What's in a name?

What does Drinkin' Wittenberg Beer mean?  Martin Luther wrote:

I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached and wrote God's Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it.

Luther, along with Philip (Melancththon) and (Nicolaus von) Amsdorf, exhibited a faith in God's Word that's not often seen among Lutherans today.  They lived in a time when the papacy had so obscured the Gospel though false righteousness offered in indulgences, the unholy sacrifice of the mass, and penance prescribed to complete Holy Absolution, that the grace of God was not easily found. 

The mission field of the German reformers was their own backyard.  Surrounding them were masses that called themselves Christian in name, but their faith lie in their own works of righteousness instead of He who is the Righteousness of God.  So how did these missionaries go about bringing the Good News in all its purity to their neighbors?

Luther says,  I simply taught, preached and wrote God's Word; otherwise I did nothing.  They didn't hire a church consulting firm to tell them how to package their product.  They didn't commission the Wittenberg Extension Fund to do a demographic study to determine if a new Lutheran mission start was viable in their province.  They didn't survey the people in their churches to see if they preferred the old church hymns or the drinking songs of the pub.  They simply occupied themselves with God's Word.  Teaching.  Preaching.  Writing.  And while they enjoyed their Wittenberg beer, God's Word took care of the mission. 

Here you will find God's Word.  Some teaching.  Some preaching.  Hopefully a lot of writing.  And while we're at it, we'll drink some Wittenberg beer, that is, we'll take some deep draughts of Wittenberg theology. 

And if metaphorical beer isn't enough to quench your thirst, there will be links and discussion of that wonderful combination of water, malt, yeast, and hops.