I was planning on writing an article with the specific intent of insulting people.  Why would I do that?  Because Polish jokes are funny.

This is my review of Zyweic 1881 Porter.

 
While funny, these jokes have a vicious history.  It began on September 1, 1939.  Do you know what else was significant about that day?  Much like the word, “assault rifle,” the Polish joke has its origins in Nazi propaganda.  During and after the invasion, the jokes were pushed with the intent of creating a stereotype that made the Poles look stupid.  To the point where Hitler himself made claims of Poland countering the Blitz with mounted cavalry and swords.  This was not a just wild claim, as Poland was overrun as quickly as it was precisely because of it’s outdated military.  The old adage of going to war with the army you have, rather than the one you want has merit.  This was all designed to minimize sympathy Europeans might have for the Poles once the Germans were through with them.  Nobody’s going to care, they’re just untermenschen, right?  Nowadays, Poland is part of NATO and those GROM guys look pretty serious.

Knowing that, maybe the jokes are in poor taste.  So much so that it actually got Jimmy Kimmel into a bit of trouble when he began reviving some of these jokes in segments of his show.  I personally have no idea if he used them after people complained, because I don’t watch his show.  This link here says that he personally likes them so much that he was going to continue it.

Since I know a fair number of you don’t care, I‘ll put a link here for an exhaustive list.

 

So this beer is no joke.  It says porter on the label but it is definitely more stout like.  Not a super sweet chocolate stout or one that is adorned with dark fruit and peanut butter. It is nice, dry, and straightforward as 9.5% abv gets.  Perfect for day drinking. Zyweic 1881 Porter: 3.5/5