As you know, some days when ideas for a post about beer seem slim, I troll through Google News looking for something. Today, there was nothing popping out until I realized I was looking at the whole of it, a snapshot of all the things beer means in different cultures. How it gets the attention of the authorities. How it slips below the radar. How we express our affection for it:

♦ Africa: "...drinks companies fight hard to persuade bar owners their properties should be painted top to bottom in the colours of their beer brands."
♦ India: "... unique because strong beer (with alcohol content higher than 5%) dominates consumption... between January and April 2012, strong beer's contribution expanded from 80% of the market to 85%."
♦ England: "...the vicar says a brief Jubilee prayer, everyone gives a hearty rendition of the National Anthem and the first glasses of beer are served at the nearby bar."
♦ Canada: "Charlottetown Police said someone threw beer bottles at two Charlottetown homes on Saturday night, causing considerable damage."
♦ Australia: "...it only gets cold for a few weeks of the year in Byron Bay...so brewing big winter beers is something we really don't need..."
♦ The Netherlands: "Partygoers on Amsterdam rooftops will soon be allowed to drink beer standing up."

I don't know what that tells you except I bet they stand up in the African bars. And that winter in Byron Bay might look a lot like summer here. But everywhere there was beer.