With college campuses teeming with students and sporting events that entice fans to show their school spirit while kicking off the new school year, underage drinking at universities inevitably hits the news. It’s no surprise then that alcohol-banning activists have recently decided to focus on college athletics as a way to squash the situation. If the activists have their way, alcohol producers could be seeing a big change in how they support schools, and college athletic departments could be forced to seek funding from other sources, according to a recent report on CNN.com.

Alcohol companies advertising on college sports broadcasts accounted for $50 million in revenue last year, and that’s not including direct sponsorship dollars that beverage companies shelled out to be a part of collegiate games. According to statistics cited in the report, 45 percent of Division 1A schools depend on alcohol-related advertising. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth are lobbying hard, with the help of former University of Nebraska football coach U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne (R-Neb.), among other football coaches, to get universities to cut financial ties to alcohol companies.

While activists believe the ban on alcohol advertising will decrease drinking problems, trade groups protest that the majority of college students are in the target legal-drinking-age audience.

I do agree that the college athletic departments should consider alternative ways to raise money. However, as one consultant stated in the report, it’s hard to imagine a ban on alcohol advertising during professional sporting events, making a ban during college games fruitless.

Oktoberfest is upon us and it’s only September. BI is at a loss to explain that discrepency, but we figure it gives us more time to sample all the special Oktoberfest brews. Can’t make it to Munich, but looking for a taste of Munich? Try Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest or Paulaner’s Oktoberfest Marzen. They are two of only six beers served by regulation at Munich’s Oktoberfest, and you can sample them right here in the comfort of your own home or favorite corner tavern. For a homegrown brew to celebrate the occasion, there’s Sam Adams Octoberfest beer. It’s a traditional German-style lager, full-flavored with a balance of sweet malt and spiciness from the classic Hallertau and Tettnang Bavarian noble hops.

The French have taken the ‘recycle, reuse, renew’ message to new heights, as only they can, with the launch of a limited-edition Krug pen by Omas. The pens are fashioned from retired French Oak casks that held Krug Champagnes from 1969 until 2002. Each cylindrical-shaped pen has a platinum-plated 18-carat gold nib with the distinctive “K” of the House of Krug and solid silver finishings. Anytime a pen is referred to as a “writing instrument” you know it’s going to be dear; this is no exception. The fountain and roller ball pens will be available for $990 and $850, respectively.

No deal has been struck, but talks are reportedly underway to make a film version of a book called “The Real Thing, Truth and Power at the Coca-Cola Co.” Rather than being an insider tell-all, the book was written by a New York Times reporter who covered the company from 1997 to 2000 and wrote about its somewhat tumultuous goings on. Speculation has already begun on which movie stars would get which roles – Daft, Goizueta, Ivester, Keough... We’ll leave it to your imaginations.

Surely, being beverage aficionados, BI readers heard about the beer-guzzling black bear in Washington State last month. But for those who may have missed the story while vacationing, here’s a quick synopsis — a thirsty black bear downed 36 cans of beer and was discovered sleeping it off in a campground. This was a discerning bear… at least where beer is concerned. After drinking two cans of Busch beer, the ursine drinker switched to a local brew, Rainier Beer, to quench the rest of his thirst. The bear was relocated after being lured to a trap using doughnuts and two cans of Rainier Beer.

As a result of his antics, the hops-loving bear has been adopted as the unofficial mascot of the Pabst Brewing Co.’s Rainier Beer. To formalize the arrangement, Rainier Beer launched a contest to name the bear. More than 800 suggestions were submitted through the beer’s Web site – the winner, fittingly, is “Brewtus.”