Benjamin Franklin, Beer, and fake quotes

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.”

In the modern age, where misinformation spreads like wildfire through the internet, and people take little time to fact check their findings, it is hard to know if what you read is true or fake. This applies double to quotes, as anyone can easily open up a program such as MS paint and put a string of words next to a historical person’s face and claim it to be true.

This is what many people are curious about, as a quote allegedly said by the famous Benjamin Franklin surfaced, on the topic of beer. This quote of course was “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.” 

As the American people seem to love anything alcohol related this “quote” quickly spread, with people ordering t-shirts, posters, and signs with this phrase. Few people however, stopped to look into the origin and source of this quote.

With a quick look into it, multiple sources seemed to debunk this quote, but its origins have become more clear. There is evidence to show that in a letter to a colleague Franklin wrote a passage that roughly translates to:

“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.”

Focusing on the later part  “…wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” One could make a claim that “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.” is a misstranslation, or actually a alternative translation, as the two quotes are very similar. While Franklin never did in fact say, or write the line about beer (atleast in english), its easy to understand how this quote began, and grew in popularity, and surley alot of those who enjoyed the fake quote would be delighted to hear that Franklin did once say something along the same lines.