Wednesday, 2/15

It's never the ones I think it'll be.

I've been doing those “Life in the 906” pieces for TV 19 for five months now, and during that time I've discussed everything from food to the arts. Some of the pieces get a lot of comments; some, not so much. And it's always the ones that I think no one will have any opinions on that, inevitably, generate the most comments.

Much like the one I did Monday night.

It was about, of all things, the UP & beer. Now, I really don't drink a lot, so maybe I wasn't the best person to deliver the message, but for some reason it struck a chord with people watching. I have no idea why; it was just a goofy, tongue in cheek piece on the beverage and the UP's love for it. But for some reason, people felt compelled to send me messages or even stop me on the street and mention how much they enjoyed it.

Like I said...who knew? One of these days maybe I'll figure out the code as to what people will respond to and what they won't. All I know for now, though, is that if I think people will spark up at a piece they won't. And if it's something that I just think of as a goof...well, that's the one that gets the biggest reaction. I guess that's my superpower these days.

Here...decide for yourself.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

We’ve talked before about three of the four basic Yooper food groups. We’ve discussed pasties at length, have joked about cudighi, and have made passing reference to fudge. So this week, how about an ode–a valentine, if you will–to the fourth basic Yooper food group–

Beer.

There’s just something about living in the UP that goes along with a love for beer, be it an old-timer picking up a jumbo or a young person meeting up with friends at their favorite brew pub.

Why beer? Why not? Beer saves lives…literally. Back in the Dark and early Middle Ages when it wasn’t always safe to drink water it WAS safe to drink beer.

When Europeans came to the Upper Peninsula they brought beer with them. Almost every town of any size had its own brewery. Some of those breweries, in fact, even became famous.

During Prohibition when it wasn’t legal to drink beer that didn't stop people from brewing their own. In fact, federal revenuers would visit places like South Marquette to catch home brewers, which led many kids of the era to notice a neighbor was missing, ask their parents about it, and be told…

“Well, he’s on a three to five year vacation”.

Thankfully, times have changed, and now beer is celebrated in many ways. It’s celebrated in festivals where thousands of people will gather in a downtown Marquette park to pay homage to their favorite drink.

It’s also celebrated in the enormous number of amazing craft breweries we have spread throughout the UP, like Blackrocks and Ore Dock here in Marquette, Upper Hand in Escanaba, and the Keweenaw Brewing Company in Houghton. You could take their product–what some might call their art–and stack it up against any beer brewed anywhere in the country.

That’s how much beer means to the people of the Upper Peninsula. That’s how much the perception of it has changed over the decades. And that’s why, with a fair amount of seriousness, you can make the case that beer is indeed the UP’s national drink.

I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906”.