J Swann

The new Budweiser can.

When an oversized package from Budweiser appeared at the LA Weekly office last week, we were befuddled to discover that it contained just one single can of beer. But it wasn't just any old can of beer nestled neatly into a glossy gift box -- it was a limited edition, bow-tie-shaped can of Budweiser, which will only be available in an 8-pack in supermarkets and liquor stores beginning today.

An accompanying double-sided press release told us that "this can is incomparable, like nothing you've ever seen before," according to Anheuser-Busch vice president of innovation, Pat McGauley. What exactly is it about this stylish, bow-tie-shaped can that's so incomparable, we wondered. On a superficial level, it mimics the shape of Budweiser's triangular logo, but does it serve any sort of functional purpose that enhances its flavor, drinkability, or temperature?

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lindseywb via flickr

Want some chicken spices in that??

Ahh, to be a fly on the wall of the marketing department of KFC.

"What's cool these days, guys? What are the kids into?"

"I've heard bacon is a thing. Some people are even making bacon desserts!"

"Maybe we should try something like that. But somehow using the iconic KFC history as part of the dish."

"BY JOVES, I'VE GOT IT!! How about we make a cookie with our secret 11 herbs and spices!"

This conversation probably actually happened, because a press release just came to my inbox that starts like this:

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Dylan's Candy Bar

Dylan's flagship NYC store

If you were only one of the special people, you could join Janet Jackson, Kris Jenner and Apolo Ohno at the grand opening of Dylan's Candy Bar's first West Coast store on Sat., Sept. 8 at the Original Farmers Market, across from the Grove on the corner of Third and Fairfax.

The candy emporium--which "soft launched" a couple weeks ago--bursts with more than 7,000 different types of sweet treats from around the globe and decades past. The selection includes everything from sour gummy worms to Astro Pops to red licorice Scottie dogs to banana cream pie-flavored chocolate bars. The design of the 1,200-square-foot boutique infuses candy into every detail, including candy topiaries at the store's entrance, larger-than-life peppermint columns, a warm chocolate fountain and candy button tables. The store also carries candy-inspired apparel, jewelry, stationery and spa products (what the?).

It will officially open to the hoi polloi the following day, Sept. 9. Doesn't it make you hyper just thinking about it?

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Flickr/ Rogue Ales

The Man Behind the Beard

It all started as an effort to increase the terroir of their beer. In a press release that is equal parts repulsive and fantastic, Rogue Brewing Co. in Newport, Ore., announces it is testing recipes for a beer that will be fermented by yeast that was growing spontaneously in its brewmaster's beard.

Rogue grows its own hops, barley, and rye, in the belief that doing so increases the authenticity and locality of the beer. Just as terroir informs the profile of wine, so do geographic location and environmental factors affect beer. Hoping to produce a beer with yeast that was growing locally, they decided to take samples and send them in for testing. Procuring specimens from all the predictable places, like Rogue's 42-acre hopyard in Independence, Ore., did not produce any yeast suitable for brewing.

In a moment which we hope was under the influence of ale, Rogue staffers harvested nine follicles from brewmaster John Maier's long-growth beard, nestled them in a Petri dish, and sent them to the mad scientists at White Labs. Lo and behold, the microflora growing on Maier's beard was not only a different strand than Rogue's standard house yeast but it was perfectly suited to fermenting beer.

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MillerCoors

Miller Lite punch-top can

MillerCoors is about to change your Miller Lite drinking experience. Are you kept up at night by the difficulties of enjoying that great, less filling taste so feverishly that you just can't unleash it from the can fast enough? Do you pine for a time when drinking your beer from the can will be just like drinking it from a glass? Rest easy, friend. The new punch-top can is here to ease your troubles.

Yesterday MillerCoors launched the ad campaign that will accompany the new Miller Lite and MGD 12 oz. and 16 oz. cans. The can features a depressible tab that admits air as it is releasing liquid, removing that "glug" effect that has long characterized drinking from a can. Director of innovation and activation for Miller Lite Amy Breeze says, "On our testing, consumers told us they prefer the punch-top can 3-to-1 over the standard beer can because it's more like drinking from a pilsner glass." The advertisers did not run with the glassware-like effect or the improved shotgunning implications of this new design. Focus of the ad campaign, "How will you punch it?" will instead be the personal creative possibilities for your own method of opening the punch hole.

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Beverly Wilshire

Hay-smoked squab.

In these dark "Occupy" times, it is heartening to know that the abused and beleaguered "1 percent" has not been forgotten. Thinking up new ways to blow your millions can be so taxing.

Luckily there are still places like the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. Their executive chef Gilles Arzur has partnered with upscale Spanish skincare line Natura Bisse to offer a one-of-a-kind experience that combines spa treatments with avant-garde cooking along the lines of the late great El Bulli. The hotel calls their "A Taste of Beauty" offering "an unprecedented marvel drawing on gastronomy, luxury, beauty and technology."

The experience will set you back "beginning at" $1,500 per person, including tax and gratuities, with a minimum of six in your party. Reservations must be made at least a week in advance.

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The opera.

When you write about food, you read a lot of press releases. Regardless of the level of journalistic integrity your gig requires and your willingness to write about what you're asked to write about, you'll receive enough p.r. emails to strain your wireless connection. Frequently, the emails read like movie trailer voice-overs. You're compelled to believe that each new opening will shake up the scene, when, like most movies, most restaurants retread familiar terrain. The most absurd release we have ever received arrived this week. We're hoping it's a fake. The subject line is a good start: "The most long-awaited restaurant of all time is getting ready to open its doors."

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