My uncle used to say that winter was death, fall was the diagnosis of a terminal disease. This fall feels especially grim now that Republicans’ 80 point lead in the all-important generic preference poll is inspiring liberal bloggers to muse about how badly Democrats will respond to certain defeat.
To ward this off I’m going to step up the number of alcohol-related posts here. Let’s start with something everyone can get behind, beer medicine!
A chemical analysis of the bones of ancient Nubians shows that they were regularly consuming tetracycline, most likely in their beer.
The finding is the strongest evidence yet that the art of making antibiotics, which officially dates to the discovery of penicillin in 1928, was common practice nearly 2,000 years ago.
[…..]“Streptomyces produce a golden colony of bacteria, and if it was floating on a batch of beer, it must have look pretty impressive to ancient people who revered gold,” Nelson theorizes.
lamh32
Man, I don’t drink much if at all, but man I swear sometimes the blogs make me wanna hit back a couple of shots…lol.
LIke my grandma used to say, some people just seem to be able to “drive the Pope to drink”
arguingwithsignposts
+? required
KG
Sorry, I can’t hear the word Nubian without immediately thinking of Chasing Amy and Jason Lee asking, “What’s a Nubian?”
Crashman
What should my next homebrew be? I’ve done a belgian dubbel, milk stout, hard cider, hefeweizen, belgian white, and a blond ale with ginger.
Cain
Shit, I thought Tim F posted this.. imagine my surprise.. hey, only timf can beer blog!
cain
Kryptik
@KG:
That whole scene is just one of my favorites in the history of forever.
Just Some Fuckhead
Fall here is better than summer. Perfect warm weather all the way til the week after Thanksgiving. Nights in the spa.
Except for the occasional hurricane, of course.
DougJ
@Kryptik:
I can’t watch that movie because Joey Lauren Adams’ voice annoys me too much, even though it memorably references my favorite rap lyric.
Ed Marshall
Did you mean to put a link in there somewhere?
lamh32
this is OT, but I posted it in the other thread, so I might as well post it here to:
Via Ben Smith @ Politco:
Shit meet fan!!!
Federal judge overturns ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
What does this mean nationally? Or does it mean anything?
Crashman
@DougJ: Always thought Joey Lauren Adams was cute in that movie. Didn’t see anything of her until Party Down, about two years ago. The years and surgery had not been kind.
Dave C
@lamh32:
I Was about to ask the same question.
agorabum
Reminds me of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer, which is based off the remains of ale cups from the actual tomb of King Midas.
Not bad, either.
Here’s perhaps the most fun Midas story:
http://scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2009/04/midas_the_golden_king_of_beer.php
But here’s the actual beer:
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/midas-touch.htm
BD of MN
@Crashman:
Crashman, I’d give some consideration for an Irish Red Ale or if you’re in the mood (to wait) for a nice big winter beer, a Strong Scotch Ale…
If you’re an all grain brewer, I can give you a recipe for a fabulous Red Ale that’s won a couple of awards…
Crashman
@BD of MN: Not enough room for all-grain, yet… But I have been contemplating an Irish Red for a while. Not sure I have the patience to wait for a Scotch. Thanks!
Davis X. Machina
@lamh32: What it means nationally, because the Log Cabin Republicans are the plaintiff, is
a.) it’ll get tossed on standing somewhere along the line, and
b.) until then, it means that the punditocracy, for whom contrarianism is like crack, and whose favorite way to accumulate sky miles is to fly in the face of reality, will now declare that the GOP is the natural home for all right-thinking gay people.
BD of MN
@Crashman:
I hear ya. I haven’t brewed (10 gal all-grain setup) in over a year because my 20yo son has an ’84 Camaro in 4000 pieces all over my garage…
If you’re looking for some recipes, I’d recommend “Brewing Classic Styles” by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. I based my Irish Red recipe on theirs and it turned out fabulously…
Cain
@agorabum:
That’s one of my fav beers. Midas touch is a great beer to have on a warm rainy day.
cain
Crashman
@BD of MN: Don’t have any Camaro parts in the way, just a too-small apartment! Make that boy clean up for you!
I used to listen to a podcast that Jamil did and he gave out recipes on it every episode. I made two of his creations (a milk stout, and a blond) and those two were some of the best I’ve ever made. I think I’ll add that book to the list.
Redshirt
Anyone here an Egyptian expert? I bet there is! If so, please share an interesting fact that we might not know, or at least generally know.
The Egyptians were awesome. So advanced, so long ago. Comparing them to their peers reveals a wide discrepancy – while most humans were still living rough, the Egyptians had massive cities and religious complexes. Sure, it was built on the backs of slave labor, but that was the “machine” of the age.
I visited Crete a few years back, and got to see several Egyptian artifacts and Cretan knock offs. It was awesome to imagine people just like you and me getting in rickety little boats and crossing the wide sea to trade with other ancient, magnificent cultures.
I wish I could time travel at will but never interact with anything – just to be able to watch historical events unfold in real time would be a godlike dream.
Martin
@lamh32: It means all judges are activists, naturally. It couldn’t possibly mean that conservative policies are shitty.
I imagine there’ll be lots of screaming from the usual parties, but the GOP seems pretty close to give up this fight anyway. DADT will be gone within 6 months, whether by court or Congress, so I don’t imagine it’ll mean all that much.
KG
@Redshirt: there’s actually some dispute as to whether the ancient Egyptians practiced slavery… particularly the part about them building the pyramids and other structures.
Linda Featheringill
Autumn in Cleveland.
Then if ever are the perfect days.
Actually, I’ve lived in several places and September in Cleveland is one reason why I’m still here. [the other reason is white snow and almost-black tree trunks]
Crashman
@Redshirt:
For a while, this is what I hoped Heaven to be like.
Sentient Puddle
Hops, hops, hops, hops, hops. It’s all in the bloody hops. That shit’s got anti-bacterial properties, and between those and the fact that you kinda have to boil the mix to properly make the stuff, beer has been typically healthier than water for much of history.
As for other awesome properties of beer, America exists today in part because the Pilgrims had to make a beer run.
Martin
And finally catching up on last night’s TV, I love that our VP will go on Colbert.
Origuy
@Redshirt: The Egyptians were certainly ahead of other cultures of their time, but not as much as you might think. We see what they built because they built in stone. Cultures that used timber were pretty sophisticated, but the structures are gone.
The Varna culture in Bulgaria predated the Egyptians, about the fifth millennium BC. The Harrapans in the Indus Valley had running water and sewers when the Egyptians were building the Pyramids.
ColleenSTL
@lamh32: It will at least be interesting to see how the Administration responds. Will they appeal? If they do, then just watch the shit hit the proverbial fan. Although they have been thus far completely tone deaf when it comes to the base, I can’t imagine the Administration being so foolish.
charles pierce
I’m allergic to many antibiotics. Does this mean I’m allergic to…beer?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Davis X. Machina
@ColleenSTL: They haven’t appealed the DOMA ruling in the Massachusetts federal district, at least not yet.
Ripley
Um, think I have the right thread: Ranger IPA, New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO. Kick that nasty bacterial shit right outta ya.
+whatever, bad day
Paul Reber
While not necessarily alcohol-related, although it’s a distinct possibility alcohol was covertly involved, I found the following link good for cheering up:
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/09/did-megan-mcardle-really-graduate-from-a-business-school.html
Summary:
DeLong embarrasses McMeghan
McMeghan shows up in the comments and embarrasses herself further
DeLong administers additional pwnage
McMeghan says “Oops” and wanders off muttering incoherently about discount rates
daryljfontaine
@KG: “What’s a Nubian?” Bitch, you almost made me laugh.
D
Mo MacArbie
I’ve never made a pumpkin spice beer, but this week has to be just about the ideal time for it.
Amit Joshi
Got a linky for that? Sounds fascinating…