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There is a very popular microbrewery in Asheville called The Wicked Weed.
It is in a building that was first a gas station, and then an auto and truck repair shop owned by a gentleman from Indiana. He and I became friends (’though he is liberal and has supported the local public radio station. Nonetheless, he and I developed a bond (long story). He is a good man and I still see him from time to time.
The Wicked Weed was founded over 20 years ago by two brothers who were high school classmates of one of my children.
(They were stars on the basketball team and I remember seeing some of their games. It was a huge senior class and my child hardly knew them.) The brothers borrowed $100K from their family members—so the story goes—and started the brewery.
I bring it up because in the tasting room/restaurant, there is a huge wall mural with a depiction of King Henry VIII.
I call him “Cranky Hanky;” I mean, I cannot imagine that he was someone nice to be around. If we could, we could just ask any of his seven wives about his gregarious, gracious, and all-around chipper personality. (For those of you in Carthagena, Ohio, that is called sarcasm.)
On the opposite wall is the purported quotation of him stating that “Hops are a wicked and pernicious weed.”
Years ago, my friend, Rodney, (who designed my database back in the late ’90s). and I had determined to keep our friendship going by meeting every Monday at quitting time to enjoy one of their two dozen or so offerings.
Turns out our schedules had a hard time coinciding and we are lucky to be able to get together for a Wicked Weed brew only about once every six months on average. I went there yesterday and had a Reuben and took these photos. I declined a brew as I had another commitment yesterday evening.
The bottom line: The Wicked Weed was so successful, and employed over 450 people by the time (about seven years ago) when they sold out to Anheuser-Busch which in turn had been swallowed up by the huge Belgian giant (and maker of Stella Artois) called InBev. It is the largest brewer in the world and its origin under other names supposedly dates back to the 14th century if memory serves.
For centuries (and millennia) people have consumed (very low ABV {alcohol by volume}) beer for the simple reason that the water was often so unsanitary that it posed serious health risks to drink it.
It’s still true. Another family member of mine took a vacation in Mexico decades ago and drank the local water—and regretted it for the next several days—being very ill from it.
Naturally, we would disagree with Cranky Hanky’s quip and offer the title of “the wicked weed” to poison ivy. It is that season once again when it springs up to irritate our skin and our attitude!
Here are my latest experiences with the pernicious plant. We share it with our readers as educational information based on that part of our Stone Kingdom Ministry which uses this Scripture as home base. (See Disclaimer at end of article.)
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Hard to believe it has been nearly four years since I passed along to our readers my own irritating experience with the noxious weed, and the solutions others shared with me. About a month ago, I noticed the first batch erupting from the soil in one of the planting beds around my house.
I reached down, plucked one of the fresh, tri-leafed stems with my bare hand and bare arm, and took it inside. I had a homemade pizza prepared, so I put one leaf on the pizza and saved another leaf to put on the pizza after it had come out of the oven and cooled. I was not certain it would have the same immune-rendering effect if the leaf had been baked in a 450-degree oven for 12 minutes. I ate them both.
Last week the new foliage had grown greatly in the four weeks of May (see my photo of it below).
Not that I felt it was necessary to ingest any more this season, but I did reach down again into the midst of that patch of the wicked weed and plucked another stem of three. I ate it a week ago. Here below is a picture of my “poison ivy pizza.” I think I’ll contact the brew pubs around here and see if the idea will catch on. 🤣
(Mmm, mmm)
Yesterday, I went out and, with gloves on (no sense in being stupid by assuming that I have impenetrable immunity), dug out and pulled up all the traces of it that I could find. Undoubtedly, it’s a never-ending task. I fully expect the remaining traces will find their way to the surface once more, but I no longer have any fear of being in contact with it but as I said, I’m not going to go bare back and lay down and roll in a field of it.
This year, as in the previous three years, I had no results; that is to say, I have not had one hint of itching or “breaking out” after having been in direct skin contact with the live plant. It works for me and I hope it will for all of you.
Here are the four previous blogs, giving more detailed instructions in the earliest one, concerning what to do if you have no immunity and have already broken out with the itching.
Here’s the link to my earliest blog entitled What I did for poison ivy, dated October 7, 2020.
The above link has the sycamore tea solution which worked amazingly for me when I already had an outbreak back then. Additionally, my ex-neighbor called me some months ago to say her teenaged daughter had a terrible outbreak and she could not remember the recipe. I gave it to her along with some twigs from the sycamore tree behind my house. The next day, her daughter was wholly clear!
In a blog dated May 18, 2021, I posted one entitled For Sunday brunch I had a poison ivy sandwich—true story! Or…How I licked poison ivy!
On June 3, 2022, I continued detailing my experience, calling this account, Poison Ivy Pizza and other adventures.
Finally, about a year ago, the continuing saga was entitled Poison ivy rides again—but not on my skin! That one is dated May 4, 2023.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and therefore I cannot and do not diagnose diseases or prescribe medicine. If you have a medical condition, by all means, consult with a physician. The narrative above is simply a story of my own personal experience and is not meant as medical advice since everyone’s body is different. What worked for me may not have the same effect for you. We disclaim all liability for what you do with the above information.
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