Ferment Brewing’s German style Pilsner is out on the poarch with me today and…wait. Aren’t all pilsners German by default?
The style is credited as a Germanic style. An online search of the phrase ‘German style pilsner’ brings up…pilsners. Like; this is possibly one of the most famous styles of beer in the world. It is the ‘yellow beer’ that people who are less versed in the subject think of when they think of the two types of beer: yellow and black.
And it’s a fine yellow beer. The kind you could be easily forgiven for drinking from a can while munching on burgers. It is faint in all its impressions: hops, malt sweetness, and bitterness, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. An additive to many meals, subtractive of little and only present long enough to clear the palate between bites.
It’s the kind of beer that the guy who threatened to bomb the Capitol a couple weeks ago probably would’ve liked-if handed it to him in a glass.
I acquired it like I do most of my beer: I paid for it. Coincidentally, that’s also how we had the cooperation between the various factions in Afghanistan for the past 20+ years. America paid for it.
Once we quit paying…well, we all know what happened. The only surprise to most Americans was the swiftness that it spread, much like the Delta variant.
But think about it: if the people paying you to do something stopped, how long would it take you to quit doing that thing? Consider the Taliban’s actions their “one week notice” instead and it makes a lot more sense.
Meanwhile, I’m still on the porch, hoping that people will get vaccinated, and wear masks and basically be the kind of people Americans think they are, to other Americans.
Instead, we get Americans being the kind of people other countries think we are.
And it’s not as if we aren’t paying for it. A third of this country is taking medicine for horses, or trying to stock up on it. Half of the man’s rant about bombing the Capitol was that the medical procedures that were needed for himself and his wife couldn’t be afforded. Sure, the other half was MAGA nonsense (you know the sins; racism, privilege, etc.) but I guarantee you, the lever that was used to pry open his brain and funnel all of that nonsense into his life was the fact that he and his loved one needed medical care and was denied it.
He needed help, and the power structures in this country told him to fuck off. And unfortunately, he had no community to rely on-so he got violent and awful. Americans being the kind of people to ourselves that other countries think we are.
I’d really like to get to being the kind of people we think we are, instead.
Today’s second pint goes to HIAS.
A pint for Dionysus 