CSotD: Ironic City, man
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The Knight Life with a double-swipe — one at the economy and one at the ironic hipsters who made PBR a well-known acronym.
There is no such thing as ironic beer. Beer comes in two basic forms: Good beer and Bad beer. It is a continuum and there are plenty of beers that are "okay," and it's up to you to decide if that puts them on the "good" or "bad" side of the dividing line.
The dividing line is pretty simple to define. You buy a new beer, you take it home, you pop one open. If your reaction is, "Well, that's not much," it's an okay beer on the good side of the spectrum. You won't buy it again, but you don't mind having it around.
If you pour the rest of that one down the drain and use the remainder of the batch only to kill slugs in your garden or when you boil shrimp, it falls, perhaps, somewhere on the bad side of the spectrum.
I was in the beer store this past summer and bought an 18-pack of Narragansett Lager, because it said on the ends of the cardboard box-sleeve "If you're not drinking Narragansett, you're not from New England", and, on all six sides, "Hi, Neighbor!"
I was hoping to uncover a regional gem. Heh.
When I got it home, I found that, on the can, it says, "Made on Honor – Sold on Merit," which might, I suppose, make it an "ironic" beer, since I also found that it says, "Narraganett Brewing Company, Latrobe, PA."
Latrobe is also where they brew Sam Adams, another beer that claims New England roots. The difference is, I'll drink Sam Adams. I've still got three cans of Narragansett Lager left, because I don't have a problem with slugs and I don't boil shrimp that often.
Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is a very interesting place, a small city with a lot of cultural history to it, but it ain't in New England. And it's hard to believe that they brew this swill in the same state where they make Yuengling, a cheap regional beer that comes down firmly on the good side of the dividing line.
Anyway, whether you drink good beer or bad beer is not an economic question. My boys both brew beer and either one of them can put the microbreweries to shame with what they make, and they do it for a very low unit cost.
Still, Keith Knight is right about lifestyle choices versus economic realities, and I'm lucky, when these moments strike, to be able to look in the mirror and say, "Dude, you're a writer. What did you expect?"
That's a lot different than looking in the mirror and saying, "Dude, you know all about computers. That was supposed to be the hot ticket. What the hell happened?" or "Dude, you have an advanced degree in business management. You were on your way to the top. Why are you living like this?"
At which point, the Devil pops up in a puff of smoke and says, "Dude, past results are no indication of future performance. Thanks for the soul. Here, have a PBR."
Which, as you can plainly see, if the preferred drink of successful people who wear cufflinks every day, even at home.
In other news: Looks like a pretty good thread to track on Sally Forth this coming week, given Ted's already-well-established ability to function in an alternate universe.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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