed to meet.
Toohey’s Extra [...]

Sierra Nevada Brewing has added to their arsenal of sustainable initiatives with their recent purchase of an EFuel 100 MicroFueler. The device produces ethanol from water, sugar and yeast – the later being something Sierra Nevada has in abundant supply. Around 1.6 million gallons of yeast are produced yearly as a byproduct of the beer brewing process. They plan on using the fuel for their company vehicles, and possibly for employee’s cars in the future. This is the latest in a long line of eco-friendly practicesused by Sierra including: solar, fuel cells, heat recovery, energy efficiency, water conservation and home [...]