The 2024 heatwave premièred in South Florida and while chatting with Rey, the King of beers we both had some cold ones.
He chose two brands, but I stuck with my favorite suds from one of my very special saints. San Miguel. Spanish for Saint Michael, an archangel, he was one of the principal 50 angels in Christian and Islamic tradition. San Miguel is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God. He is mentioned by name in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.
San Miguel Pale Pilsen, a Filipino pale lager produced by San Miguel Brewery (a subsidiary of San Miguel Food and Beverage). Established in San Miguel, Manila in 1890 by the original San Miguel Brewery (renamed San Miguel Corporation in 1964), it is the largest selling beer in the Philippines and Hong Kong. It is known in Chinese markets as 生力啤酒. San Miguel Beer was introduced in Spain by San Miguel Brewery in 1946. The Spanish rights were spun-off in 1953 by San Miguel Brewery and became an independent entity presently known as the Mahou-San Miguel Group.
Once I introduced him to it… He called it the breakfast of champions- No Sree BoB its a variation—and slightly sarcastic opposite version—of the always common phrase “Yes, sir!” Adding the “ee” sound at the end is a diminutive thus making it informal and also more urgent. And in the 19th century, it was commonplace in English to use the name “Bob” in place of a deity’s name, such as, “Oh my Bob!” By the end of the 1840s, those two concepts merged to create “no siree, Bob it’s A Nectar of the Gods!
The ancient Greeks weren't far off when they deemed mead the “nectar of the Gods.” Believed to be consumed by the deities atop Mt. Olympus, mead has long been associated with immortality, magical prowess, and divine favor. At the end of my day rhere was Greek food and a bottl of San Miguel beer.