Beer Kills Two in Hillbrow
Two men at a Johannesburg, South Africa pub collapsed and died while drinking beer. Now, at first I would have commented that they died happy, but considering they were frothing at the mouth, that’s probably not the case. No word on if they were drinking Heineken.

Crash not all beer and skittles
Two trucks–sorry, lorries–collided near Adelaide, Australia, spilling 30 tonnes of beer and snack food all over the road. What a waste. It also took 12 hours to clean up the mess. (Sure it did. “‘Ey, Bruce! Close that traffic lane, wouldja? I think I see another one o’ them lagers, over here!”)

IBM Trials “Beer Living Lab”
Unfortunately, it’s not Biosphere 2 meets the Kegger. Instead, IBM is partnering with Heineken, international shipping company, Safmarine, and the University of Amsterdam in conjunction with Dutch Customs, UK Customs and US Customs and Border Protection. The idea is to track shipments of Heineken with satellite and cellular technology, getting around the mountains of paperwork generally needed for international shipments. Personally, I’d prefer it stay over there.

Best Beer Dispenser Ever
Spotted in Narita Airport in Japan, this automatic beer dispenser pours a glass of beer and tops it off with an inch worth of head. The gadget geek in me thinks this is great, but the beer geek in me feels that bartending is a noble profession and a good bartender should be treasured, not replaced by technology.

The beer garden
A 54-year-old Hartlepool, England man has built a garden wall, fish pond, and caravan stand out of beer bottles and cans. Thousands of bored college students give up in disgust.

Germans develop a taste for flavored beer
Say it ain’t so! This is the home of the Rheinheitsgebot, the beer purity law of 1516. Beer flavored with cola, fruit juices, and other additives accounted for 4.2% of all the total beer sold in Germany in the third quarter of 2006, but it’s growing at a rate of 30% per year.