When I lived in Erie, PA, I quaffed quite a few local beers. While I enjoyed the stronger
Railbender and the crisp Presque Isle Pilsner, I was most intrigued by Mad Anthony's Ale. This beer was named for "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who served as a general under George Washington in the Revolutionary War and took fort after fort for the United States in the late 1700's.
Wayne even established
Fort Recovery, which is a great Centro-Matic album. Mad Anthony died from complications from gout, a disease both Jesse and I hold dear here at
Doomed to Repeat.
Not trying to diminish the good General's achievements freedom-fighting for the United States...in fact Wayne's vistory at Fallen Timbers ended for all time the power of the British on American soil... but the real interesting part comes after his death. 13 years after Wayne was buried in Erie, PA, his son decided that his father should be buried in the family burial plot in Radnor, PA. When the coffin was opened, the body had not decomposed! The Mad general's body was burned in a large kettle, to separate the bones from the flesh. So, Mad Anthony Wayne is buried in two places. I've visited his burial site in Erie, and seen the replica kettle used to boil his bones at the
Erie Historical Society.
(Right now, you can listen to his story on their website).
Fascinating man, fascinating history!
Last week, I took a trip to Jersey City to visit friends. While my wife went up to the top of the Empire State Building, my buddy Kepic and I decided to kill the time drinking pints in the Heartland Brewery on the ground level. Later, around the table for lunch, Kepic noticed a card with interesting beer tidbits. One talked about the history of the term, "Mind your P's and Q's." Back in Ithaca, I looked it up and found out that Heartland's claim is one of many, but there is no refutable evidence that it's true. The brewery claims that it comes from pints and quarts, the two main measurements for drinks. When things would get rowdy in bars, you would often hear "Mind your pints and quarts!" I like the idea and hope it's true.
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