It’s not often that someone throws a birthday party and gives you a present. Checking in with my local beer wholesaler last week, Stone’s 13th Anniversary Ale is now widely available on the East Coast. Like most of Stone’s best work, the brewery’s first Imperial IPA/Double Red offering has more hops than a froggie jamboree (those that just bought The State on DVD know what I’m talking about). Tons of dry-hopping give it the citrus aroma and bitter-smooth finish, and the “Imperial” in the name means you’re looking at a bell-ringing 9.5% ABV. The sadists over at Stone put their usual 1000 word diatribe on the back of the bottle, but bring up a good point as Good Beer Month comes to a close: in these trying times, invest in what really matters.

To promote their beer in Sao Paulo, Stella Artois is leaning away from straightforward marketing and pushing a new concept called Stella Artois N’Box. Running now through Feb. 19, Stella is offering exclusive, luxury experiences inside a shipping container stationed at a horse track that links Japanese traditional culture with the new school. Limited to just 40 people per day at dinner, guests pay the equivalent of $100 for a tasting menu of Japanese food with sake caipirinhas and are treated to shows like Japanese ballet vs. samba or taiko drummers and DJ vs. street dance and electronic music. Wacky? Definitely. Will it align the brand as uber cool? Possibly — but it’s the creativity that counts.

The differences in men and women can be broken down by a few obvious lines of demarcation. But when it’s not a question of the anatomical and more a question of taste, there are a few more effective ways. The creative minds behind the new campaign for Israel’s Goldstar beer have picked up on a some of the contrasts between the fairer sex and the unfairer sex by displaying them in a series of three handy flowcharts. You can see the obvious disparity between male and females (but say nothing of shemales) in the arenas of clothing, toilets, and relationships. If you don’t know, now you know.