Politics and alcohol have been intimate friends for centuries. Galvanizing figures from Samuel Adams to Adolf Hitler built their movements in pubs and beer halls long before taking over the halls of power. Even 'The Star-Spangled Banner' was adapted from an old drinking song. Now a growing number of brewers are using beer itself to make a political point.

One such brew is Evolution Amber Ale, from the Wasatch Brewery in Park City, Utah. As state legislators pushed to add 'intelligent design' to the public school science curriculum, Wasatch owner Greg Schirf responded by renaming his award-winning 'Unofficial' Amber Ale, reports Amanda Chesworth in the Skeptical Inquirer (March/April 2006). Launched last November, the ale's new label sports a 'Darwin Approved' stamp with the tagline 'created in 27 days, not 7.' A poster for the beer bills it as 'a most intelligently designed ale.'

This is not Schirf's first time brewing up controversy. Earlier, he gained international attention when he tweaked Utah's Mormon population with another Wasatch line dubbed Polygamy Porter. 'Why have just one?' the label asks.

Montreal culture jammers Rob Maguire and Ezra Winton are taking a different tack. Last fall, the cofounders of the anticorporate activist collective berculture began sharing their recipe for berbr, an all-natural hemp ale, with Canadian microbrewers as a way of spreading a message and funding their work.

'People now recognize that when you buy a cup of coffee there are international economic and political connections,' Maguire told This Magazine (March/April 2006). 'For us, beer is no different. We want to take the whole concept of fair trade coffee and apply it to beer.' To support local enterprise and cut down on pollution from shipping, Maguire and Winton want berbr to be made locally, from mostly local ingredients, wherever it is sold.