Posted on 01/01/2007 7:34:05 AM PST by toddlintown
The Myth of Ben Franklin and Beer
While closing up the last edits of Beer & Food: An American History, I started to read Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin, An American Life. Knowing me to be the history buff that I am, my wife picked up a trade paperback of the 2004 printing on one of her business trips.
I saw this book as a possible answer to something that puzzled me throughout the research and writing of Beer & Food; no matter where I looked to source Franklin's supposed famous quote "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," I came up empty-handed. To make matters more confusing, I knew that Franklin was very big on wine, not beer. Anyone who lived in France for nine years as the U.S. Ambassador to France, surely had partaken more of the noble grape in lieu of French beer (wouldn't you, beer drinker or not?)
Nonetheless, scores of websites, writers and organization use this quote, typically without attribution or as an element of Franklin's Poor Richards Almanack from 1733 to 1758. I, however, couldn't find the quote, nor anything remotely like it. What I did find were Franklin witticisms that mentioned wine;
* "Never spare the Parson's wine, nor the Baker's pudding."
* "Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water."
* "Women and wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small and the wants great."
* "Be temperate in Wine, in eating, Girls, and Sloth, or the Gout will seize you and plague you both."
Even rum gets a mention:
* "He that spills the Rum, loses that only; He that drinks it, often loses both that and himself."
In all of the issues of Poor Richard's, no mention is made of God and beer.
(Excerpt) Read more at beerinfood.com ...
Darn lying beer companies, now what am I gonna do? I sorta built my life around that chestnut.
All for some French wine. For shame.
Beer. So ugly people can be pretty for a while.
Perhaps Sam Adams had invented product placement way back then.
Ben is sometimes quoted as saying: "Be temperate in Wine, in eating, Girls, and Sloth, or the Gout will seize you and plague you both" - but, age changes some attitudes!
Damn the Gout - its time to have more fun -- oops to late for girls!
Why 1862? The beer purity law was passed in 1516, so 1862 has to be waaaaay too late.
I was wondering about that myself. I think that beer has been around for something like 3000 years.
Beer was taxed by the feds beginning in 1862.
As I recall, beer has been found in ancient egyptian tombs...
No kidding. I did not know that.
But darned if I can find that one either.
Enjoy
The Value of a Drink
"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink
I feel shame Then I look into the glass and think
About the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes
and dreams . If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out
of work and their dreams would be shattered.
Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their
dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
~ Jack Handy
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wond ering what the hell
happened to your bra and/or undies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they
wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're
going to feel all day. "
~Frank Sinatra
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."
~ Henny Youngman
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."
~ Stephen Wright
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk,we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all
get drunk and go to heaven!"
~ Brian O'Rourke
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
~ Benjamin Franklin
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a chicken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Without question, the greatest invention in the
history of mankind is beer. Oh , I grant you that the
wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does
not go nearly as well with pizza."
~ Dave Barry
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a can!
~ Dave Howell
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin, of Cheers.
One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.
Here's how it went:
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consump tion of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not
As I recall, beer has been found in ancient egyptian tombs...Yeah, usually the archaeologists find a nice dark, deep, cold place to keep a couple of sixes away from prying eyes.
lol
Could it have been coined by some English decadent? It feels like something Oscar Wilde might have said, but he was perhaps too much of an aesthete to drink beer.
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