If a tree falls in your beer ...

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-- Benjamin Franklin

Ol' Ben was quite a fellow. He founded the nation's (well, the colonies', then the nation's) first newspaper, first fire department, first post office ... along with inventing the Franklin stove, bifocal eyeglassess, the lightning rod, and helping create ... what was that other thing? ...oh yeah, the United States of America.

He also liked the ladies and a good mug of beer.

Franklin's 300th birthday was this week. Ladies and gentlemen in and around Ben's hometown of Philadelphia hoisted mugs and glasses in his honor, and a few local brewers came up with various concoctions for Ben's party.

One that should be noted for posterity was whipped up by Philadelphia's Yards Brewing Co. It's called Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce, which recognizes that Franklin particularly liked "spruce beer," a dark, spicy beer brewed with molasses and pieces of spruce tree. Yards Brewing went whole hog, using -- we kid you not -- a whole dwarf Alberta Spruce tree in the vat.

The beer is on tap at a variety of places in Philadelphia.



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