Did Jesus turn water into wine, grape juice or....beer?

In my 10th grade biology class we have been studying the nervous system. Recently we've been talking about how alcohol affects the nervous system, which led me to discuss alcohol and the Bible. In this discussion, I pointed out a few things that seem to indicate that God approves of responsible alcohol consumption. For instance, I pointed out that Jesus himself turned water into wine on one occasion (John 2:1-12), and quoted a few verses from Ecclesiastes (5:18, 8:15, 9:7) that indicate that wine is one kind of gift from God. I also pointed out a number of verses that explicitly warn against drinking to the point of drunkenness (Eph. 5:18, Romans 13:13, 1 Corin. 8:9, Prov. 23:29-35). So today one of my best students tells me during biology that he talked to his dad last night about what we discussed in class, and his dad said this:

1.) The wine Jesus made did not contain alcohol
2.) Jesus was a part of some kind of special sect of Christianity that pledged never to drink alcohol or cut their hair.

I had never heard either of these views before, so I politely thanked him and continued with class (and took what he said with a grain of salt). But what he said really did get me thinking. What evidence is there in favor of the idea that the wine Jesus made did not contain alcohol (or ethanol, if you like)? And what about this claim that Jesus was part of some kind of O'Douls loving, hair-flowing-in-the-wind hippie sect of Christianity?

As far as claim #2, I knew that John the Baptist was part of this sect, known as the Nazirites, who didn't cut their hair or drink alcohol. But the vow required for this title includes a little bit more:

"If some of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine, they must not drink other fermented drinks or fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine, not even the grape seeds or skins. They must never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy and set apart to the Lord. That is why they must let their hair grow long. And they may not go near a dead body during the entire period of their vow to the Lord, even if their own father, mother, brother or sister has died. They must not defile the hair on their head, because it is the symbol of their separation to God. The applies as long as they are set apart to the Lord." Numbers 6:2-8 NLT

A person could make this vow for as little as 30 days, or as long as a lifetime. Parents could also dedicate their children (as is in the case of John the Baptist) making them Nazirites for life.

It's pretty clear to me from the implications of this vow that Jesus was indeed not a Nazirite. Yes, he came from Nazareth, but he was not a lifelong Nazirite. How could Jesus have been a Nazirite if he:
a.) raised Lazarus from the dead (remember - no touching those cadavers!)
b.) drank "wine", alcoholic or not, on numerous occasions as can be infered when he said, "Mark my words - I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom". Matthew 26:29 NLT

But what about the first claim my student made - that the wine Jesus made from water was non-alcoholic? Of course the first thing any scholar does in this situation is.....consult the internet! I found a few interesting resources spanning a variety of perspectives.

#1. The wine Jesus created was non-alcoholic because:
- κρασί, the Greek word for wine, could be alcoholic or non-alcoholic, just like we have alcoholic and non-alcoholic cider.
- When you read John 2:1-12, you see that the Jesus created the wine after all the other wine had been consumed. Yet the bridegroom was still sober enough to notice that Jesus saved the best wine (the wine that was previously water) until last - suggesting that they had been consuming non-alcoholic wine, or grape juice. You can read the authors opinions here.

#2. The wine Jesus created was alcoholic because:
- Grape juice is not served at Jewish weddings and never was.
- There are many other places in the Bible, New Testament and Old, that indicate that the wine in that day was indeed intoxicating (1 Timothy 3:8, Titus 2:3) and a person had to watch their intake just like today. You can read this authors opinion here.

#3. Jesus actually made beer instead of wine.
This view can be found at beerchurch.com, so I'm not sure how seriously it's meant to be taken. Keep in mind that the purpose of this website is to first promote beer, and that it really has nothing to do with any kind of church as we understand it. But it is pretty entertaining!

The bottom line - I don't really know. I previously never had any reason to doubt that the wine Jesus miraculously created was anything other than real, alcohol-laden wine. And I'm not predisposed to bunking alcohol consumption as incongruous with Christianity, because I know many Christ followers who do drink responsibly. So my question is, what do you think? Is it really that important whether Jesus made grape juice or merlot, anyway? Let the commenting begin!!!