Brewges

If I'm being honest, I gotta admit that this election is affecting my mood, if not my mental health. I intellectually understand the rise of Trump, but I can't fathom how so many people I consider to be rational adults look at the choice before us and gleefully choose the least qualified major party candidate in modern history. I'm really at a loss, and it's making me reconsider my worldview, which is generally aligned with the whole moral arc bends towards justice thing.

So I think I need to spend more time thinking about beer. And I believe I've found a place to help me do that.

Bruges is one of the world's oldest and most historic cities. It was chartered in 1128, but civilization there dates back to at least the 9th century BC. A city that old, with so much history, has a lot to protect. And a city like Bruges, that loves beer, needs a lot of trucks to rumble around narrow, cobblestone streets to deliver suds. The combination isn't optimal for those who would preserve the West Flanders capital city, a UNSECO protected site.

Enter the geniuses at De Halve Maan brewery, who have been delivering quaffs to Bruges' citizens since 1856. As of two weeks ago, they won't be sending delivery trucks across the city, but they'll be supplying just as many establishments.

Their secret? A 3 km network of pipes that pump beer directly from their tanks to a bottling plant in close proximity to the historic district. The result, fewer truck trips, less wear and tear on centuries-old streets, and beer flowing beneath one of Europe's great little cities.

The next, obvious step, for an enterprising brewery seems obvious. Direct pipes from brewery to taps across a city. Cut out the need for delivery vehicles entirely. And make Flanders great again.