It's about the beer

It's about the beer
The current issue of All About Beer magazine features Andrew Firestone, an executive of Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and former guest on the reality TV series "The Bachelor." Also in the issue is a story about the 101 beers any beer lover must taste, as recommended by 30 beer professionals. To preview the issue and get a sneak peek at Firestone, go to www.allaboutbeer.com.
Grilling coast to coast
The sheer heft of Steven Raichlen's "BBQ USA" (Workman, $19.95) -- all 774 pages -- attests to its breadth. Inside is a compendium of 425 recipes rooted in the country's myriad barbecue styles. The recipes go far beyond meat and sauce (though both are covered extensively). Salads, breads, vegetables and desserts also get a grilling. Throughout, readers meet the people and regions behind the food, making this fine Adirondack-chair reading. It's at some Borders and Barnes & amp; Noble bookstores and online at www.ecookbooks.com.
Summer, baked beans
It's hard to imagine, but, according to Bush's Baked Beans, the amount of baked beans Bostonians consume on Independence Day is twice the amount of tea dumped into the Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party.
That's just one of the fascinating facts about beans offered by Bush's this summer holiday.
Others?
*Americans eat more than 12,000 times the weight of the Statue of Liberty in baked beans on the Fourth. (She weighs 312,000 pounds, not including her base.)
*New York is the biggest bean-eating town in the country on the Fourth of July, consuming 1.8 million pounds, followed by Detroit at 1.7 million and Philadelphia at 1.2 million.
*Atlanta is the 10th-largest bean-eating town. Residents there take in 748,000 pounds of beans for the Fourth of July.
Coffee ice cubes
Do you love ice coffee but hate when the ice dilutes the brew? Try a trick from hard-core java junkies: Make a pot of coffee, cool it to room temperature, then decant it into ice cube trays and freeze. Then you'll have the cubes on hand when the urge for a tall, full-throttled iced latte, cappuccino or whatever hits you.