War No More
Wars that pit brother
against brother, sister
against sister and brewer
against brewer are never
pretty. Though rivalry is a
source of great inspiration,
the greatness of the
competitors themselves
can oftentimes get lost in
the shuffle. Having taken a
close look at the brewers
of Eugene and Corvallis,
one thing is very clear —
we make better beer here
than anywhere else in the
country.
And indeed, it is truly
awesome that Oregon has
so much good beer to go
around. Who brews more,
who brews better, who
brews weirder — it really
doesn’t matter. It is said no
one wins in war, but that
just isn’t true. And in this
case, the real winners are
the drinkers, who demand
more of their beers as the
ante keeps getting upped.
And it’s okay to demand
more. It’s okay to drink
one more pint, it’s okay to
hit the hops after a hard
day of work. It’s okay to
stay out all night pounding
beer at the brewery until
they close down (after all,
most of them don’t have
bouncers that will throw
you out). It’s even okay to
start brewing at home to
add more to our valley of
plenty — or to lessen the
lifespan of your liver. As is
not the case with beer’s
evil twin, hard liquor, it’s
okay to go all-out more
often, and with beer this
good all around, why not?
As the old Czech
proverb says, “A fine beer
may be judged with only
one sip, but it is best to be
thoroughly sure.”
Go be sure.
— Dante Zuñiga-West
6 THE STATE OF SUDS 2011
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