It is important to remember the unimportance of beer or rather its place as an aspect of pop culture that both pervades and yet lays below the surface. Jay reminds today us of both ends of that continuum. So, in another way, does Simon. Stan takes it one step further and tells the tale of Heinrich Knaust, the scholar whose name was sullied over 400 years ago due to his dabbling in beer:
Back when you could crack wise when discussing The Oxford Companion to Beer I casually mentioned that it would be nice to find the tasting notes written more than 400 years ago by Heinrich Knaust. His book — Fünff Bucher, von der Göttlichen und Edleen Gabe, der Philosphischen, hochtewren and wunderbaren Kunt Bier zu brawen, first published in 1573 — brought together much of what was understood about brewing at the time. According to Richard Unger in Beer in the Middle Ages he described about 150 beers from Germany in detail.
That book, more commonly known by the convenient acronym FBvdGuEGdPhawKBzb, apparently ruined his reputation, as Stan describes.
I have had an odd two weeks. Since creating the OCB wiki, I have had front row seats to a large number of the cleverest beer writers in the English language rip at each other's reputation, much of which can be found in these articles and the comments made in response to them. But also in direct emails. I have found the discourse to be many things - salaciously humourous, shockingly sad and strangely pointless. But in the end, I think the tone is dangerously short sighted. Not just because we all know my Grannie rightly believed "handsome is as handsome does" but also because we are forgetting Knaust's Fate. Only a fool forgets the fate of Knaust. Remember, all ye who would write of beer. Remember.