According to Jonathan Golob, a.k.a. Dear Science:
Beer is a pretty damn good source of folate, a B vitamin critical for neural development—thanks to the magic of fermentation and yeast. Before the times of Wonder Bread and vitamin-enriched everything, it was one of the few reliable sources….
From the UW Libraries; thanks, Tom!
Everybody knows alcohol kills germs.
I know a guy who says he only gets Death Flu one day a year because he drinks so much.
When I was in Florida for six weeks over the holidays visiting family, I was sick for most of it cos I wasn’t drinking. I came home, two beers with dinner, sometimes one for breakfast, a snifter of bourbon here and there, and the occasional bottle of wine, and I haven’t been sick in over a month.
Yay science!
So that’s why my brother doesn’t get sick.
In the middle ages, light beer was given to kids because it was far cleaner than water. Apparently the practice continued into the 19th and even 20th century.
plus, beer doesn’t make you fat
Mah big beer belleh begs to differ with you. Small bones, slim past.
wow – brand loyalty solved
sort of the McDonalds system, get ’em young
These old beer ads are hilarious. The text is nothing less than bizarre, and they say things that are not allowed in ads today; i.e., claiming health benefits for beer.
Check out this one (may have to scroll a bit to see the whole ad) for Schlitz, The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous, from 1904…
“Beer is good for you. The malt is food; the hops a tonic. The alcohol–only 3 1/2 per cent–is an aid to digestion; a healthful stimulant…It does not ferment on the stomach…It gives you beer without biliousness.”
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
– King James, et al.
Dear Bethany, Please stop, you are so lame.
I love how German this ad is.
Louisa May Alcott-y old country nostalgia.