Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

The boys review two homebrewed bourbon barrel-aged stouts, then discuss safety. In the 70s we didn't wear helmets or knee pads, and we didn't use seat belts. How much safer are we today? How much safer do we feel? What about sports. Do kids collect friends and play sports, or do they have to wait until the adults organize it for them? Do they ever learn to negotiate and resolve conflicts? What has caused the change?

The boys review their Strauss challenge (Vienna malt vs. Munich malt), then discuss two different ways of approaching the world -- the broader meaning vs. the specific, practical meaning -- and how a skeptical / analytical view of the world contrasts with a more intuitive view. One view might be called sentimental, or following an unprovable grand narrative, while the other might be called practical, rational, hard-headed or maybe "objective." Should everything be "rational"? Sometimes things that seem irrational have a hidden origin or meaning that shouldn't be easily dismissed.

P&C drink and review a west coast IPA from local Hysteria Brewing, then discuss statehood for DC and PR.  Is "taxation without representation" a fair way to characterize the U.S. attitude towards the District of Columbia? The constitution says Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over the federal district. Is that a good idea? Or .. do you want the seat of government under the control of one of the states? And how about Puerto Rico? Should it be a state? Under what terms do we admit new territories as states?

P&C drink and review Hysteria's Barleyfine, then discuss military recruitment. How do you inspire young men to join the armed forces and put their lives on the line for the country? According to the Biden administration, wokeness is the key. What we need, they think, is flight suits for pregnant women. They boys recently watched four recruitment videos: one from China, one from Russia, and two from the U.S. -- one for the army and one for the CIA. The Russians and the Chinese are appealing to masculinity, strength, discipline, self-sacrifice and other traditional disciplines. The U.S. videos are all about voyages of self discovery, wokeness and narcissism. The military is about shedding your individual identity to become part of a bigger cause, specifically service to the country.

P&C drink and review Gaffel's Kolsch, then discuss the lockdown. Was it worth it?  What was the original purpose of locking us all in our homes? How did we get into this weird situation in the first place? Why did we allow it to go so long? What were the consequences, and the unintended consequences?  In making this unprecedented decision, did anyone count the costs of the lockdown? Apparently not. It seems that the allegedly free governments of the west saw that China got away with it and decided to give it a try. To their surprise (and glee?), it worked.  The lockdown was a one-size fits all response to a disease that was known to affect demographic groups very differently. It was a hammer solution to a tweezer problem.  Think of the damage that's been done to our culture as a result of the lockdown. The media is in cahoots with the government, promoting one story and suppressing another. We've accepted the idea that there's an orthodoxy of thought, and it's infiltrated science. Big

P&C drink and review Spaten's Optimator, then discuss Biden's first 100 days in office. How has he done? While there are some decent, or even positive points, the overall rating is poor. The boys discuss his sharp left turn, his oversight of the vaccine program, his spending proposals, his cowardice in the face of the teacher's union, his mismanagement of the border, his foreign policy, climate issues, social justice, police reform, accusing the United States of racism .... Biden seems on track to be Jimmy Carter 2, or worse.

P&C drink and review an IPA from Mully's Brewery in Southern Maryand, then -- with special guest Longinus -- review the classic horror / mystery novel featuring the world's most famous detective.  The boys review the story of the spectral hound (with spoilers) and evaluate Conan Doyle's writing style, as well as his well-known characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. What kind of a man was Sherlock Holmes? And what kind of a relationship did he have with Watson?  The Hound of the Baskervilles is a classic tale, full of mystery,  romance, intrigue and horror, and a good introduction to these famous characters. 

The boys drink and review an imperial red ale, then -- with special guest Longinus -- discuss the hero quest pattern and how it applies to different stories. They see the pattern in the stories of Moses, Krishna and Mithridates. (They wanted to add Jesus and Buddha, but there wasn't time.) Then they discuss the larger issue of patterns and archetypes. What's the origin of this hero quest pattern, and why do so many compelling stories follow it? What does the hero quest say about each of our lives? Where are these archetypes from, and how do they play out in society?

The boys drink and review Holy Roller, a hazy IPA, and talk about Machiavelli. Do the ends justify the means? (And did Machiavelli mean that?) The boys discuss Machiavelli's historical context, the work for which he is mostly known, and the meaning and application of the term "Machiavellian." Machiavelli satirizes the classic view of virtues, espoused by Cicero. Those virtues might be nice, he says, but they won't keep you in power. The Prince is contrary to both Roman and Christian values, and was almost scandalous in its time.

P&C drink a Maibock, then discuss their favorite topic: beer.  The boys talk about hop classifications and uses, and why hops came to dominate beer. They also discuss warm vs. cold beer, and why temperature matters.  And what about sour beers? What's up with that. And speaking of off flavors, what about those beer geeks who criticize Budweiser?  They end with a pair of beer challenges. 

P&C drink and review Joyous IPA from Troegs, then talk about tattletales and crybabies. P&C are sick of them, but it seems their ranks are swelling. Instant gratification. The daily outrage. Helicopter parents. Participation trophies. And people get extremely upset over the most ridiculous things. How have we come to this place? How did we become so coddled and spoiled? The boys discuss possible causes from three angles: technology, culture, and the geopolitical situation. Plus the malaise of safety.

P&C drink and review "Unforgivable Curses" by Peabody Heights brewery, then discuss witches and witchcraft. What's up with witches? Nowadays they're fun and sexy, but there was a time when people were scared to death of them, hunted them down and hanged them. The boys discuss various pogroms against witches over the years, trying to sort out what's true and what's a misconception. They cover ... + Joan of Arc + The Malleus Maleficarum + The witch's mark + Salem + How many witches were actually killed? ... and much more.

P&C drink and review a hop-infused cider, then discuss how lawsuits and boycotts might be the only hope of saving western civilization from the assault by woke, racist morons. The boys don't like litigation or boycotts, but it seems those might be the only tools to fight critical race theory and the other woke idiocies that are ruining lives and destroying the culture. Corporations are buying into these explicity racist, illegal, and immoral diversity struggle sessions to avoid lawsuits. We need to show them that lawsuits and boycotts can come from both sides, and the law is on our side. And now we have Major League Baseball getting into politics. Rather than being the non-political escape that we all were able to enjoy together, sports organizations are injecting partisan politics into our free time. As distasteful as it is, boycott the idiots until they get some sense and grow a pair.

P&C review Pigweed's most recent pale ale, then discuss voting laws. Are the "one-time" accommodations to the pandemic going to change things permanently? The last election was weird. Mail-in (late) ballots. Ballots mailed to everyone on the roles. Votes counted after election day. Both sides recognize there's cause for some sort of clean-up, but we have different visions of what that should be. There's (so far) a federal approach, and a state (GA) approach. P&C weigh in, discussing the role of the federal and the state governments, and how we balance keeping things local vs. national standards.

P&C drink and review another Pastry Archy offering, Oatmeal Cream Pie: an imperial honey wheat ale. Then they review arguments for the existence of God, starting with Anselm's ontological argument. They move on to several of Aquinas' arguments, which mostly revolve around the concept of an infinite regress. Then there's "can you get something from nothing," and the idea of gradation. When we compare things, are we assuming an ultimate standard? What about morals, and miracles, and .... They can't cover it all, but P&C review some of the more well-known arguments and add their commentary.

Captain Crunch made a surprise trip to town, bringing a very strange Korean rice beer, and regaling Pigweed and Crowhill with tales of her travels in Korea.  What's different over there? Shopping. Weather. Living arrangements. Technology. Having a wacko neighbor to the north. Snack foods.  Driving. Trash. Listen in and hear all about it.

P&C drink and review an abbey ale, then discuss food fads, and worries about new agricultural innovations.  Organic food. GMO. "All-natural." Does it really matter? Or is this just a big marketing ploy? What does "organic" really mean? And aren't all of our foods genetically modified? The boys weigh the costs and benefits of scientifically modified food. 

P&C drink and review the latest Pastryarchy offering from DuClaw, then discuss the similarities between Martin Luther and Jordan Peterson. Crowhill is convinced JP is on the edge of a major transformation, and can see similarities between Peterson and Luther -- especially in how they deal with the righteousness of God. Peterson seems unable to deal with the moral weight of God's existence in a healthy way. It crushes him. It terrifies him. As it did Luther. JP will have to solve this. And soon.

P&C drink and review Shiner's Candied Pecan ale, then discuss the recent shenanigans of Milo Yiannopoulos. Milo used to be the flambouyant gay darling of the far right, until he seemed to advocate pedophilia, and then he dropped off the radar. We haven't heard much of Milo until he recently decided to come out as ex-gay! He's relegated his husband to the status of housemate, he's leading an online devotion to St. Joseph, and he's starting a new center for the much-despised "conversion therapy." Is this just another attention-getting prank? What are we to make of Milo? And why is "conversion therapy" such a unique problem? You can get goof-ball therapy to change any aspect of your personality that you like, except this? Why?

P&C drink and review St. Michael's Amber Ale, then discuss monarchies. They ask the obligatory question -- is Meghan Markle oppressed? -- and then discuss Piers Morgan, and the royal clown show in general. They move on to a general overview of the idea of monarchy, and whether such a thing is a good idea in the modern world. It turns out that countries with constitutional monarchies do pretty well. P&C offer some ideas why that might be.