It’s a strange thing, democracy.
When they eagerly accept such notions as “frost brewed” or “beechwood aged” as prime determinants of quality, we mock, scorn, or at least question the judgment of the masses. Their taste in music has made commercial terrestrial radio all but unlistenable. Their prime time viewing habits have enabled the viral spread of reality TV. It is the masses who have allowed Justin Timberlake to feel sexy, Paris Hilton to feel relevant – and perhaps worst of all, Matthew McConaughey to have a successful career.
These same masses have given birth to a Starbucks on every street corner, an Applebee’s in every strip mall-adjacent location not already occupied by Chili’s or T.G.I. Friday’s, and an office birthday cake for every day of the week. They pluralize words with apostrophes. Obesity is on the rise, consumer debt is on the rise – and math skills, of course, are on the decline.
Yet in the face of all this, we repeat the refrain that everyone who is eligible should get out and vote. Not just we the masses, but we here at It’s A Fine Day For A Beer. It’s a sacred right, a tremendous privilege, and an awesome responsibility. While in this office we’re less enthusiastic about John McCain than we were 8 years ago, less enthusiastic about Barack Obama than we were 8 weeks ago, and altogether less than enthusiastic about the empty promises of far too many local ballot measures, we nonetheless urge those of you who have the opportunity and have not done so already to get out and vote. Make informed choices, make sincere choices, and leave no chad hanging.
Today history is made. Perhaps the United States elects its first female Vice President, and its oldest first-term President. More likely, polls would suggest, the sun will rise tomorrow on the country’s first African-American President-elect. It will, regardless, be history not only for whatever “notable first” may come, but for the circumstances that surround it: a nation at war, an economy in flux, a changing population, a changing place for America in the global community (and, of course, a Planet In Peril).
What that history portends for the future remains to be seen. On this fine Tuesday after the first Monday in November, then, there is little more to do (after voting, that is) but to sit back, let the ballots be counted, and say Ale To The Chief – whoever he may be. On the eve of Avery Brewing’s Czar Russian Imperial Stout release party, grab a few bottles of this more democratic brew – one for today, and one to age until Inauguration Day.
Bursting with hop aroma, this formidable double IPA has the courage and character to stand up to the special interests and greedy corporations that would have you drink flavorless swill. Avery's Ale To The Chief is the change we need. It has malt sweetness. It has notes of pine and grapefruit in its lingering hop flavors. Flavor first. A time for unity, a time for beer. Hops. Malt. Yeast. Peace.
Vote.
*Barack Obama and John McCain images taken with implied or licensed consent from Wikimedia Commons.
