In his Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post two weeks ago, George F. Will used the (at the time) as yet unaccepted offer from InBev for Anheuser-Busch as seen in Investor’s Business Daily as a lead-in to meander from beer as a staple, to beer as essential to civilization, to beer and its role in natural selection.

The story asserted: “The [alcoholic beverage] industry’s continued growth, however slight, has been a surprise to those who figured that when the economy turned south, consumers would cut back on nonessential items like beer.”

“Non what“? Do not try to peddle that proposition in the bleachers or at the beaches in July. It is closer to the truth to say: No beer, no civilization.

The bulk of the piece discusses the research in The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. More specifically, how alcohol, specifically beer, was necessary for civilization to grow. Alcohol has natural anti-bacterial properties (not to mention the long boiling necessary to brew killed plenty of “bugs” as well) and was safer to drink than the water.

He concludes that beer is very much essential.

George F. Will - Survival of the Sudsiest

I only had two problems with the article. One, the mugs of Budweiser in the accompanying photograph look so…weak. Okay, sure, it was appropriate to include A-B’s flagship beer, but my goodness it looks like it has no flavor at all.

The other issue I had was that Mr. Will unfortunately perpetuated the beer urban legend that Ben Franklin said that “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” It just ain’t so.

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