271/365: National Drink Beer Day*

You’ll want to hop on over to the fridge in order to take advantage of today’s food holiday. September 28 is National Drink Beer Day!

It’s also National Strawberry Cream Pie Day, but with so many pie holidays already under our belts (plus the fact that I am away from home from before sunrise to after sunset today), we decided to celebrate beer. I should add that I despise beer, so this wasn’t a holiday I was particularly looking forward to. Tara, on the other hand, is a big Bud Light fan, meaning today was no big deal to her.

There was already a National Drink Wine Day in February, so it’s only fair that beer gets a day devoted to drinking it, as well. Beer is one of the oldest-known beverages humans produced, and was probably discovered by accident after cereal grains containing sugar fermented on their own. Records of beer date back to at least 5000 B.C., and references to the alcoholic beverage have been found in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The oldest known recipe is a 3900 year old Sumerian poem that pays homage to Ninkasi, the goddess of brewing. They really did have gods for everything back then! This beer was made with barley and bread. Beer became such a way of life – it was enjoyed on a daily basis by Egyptian pharaohs, was prescribed to treat illnesses, and was often given as a sacrifice to the gods – it has been argued that man could not have developed technologies and built civilizations without it. I guess after stacking blocks into a pyramid shape all day, nothing hits the spot like a tall, cool one.

I had no idea beer was so highly revered by ancient peeps! Kinda makes me feel bad for not appreciating it more, but try as I might, I have never been able to stomach the stuff. I know it’s an acquired taste, but I’d rather spend my time acquiring liquor or wine. Still, when in Rome and all that jazz, so I made sure to snag a beer during today’s symposium. We happened to be at McMenamin’s Edgefield, which has an onsite distillery. I asked the bartender, “What kind of beer would you recommend for somebody who doesn’t like beer?” He suggested a “Ruby,” so I took him up on his suggestion. As far as beers go, not exactly terrible, I’m still not a fan. I drank a little over half, though. Tara celebrated at home with, of course, Bud Light.

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