Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Munich Oktoberfest's bland lagers

Greg Kitsock in the Washington Post complains that the beers at Munich Oktoberfest (from just six breweries) are bland lagers.  There is more variety at an American beer festival (and American craft brewers look to Belgium and not to Germany for ideas). Kitsock does complain the joint effort of Jim Koch (Boston Beer) and the German firm of Weihenstephen for creating a new beer called Infinium within the Reinheitsgebot or beer purity law.  For more, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/27/AR2010092706272.html

Brewing, politics and society in early modern Germany (article)

Katija Lindenau, "Brewing, Politics and Society in an Early Modern German Town--a Case Study of Görlitz iin Upper Lusatia," Brewery History 135 (2010): 40-60.

German brewery in early modern period (article)

Masatake Wasa, "The University Brewery of Frankfurt an der Oder in the Early Modern Period," Brewery History 135 (2010): 61-87.

Drug Use and Addiction in War

Tom Langdale wrote this short article, dated July 9, 2009, for High 5 Men's Magazine.

As German beer sales decline, cheap brews displace craft beers

Beer sales are sharply down in Germany.  It's the quality craft beers that have taken the hit.  In contrast, mediocre beer sold at supermarkets at low prices without advertising is flourishing.  For more, see here.

Kölsch sits astride two brewing traditions

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Charles Forelle reports on his visit to Cologne to sample a distinctive kind of beer.  "Kölsch sits astride the stylistic division between ales (rich brews made with yeast, like a Belgian blond) and lagers (crisp beers made at colder temperatures for a cleaner taste, like a pilsner). It's brewed with ale yeast but matured cold like a lager. Done right, Kölsch has a hint of the fruitiness and richness of ale but is still clean and refreshing. It is served in small 20-centiliter glasses, and one can drink an awful lot of them."For more, see here.

Drugs and drug-dealers in Nazi-occupied France

Any leads on this topic that I could pass on to a researcher in France?

World economic crisis forces German coffee roaster Tchibo to cut back

Germany's largest coffee roaster Tchibo has reacted to the world economic crisis with retrenchment and a new geographical focus.  It has closed its operations in France and the Netherlands and cut back on them in Britain (where it supplies supermarkets).  Instead it will focus on Eastern Europe.  In its core German market Tchibo has closed its chain of coffee shops which additionally sold other consumer goods.  For more, see here.

Märzen and Oktoberfest beers from Germany and America

A brief history of Oktoberfest beers, and an evaluation of some Ocktoberfest style beers from Germany and America. For more see, here.

Alcoholism and drunkenness in Russia (book)

Claudia Bliss, Alkoholkonsum und Trunkenheitsdelikte in Russland mit vergleichenden Bezügen zu Deutschland (Hamburg, Germany: Lit, 2006).