Beer

My Favorite Invention

Beer! I love it. The blond, the brown, the bubbly, the flat, the strong, the weak, every one has its wonderfully intoxicating flavor.

Bottled beer can be taken anywhere, you can chill it or drink it warm. From the bottle or poured into a glass, drink it quick, sip it and savor every drop. The twist off top or the crown which requires a bottle opener?  There are those who say the twist top breaks with tradition, others say its progress. The King of the crowns is the flip top, easily opened and resealable, it is a sign of real quality.

The labels are becoming works of art and have a history of symbolism, for example in times gone by the red triangle of the Bass bottle was the sign of the brewery for those who could not read. This is a famous beer, if you look at the picture by Edouard Manet titled “Bar at the Folies-Bergere” you will see the bottles of Bass opposite to the bottles of champagne. There was no food and drink snobbery in 1882 it seems!

Beer has a long and nobel history, The invention of beer has been argued to be responsible for humanity’s ability to develop technology and build civilization. The earliest confirmed barley beer to date was discovered at Godin Tepe in the central mountains of Iran, where fragments of a jug, at least 5000 years old was found to coated with beer-stone (a by-product of the brewing process) beer-stone is a toxic and is a major constituent of human kidney stones, I pray to heaven there is no connection between the drinking of beer and the kidney stone.

Beer has no conscience, its by product called hang over cannot be avoided and “The hair of the dog” has become the route to alcoholism for so many. It can be drunk for pleasure or peril. Like the sea it will tempt the unwary into uncharted depths where the dangers of drunkenness and depravity await even the most level headed soul. The bubbling brew cares not for King or pauper, its effect proves the equality of man.

There are many who hate it for no other reason that it is evil or against gods wishes, they claim God invented all things good, the Devil all that is evil, beer is the devils work, just like the wars that are started in God’s name?

I find, when I drink my glass of beer wether in a pub with friends or at home alone, it expands my mind, some of my greatest inspirations have arisen from my personal unconscious mind when the beer has taken effect. At other times it dulls my brain, many a word spoken or an email sent which has been regretted the following day, and on reflection the words written or spoken were nearer to the truth than in the untruth of sobriety.

Many feel it is a waste of money, some live to drink it. Like many of life’s gifts, it is not a problem in moderation.

Oh! how I wish I could be just like a bottle of beer. Loved, unloved, desired, rejected, with different labels and crowns, savored for a moment and then left unloved for another type.

On reflection.

Perhaps I have become, like my favorite invention!