GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) ACCORDING TO THE SURGEON GENERAL, WOMEN SHOULD NOT DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING PREGNANCY BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS. (2) CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IMPAIRS YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE A CAR OR OPERATE MACHINERY, AND MAY CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS.

The required warning makes it very clear to everyone exactly what the US government is concerned about.

Before & After – Gentlemen Beware

The Rinkuškiai Brewery in the Biržai region of Lithuania, while not required by their government to put such warning labels on the beers, chose to provide very practical warnings anyway on bottles of their Beers.

I don’t know about you, but I think that Rinkuškiai’s warning looks to carry a lot more weight with drinkers than what the US government requires.

Gentlemen, drink responsibly or you may face some ugly consequences.

In itself that’s no problem; Presidents are rarely from the masses. If Obama plans to revisit this campaign tactic though, it’s going to take reworking similar to his wealth redistribution campaign plank and the Obama Girl.

Obama leads a charmed life though and, thanks to the Lagunitas Brewing Company, there’s the perfect beer for his next iteration of a beer summit – Wilco Tango Foxtrot.

Like Obama, WTF is rich and brown, but carries a harsh, bitter bite that is not normal in an American product. In the beer’s case it comes from Californian hops sensibilities

It’s noteworthy and apropos that Wilco Tango Foxtrot was supposed to be named “2010 Recovery Ale” but they said, “It’s 2011 and it STILL doesn’t look like we’ll be there anytime soon.”

If you can still afford it and tolerate the bite, hoist a glass of WTF in Obama’s “honor.”

Stay Calm. Beer Is Here

Fortunately, some good Samaritans have decided to provide an emergency service to help the rest of out of these situations.

It’s On The Bottom Shelf, Honey!

Now that we’ve gotten to the bottom of that, it should be clear as to why this occurs with such regularity.

Baconalia! Beer and Bacon, Together At Last! Huzzah!

Enjoy the porkalicious goodness of this bacon mug with a rich, dark beer. Whether it be a smoked beer or malty beer is up to you, the celebrant. and as a break between libations you can fill it with beer cheese soup!

But no celebration is complete with just food and drink. Such would be nothing but a meal, albeit one of divine splendor. To fully celebrate the baconalia requires women.

Mmmmmm…Hickory Smoked Hotness

And there you have the three “B’s” of the divine feast of the baconalia – Beer, Babes, and Bacon! Huzzah!

Sapporo – Not a Light Beer, An Enlightened Beer

It’s an incredibly well done commercial; both Dentsu Canada and Sapporo should be justifiably proud of the team’s creativity and skill.

Is it just me though, or is this commercial also a subtle metaphor for Buddhism’s six conditions or realms of existence, called samsara: Manusya-gati, Tiryagyoni-gati, Naraka-gati, Preta-gati, Asura-gati, and Deva-gati? Are they implying that one can reach nirvana by drinking beer, especially Sapporo?

I suppose it’s plausible. There’s supposedly truth in wine, so there might be enlightenment in beer. Beer is, after all, proof that the Gods love us.

In the words of the American poet John Ciardi, “Fermentation and civilization are inseparable.”

Yes, beer has always been the Everyman’s drink; the preferred quaff of Joe Six-Pack – and Jane Six-Pack of course – after a long day toiling as the often forgotten and sometimes lambasted backbone of society. It’s long been a convivial beverage that had escaped the ceremonies, snobbery, and elitism that is so entrenched in wine.

Sadly, times are changing in America and the glorious rebirth of the American craft brewing industry has also birthed the misbegotten by-blows known as beer snobs.

There’s beer geeks and there’s beer snobs, and I’m a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool member of the beer geek community. How I differentiate between a beer geek and a beer snob is this: they could have an equal amount of knowledge about beer; they could have equally awesome palates; [they] can articulate everything about the qualities of beer; [and they can] tell you the history of brewing styles. Their knowledge might be the same. But a beer geek loves beer because he or she loves beer, and they want to learn more always, try new beers, and share that with the people they love. Whereas beer snobs try to know as much as they can about beer as a power point and to lord it over people, or to stick out as an expert in a field of neophytes.

– Sam Calagione
Founder, Dogfish Head Brewery

Beer lovers must not repeat the mistakes of the wine enthusiasts and devolve into snobbishness, elitism, and exclusion.

We lovers of beers certainly do not want to go down the road which led to 86% of all the wine drank in America being drunk by only 12% of the American population. This is especially true since 97% of the breweries in America are described as craft or microbreweries yet they account for 5% of the total market share.

Staying True To Joe Six-Pack is paramount irrespective of what each of our preferred six-packs might be.

Guinness – Share one with a friend…or two.

What could be better – and better mannered – than sharing your beer with your friends? And Guinness is just the perfect beer for it since it’s best served somewhat…um…hotter?…than many other stouts, porters, or lagers.