Physical Challenge: Strange Brew Drinking Game

So this week's physical challenge is the Strange Brew Drinking Game, and no, we're not telling you to get plastered and listen to Eric Clapton noodle on the guitar. The point of the game is to get your hands on a copy of Strange Brew, the 1983 movie featuring Bob and Doug McKenzie. The rules are simple - gather up a bunch of beer (preferably Canadian) and watch the movie.

All you have to do is drink every time someone says "eh" or "hoser."

Play your cards right and you're going to be on beer eight before you're halfway through the flick. Read on for other ideas to spice up the game, including alternate rules.

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The Ultimate Beer Bottle Opener

Our younger readers might not remember Thunder Bay beer...in fact, we don't remember much about it ourselves except we think it was Canadian and it had the best bottle design known to man. The bottle caps were twist-offs, and each bottle had an indentation in its bottom specifically designed to insert another beer and twist off the cap without having to use your hands. Genius.

We've found a great YouTube video of someone with a similar idea of using another bottle to open their beer, but without any gimmicks. It's pretty simple (hint: it's similar to the lighter trick), and once you watch you'll be wondering why you didn't think of doing it yourself. Our only question is how you open that last remaining beer...

Open A Beer Bottle With Another Bottle
Impossible you say? Nay, my friends, it’s quite possible. Watch the video, learn, and impress your boss at the 4th of July party. He may either give you a promotion, or think you’re a boozer.

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Video: Does Chaser Hangover Prevention Really Work?

In the past few months, we've heard a lot about anti-hangover pills like Chaser and RU-21, which promise to let you drink what you want without feeling the effects in the morning. As intriguing as the premise is, we've resisted the urge to cover them. Why, you ask? Because hangovers are part of the circle of life, and nursing yourself back to health is as much a part of the ritual of drinking as monopolizing the jukebox at the bar or vomiting into a girlfriend's purse.

This weekend, however, we found a video of a very scientific experiment where a young man tries to test the validity of Chaser's claims using only wit, spunk and 15 Miller Lites, as well as some post-experiment margaritas. And all of this on a Tuesday! So how does our intrepid explorer fare against the dreaded hangover? Click on the image in this story or right here to watch the video. And don't you worry...we ran right out and bought a box of Chaser so we can conduct some experiments of our own.

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Drinking Coffee vs Getting Cirrhosis

Our hippie friends keep telling us we should drink green tea instead of coffee, because it has antioxidants in it. We don't drink tea. We drink coffee. A lot of it. In fact, we like our coffee like we like our women - hot, bitter and full of bourbon.

Tea is supposed to be good for you because it fights free radicals. We just found out that coffee is good for you because it fights cirrhosis of the liver. Advantage: Coffee. Considering our lifestyle, we're considering starting mainline coffee injections instead of just drinking it.

Researchers reported on Monday that drinking coffee cuts the risk of cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol -- by 22 percent per cup each day -- but they stopped short of saying doctors should prescribe coffee for that reason.

Perhaps that's why our liver is in a perfect state of wine/coffee consumption. The report from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, California, was based on a look at data from 125,580 people.

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Physical Challenge: Opposite Day

A few weeks ago, we issued a physical challenge to our readers, to get Girl Drink Drunk. We certainly did, and we had a great time drinking flirtinis with those Hell's Angels we met. We also got some reader suggestions about other ways to punish yourself whilst imbibing. Our favorite is Opposite Day, which you may think involves imbibing drinks you might not otherwise consume. You'd be wrong - we've already covered that.

Opposite Day involves reversing the proportions in the drinks you DO consume. You usually drink gin and tonics? Tonight, you drink tonic and gin - a shot of tonic, fill the glass the rest of the way with gin, add a lime. Thinking about Jager Bombs? Today, you're dropping shot glasses of Red Bull into pints of Jager. You usually drink beer? Well - you're not really playing then, are you? Make yourself a screwdriver - easy on the OJ.

Now, we know what some of you are saying...this sounds irresponsible. You're damned right. Of course, we're all grownups, so there's no way we're going to take the heat for your stupidity. Thanks for the idea, Chad - anyone else have good Opposite Day recipes?

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The Best 50 Places to Have a Beer

If you ask us, there's no bad place to have a beer. The very act of drinking beer makes your location, whether it's at a sporting event, in a coal mine, or your in-laws' living room, a treat. OK, maybe that last one's a stretch, but you know where we're going. In an effort to combine the nectar that is beer with actually desirable locations, Beer Advocate has come up with a list of the Top 50 places to fill your mustache with suds.

We've included the Top 10 here; for the other 40 and further info on all the watering holes, click on through to the Beer Advocate site.

There's nothing better than sitting in your favorite watering hole while enjoying a fresh pint of craft beer in the company of friends. And even more so when the place is known for its beer, service and atmosphere - be it a brewpub or beer bar.

Here are the top ranked Places to Have a Pint in America based on BeerFly reviews by site users. The list includes both brewpubs and beer bars. Click on any of the names to read the reviews or post your own.

# 1 = The Moan and Dove (Amherst, MA)

# 2 = The Publick House (Brookline, MA)

# 3 = Spuyten Duyvil (Brooklyn, NY)

# 4 = Toronado (San Francisco, CA)

# 5 = The Map Room (Chicago, IL)

# 6 = Cock & Bull Pub (Sarasota, FL)

# 7 = Papago Brewing (Scottsdale, AZ)

# 8 = O'Brien's Pub (San Diego, CA)

# 9 = Stuffed Sandwich (San Gabriel, CA)

# 10 = Capital Ale House (Richmond, VA)

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Dr. Koop Says Drink Diet Mixers

That's right, Dr. Koop (as in C. Everett) has announced a study revealing that diet drink mixers and low carb alternatives might help you get drunk faster. Something about the burning of carbs or something, and now that we think of it, he might not have actually been saying that was a good thing.

We didn't end up reading the whole article because we were too busy mixing a fifth of vodka with Crystal Light, so if you want the full scoop you'll have to read on yourself at Koop's Korner:

In the study, Rayner and his colleagues tracked the blood-alcohol levels of eight men. On two different days, the men drank either an orange-flavored vodka beverage made with a regular mixer (478 calories) or a diet mixer (225 calories). In each case, the vodka included 30 grams of ethanol [alcohol] in a 600 milliliter serving.

Sugar content is important to how quickly alcohol enters the system, Rayner explained.

"Caloric load influences how quickly the stomach is emptied," he said, with lower-calorie beverages emptying more quickly than regular mixers. He theorized that drinks made with diet mixers would make it into the digestive system more rapidly.

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Physical Challenge - Girl Drink Drunk

We were watching TVLand the other day and stumbled across a rerun of Double Dare. Remember that show? When we got to the physical challenge segment, we started reminiscing about the physical challenges we used to perpetrate on each other when we were in college. Some examples, you ask? There were quite a few, most of which involved climbing up on a roof somewhere.

A particular favorite was to wait for the hottest day of the summer, go for a drive, turn on the heat and roll up all the windows. Then somebody starts smoking a cigarette, and whoever rolls down a window first loses. We never said the physical challenges were actually fun.

Anyway, we started thinking about physical challenges we could inflict on our readers, and the first thing we thought of? Getting Girl Drink Drunk. Of course, when we say "girl drink," we're not being sexist. We're just talking about those goopy, oft-pink-colored drinks with a high sugar content, usually served with a tiny umbrella to ladies and . Not our typical straight Whiskey and Beer fare. So what's the challenge?

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The Complete Book of Spirits

We know this might come as a surprise, but we spend a lot of time in liquor stores. Sometimes we'll spend hours in the aisles of our local hooch vendor, lovingly caressing the bottles and even dusting them if they're looking like they need some care.

If you'd rather spend less time at the liquor store (for some reason), we've found a great book - The Complete Book of Spirits. Living up to its name, this book offers a ton of information on everything from Brandy to Vodka. The book offers comprehensive historical backgrounds and general pricing information on all kinds of booze, which makes it an indispensable reference when you're trying to decide what to buy. But the real value of the book is in the tasting notes, which give you a two-to-three sentence description of the quality and taste of hundreds of liquors, both common and rare.

Check out the Amazon book description:

An indispensable follow-up to his classic Complete Book of Mixed Drinks, Anthony Dias Blue presents The Complete Book of Spirits, a comprehensive collection of history, lore, and tasting tips, along with recipes for select cocktails. Here, in one concise and easy-to-use volume, is all the information a consumer needs to shop, mix, and sip like a spirits expert.

From bathtub gin to mojito madness, Blue brings the dynamic history of the spirits industry alive, demonstrating that spirit making is not only one of mankind's oldest pursuits but also perhaps its most colorful. In ten captivating chapters, readers are treated to everything they ever wanted to know about their favorite liquors, including vodka, aquavit, tequila, and whiskey. Blue also provides step-by-step instructions on how to host spirit tastings to educate your palate and to help you and your friends discover your favorite brands and blends. For every chapter and every spirit, there is also a handy tasting-notes section, with Blue's expert comments and his favorites, along with price points.

If you've ever wondered about the difference between potato and wheat vodkas, or between mescal and tequila or American and Irish whiskeys, or what makes single malt Scotch so desirable, look no further. With Anthony Dias Blue, America's leading wine and spirits expert, and The Complete Book of Spirits as your guides, you will take your enjoyment to a new level.

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The Art of Drinking Shots

There's nothing that says Friday like "Let's do shots," but the slightest misstep in the ancient ritual could turn you from bar room hero to loveable loser in two seconds flat. Who gets to make the toast? When do you drink? Should you clink your glasses? It can all be overwhelming, but luckily Modern Drunkard Magazine has put together a step-by-step guide to keep you from falling flat on your face the next time you buy (or participate in) a round.

“ Let’s do a shot. ”

Are there four words in the drunkard’s vocabulary more heartening than those? Four simple words, yet so packed with drama and purpose. It can be an invitation to bond with friends and strangers alike. An instant shared experience. A way of marking an occasion, of saying hello, good luck, congratulations, better luck next time, and so long. An opportunity to become blood brothers, if only as long as the same booze courses through your veins. If sharing a beer with a friend can be called the equivalent of a friendly walk in the park, then doing a shot is akin to storming a fortified bunker together-—it’s more dangerous, yes, but also more exciting.

Too often, however, this venerable ritual is executed as a mechanical event, like the lighting of a cigarette, or worse, as a bit of unpleasantness one must occasionally suffer when amongst friends. Others think it requires a special occasion, and those are the same people who only call their mothers on Mother’s Day.

The fact of the matter is, doing a shot requires no occasion at all, because, properly executed, it is an occasion.

Read on to learn the five steps of a successfully executed shooter. Plus, check out their list of shot faux-pas, including the Bungee Dump, the Chicken Shot, and Premature Imbibation - avoid them like the plague to make sure no one's laughing at you on the other side of their glass.

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