Proof of God: Beer

Boneyard’s Blood Orange Pale Ale delivered joy during lockdown.
Boneyard’s Blood Orange Pale Ale delivered joy during lockdown.
Written by Beau Eastes

The quote “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” is popularly attributed to Ben Franklin. While historians posit that he actually wrote this about wine, we have no doubt about the truth in this alleged misquote.

The past year-and-a-half has been brutal for just about everyone we know. But beer, glorious beer, the cause and solution to all of life’s problems, has delivered some moments of happiness.

Here are some beers that brought smiles to our faces during the past eighteen months:

A LITER OR THREE OF BITBURGER PILS FROM STAMMTISCH

A cold German beer on a hot day is always a good idea, but this summer, as Portland negotiated a record heat wave, the rounds of Bitburger were especially tasty. The Beerlandia staff was on an intense research mission that weekend and Stammtisch provided a much-needed home base—and a perfect all-day drinking beer.

HEDONIST IPA FROM SOLERA BREWING

How about a hooray for good folks willing to share a picnic table with a stranger and watch your dog while you make beer runs inside? While attending a Covid-postponed wedding in Hood River in July, I made a detour into Parkdale’s Solera Brewing before the ceremony. Every outdoor seat was full, but two gals from Portland waved me and my pup over, shared their table and watched my 80-pound ball of energy during my multiple trips inside to grab what quickly became one of my favorite IPA’s of the year. Good beer, good people, great memory.

SILVER BULLETS IN SILVER LAKE

Oh Coors Light, how you keep popping up in my life. In June, some bike-loving pals and I made a much anticipated bikepacking trip from Bend to the Cowboy Dinner Tree, just south of Silver Lake. The trip wasn’t that long—we camped just one night—but strong headwinds made the last half of the journey a bit more adventurous than expected. Arriving in Silver Lake a couple of hours before our reservation at the Tree, we celebrated our first buddies-trip in more than a year with a six-pack of Silver Bullets before we tackled 32-ounce steaks just down the road.

DELIVERY BEERS FROM BONEYARD

During peak pandemic, Bend’s Boneyard Beer pivoted hard and fast to cans, and their pub offered beer and food delivery. The world felt a little less depressing when Boneyard delivered a six-pack of Incredible Pulp, a blood orange pale ale, and a royale burger with fries to my house while I was out on a long gravel bike ride. I see it as just more evidence that whether Ben Franklin uttered that quote about beer or not, it’s right.

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