Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill

The boys drink and review Holy Roller, a hazy IPA, and talk about Machiavelli. Do the ends justify the means? (And did Machiavelli mean that?) The boys discuss Machiavelli's historical context, the work for which he is mostly known, and the meaning and application of the term "Machiavellian." Machiavelli satirizes the classic view of virtues, espoused by Cicero. Those virtues might be nice, he say...

P&C drink a Maibock, then discuss their favorite topic: beer.  The boys talk about hop classifications and uses, and why hops came to dominate beer. They also discuss warm vs. cold beer, and why temperature matters.  And what about sour beers? What's up with that. And speaking of off flavors, what about those beer geeks who criticize Budweiser?  They end with a pair of beer challenges. 

P&C drink and review Joyous IPA from Troegs, then talk about tattletales and crybabies. P&C are sick of them, but it seems their ranks are swelling. Instant gratification. The daily outrage. Helicopter parents. Participation trophies. And people get extremely upset over the most ridiculous things. How have we come to this place? How did we become so coddled and spoiled? The boys discuss possible c...

P&C drink and review "Unforgivable Curses" by Peabody Heights brewery, then discuss witches and witchcraft. What's up with witches? Nowadays they're fun and sexy, but there was a time when people were scared to death of them, hunted them down and hanged them. The boys discuss various pogroms against witches over the years, trying to sort out what's true and what's a misconception. They cover ... +...

P&C drink and review a hop-infused cider, then discuss how lawsuits and boycotts might be the only hope of saving western civilization from the assault by woke, racist morons. The boys don't like litigation or boycotts, but it seems those might be the only tools to fight critical race theory and the other woke idiocies that are ruining lives and destroying the culture. Corporations are buying into...

P&C review Pigweed's most recent pale ale, then discuss voting laws. Are the "one-time" accommodations to the pandemic going to change things permanently? The last election was weird. Mail-in (late) ballots. Ballots mailed to everyone on the roles. Votes counted after election day. Both sides recognize there's cause for some sort of clean-up, but we have different visions of what that should be. T...

P&C drink and review another Pastry Archy offering, Oatmeal Cream Pie: an imperial honey wheat ale. Then they review arguments for the existence of God, starting with Anselm's ontological argument. They move on to several of Aquinas' arguments, which mostly revolve around the concept of an infinite regress. Then there's "can you get something from nothing," and the idea of gradation. When we compa...

Captain Crunch made a surprise trip to town, bringing a very strange Korean rice beer, and regaling Pigweed and Crowhill with tales of her travels in Korea.  What's different over there? Shopping. Weather. Living arrangements. Technology. Having a wacko neighbor to the north. Snack foods.  Driving. Trash. Listen in and hear all about it.

P&C drink and review an abbey ale, then discuss food fads, and worries about new agricultural innovations.  Organic food. GMO. "All-natural." Does it really matter? Or is this just a big marketing ploy? What does "organic" really mean? And aren't all of our foods genetically modified? The boys weigh the costs and benefits of scientifically modified food. 

P&C drink and review the latest Pastryarchy offering from DuClaw, then discuss the similarities between Martin Luther and Jordan Peterson. Crowhill is convinced JP is on the edge of a major transformation, and can see similarities between Peterson and Luther -- especially in how they deal with the righteousness of God. Peterson seems unable to deal with the moral weight of God's existence in a hea...

P&C drink and review Shiner's Candied Pecan ale, then discuss the recent shenanigans of Milo Yiannopoulos. Milo used to be the flambouyant gay darling of the far right, until he seemed to advocate pedophilia, and then he dropped off the radar. We haven't heard much of Milo until he recently decided to come out as ex-gay! He's relegated his husband to the status of housemate, he's leading an online...

P&C drink and review St. Michael's Amber Ale, then discuss monarchies. They ask the obligatory question -- is Meghan Markle oppressed? -- and then discuss Piers Morgan, and the royal clown show in general. They move on to a general overview of the idea of monarchy, and whether such a thing is a good idea in the modern world. It turns out that countries with constitutional monarchies do pretty well...

P&C drink and review Pigweed's Cocoa / Peanut Butter Porter, then, with special guest Longinus, review the movie Conspiracy. The movie covers the Wannsee Conference of 1942, where Reinhart Heydrich gathers German leaders to discuss the "evacuation" of Jews from German-occupied territory. Heydrich (played by Kenneth Branagh) puts an exclamation point on "German efficiency." At first there is a lot...

P&C review Glutenberg, a gluten-free IPA, then, along with special guest Longinus, discuss Elie Wiesel's Night . We've covered some hard topics, but this was the most difficult. The book chronicles Wiesel's experiences leading to and then during his confinement in Auschwitz. The story takes you through all the small steps on his journey from being a boy who wants nothing more than to study Kabbala...

P&C Review Little Sumpin' Sumpin' from Lagunitas, then do five topics in five minutes each. * What are the actual numbers on police murders, vs. what people believe. * Thoughts on fat shaming. * LSD therapy for depression and death anxiety? * Meta humans, created by AI. What are the consequences? * Is there a health benefit to looking at breasts?

P&C drink and review Crowhill's anise-flavored porter, then discuss the differences between equality and equity. Equality focuses on equal treatment. Equity focuses on equal outcomes. Equity is the right choice in some situations, but not in others. But "equity" has become the modern rallying cry, as if it's a cure-all. Equity is particularly misplaced when it's applied to groups rather than to in...

P&C drink and review O'Hara's Irish stout, then talk about UFOs. Is there some great conspiracy to hide evidence that aliens have come to earth, or is it just a big nothing-burger? P&C discuss the Fermi paradox and the Drake equation, and review some of the arguments that aliens have visited earth -- and find them wanting.

P&C drink and review a double IPA, then discuss the 3-headed hydra of cancel culture: canceling the present, erasing the past, and banning people for the future. We're starting to see examples of the media editing old stories to change the past. It's literally Orwellian. We see new initiatives to erase literal crimes to give someone a fresh start, but thought crimes from decades ago ruin lives. An...

P&C drink and review 51 Rye by Monument City Brewing, then discuss plastic bans, and the pros and cons of plastic in general. Plastics reduce food waste. They make cars lighter, and therefore more fuel efficient. They reduce the costs of many products. But there's a negative side, some of which has been exaggerated out of context. P&C try to sort it all.

P&C drink and review Madura Brown Ale from Cigar City Brewing, then discuss indications that a company might not be a good fit. + They have an equity, diversion and inclusion office, or require such classes. + They want to review your social media. + The boss can't remember the last time he praised an employee. + They speak badly of former employees. + They expect you to work long hours. + They've...

P&C drink and review some hot and cold sake, then discuss gaslighting. They start with a review of the 1940 film with Ingrid Bergman to get the original meaning of the term, then, along with special guest Longinus, go through a list of modern issues that might or might not be gaslighting. The goal of gaslighting is to get the person being gaslighted (gaslit?) to accept as true something the gaslig...

P&C drink and review Sierra Nevada's bottle-conditioned porter, then discuss Ayn Rand and objectivism with special guest Longinus. They quickly review the basic tenets of objectivism, then discuss how those ideas play out in three works: Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead, and Anthem. The boys discuss what Rand's ideas mean, and whether they're useful and applicable in the real world.

P&C drink and review a hazy IPA from Sam Adams, then do five topics in five minutes each. #1 - What's up with the Game Stop / WallStreetBets / Robinhood deal? #2 - Has the pill changed what women like in men? #3 - Will the Biden administration forgive student loans? #4 - Awards shows have become pointless #5 - What is right-wing?

P&C drink and review Pigweed's homebrewed winter warmer, then discuss executive orders. What is the function and purpose of an executive order? Is it a way to get around Congress? What are the limits? Is this one of the ways the imperial presidency has usurped the legislative function, or is it a valid power of the executive? The boys look at the history of this strange executive power and comment...

P&C drink and review Dirty Little Freak, a flavorful brown ale from DuClaw Brewery, then discuss the Enlightenment.  What was the Enlightenment, when did it happen, and what ideas did it produce? Why has it come under fire from some quarters today? Should we value the Enlightenment, or is it just another example of racism and white privilege?