Beer and Celebrations

You must admit: libations and celebrations go together like one and two, hot and toddies, stink and monkeys.

Lift a glass and raise a toast to your ancestral lands, no matter where you're from; that freedom is what it means to be an American. In Chicago, the nation's melting pot, one can pair nearly any weekend with ethnic flair.

One result of such diversity is a community that learns to appreciate the similar and unique qualities of their respective cultures. Germany has its Oktoberfest, Mexico is coupled with Cinqo de Mayo, Ireland has Saint Patrick's Day. National Puerto Rican Day and June 20^th were paired in Chicago this year.

Each time of year seems to have a distinctive or predominant beer style. Fall and spring festivals focus on heartier, darker, maltier varieties like a stout Guinness and the aptly named Oktoberfest. Warmer weather is generally associated with lighter fare, sometimes a twist on a lager or a pilsner.

A second result is that streets are shut down and diverted around town depending on neighborhood, time of day, or the seemingly-divine intervention of livestock accidentally loosed in an urban area (that's a story for another day). Traffic trouble in the city can come from a confluence of culture and cars.

Recently I was fortunate to be 'stuck' in the cluster around Humboldt Park, a sea of Puerto Rican flags held by people, all hanging -- sometimes precariously -- outside of vehicles of all varieties. What impressed and terrified me all at the same time, was the daring it must take to hold onto a 6' x 8' sheet of cloth tethered to a pole held by a drunken celebrator outside an open minivan side door taking a turn at 20 MPH.

I became more bug-eyed as I passed a moonroofed Camry conveying two hands-free female tweens, stopping and stopping (the car), all while holding flags right and left (the tweens).

It seemed the top two bottles in the streets were Budweiser and import products like Corona. Otherwise it was curb to curb copious with plastic cups. Maybe a sign of the times, people were bringing it in in bulk fashion.

German lager and Czech pilsner styles are classic; Corona, Chihuahua, Sol, Pacifico, and Red Stripe are analogs. All were at hand at National Puerto Rico Day.

Beer and celebrations go hand in hand. Have one and celebrate today.