Schlafly’s Three-Headed Approach to Its Winter Releases

It’s hard to guess what one style of beer is going to appeal to a wide swath during a season. Schlafly Beer in St. Louis solved this conundrum by making a lineup of three special release beers in completely contrasting styles: a white lager, a hazy IPA and a coffee stout.

February 2023

It’s hard to believe that it was just a year ago that the horrors in Ukraine began to unfold.  As may be the case with many alert readers (ARs), my initial shock and disbelief have gradually  turned to numbness.  It’s almost as if I’ve become inured to the barbarism that now seems sickeningly mundane.  I can’t help but be reminded of  Hannah Arendt’s memorable phrase “the banality of evil” in writing about The Third Reich.  It’s in this context that I want to share part of the Christmas message  my wife and I sent out two months ago.

January 2023

In early 2022 the eyes of the sports world were on the Winter Olympics in China. At the end of the year they had turned to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Both of these events were quadrennial spectacles featuring the best athletes in the world in their respective sports. In addition to TV audiences consisting of billions of viewers around the globe, the Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup had something else in common: the appalling human rights abuses committed by the two host nations.

December 2022

On November 13, 1789 Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world nothing is certain except death and taxes.”  Two and one third centuries later this statement is as true as when it was first written.

November 2022

One of the perks of office that King Charles III is now able to enjoy is celebrating his birthday twice a year. As some alert readers (ARs) may recall, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who was born on April 21, 1926, traditionally celebrated her official state birthday on the second Saturday in June, when the weather was better. Considering that Charles was born on November 14, 1948, a time of year when English weather can also be inclement, he will undoubtedly want to continue the tradition observed by his mother. Some ARs may also know that Charles has selected May 6, the birthday of his grandson Archie, as the date of his coronation, meaning he will have been officially crowned by the time he celebrates his official birthday.