For you beer-lovers out there.
1. One reason the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock instead of Virginia was that they were running out of beer. One passenger's diary "...our victuals being much spent, especially our beere." Sounds like a good excuse to me.
2. In the 1600s to 1700s, midwives in Europe and Colonial America gave delivering mothers "groaning ale.' After birth, the baby might be bathed in the ale as it was likely more sanitary than available water.
3. President James Madison proposed the creation of a national brewery. If there had been one, the Tribune nominates George Wendt of "Cheers," good old Norm, to head that cabinet position. Or perhaps Windell Middlebrooks, the Miller High Life truck driver who confiscates the stuff.
4. Beer can kill, but usually not nine at a time. In 1814 London, a brewery tank ruptured and 3,500 barrels worth of beer crashed down on nearby residents, destroying their houses and killing nine. Like the Beach Music song says, "If Ten is Gonna Kill Me, Give Me Nine."
5. Chicago's Diversey Parkway and Lill Avenue were named for two of the city's early brewers, Michael Diversey and William Lill.
From the September 16, 2007 Chicago Tribune
More to Come. --Cooter
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