hunter with beer

Good People Drink Good Beer

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My favourite drugged up gun wielding dead motorcycle journalist once said:

“There is an ancient Celtic axiom that says ‘Good people drink good beer. ‘ Which is true, then as now. Just look around you in any public barroom and you will quickly see: Bad people drink bad beer. Think about it.” Hunter S Thompson, 1971.

beer on beach
Beer and fags on the beach, or tea and ginger biscuits in lockdown.

And he is right. Oh, this was a round about way of telling you that the Singletrack Flowy Trail Ale is now available in the merch store. It’s a good beer. Now that is out of the way, allow me to continue to tell you where my mind wandered whilst wandering around the Pennines.

Shitty people do shitty things.

So, today I was on a dog walk with Hunter and the Flowy Ale on my mind, and I like to womble around and clean up litter as I go. The first item was a “Happy Birthday” balloon caught in a bush on grazing land. How bloody short-sighted do you have to be to not figure out that a helium balloon will fly away and become litter? Can people not believe in things that are not right in front of them? And then there was the beer can.

One beer can next to a well know beauty spot is remarkably light pickings. However it was a fairly cruddy brand of lager. And in all the years of picking up litter I have never picked up a Singletrack beer, or a Sierra Nevada IPA for example. This cruddy can of lager was dropped by a ****, a complete dick, without a shadow of a doubt. I formed this conclusion because the tight fisted git bought only one can, and because of the brand. Yep I am a beer brand snob. However, Hunter and the old Celts could well be on to something here. You just don’t find good beer as litter, because good people drink good beer, and good people don’t litter.

beer can rubbish litter

Was Hunter right?

So, let us all test this theory. Have you ever found good beer littering? Comment below as you find beer litter. We can add it all up and see if Hunter is right. Go for a ride, you can even take your own beer along with you, drink it, and take it home with you, therefore further proving the point.

Be more womble.

I like being the good guy. You know, in a world of incredible shitheads and thoughtless muppets, if you do the right thing, you will stand out, your head high above the festering swamp of bastards and all the crap and nonsense that clings on to their shitty lives, and your life will be easier and much richer. Perhaps pack a carrier bag with you when go on a walk or ride, and do a little wombling. Or go full on pro-womble like the folks at Trash Free Trails. Picking up one beer can won’t solve the problem, but look at it like this, a trillion shitty decisions got the planet to where it is now, and every single good decision is a move in the right direction.

trash free trails group

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Author Profile Picture
Charlie Hobbs

Merch & Marketing Manager at Singletrack

Grumpy, happy, hairy, overweight and awesome. I started riding offroad in 1978, and never stopped. I was once Charlie The Bikemonger, I invented orienBEERing, the Clunker Classic, and the Dorset Gravel Dash. I own the Bum Butter brand and I'm a co-owner of Dirt Dash Events. I also work at Singletrack, I have the self-appointed job title of "Overlord of the leftovers" and look after the merch shop, and marketing. Other interests include skateboards, surfboards, motorbikes, and cooking (I invented the Beefer Reefer).

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Comments (15)

    No1 dropped drinks can, throughout the land, is ALWAYS Red Bull (or the cheap knock off equivalent if they’re proper bad). The true bad person’s drink of choice and the scourge of verges and hedges all around here.

    A good point well made. I like “Be more womble” too.

    @brakestoomuch … be more Womble … I can feel a bunch of stickers coming on.

    Hmm. Interesting, I’ve never really noticed what brands of beer can are chucked out locally. I’ll pay attention and do some research on my next few rides.

    “Be more womble”

    I’d wear a t-shirt with that on it.

    The shit beer thing also works for soft drinks. Always lots of Coke and Pepsi cans, never a San Pellegrino can.

    What @dickydutch said. Closely followed by IrnBru, Tennents and Dragon Soup. Oh, and fruit Strongbow.

    I’m a good person who likes good beer. Big case ordered

    Yep as a beer snob too a littered can/bottle of good beer would have stood out a mile to me. But yep every big brand lager and as said these days lots of Strongbow “fruits”.
    Good point about the San Pellegrino cans too. Same algorithm fits to shoft drinks as to beer it appears. Hardly surprising. #bemorewomble

    HST also was a massive believer in handguns, tequila and cocaine. Fresh Goods Friday could starting to get really interesting again then.

    Great point, well made.
    Can I nominate this for special journo award for best short article of the year ?
    Of ever in fact.

    Seen verdant beers left on a park picnic table, £5 a can, pic on bargain booze devenport Facebook page, member of public told them as they knew those cans had come from them.

    Another vote for Strongbow Dark Fruits as the most-found hilltop litter du jour

    Think Stella most littered can, hmmm think I may require another London beer company order.

    I don’t drink alcohol or fizzy drinks…. am I not a good person?

    Locally its Scrumpy Jack tins left by the scummers. Couple of weeks ago I had to come home for a proper bin bag there were so many – and all thoughtfully hidden in a Devon hedge. ****s is what I say!
    Trash free trails need all the help and support we can give them.

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