I’ve been dealing with some heavy topics lately, including global warming and the war in Iraq. Perhaps it’s time for a beer. Today I’d like to talk about a rather unusual beer — Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat. But before I do, let me say one more thing about Iraq — my gut feeling right now is that the nation of Iraq only works with a repressive, strong-man government. Democracy is just not forceful enough to hold such a crazy mix of ethnic rivalries and religious disagreements and clashing economic interests. Some nations just don’t hold together without dictatorship, as we saw with Yugoslavia and the greater Soviet Union / Warsaw Pact. It’s one of those lessons of history. And in Iraq, the USA seems to be ignoring that lesson with all its might.

Once you do remember that lesson, however, the choices for Iraq become clear, if not very appetizing: 1.) re-install a dictatorship; or 2.) split it up into a Kurd nation, a Sunni nation, and a Shiite nation, each with some degree of viable democracy. Strategically, the first option would be the best for the USA, assuming we could maintain a western-friendly dictator (someone like the former Shah of Iran). Unfortunately, dictatorships are ultimately unstable arrangements. They make too many enemies and eventually get toppled by the combined forces of internal dissent and old age. Eventually the second option will be realized; that’s just like water finding its lowest level because of gravity.

So, it would make sense for the USA to just bite the bullet and cut to the chase. The three-nation solution is not a good one; a Kurdish nation would get Turkey all flustered, and they might threaten war against it. The Sunni nation would be very poor (no oil), and might thus become a haven for Al Qaeda; and the Sunni nation could become a vassal state of Iran (although Sunni Arabs in Mesopotamia probably don’t want to be vassals of Sunni Persians). But that’s pretty much where things are headed; the USA could keep 200,000 troops in Iraq for 20 years, and things would probably turn out the same in the end. Why don’t we just start dealing with the inevitable result, and stop delaying it with American (and Iraqi) lives? We tried something similar in Vietnam back in the 1960’s and early 1970’s and found out that we couldn’t prevent the inevitable. Once the inevitable finally came in Vietnam, we learned to deal with it. By 2003, it seems that we forgot that lesson.

Oh, sorry. Back to the beer. Yes, Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat — a rather strange beer experience. It’s basically a wheat ale — OK, that’s simple enough. But then they ferment it like a lager — no big deal, that’s been done before (e.g., Genesee Cream Ale). But then they add coriander to give it a “witbeer” character. Still not too confusing, just another variation of Blue Moon (which is made by Coors; Leinenkugel is owned by Miller). But then they add a “top note” of blueberry flavor. And that’s what throws this beer into a spin. I’m presently working on a six-pack of it; 3 down and 3 to go (but not all at once!). And it is quite strange, although the third one started tasting a bit better. Perhaps one needs to acquire a taste for this beer. As you sip it, the blueberry and the coriander notes combine into an unfamiliar taste; the closest thing I could think of would be the bergamot flavor in Earl Grey tea. But come to think of it, an Earl Grey wheat beer might not be so bad. Maybe you just have to find the right frame of mind to approach this brew with. It’s substantial enough so that the flavorings, however strange, don’t overpower the underlying grains, hops and yeast. That’s what gives this beer some hope. If it were a thin lager (like regular Coors or Bud or Miller), this arrangement would not work at all.

The web-site reviews for Sunset Wheat are quite interesting. Predictably, they are all over the lot. Some people love it, some think it’s awful, and many are willing to give it a chance. Some people said that it reminds them of Fruity Pebbles cereal (also Trix and Fruit Loops). One unenthusiastic fellow said that it’s like puking up Fruity Pebbles. Others said that they taste the blueberries and some lemon. There appear to be a wide range of reactions to this brew; people taste different things. It definitely has potential as a mind experiment, a project for a student working on a doctoral degree in cognitive psychology. The outcome of such an experiment would surely be happier than the outcome of our nation’s experiment with democracy in Iraq.

It’s a crazy, complicated world . . . . but as people say, “that’s why we drink beer”. Oh, one final example of beer and politics: a recent Oktoberfest celebration in the West Bank!