Just as an FYI, watched an interesting documentary: How Beer Saved the World. here is a intro: How Beer Saved the World Did you know that beer was critical to the birth of civilization? Or that it played a crucial role in the building of the pyramids, the founding of America, the Industrial Revolution and advancements in medicine? That�s right � beer. Scientists and historians line up to tell the amazing, untold story that puts beer at the centre of the human civilization. Until almost modern times, it wasn�t just a drink�beer was vital to life. Where water contained deadly bacteria, beer was safe, as the fermentation killed the germs. It was drunk by men, women and children for a large period of time, and inspired great moments in human history. Beer was vital to the birth of America from the moment the Mayflower stopped in Plymouth � find out why! So..... I reccomend learning about the history of Beer before anyone goes about criticizing something they know little about. Also this thread was hilarious.

Did you ever check on this? I'm curious, because I have been getting a by-product from another food product and love it. I get "mint waste" for free from a local grower. When the mint is harvested it is chopped into speically designed wagons, that are then filled with steam which extracts the mint juice (very concentrated!). The remaining chopped plant material is dumped out to cool, and eventually spread back on the fields. I get a load of it every spring and it is black and chopped very fine, so it's easy to handle. No need to worry about the mint growing again--it is cooked at 600 degrees! It has only a slightly minty aroma if I get it right after harvest; otherwise it just smells like hay. But the best part--it is free.

Useful story ... and a good one, too. As for the beer ... I'll take milk ... or coffee, if you don't mind: I think that someone should pay me to drink beer. They just brought six very large vats, built somewhere abroad, from Hamilton Harbour, at the west end of Lake Ontario, to a brewery near Toronto airport, arriving this morning about 4 a.m. They had to move about 150 light standards (I think - they referred to "traffic lights", but I think that they really meant the ones for illumination) ... and something like 1,500 wires had to be dealt with. ole joyful

Since you're not a beer lover yourself I think it would be a mistake to buy a microbrew or other obscure beer for this. I'd offer a nice, safe variety such as: Sam Adams Octoberfest - Seasonal, a bit darker. Stella - A popular/trendy/drinkable "regular" beer. Heineken Light - Personally I'd prefer Miller Lite, but I'd buy Heineken for appearance's sake.