Raise One Up: The Timeless Art of the Toast

The importance of acknowledging each other with a toast is rooted in a community’s need for connection.

Long before there were pint glasses clinking in taprooms, people were lifting drinks in celebration, honor, or simple gratitude. The act of toasting goes back thousands of years, to ancient Greece, where hosts would raise a cup of wine to show their guests it wasn’t poisoned (a nice gesture, really). Later, in medieval times, people dropped spiced toast into their ale or wine to improve the flavor and the word “toast” stuck. Over the centuries, it evolved from a literal snack in the glass to a figurative salute shared between friends.

Today, we don’t need to prove our drinks are safe, but the impulse behind a toast hasn’t changed much. It’s about connection. Whether it’s a raised glass at a wedding, a ski team’s end-of-season gathering, or a casual “cheers” at the bar after a long week, the toast is a small ritual that turns an ordinary drink into a shared moment.

Toasting is also deeply woven into brewing culture itself. Across the world, beer drinkers share their own words for that shared gesture — “Prost!” in Germany, “Skål!” in Scandinavia, “Na zdrowie!” in Poland — all meaning the same thing: to your health, to good company, to the moment at hand. In biergartens, pubs, and breweries alike, the toast is part of the experience, a pause before the first sip that reminds everyone that beer has always been more about people than product. At Earth Rider, that tradition continues every time a glass is raised in our taproom or at a community event.

At Earth Rider Brewery, we think about that often, not just the quality of what’s in the glass, but what happens around it. Our taproom tables have seen first dates, race celebrations, hometown reunions, and quiet toasts between friends after life’s harder days. Each one carries that same simple spirit: acknowledgment, gratitude, togetherness.

The modern toast doesn’t have to be grand or rehearsed. It can be a nod between old ski pals after a long fall rollerski, a quick “to the trail ahead” before the first snow, or a “cheers to good beer and good company” shouted over the hum of a crowded taproom. What matters isn’t the words… it’s the pause. That collective breath where everyone lifts their glass and recognizes they’re part of something bigger than themselves.

Beer, of course, lends itself naturally to the moment. It’s social by design. Every pour invites someone else to join in, and every clink of a glass says, “you belong here.” From Earth Rider Brewery’s North Tower Stout to our Tap Shack Lager, each beer is brewed with the same Northwoods values that define our community; resilience, craft, and shared celebration.

So here’s to the timeless toast, to its long history and simple purpose. To the people who raise their glasses after a day on the trail or a shift on the harbor. To gathering places where stories flow as easily as the beer. And to the moments that remind us why we come together in the first place.

Cheers to that.