Gris's Journal

Food for thought

So. Earlier today I was attempting to snack on a bag of Smartfood popcorn (if FritoLay wishes to pay me for that product placement, I won't object) without getting my fingers all gooey, as I was *also* attempting to type and turn pages of a journal I was reading. As anyone who has eaten Smartfood would know, this is a nigh-impossible task, and I said something to that effect to my friends online. Lo, Matt's response was this: Popcorn Fork. I'm still... a bit leery of it. (But it needed to be blogged.)

And... did you know why Oktoberfest beer (which is traditionally drunk in, er, October) is called Marzen (March) beer? It's all in the timing. Very quickly-- because beer made in the summer months was typically "off" (read, no refrigeration), Germany forbade production in the summer months. To keep up with summer demand, German brewers laid in a *lot* of a higher-alcohol content beer in March. The first Oktoberfest, celebrated in honor of a royal wedding, happily coincided with the start of the new brewing season-- an excellent excuse to trot out the last of the "March" beer and polish it off. Hence, March beer in October.