You love the blog, so subscribe to the Beervana Podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud today!

Friday, December 07, 2007

Good News!

Two items:

1. Heater Allen Pouring Tuesday

From Rick Allen, via email:
After hearing a number of favorable comments about the place, I visited the Green Dragon last week and came away impressed. Not only was the food excellent, but the beer line-up is probably the most interesting in Portland . If this wasn’t enough, it turns out that Jim Parker, the owner and noted beer fanatic, is an old family friend on the Heater side of the equation.

So next Tuesday, December 11th, we will be introducing our beer to Portland at the Green Dragon! Beginning at 7:00pm, we will be pouring the Pale Lager, Coastal Common, and Dunkel. Please stop by!

Green Dragon
928 SE 9th
Portland, Oregon
2. Xanthohumol

You know that beer is good for you. But did you know that an agent in hops is a powerful antioxidant that helps ward off cancer?

German researchers are working on a new beer brew that appears to fight cancer. The secret a compound found in hops -- xanthohumol.

"Xanthohumol has been shown to be a very active substance against cancer," said beer researcher Markus Herrmann, PhD....

Xanthohumol shuts down enzymes called cytochromes P-4; they can activate the cancer process. It also helps the body detoxify carcinogens, stopping tumor growth at an early stage.

Preliminary studies at Oregon State University show that xanthohumol can kill breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancers....

But just drinking more beer won't do the trick. It would take 60 regular beers to equal the amount of xanthohumol researchers are able to brew in this one beer. That's why scientists are now working on ways to give all beers higher levels of Xanthohumol, and even find ways to add it to other foods, like chocolate.

And remember, just like chocolate -- the darker the beer, the better it is for you.

And there are potentially more beer benefits. Other compounds found in hops are potent phytoestrogens. Scientists say these compounds could ultimately help prevent post-menopausal hot flashes and osteoporosis.

(Hat tip to Patrick.) Now, about the argument for that beer tax, again...

3 comments:

  1. From a friend, via email, on the health benefits of beer: "That's good news. I myself had an extensive cancer prevention treatment last night. Got out of the clinic around midnight."

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm confused by this article -- it states that "the darker the beer, the better for you," yet the color of beer has nothing to do with hop content, which is what the article is about.

    ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. No, it doesn't make any sense at all. I happen to like stout, so I included it. Likely a function of the clueless reporter, not the science.

    ReplyDelete