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Just when I'd more or less curbed my serious soda habit, they hit me with this.

Pepsi and Mountain Dew are both out in limited, eight-week editions made with REAL SUGAR.

If, like me, you grew up in the 80s and 90s you may have never actually tasted a major American soda made with real sugar. But the recent demonization of (and, let's not kid ourselves, rise in cost of) high fructose corn syrup has engendered a sort of nostalgia for good old natural sugar in the major manufacturers.

You can't fault them for going with some retro design for the re-releases, either.

It's hard to appreciate just how hideous the modern Mountain Dew design is until you look at it next to the classic one.

Is it better for you? Eh, it's probably six of one, half a dozen of the other. The "Throwback" editions, as they're calling them, are still about 100 calories per 8 ounces. But the taste is not even comparable.

For years I've been a fan of Jones sodas made with real sugar - and glad that in Greensboro's Proximity Hotel you can get nothing but real cane sugar cola at their Print Works Bistro. But unless you can scam some foreign-market Coke or Pepsi (and you can locally, at the Super G Mart), it's usually pretty hard to find major soda brands made with real sugar.

Those looking for something billed as actually better for them might try "Pepsi Natural," a new formula with natural flavoring and real sugar. Then again, maybe not. I recently tried "Red Bull Cola," which also bills itself as "all natural." Not pleasant.

I'm still trying to avoid soda when I can so that I can, you know, fit into my clothing and walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing. But while this Throwback stuff is around I think I'm going to enjoy at least one a week -- in place of dessert.

Yesterday I sipped a draft of the newest member of the Guinness family, and perhaps the first on tap in North Carolina (according to bartender Ethan at M'Coul's).

Other places should be getting it in the next couple of days, he said.

Guinness 250

The new brew is different than the Guinness Draught that you're used to having. And don't expect to see that nifty "waterfall" effect that you're used to seeing in the Draught. That effect comes from nitrogen that comes out of the Draught when it's in the glass.

Nope, the 250 is richer in flavor, and fizzier in its carbonation. There's no nitrogen tap such as those found on a Guinness Draught tap - i.e., no black thingy at the end of the tap faucet - so the 250 relies on the same type of carbonation that other beers have.

In all, it's like a double stout, but not super-sweet as some double stouts end up. The 250 is also a part of a big celebration for the 250th anniversary of signing of the 9,000-year lease that Arthur Guinness signed in 1759. Worth a sip for those who like 'em dark.

This week I first noticed Sweetwater in the bottle on sale at local grocery stores. The six-packs offered: Blue, IPA and 420 Extra Pale Ale.

If you're someone who likes Magic Hat #9, then give Sweetwater Blue a try. As the name implies, it's a blueberry flavored beer. But it still tastes like beer. The IPA is, well, an IPA. It's hoppy.

And tomorrow, as far as I know, Fat Tire will land in Greensboro.

My guy over at Longshanks said that they're getting their first cases in tomorrow afternoon, in the 22 oz. bottles. If you know of any other places getting the beer around town let us know down below.

The Colorado legend finally comes to North Carolina. And the Atlanta brew, too. So far, it's been a good year for beer around here.

In other quasi-news, March 1 was Iceland's national beer day. I celebrated by making an Orange IPA at home. It's fermenting in the basement now and should be ready in about a month.

With the cool temperatures that we've been having, the wort's fermenting temperature has been staying in the mid to high 50s, so I'm hoping for a very clear, very tasty beer.

Which may be better than I can say for the arugula planted in my backyard two weeks ago.

We've posted exclusively about beer so far with this blog. From fancy brews to lawn mower beer.

And we'll come back to that again. For now, lets turn to box wine. Esquire's drinks guy David Wondrich posted this today on some box wine that you can feel classy about drinking:

Recently, though, things have started to get interesting. There are box wines that have actual character, from French country wines to California and Aussie varietals usually seen only in cork-stopped bottles. Some of them are even good. Take, for instance, the VRAC 2007 Côtes du Rhône ($30), a red real enough to be odd, even funky, a thing heretofore confined to glass. And the 2005 Cuvée de Peña ($30), an unfiltered red from the French Pyrenees that smells faintly and pleasantly of dried apricots. Then there's the "From the Tank" Côtes du Rhône ($35), a dark and earthy red with hints of raspberry jam that comes in an utterly plain brown cardboard container. Put it into a decanter and no one will know the difference. And when the decanter's empty, you can refill it another three or four times.

Too bad this didn't come in time to read before Valentine's Day. But the weekend is a'comin', and it's fun to have a glass or two with a good ol' mafia movie. I'd suggest Goodfellas.

Also, last night I had Breckenridge Brewery's Avalanche Ale at Mellow Mushroom (which also has some taphandles that I haven't seen elsewhere around town).

Breckenridge describes it as "Caramel maltiness with slight hop character" on their Web site. I just think it's tasty. Didn't really get much in the way of hops, so it must be super slight. Nice color though. And a rich head.

The Mellow Mushroom has a good bar area for beer drinking that's a little more spacious than their closest location in Winston-Salem. The footrest is a right height, the stools are comfy and large and the bar corner is rounded for easy leanin'. Bartenders there keep pint glasses in a freezer, which will be especially nice once it gets warmer outside.

If you're into the chilled glasses, that is. Personally, I prefer a room temperature glass unless I'm having something that's cheap/cold/domestic. And then I just grab a coozie for the can.

First 420, and now Fat Tire?

Looks like we're making headway in finding some good brews these days.

Anyone out there had the legendary Fat Tire?

That contraband from the south, the beer with a nod-nod-wink-wink name from Atlanta is here in the Triad: Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale.

I went to college in Boone, and in my last couple years there, Sweetwater made its landing in the High Country, Asheville and elsewhere in the mountains.

But it wasn't sold anywhere else in N.C. The reason, brewers told me at a few beer festivals, was that Sweetwater is unpasteurized and has to be shipped cold to stay fresh.

"But we're working on it," they'd say. That's been the line for at least three or four years. We worked around the problem by picking up a case during visits to WNC to bring back and enjoy with friends. If you like Sweetwater, you probably have a similar story. Some of you may even remember an entire movie based roughly on this premise, but with a truckload of Coors.

Anyway, the tap handles with a rainbow trout pull splashed down around here about two weeks ago. Longshanks, The Green Burro, College Hill, Mellow Mushroom and Grey's Tavern carry the kegs (and have gone through quite a lot, I hear). If others have it, I'd like to know so we can add them here.

I'm not going to try to hide that this is one of my favorite American beers. It's got more hop bite than a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but a thinner body and a little sweetness in the finish. For me it's right up there with the Red Hook ESB as a beer that you could take to a party and enjoy with a friend. But until the 6-packs appear in stores, you'll have to have it on draft. (Aw shoot! Gotta go have a draft beer!).

And while you're sipping your next brew, here's something to ponder from the NYTimes. Cheers!

If you've had your fill of the winter warmers out there, or are tired of the delicious and ubiquitous Sam Adams Winter Lager, here's another beer to help you cope till the spring and summer brews start to appear on shelves.

The (say it three times fast) Leinenkugel 1888 Bock.

Had a bottle the other night. The beer has a simple sweetness and a dab of hops that are balanced well with an easy finish - like many lagers. The taste doesn't linger on the palate, and it's not so heavy that you can only stand to have one. The body reminds one of a Shiner Bock from the bottle, but seems a little less carbonated.

And if you prefer your brew out of a glass, it pours with a pretty thick head and a nice copper-ish color.

Like other Leinies, it's fairly inexpensive as a suitable step beyond the cheap-cold-domestics of the world.

So, it's come to this.

From the ad copy:

"Here's This Season's "Must-Have" iPod Accessory That All The Celebrities in Hollywood Are Clamoring For.

Just fold out the blow wand and exhale into it for at least 5 seconds. 2 seconds later, this amazing tool let's you know if you're within the legal limit to drive. It even houses a timer that can be set from 1 minute up to 8 hours in order to remind you when it's time for the next test."

I'm from the "If you're wondering if you can pass a breathalizer test, don't drive" school myself -- but if potential drunk drivers will listen to their iPods and realize it's a bad idea to get behind the wheel, I guess it's progress.

Sipped a couple bottles of Budweiser's American Ale over the weekend while camping.

This is a beer that's good to hand a friend who wants to move from the Miller Lites, Bud Lites and Michelobs of the world but is afraid to go with anything that's "too dark" or "too heavy". The American Ale reminds me of a Yuengling in body and color, but with no aftertaste.

In taste, compared to regular ol' Bud (up there with PBR and Miller High Life in the cheap-cold-domestic/lawn mower beer category), the American Ale is a little sweeter, darker and slightly hoppier than Budweiser. But if you're a hop-head, it won't satisfy. And if you like malty stuff, it's less sweet than Yuengling, too.

The best analogy for this beer is to imagine it as the American-born offspring from an Irish red and a red-blooded 'merican.

As an ironic footnote, this beer is unrolled just as A-B is in the process of being bought by InBev.

This is the first installment of a spankin' new part of Culture Shock!: the beverage blog.

In this Numero Uno edition of the beverage blog, the best way to do it - and do it well - would be to have some kind of grand party to go to.

Summertime Brews!

Which was packed. Almost too packed, some might say. Most of the brew festivals are a little more open air, and nobody has to wait in line too long for a beer. Maybe Summertime Brews did that by design at the Greensboro Coliseum Pavilion. It kept everyone from getting too loaded. Riiiiight.

Props to the organizers, too, for providing us with real glasses for sampling. The last beer festival I made it to had plastic for tasting. Good beverages should be served in a proper vessel. Also, later in the festival, when people (for some reason) began dropping their glasses on the concrete floor, the shatter led to several hundred people to all holler "Ohhhhhh!"

There were a lot of the usual Southeast breweries there: Sweetwater (a personal fav), Terrapin and Carolina Beer and Beverage (from my hometown, and brewer of one of the best pumpkin ales around). The big guys showed up too: Rogue, Flying Dog, and Sierra Nevada - all places that ship nationally and are fairly easy to find in your better beer sections.

So we made a beeline to the Sierra Nevada booth for a sip of that Anniversary Ale.