Good news: I am safe in sound in quiet Hohenfels, Germany; nestled in the heartland of Bavaria (Bayern to the Germans), surrounded by the rolling hills of the Jura plateau, dark evergreen trees, and farmland as far as the eye can see.

Better news: Bavaria province consumes more beer per capita than anywhere else in the world. I suspected that this was because of the excellent breweries here.

Bad news: Thomas Rid of Kings of War...(sniff)...told me the bad news...

Full disclosure: this is written by a Southern German from Baden in self-imposed two-year exile in the US. We brew goodies like Tannenzäpfle down there. It’s the place where you’d first know about Biergarten, then Kindergarten. Yet, if I wanted to find reasons to stay in America, beer would be high on the list.

Microbreweries, usually run by true aficionados, are mushrooming all over the land, from Delaware to Oregon. We’re at well over 1,400. And they produce some spectacular ales, lagers, stouts, porters, pilsners, you name it.

So forget defence budgets, interoperability, and America’s edge in counterinsurgency. This is serious. If we don’t pay attention, they’ll outbrew us.

Wait, the best beer was back in the US?!

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!