Beer and Conversation Podcast

The boys drink and review Young Buck, a Maibock from Key Brewing, then knock out five topics in five minutes each.

The lab origin hypothesis. There’s a lab in Wuhan, China, that works on “gain of function” in coronaviruses, which, by an astonishing coincidence, is where the virus started — but somehow the idea that the virus came from the lab was a crazy conspiracy theory.

Zoom life — what we’ve learned about virtual meetings during the pandemic.

Sobriety checkpoints — are they legal? Should they be? They seem to reverse the presumption of innocence.

Vaccines — are you a crazy, awful, conspiratorial monster if you choose to avoid the vaccine?

9-0 SCOTUS decision on Catholic organizations being involved in foster care.

The boys review two homebrewed bourbon barrel-aged stouts — both from the same recipe. One from this year, and one from a couple years ago. Then they the change in parents’ attitudes towards 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? It seems that we’re way safer, but feel more vulnerable.

What about sports? Do kids collect neighborhood friends and play ball, or do they have to wait until the adults organize it for them? Do they ever learn to make their own rules, negotiate and resolve conflicts?

What has caused this dramatic change in attitudes?

The boys review their Strauss challenge (in which they brewed two homebrews, one with 100% Vienna malt and one with 100% 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.

Why don’t these U.S. citizens get the same representation as residents of the 50 states?

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 … to put it the other way … 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.

The 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. But Biden thinks other things are more important.

Our enemies are laughing.

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 tech, big government and media are all in a conspiracy to shoot down dissent.

P&C discuss these issues, then review the lockdown from three perspectives: what it’s done to freedom, health and the economy.

The boys drink and review Spaten’s Optimator — a delicious dopplebock from Germany — 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.

Pigweed and Crowhill discuss Joe’s 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. We hope this short episode gives you a taste to dig further into the affairs of the man who made 221B Baker Street famous.

The boys drink and review an imperial red ale from Mully’s Brewery, then discuss the hero quest pattern and how it applies to different stories.

The common elements of the hero quest include …

• An unusual birth,
• Separated from father / mother, sent to live with aunt / uncle,
• A call to Adventure,
  • Sometimes from an animal, which symbolizes our gut instincts
  • Sometimes from a wizard, or spiritual guide
  • sometimes it requires leaving the influence of your family, or your mother,
• Leaves the familiar world.
• At the boundary of familiar and unfamiliar, the hero encounters the threshold guardian — often his shadow.
• Goes into strange and threatening lands where he might fight monsters to find the hidden potentials.
• Death and rebirth — old self dies, new self emerges with new strength and purpose

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?