Hallowbeers
Man, lots of spooky beer stories out there today. I guess it's no surprise, since "Halloween is actually the biggest weekend of the year for beer sales." The drinking theme is so popular, "nearly 100 breweries now offer a pumpkin beer" and there are scores of scary-sounding beers, like these brews that LA Weekly featured: Alesmith Evil Dead Red, Avery Mephistopheles, Wychwood Brewery King Goblin, Rogue Dead Guy Ale, and Fallen Angel Black Death Chili. That last one sounds and tastes scary: "An English beer made with the world's hottest chili, the Naga or Death Chili, rated at 850,000 Scovilles. One sip is sure to make you pray for death." * * * * * * * Of course, what's Halloween week without some real violence? I mean, Detroit used to burn down many of its neighborhoods to celebrate the devil, so what's wrong with a dude attacking another guy with a broken beer bottle? Or a guy arrested for stealing beer on three separate occasions? * * * * * * * The best beer story of Halloween week, though, is the subject of today's picture: Outrage by the Wiccans at Lost Abbey Witch's Wit. "The Wiccan community, led by popular astrologer and healer Vicki Noble, has lashed out against the California brewery that makes the beer by launching an internet campaign to change the label. After noticing the bottle in a store, Noble sent an email to her many friends and followers comparing the image to 'a black person being lynched or a Jewish person going to the oven.' . . . Those against the label condemn the image as offensive to practicing pagans." I honestly wouldn't have thought it was possible to offend pagans. I mean, Moloch and amorous Zeus and all that stuff. At what point is a person beyond offending? I remember reading a case about a judge who ruled against a mob member who was suing for defamation. The judge said, in essence, "There are some reputations that simply can't be defamed." I woulda thought pagans couldn't be offended. Surely, there's a magical ointment for that thin-skin condition.
