10 Facts: Beerism

This past weekend I attended Park Acoustics at Fort Schanskop on the Voortrekker Monument grounds. Brother Lee and Brother Baas decided to manifest their own special belief system (or “religion” – if you really want to call it that) and they decided to call this Beerism.

Strangely enough, someone (who I believe lives in the USA) already used this name for a Facebook page and the #Beerism hashtag is quite a hit on Instagram, but let’s just go with the fact that this a first for South Africa. Beerism has definitely been widely spreading South Africa over the past hundred years…

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Here are 10 Facts that you should know about Brother Lee and Brother Baas’ denomination of Beerism:

• Brother Lee and Brother Baas are the founding members.
• Beer is the preferred choice of initiate drink, although they won’t discriminate if you use any other form of alcohol, so keep that bottle of Saki you’ve been saving for the festive season near you if you’re attending “sermons”.
• There are no membership fees (unlike other religions which expect you to share your hard earned wages). Donations of beer are welcome though. These are tough times for beer loving folk.
• Beerism’s motto is “Quod caelum sit in Bersabee” (which means “Heaven is Beer” in Latin).
• Followers of Beerism pride themselves on fraternity and weird or funky outfits are allowed (dressing in khakis and Crocs is not frowned upon, but Brother Lee might request you to remove your Crocs, he doesn’t like them).
• All forms of beer are welcome at their sermons. They’ll even allow Budweiser and non-alcoholic beer (even though they’re not real beers).
• They leave no one empty handed and dual labeling (or handling two beers at once) is allowed.
• Followers of Beerism will not judge you for only bringing a six pack to a party / show / concert / other social gathering. Enlightenment limits are respected.
• The beer caps on their foreheads signify enlightenment in Beerism. Multiple beercaps on the forehead signify the level of enlightenment and will result in congratulatory ceremonies in the form of high fives or pats on the back during the course of sermons.
• Beerism is no way affiliated with Scientology.

I know that religion is a touchy subject for many of you reading this, so if you feel offended by this, I deeply apologize. Beerism is just another way of celebrating the love for beer, because beer is awesome, that’s all. Make sure that have a good time with your fellow Beerists at Oppikoppi 2014 Odyssey (which is less than 8 days away).

If you love beer, leave a comment and let me know what makes you a true follower of Beerism (AKA Lover of Beer). Feedback is appreciated and welcome here.

Henno Kruger

Blogger, Desktop Activist, Twitter / Facebook Addict, Music Festival Addict, Avid lover of South African music, Founder and owner of Running Wolf’s Rant