The World's Strongest Beer

Thanks to a war among European brewing companies, it's never been easier to catch a healthy beer buzz. Or get yourself totally sloshed. In November, BrewDog, a three-year-old Scottish microbrewery, released a new brand, dubbed Tactical Nuclear Penguin. The beer set a new record by weighing in at a scary 32% alcohol by volume (ABV), more than six times the strength of familiar domestic brands like Budweiser. The brewery was able to attain the high alcohol content by freezing the beer at a local ice cream factory, at temperatures as low as -6°C (21°F), for 21 days. Alcohol freezes at lower temperatures than water, and removing water from the solution increased the alcohol concentration.

Jim Watt, one of BrewDog's co-founders, says that some 400 bottles of Tactical Nuclear Penguin are in the process of being shipped to a few stores in California and New York City, including a Whole Foods location; about half of the consumers buying beer from the BrewDog website are from the U.S. Watt's eyes are clearly fixed on the American market. "We're keen to push the envelope," he says, "and challenge people's perceptions of how beer can be enjoyed."

A warning label on the Tactical Nuclear Penguin bottle does state, "This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. It is exactly the same manner you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost."

Some alcohol-watchdog groups aren't laughing. The chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Jack Law, has blasted BrewDog's high-alcohol products as "irresponsible," especially at a time when Scotland is experiencing "severe alcohol-related problems." In December, BrewDog received a slap on the wrist from a British alcohol regulatory body, the Portman Group, which ordered that retailers pull the company's 18.2% Tokyo beer brand off shelves because of its marketing tactics. A note on the Tokyo label says, "It is all about moderation. Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time, have excess. This beer is for those times."

The drinking games continued in February when a German brewer, Schorschbrau, released a 40% ABV beer called Schorschbock. The BrewDog boys fired back a few weeks later with high-octane concoction Sink the Bismarck!, which checks in at 41%, enough to reclaim the "world's strongest beer" mantle (the name is a not-so-subtle reference to the famous German battleship deployed during World War II).

For now, Sink the Bismarck! is only available for purchase on BrewDog's website, and the 500 or so bottles that BrewDog has produced are already sold out. Watt promises that more are on the way. Because of the painstaking process involved with producing such a strong drink, an 11.2-oz. bottle of Sink the Bismarck! costs some $60, minus shipping. Tactical Nuclear Penguin costs about $53 a bottle, and can also be ordered online.

Even if these brands end up being carried by more bars and retailers, Watt firmly believes that the high prices will prohibit unsophisticated drinkers (read: high school kids at a kegger, or college students on spring break) from just picking up the stuff and chugging it. But you can't deny that if the beer becomes more widely available in stores, or if other brewers mimic BrewDog's strategy, it could become hazardous. Since most drinkers don't check the alcohol level on the label like they would the expiration date on a milk carton, an unsuspecting soul with money to spare could sip a little too much strong stuff.

Cure for Alcoholism

A genome-wide study into the genetic roots of alcohol dependence has identified several areas of DNA that appear to contribute to alcoholism. But the researchers say those genes make relatively modest contributions to overall risk of the disease.

The genome-wide study is one of the first to be published as part of the Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI), a $48 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“We didn’t identify an alcoholism gene, but I believe these findings eventually will help us learn more about the genetic architecture underlying a complex illness like alcoholism,” says principal investigator Laura Jean Bierut, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Bierut heads the national GEI study of addiction, looking both at genetic and environmental factors related to substance use, abuse and dependence. For this project, Bierut’s team focused on only one addictive substance: alcohol.

The investigators looked at DNA from 1,897 alcoholics and 1,937 people who drank but were not alcohol dependent. Those individuals were part of the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment (SAGE). Analyzing the SAGE data yielded 15 areas of DNA called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that appeared linked to alcoholism.

But when the researchers went back and looked at DNA from almost 4,000 people in two other datasets, Bierut’s team could not identify any statistically significant association between the SNPs found in the SAGE study and risk for alcohol dependence.

“Admittedly, we had a rather conservative statistical model, and some of these DNA regions may have a modest influence on alcohol dependence,” Bierut says. “But none of the top 15 genetic influences from the SAGE study were replicated in the data from other studies. The fact that the findings didn’t replicate between the datasets doesn’t mean that these DNA regions are not involved. We may just have only one small piece of the story.”

In addition to the genome-wide scans, the researchers also looked at a particular gene that has proven to be significant in other genetic studies of alcoholism.

That genetic target is GABRA2, a gene involved in regulating nervous system activity. This study shows GABRA2 is statistically relevant in both the SAGE study and in the other large samples, but again, its contribution to alcoholism appears to be rather small.

“We found that the GABA receptor gene did have an effect,” Bierut says. “But although its influence is among the strongest we’ve identified, the effect still is very modest.”

She says, however, that many psychiatric illnesses involve multiple genes that have modest effects. These findings suggest that alcoholism works the same way.

Bierut and the other investigators have shared the data from their studies on Genotype and Phenotype (dbGaP). The Web site (http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gap) is sponsored by NIH.

Don't Call Us - We'll Call You

It's a sunny day in LA. The temperature is just right and the air is fresh and clean. I make it to the production studio ahead of schedule and drive around longing for a parking space which is hard to find. I see people hiking to the studio and prepare to take the same journey. We are all on a quest; to become contestants on a game show.

Tentatively titled "How to Spot a BSer" the show is one of Mark Burnett's newest creations. If you do not know Mark Burnett he is the creator of "Survivor", "Apprentice", "5th Grader" and a show in the works with Sarah Palin. I think of him as the "Spielberg" of reality TV.

I get to the gate and they buzz me in after I say the secret word. I find the person who seems to be in charge and she gives me a packet containing the eligibility requirements (must be 18, U.S. resident, not connected with Mark or anyone else he knows), a 6 page document which asks questions about my lifestyle (what would I do with $250,000), motivation (why do I want to be on "their" show) and prison record (what did I do, how long did I serve, warrants outstanding, etc.), and a release form.

Sitting in the courtyard of Mark Burnett Productions no one is talking to anyone, except their cell phone. In fact, most of us bring reading material to occupy the time until we are called. My number is 140. I am told that they are at 128 and are about one hour behind.

I see people of all colors, ages and backgrounds and guess that I must be the oldest person in the courtyard. I open my Red Bull, quench my thirst and begin to read.

After 75 minutes, my number is called with 4 other people. We are marshaled into a small room and lined up like you see in the jail scene. We are individually photographed with our number by a person who appears to be an expert on using a digital camera.
The casting director walks in, introduces himself, tells us that they are running late and they we need to hurry. He sets up the video camera and asks us our name, age, where we live, and why we want to be on the show.

When it gets to my turn, I calmly say, "Jeffrey Taylor, 59, Scottsdale, AZ, recovering alcoholic, met thousands of alcoholics and addicts over the years and I think I'm pretty good at spotting a BSer."

The casting people smile. The others in the room nod with approval. The casting director asks me "What do you do for a living?" I tell him that I am an author, entrepreneur and trade penny stocks. His assistant takes some notes as he goes onto the next potential candidate, a single mom with two kids. All in all I spoke for, maybe, 2 minutes.

I listen intently to the others in the room. Many of them are single parents or out of work actors who need the money. When asked why they want to be on the show they each tell of their talent to spot BSers.

Even after this experience, I cannot tell you anything about the show, if it will ever get made or whether I will be asked to be on the show.

To get an answer I called my son-in-law, Chris Hazel, who is an experienced casting director. He sees thousands of people like me trying to get on TV. We decide to have a quick dinner at their North Hollywood home before they head out to Hawaii the next day.

Over dinner with my oldest daughter (Jordana, the photographer), youngest daughter (Moira, the makeup artist), and James (high net worth concierge services), Chris tells me that a lot of shows are pitched to the networks and that many never get made.

Over dinner, I smile as I watch my children prepare a gourmet dinner for the group, play with their new dog (a bloodhound from the pound) and look for the cats which are hiding under the couch. I think about their lives in their 20s and where I was at their age. There is no comparison. They seem so much smarter, wiser, more intelligent and better prepared to deal with whatever is thrown at them. I am very proud of their accomplishments.

All of a sudden I realized that getting on a game show is like buying penny stocks. Some make it, some don't. And, you can never tell in advance which ones are the winners.

So, if you want to get on a game show, you probably need to live in LA, NY or Las Vegas, where the shows are produced, or be rich enough to fly in when the opportunity rears its ugly head. And, you need to pitch your talent over and over again, because you never know when your stars will align with the casting director and his executive producers.

For me, I will head back to Scottsdale, trade penny stocks, go out to dinner with my wife Toby and see Michael Buble. Oh, and pray that I make it one more week to my seventh sober anniversary. Life is good, regardless of whether you will see me on reality TV or not.