2 Very Quick, Very late hits

I know I'm late in posting on both of these things, but I figure better late than never and maybe just maybe some of this may be news to you.
- First news from the Houston Press regarding a new Rice University Biology Study. Rice Biologists are working on a BioBeer to create a "A brew which has modified yeast that creates resveratrol – the cancer-preventing ingredient in red wine that has also been linked to lowering risks of heart disease in lab animals."

- Secondly its Battle Beer time!!! On a recent episode of Food Networks Iron Chef the secret ingredient was Beer. The chef's had 60 minutes to create at least 5 dishes using the secret ingredient. I think its awesome that Beer and food is getting this main stream, however there were good things and very bad things about this episode. First the good: One of the judges was the great Garret Oliver. There was a really nice beer selection: Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout, Bire De Miel (a mead), Ivanhoe IPA, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, and last but not least Shiner Hefeweizen. Lastly the food made from the beer ranged a pretty broad gamut from traditional Brats, to more complex deserts and cakes. The bad of course was the knowledge of beer by the hosts and the other two judges. Kevin Brauch who has hosted booze related shows in the past said that the Shiner was brewed in Austin! Also the host Alton Brown seemed to know nothing about beer. In other shows he seems extremely well researched and while that may be production and an artifact of the show, why not show the same respect towards Beer that they have shown towards other ingredients? Lastly the other judges seemed to distain the taste of beer, and not really understanding nor appreciating its complex flavors. Having said all that, even with the negatives it was extremely nice to see a show like this focusing on beer and food.