There's No Disputing Matters of Taste

A couple of interesting crossovers between beer and other areas of life.

First off, Margaret e-mails to make us aware of the Catholic Beer Review:

CBR was formed by a few guys who share a love of great beer and started comparing tasting notes.

Beer may seem a mundane topic to those who don't venture far beyond the "tinted waters"--as the late Michael Davies (RIP) referred to the Budweisers and Miller Lites of the world. But in fact this drink is endlessly fascinating. Ostensibly it contains just malt, water, yeast, and hops. But the permutations that exist within just those basic ingredients are legion.

Beer also holds a venerable place in our Catholic history, with some of the greatest breweries in the world being founded and run by Catholic monks.

What's the appropriate cliché that sports announcers would use in this situation? Thanks JB. This is indeed right in my wheelhouse.

Also on matters of faith and beer, Ben Bouwman writes that beer needs no justification:

Christians should not drink beer that is of poor quality. The sinful phenomenon of excessive consumption is often found in tandem with beer that tastes awful. These types of beer do not contribute to aesthetic wonder, because they provide little at which to wonder. Their tastes range from facile to revolting, they are made cheaply with poor quality ingredients, and therefore, they must enlist the help of cheap advertising tricks such as images of scantily clad women or the "Lowest Legal Price" to lure young men like me to buy their beer. I pray that God gives us strength to resist these temptations.

Finally, Laura e-mails to note an intersection of conservative politics and beer. It seems that Phyllis Schlafly's nephew owns a brewpub in St. Louis that carries on the family name by offering a choice in beer, not an echo.