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editor

they call me the working man

By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge

You know what Labor Day is all about. It's just like Memorial Day and Independence Day.

It's a time to drink beer, eat red meat, and drive watercraft at life-threatening speeds.

Then again, Labor Day also has a depressive side. Unlike the other two big summer-time holidays, Labor Day marks not the beginning, not the middle, but the end of the summer. Does that mean one should drink more beer or less during Labor Day weekend? I haven't sorted it out.

These thoughts probably were not top-of-mind back in 1882, when the first official Labor Day was held on September 5. Some records show that a union official named Peter J. McGuire first suggested a holiday to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold," according to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site. (Not everyone is convinced that McGuire was the first to float the idea of a holiday.)

Labor Day, then, is the working man's holiday, associated with union members, so-called blue-collar workers, public works, and a day off from the collegiate fall semester.

What is the union connection to beer? Well, certainly that many of those guys know how to drink suds like pros, but also that much of our beer is made by union workers. Union-made beer: that's truly an example of the working man helping out the working man. And the working woman helping out the working woman, unless you're married to a working woman like mine, who drinks wine.

So in honor of Labor Day weekend, here is a partial list of union-made beers that you should be able to find at our area package stores and grocers. By purchasing and drinking these beers, you can support the official and unofficial meanings of the Labor Day holiday:

Happy Labor Day. Please keep the driving of watercraft at life-threatening speeds and the consolatory end-of-summer drinking separate. Some of us should probably keep the end-of-summer drinking separate from the red meat, too.

here comes oktoberfest

The end of summer can't be all bad, because it marks the beginning of the Oktoberfest season. In the coming weeks, I will keep you up-to-date on Oktoberfest release dates and parties. Here's what we know so far.

1. This Friday (Aug. 29), Liberty Tap Room & Grill, 7651 N. Kings Highway, holds its tapping party for the New South Brewing Co.'s Oktoberfest, an annually sublime beer. The tapping of the locally-brewed beer begins at 4 p.m., with Happy Hour extended until 8 p.m., and live music from 6-9 p.m.

2. Meanwhile, TBonz Gill and Grill at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach has already scheduled the tapping of its Oktoberfest, also made by New South. The beer will be on-tap at 4 p.m. on Sept. 19, followed by its Oktoberfest Mug Club Party at 5 p.m., with Happy Hour extended until 8 p.m. for club members. Contact the store for more information on the mug club at 272-7111.

Speaking of TBonz, the Mug Club newsletter announced that David Thurber, general manager of the TBonz location at 21st Avenue North in Myrtle Beach, is the new father of a baby girl named Ava, a name favored by cool parents. Raise a glass!

Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com