Beer

A woman was arrested in Parx Casino earlier this month for smashing a beer bottle over the head of a fellow slots player that blew cigarette smoke in her face, according to police records. Dana Sarne, 30, from Morrisville, asked Paula White to extinguish her cigarette while the two were playing slots on March 4, records say. Sarne said the smoke was irritating her asthma. According to the records, the two were playing in the casino's smoking section. White refused to put out the cigarette, records say, then blew smoke in Sarne's face.

A lawsuit charging that Budweiser is being watered down, filed in federal court in Philadelphia last week, seemed to tap into the zeitgeist. Sure, Anheuser-Busch InBev denies the accusation, and it notes that almost half the beers bought in this country are still sold by the maker of the crisp and consistent, if somewhat aqueous, King of Beers. But with Americans increasingly choosing the more distinctive offerings of the nation's myriad microbrewers, the popularity of watery stuff has reached a nadir.

BEER FROM LEBANON? Baloney! Sorry, this Pennsylvania boy couldn't let that pun slip by, even if - as it happens - we're talking about beer made not in central Pennsylvania, but in the Middle East. Still, I say, baloney! Beer from the Muslim world is a non sequitur , as alien as two all-beef patties on a sesame-seed bun would be in the kitchen of my vegan colleague Vance Lehmkuhl. It just ain't gonna happen, right? Not when Islamic militants last year began blowing up liquor stores in southern Lebanon.

Two Montgomery County brothers have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the maker of Budweiser, Michelob, and their many beer cousins has systematically exaggerated how much alcohol is actually in its brews. Thomas and Gerald Greenberg, who say they have been pounding away more than a case of Budweiser a week between the two of them for the last four years, say they have figured out that Bud doesn't have an alcohol content of 5 percent as advertised. Philadelphia lawyer David Senoff filed the suit Monday against Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. in U.S. District Court.

By Mark Tanczos Gov. Corbett's proposal to create a $1 billion "windfall" for state government by making substantial changes in the retail alcoholic beverage industry will likely close 1,200 small family-owned beer distributors. The plan also will raise prices for consumers and result in fewer choices at the multitude of new outlets. Is this what consumers want? Our state's alcohol distribution system is a descendent of the post-Prohibition hopes of separating brewers who manufacture beer from retailers who sell it. After 1933, reformers did not want "big business" retailing beer - and today most malt and brewed beverages sold for off-premises consumption are made available at locally owned, family-operated beer distributors.

ON SATURDAY, I'll help judge the War of the Worts, the annual home-brew competition at Keystone Homebrew up in Montgomeryville. How many beers are we talking about? I asked Jason Harris, the shop's owner and contest organizer. "Between 880 and 890," he replied. Anyone have a spare bladder? I never cease to be amazed at the popularity of homebrewing. Here in Philly, we're fortunate to live within easy reach of 4,000 or more brands - imports, locals, brewpub taps and craft brews from around the world.

JONATHAN JOSEY, the Philadelphia police lieutenant fired for knocking a woman to the ground after last year's Puerto Rican Day parade, and the woman, Aida Guzman, saw each other again Tuesday. The credibility of both came under fire during Josey's one-day, nonjury trial in a courtroom so packed that some had to stand, including members of his former Highway Patrol unit. After nearly three hours of testimony, Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan said that the "compelling" arguments from both sides would require him to postpone ruling on Josey's fate until Feb. 26. Josey, 41, a decorated 19-year department veteran, fought with his emotions and his voice cracked as he testified about the Sept.

WITH all due respect to Yards Brewing and its delicious, new Chocolate Love Stout , released just in time for Valentine's Day, forget all that lovey-dovey stuff. Sure, your honey might enjoy its soft, dark pour, its rich kiss of chocolate and its seductively smooth buzz. But we're hard-nosed beer drinkers, and for us, Feb. 14 means one thing only: the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. Real beer drinkers should raise their glasses today to the seven men who were machine-gunned to death in a Chicago warehouse 84 years ago Thursday.

Even former Philadelphia Police Lt. Jonathan Josey called the video "disturbing. " The video of him swinging at and decking a woman at a Fairhill street party after last year's Puerto Rican Day parade was enough to end his decorated 19-year police career and get him charged with simple assault. But after a three-hour nonjury trial Tuesday, in which Josey testified that he accidentally hit Aida Guzman while trying to knock a beer bottle from her hand, a troubled-looking Municipal Court Judge Patrick F. Dugan seemed uncertain.

It's no barroom brawl, but the City of Philadelphia v. D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. has the makings of an interesting tussle. What's not in dispute is that the city has filed a lawsuit in Common Pleas Court seeking to collect $6.63 million in taxes, interest, and penalties against the Yuengling brewery for not paying the Business Income and Receipts Tax. What's also not in dispute is that the brewery itself is in Pottsville, more than 90...