“Billy Beer”

Election season is at full throttle. I miss the colorful family members we’d meet in elections past. There were the partying Bush twins, harder partying Roger Clinton and the guy that make the previously-mentioned kin look like the Obama girls: Billy Carter. His neck was redder that Junior Samples (Hee Haw) and Larry The Cable Guy combined.  BC was a good old overalls-wearin’ boy never to be seen without a PBR in his hand.

So why not take up an offer from a brewery to brew the official beer of the First Bro? Billy Beer was produced from 1977 until, well that Muammar Gaddafi incident. Dad described the swill as “overly-carbonated Falstaff with a Goebel finish”. Everybody within legal drinking age limits brought a six-pack, tried one, gave four away for friends to try and kept one as a collector’s item. Nearly everyone, including Billy, was back to their old standby shortly there afterwards.

By dad gave me his cherished unopened can and it sat on many shelves over the years. On December 31st, 1989 at around 11:15PM, I downed the entire can. Hey, I was dared when the New Years Eve Party started at around 4:15PM. I can’t remember suffering any ill-effects after the Billy-chug. I do remember it tasted like a combination of Falstaff, Champale and Zima.