Brew

The Ravens addressed a need to improve their defensive secondary by waiving second-year cornerback Dorian Brew, and they will replace Brew today with Eugene Daniel or D. J. Johnson, two veterans who were among a group of players the team worked out yesterday."

Unless he's enjoying Maryland hard-shell crabs, Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary said, you usually won't catch him drinking a beer. He's more of a Coke or iced-tea kind of guy.But more than 100 people watched Gary make an exception to his rule yesterday at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, when he tapped the first pint of Rumney's Tavern Ale and downed some of the beer.The brew, which has a bittersweet, robust taste, is named in honor of Edward Rumney, a Londontown tavern keeper who put out the last call for drinks at his seaport bar 300 years ago.The festivities at the Ram's Head were part of an effort to help the Londontown Foundation in its work at the 23-acre historic park in Edgewater.

Was it the lack of a pass rush, injuries, poor cover skills or too many blown coverages that caused the Ravens' secondary to be exposed repeatedly as the league's most porous backfield last year?Probably an unhealthy dose of each. And after an off-season in which safety Eric Turner departed for Oakland via free agency, ++ safety Rondell Jones left Denver for Baltimore, and safeties Kim Herring and Ralph Staten come on board through the draft, the Ravens are hoping their shaky secondary emerges as a strength.

Jim Wagner has been on a quest for the perfect beer for six years.What started as a young man's attempt to save a few bucks on brews by making it himself has evolved into serious study and the development of extensive home-brewing talents.By day, the 27-year-old Riviera Beach resident services dialysis equipment for a Glen Burnie company. But evenings, he can be found in the dark recesses of his Chelsea Road basement, deeply engrossed in making beer.Some batches are made to be enjoyed by friends and family, especially his wife, Shelly.

Only four days after his second operation in one week to treat an infection in his right shin, Ravens offensive lineman Alex Bernstein returned to practice yesterday.A rookie free agent out of Division III Amherst College, Bernstein returned to the field with his leg heavily wrapped. He had missed close to two weeks of practice and two preseason games, recovering from two separate operations.Bernstein underwent the first operation Aug. 10, two days after the second preseason game against the New York Jets, to initially clean out the infection.

They are all second-year players with distinct, not to mention confident, personalities, vying for the same starting job.Donny Brady, DeRon Jenkins and Dorian Brew, in that order, are the Ravens' top three right cornerbacks, fighting for the position that was an Achilles' heel for the team last season.At this point, Brady is the starter. Jenkins -- last season's flashy high draft choice -- and Brew -- the Ravens' improbable find -- know the position is Brady's to lose."As far as the defense, the right cornerback and safety positions will be the two that are most looked at right now," Jenkins said.

KEEP THE LOCAL BEER flowing! That is the essence of a compromise plan worked out by Maryland Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein so micro-brewers can double their production while retaining their pub-restaurants. This should fortify the state's eight affected micro-breweries, though it hardly turns Maryland into a mecca for such operations.The problem is that Maryland's post-Prohibition law sets up a three-tier system of suppliers, wholesalers and retailers that doesn't work so well in an era when small beer manufacturers want to promote and test-market their ales and lagers at their own pub-restaurant.

Player of the YearAmy Brew, Annapolis, senior, midfield: To find the heart of the No. 1 Panthers' state title team, look no further than this 5-foot-2 attack wing. While a few could match her skills, no one could match her determination. Whatever the Panthers needed, Brew did -- offensively or defensively.She scored probably the biggest goal of the 11-10 double-overtime state title win over Mount Hebron. With Annapolis trailing by one in the first overtime, Brew raced 40 yards, slipping through five or six defenders to tie the game.

Amy BrewAnnapolisgirls lacrosseBrew, a senior wing, combined for 10 goals and three assists as No. 1 Annapolis defeated South River (17-5) and Southern-AA (15-4).

The trick to winning an all-star game just may be how well the players know one another.That's what the South's best high school senior girls lacrosse players believe after a 17-6 victory over the North in the fourth annual United States Women's Lacrosse Association/STX North-South All-Star Game at Anne Arundel Community College."

As emotions run high and common sense runs low, we compare cans of Iron City and National Bohemian, two blue-collar beers that are the sudsy symbols of Pittsburgh and Baltimore, respectively. Price: : Natty Boh is 55 cents a can versus 63 cents for a can of Iron City. At this level of quality, 8 cents is huge. Taste: : Natty Boh is a pale yellow brew with thin body and the faint flavor of yeasty water. Iron City is a dull yellow liquid with thin body and a stale beer aftertaste. Aesthetics: : Natty Boh gets points for its handsome mustachioed Mr. Boh logo.

On January 13, 2008 MS. BREW. Visitation at 2140 N. Fulton Avenue on Monday, 2-8pm. The family will receive friends in the chapel on Tuesday at 10am. Funeral at 10:30am

A golden fall day begins with sweet aromas, has a toasty middle, finishes crispy and leaves you hungering for more. That is also pretty much the way Michael Jackson, the world-renowned beer writer who died last month, would describe the classic Oktoberfest beer, the seasonal beer of autumn. Like many good ideas, the tradition of drinking beer in the autumn sunshine is the result of what happened at a wedding celebration. The 15-day festival that annually draws legions of lager drinkers to Munich, Germany, got going in 1810 as a bash honoring Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig's marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

What it is -- A new ultra-dark brew from Caribou Coffee What we like about it --Obsidian impressed us with its robustness as well as its smooth finish. Have to bypass caffeine? We also enjoyed the pure flavor of Caribou's decaf feinated varieties, which are all processed with a chemical-free water system. What it costs --$13 per pound Where to buy --Available at Caribou outlets and at cari boucoffee.com

Kitchen tip realbeer.com If you want to talk beer, learn how to make mead or just find a place to down a cold one, this site is a good stop. There are links to home-brew recipes, beer festivals and beer news, along with a busy message board. Kate Shatzkin

Tip -- True brew -- To brew a good cup of coffee, make sure to use fresh, cold filtered water. - Gevalia Kaffe

Agents from the state comptroller's office raided a Harford County warehouse yesterday to seize an exotic brew - and came back with more than they expected. They confiscated more than a truckload of Chinese beer - 1,600 cases in all. "We have done a lot of after-hours clubs and things," Larry Tolliver, director of the office's regulatory and enforcement division, said yesterday. "But nothing like this." Comptroller William Donald Schaefer described the seizure as the latest in a string of successes for Tolliver and his team.

Unlike ginger ale, its mainstream cousin, ginger beer attracts a more selective audience. With less sugar to soften its distinctive bite, ginger beer can present a challenge to the palate. Kids who revel in root beer can find themselves with watery eyes if they take a big swig of ginger beer without anticipating the pungent zing. There are plenty of good ginger beers on the market -- among them Reed's Extra Ginger Brew Ginger Beer, not to be confused with Reed's Original Ginger Brew Ginger Ale, which has much less of a bite than the ginger beer.

MOSCOW - Outside the Savelovskaya Metro station, Galina Krivonosova performs one of the city's rites of summer, pouring draughts of the national semisoft drink from a tanker-trailer that looks like it could be used to haul toxic chemicals. "I don't like Pepsi or Coke at all," says Krivonosova, 41. "I prefer kvass." The reason for her preference for the ancient beverage? Russians are practically raised on it, she says. And what's not to like, she asks, about a drink traditionally made of fermented stale rye bread?

Things have come to a head between brewmaster Greg Schirf and the Mormon teetotalers who run Utah. At noon today our time, Schirf plans to walk to the edge of Great Salt Lake and pour several kegs of his newest creation - First Amendment Lager - into the brine in a sudsy re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party. "It's give me liberty or give me a cold one," declares Schirf, who will be dressed as Benjamin Franklin for his lakeside happy hour. The impish businessman is protesting a $1.80-per-keg increase in the beer tax that he suspects is punishment for his activities on behalf of the elbow-bending public and those who serve them.