STRANGE BREW: Brewing beer at home is...

STRANGE BREW: Brewing beer at home is all the rage nowadays, a hobby that can have deliciously intoxicating results, according to today’s Valley Briefing (B2). But no home brewer could ever compete with the Anheuser-Busch plant in Van Nuys. . . . The third-largest brewery in the world churns out 8.4 million cans and 3.6 million bottles of beer a day, six days a week. . . . All that to keep up with America’s passion for suds. Beer, after all, is the fourth most popular beverage, after soda pop, coffee and milk.

LONG NIGHTS: The Valley’s charms are many, but this week’s New Yorker magazine takes a detailed look at a seamy side of local life--the multibillion-dollar porn film industry. Writer Susan Faludi, author of “Backlash,” the controversial book about the feminist movement, explores the lives of porn’s men. They claim they are treated like pieces of meat compared with their female co-stars. . . . “The young men of modern porn,” she reports, face a “treacherous terrain that has more to do with work than sex.”

LOVE & MONEY: People have reached into their hearts, and checkbooks, to aid the victim of a horrible crash in Glendale. Lorena Avantes was driving to work last week when she was broadsided by a speeding, overloaded truck. She remains in a coma at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Her family has set up voice mail with updates for well-wishers at (818) 502-3047. Says twin sister Lillian: “Our family has profound thanks for the outstanding support.” Notes or donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 12116, La Crescenta, CA 91224-0816.

LIKE WOW: More than 10,000 souls--some lost, some tortured--turned out for a free rock concert Saturday at Woodley Park. The best show was the audience. . . . Staff writer John Glionna found swinging senior Dancing George, swinging Councilman Marvin Braude, swinging throwback Don Letterman--and more. Did we mention the python? B3

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Volume Brewing

Although they are growing in popularity, microbrews and home brews don’t match the production of mass-produced breweries:

% of beer market:

Microbrews: Less than 1%

Imported beers: 5%

Domestic breweries: 94%

Source: American Demographic magazine