SUPPORTING THE TROOPS — It’s a small gesture, but a nice one:

NORFOLK, Va. — The Germans didn’t back the U.S. war in Iraq, but a German brewery is treating American sailors and soldiers to beer.

Munich-based Spaten, one of the world’s oldest breweries, is donating 600 cases of lager to each branch of the U.S. military for personnel who fought in the war.

Thanks, Spaten! Plus, they demonstrate one area of clear German cultural superiority:

However, there is one small problem that Louis Sieb, president of Spaten North America, did not consider when he came up with the idea. The average sailor is 20. Legal drinking age is 21.

“They give up everything, right? They put their lives on the line, right? And they can’t drink beer?”

Nope. Thank Nancy Reagan and Liddy Dole for that one.