In the pubs Anglo-Saxons, it reigns as the drink of conversation, the one that encourages us to sing old love or sex songs, to talk about sports for a while and about politics later, and even, in some corners, about poetry and theater.
And the same happens in the bars of Prague and in the lively Madrid breweries and Spanish taverns. Change the color of the beer, the temperature at which it is served, the amount of foam that crowns it … But there is one thing that never changes: the animation that it fosters and generates.
Barack Obama
Barack and Michelle visited the Irish village in 2011, where a branch of the former US president’s family comes from. There, in Moneygall, the place where his ancestors fled in 1851, in the midst of the Irish famine, Obama had no qualms about going to have some glasses of the classic dark beer with his wife at the Ollie Hayes Bar, on Main Street ( above in the image). By the way, the former president insisted on paying for the drink out of his pocket. “Guiness tastes much better in Ireland than anywhere else in the world” – Obama said then. And beyond geographical, climatic and even social and friendly issues, the first black president in the history of the United States succeeded in enunciating a of the keys that distinguish one from another beer, and even two glasses of it: “Here they throw the beer much better.”
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Steve McQueen
Beer was consumed by the gallon in the Old West. Steve McQueen, as a good American, was fond of this drink that mixes well with conversation, but also with dance and with the lively and happy rhythms of country music. In our day, it goes without saying what drink we are talking about when someone says to have a six pack from the fridge. The perfect marketing formula: six cans linked by a very strong plastic strap.
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Orson Welles
The film director was a brave man who accepted challenges. The work day is over and you have to relax. We are in Munich, the capital of Bavaria and one of the world capitals of beer. In the mid-1950s it became fashionable to use small barrels to offer the drink, and the ritual begins with the ceremony of opening it. The beer will then be served in white earthenware mugs by ruddy, country-looking women, and will help down a knuckle with classic sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.
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Sean Connery
Ernest Hemingway did not go to sea when he started a long fishing day without carrying a few cases of beer, which he liked to drink very cold. It’s a conversation-inducing drink, but after a few bottles we may get a little sleepy, as the newly discovered Sean Connery did. A canvas lounger and the effect of the beer let you fall into a deep sleep on the deck of the ship where the filming took place.
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40’s
World War II brought women to a new and preeminent position in one of the victorious powers. After years working in the industry, they conquered spaces reserved for men in all spheres. Even in bars, where it was no longer strange to see them by the bar ordering a beer and sharing with them that friendly coexistence of the jug or glass when the sun goes down. “I guarantee you Mister Okada, a cold beer at the end of the day is the best life can offer you,” Haruki Murakami wrote.
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Also with tequila
The first brewery in the entire American continent was created in Mexico shortly after the conquest by the Spanish. That is why it is not surprising that in the Aztec country it is considered a traditional drink and that it is drunk at all hours. Also at cocktail hour, because Mexicans have discovered some ideal combinations for the long hot afternoons in their country. They mix it, for example, with tequila, or lemon juice (the famous Michelada).
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Louis Armstrong
Jack Nicholson once said it, and the great actor knows what he’s talking about: “There is no better drink in the world than a fucking beer.” A difficult discussion phrase that Louis Armstrong and Willy Brandt, who appear in this unusual image, would undoubtedly have also signed. A lit cigarette after a light dinner accompanied by a good beer sums up a perfect formula for this moment of admiring relaxation.
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David Beckham
David Beckham takes a sip of beer in a Brooklyn bar. The venue has been filled to see the Nets, who play a difficult game away from their court against the Miami Heat. The formula works in countless places around the world: a game, whether it be football or basketball, accompanied by a beer, generates a feeling of community that unites the fans of the same team. If the beer is good and your team wins, all the better.
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