Tom,
>
>There was a report on cancer causing agents in beers published in 1973 – I have not since seen an update – perhaps the industry will not allow it to be known.
>
There was a case here years (40?) ago that became famous - a number of men from a specific rural area suddenly and mysteriously dropped dead within a short time of each other. No cause was established, but one of the links between them was that they all got together on a regular basis to drink copious amounts of a local beer named Dow. What made this famous was that the brewers of Dow made a marketing mistake that is taught (as something not to do) in business schools here today - they made the symbolic gesture of dumping a warehouse worth of Dow. The brand went from being one of the big sellers of the day to virtually disappearing off the shelves, even though nothing had been remotely proved against it! Curiously, the beer survived and could still could be obtained up to 10 years ago; I used to buy one now and then to show off in front of my friends (sort of the same daring as eating puffer-fish sushi, I guess the idea was).

>Sometimes it is nice to know what you are drinking. German Bier such as Spaten, from Munich, was established in something like 1300. Guinness Extra Stout, from Ireland, is made today as it was first made over 150 years ago, when the Guinness family hired a German Brew Master to formulate the brew.
>

There are some wonderful books on the subject. A well known expert is a fellow from England named Michael Jackson (no, not that one). He did a series called the Beer Hunter some years back that aired on PBS, and he has a number of books, including the excellent Beer Companion. What's excellent is that he covers beer from all parts of the world, but also, like some good wine books, covers some of the local lore, history, and customs of the regions, all supplemented with lovely photographs. So it becomes part travelogue as well, adding a rich context to the subject.

>The nice thing about American brew is that we can make it faster than anyone else on earth. However, you cannot pronounce the names of the chemicals used for the process of producing our beer. The water goes in this end of the container and pressure causes it to go out the other end just as fast where the beer truck is waiting.
>

The problems come with the big brewers (here in Canada also, but also in other parts of the world). The German Purity Law you mentioned (the "Reinheitsgebot" of 1516) was passed because brewers were cheating the public - to make beer, you need some amount of malted barley (that has the enzymes to turn starches to sugars that will be fermented by the yeast), but malted barley is a bit more expensive than, say, potatoes, rice, or corn starch, so brewers were cutting their beer with any old kind of cheap starch to cut costs. The Reinheitsgebot stated that beer must be made with nothing other than barley malt, water, hops, and yeast. This continues to please consumers to this day! The big brewers today, however, still use the old cheap methods in their economies of scale, they cut their grists with rice starch and corn starch - they tell you that the resulting light taste is a feature - but you and I know it's a bug!

>My brother has some great rules for beer drinking:
>1. Never drink an American beer that is in a green bottle – Mickey’s Wide Mouth and Rainer Ale (green death) come to mind.

Light breaks down (oxidizes) beer very quickly, and the best protection against it is brown or dark glass. Generally, beer in green or, worse, clear bottles will smell of skunk after as little as a few hours exposure to light. If you buy beer in lighter coloured bottles that are still packaged in a box, though, they should still be in good condition.

>2. Never drink a bottle of beer with a picture of an animal on the label. Moosehead fits this description nicely. We call this Moose Piss Beer - sorry guys - we all have a sense of taste.

Never tried Moosehead, but I've heard the same. I've actually seen an old English recipe for a beer that included adding a chicken to the the beer and letting it sit for awhile. Don't think I'll try that at home...

>3. A picture of a woman on a bottle of beer indicates it is safe to drink. St. Pauli Girl is my first vision.
>
Women make everything better...

>
>As for myself, I follow the above rules and add: Never drink an American beer. We do not even know how to spell the word properly – it is BIER!
>

If you follow the rules of the Reinheitsgebot, there a some American microbrewers that make terrific, world class beers. In northern California (Chico), you have the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, that makes some of the world's (I think) best beer. They have a Pale Ale that is my favourite, and a Barley wine that I've never tasted but is legendary. I can't buy it here, so I make it a priority when I travel to the US (I've been to southern California, Colorado, and New York so far - wonderful country!). Also check out the beers from Anchor brewing (San Fransisco) - excellent as well.

>Happy sipping to all.
>
Cheers! and here we also say Santé!, which means Good Health!