Alcoholic Beverages

Bored by your bar? As we head into the heart of the holidays, it may be time to take a hard look at what you're serving to guests in the way of drinks. If you're in a rut, spirits-wise, now is the occasion to give your bar a holiday makeover.

MillerCoors has said goodbye to Zima. The joint venture between SABMiller's U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co. told distributors in a letter that production of the malt liquor beverage was discontinued Oct. 10. Chief Marketing Officer Andy England attributed the decision to weakness in the "malternative" segment and declining consumer interest. He said Zima inventories would probably last through December.

IT'S ONE of the many home brew competitions that take place around the country each year. There's the panel of certified judges, the international entrants in 28 categories of beer and mead -- and there's the hops-filled afternoon of sipping and scribbling until a winner is crowned. But photos on the website for the Queen of Beer's Women's Homebrew competition -- this year's judging takes place Oct.

The LEGENDARY green beverage known as absinthe was once forbidden fruit in the U.S., enjoyed only by those swigging from a smuggled bottle. Now that absinthe has been legal here for nearly a year and a half, it has lost its outlaw luster but gained a new following. As a result, a slew of bars and clubs in Southern California are serving up the "green fairy," using the same intricate rituals and delicate glasses and spoons once used to purvey the liquor to bohemian vanguards -- Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, Vincent Van Gogh, among them -- who elevated its consumption to an art form.

The guys from Sigma Nu were one pitcher of beer into a game of "baseball" when I took a seat at their table in USC's on-campus bar and asked for an interview. I wanted to know how they felt about the suggestion by a group of college presidents that the legal drinking age be lowered to 18. They wanted to finish their drinking game. It involved flipping quarters into cups of beer representing base hits and downing the drink the coin landed in. So we talked while they drank.

The makers call it a "party in a pouch." Critics say it's more like an alcoholic candy bar. ShotPak is a line of alcoholic beverages that come in shot-sized, laminated-foil plastic pouches that are reminiscent of the drinks children pack in school lunches. Purple Hooter is one of the drinks, which sell for 99 cents to $1.50 in liquor stores and for more in some nightclubs.

Artist Jeff Foye savors the bitter flavor and floral aromas that emanate from a well-crafted beer. Lately, the San Pedro resident has experienced an unexpected sensation when he reaches for a brew -- the unpleasant taste of rising prices. A worldwide shortage of hops -- a key ingredient for the pale ales Foye likes so much -- and rising prices for malted barley have pushed up the cost of imbibing a tall cold one. These days, he's paying $9.

GIN cocktails are having a moment. Now that gin, no longer shouldered aside by vodka, has reclaimed its rightful place in classic cocktails -- not just in the martini but in the Greyhound, the Bronx, even (according to some) the Red Snapper, a.k.a. the Bloody Mary -- L.A.'s latest bartenders are stepping up with their own imaginative gin creations.

Walk down the aisle of any Beverages & More store and you'll be confronted by boxes and bottles of wine -- and a bevy of wine scores. There are 89 points for the Sterling Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and 90 points for a Beaulieu Vineyards Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine merchants across California display various wine ratings to inform customers and promote their wines. There are ratings from Wine Spectator, from Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate and others.