Okay, so maybe I used an overly sensational headline to get your attention, maybe Benjamin Franklin wasn’t exactly a wino, but he did apparently like the stuff enough to say in a letter, “behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” That’s a little different from the t-shirt in my bedroom dresser, which reads “”Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” I must confess I was always a little skeptical that Franklin’s quote was so perfect, but it was hard not to love the idea of America’s first true genius being such a beer lover. It’s clear Franklin enjoyed beer, as well as wine and rum, from the historical record. I’m sure, for example, he would have enjoyed a pint at the India Queen Tavern in Philadelphia in 1787 where a compromise to our Constitution was hammered out. Or even earlier, in 1774, when newly arrived delegates to the Continental Congress met John and Sam Adams for a pint at the City Tavern. But as for the famous beer quote, it appears to be hogwash. That’s according to a new book by Chicago historian Bob Skilnik, Beer & Food: An American History, which goes deep into our nation’s heritage of beer and food pairing. I’ve seen an advance copy of Skilnik’s book and it’s a great, informative read, especially for those of us who have been beating the drum of beer and food.

Here’s the press release that came out today:

As bookstores make ready for the release of “Beer & Food: An American History” (Jefferson Press, ISBN-10: 0977808610, ISBN-13: 978-0977808618, $24.95) by nationally recognized beer and brewing expert Bob Skilnik, the author thinks it’s time to address one of the biggest historical fallacies concerning Ben Franklin. Beer-themed web sites, brewing organizations and even “beer writers” are fond of quoting the Founding Father and his love of beer. A web search of the supposed Franklin quote, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” yields almost 100,000 hits, all with vague attributions that Franklin did indeed utter the quote or penned it in his long-running pamphlets of sound advice and witticisms known as “Poor Richard’s Almanack.”

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy
“I challenge anyone to find the documented attribution of Franklin making this beery statement,” says the author and researcher. “My research indicates that Franklin did make a similar quote in a letter to his friend, French economist Andre Morellet, around 1779 while living in France. In the letter, Ben Franklin swoons over the pressings from the noble grape, even mentioning its starring role at the Wedding at Cana, ‘Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy,’ says Franklin, and after reading the entire letter, one might argue that he had consumed more than enough French wine while writing his friend Morellet about its qualities.”

The tweaking of Franklin’s passage about rain from the heavens and its eventual conversion into wine probably took place during the post-Repeal era when the U.S. brewing industry was in a heated battle with liquor manufacturers for the taste buds and dollars of a generation of drinkers who had turned towards ardent spirits during National Prohibition. As part of their marketing plan to groom a bigger beer-drinking audience, the United States Brewers Association began a decades-long advertising campaign that was quick to associate beer and beer drinking with our Founding Fathers, early American history and patriotism.

“With Benjamin Franklin’s 301st birthday coming up on January 17, I hope I can set the record straight about this little white lie. I have no doubt that ole Ben enjoyed a tankard or two of beer with friends and associates, but this beer quote is inaccurate. Imagine if a dairy association had hijacked the original Franklin quote years ago and substituted the word ‘milk’ instead.”