Now We're Worried

The drought that has hit the Pacific Northwest could produce a nation-wide drought of the worst kind: less beer and wine. According to this article, "the region is the nation's largest producer of hops, a key ingredient in beer, and Washington state and Oregon are among the top five states producing wine." LINK

Now, before everyone panics with us, we may want to take this story with a grain of "salt." It comes from the Salt Lake Tribune, as in Salt Lake City, Utah. On more than one occasion, a reporter's wishful thinking has interfered with his analysis (think "Dan Rather"). This might just be a case of a Mormon reporter's wishful thinking.

And how, you ask, do we know the reporter is Mormon? We don't, but she's writing from Salt Lake City, so the odds gotta be pretty good. But even more telling: The parenthetical comment above: "hops, a key ingredient in beer . . .". Who but a teetotaller thinks "hops" need to be explained? If she's not a teetotaller, she's very sensitive to the teetotalling audience or she's a writer that explains everything: "The drought is exacerbated by the sun, that big fiery ball in the sky that heats the earth."