Brewed Musings

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A litre of Aktien Brauerei St. Martin Dunkler Doppelbock
Whilst riding the train this morning, a thought popped into my head…I have seen a great deal of shows in my lifetime.  They continue to this day.  So with my mind working, riding the train to work, I started pulling out the ones I would put into my Top 5.  Then it came to me, I should share them with you because good times are meant to be shared.  So this here is a new topic:  Top 5!

Unfortunately compiling a list such as this, you have to leave out ones that definitely should be mentioned.  And of course these list truly mean nothing because they can be changed at any time.  They should be seen as dynamic living organisms.  And because I continue to see bands and musicians, this list is no different.  But to give you idea how packed the 5 shows are, here is a short list of the shows that did not make it:

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Portland, Oregon
Paul Simon, Marcus Ampitheater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Replacements, UWM Ballroom, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ida, The Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois
Medeksi, Martin, and Wood, Crystal Ballroom, Portland, Oregon
REM and Sonic Youth, Kansas City, MO

And without further ado…Number 5 on the list of Top 5 Concerts

No. 5:  Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band, Alpine Valley, East Troy, Wisconsin

It is no coincidence that two of the five concerts in the Top 5 are ones that I went to with my brother.  He took me to my first show when I was in 8th grade.  I looked up to him when I was younger because he had a great taste in music.  He introduced me to the Replacements, REM, fIREHOSE, and Husker Du.  It is something special we have continued to share til this day.

In 1986 the Boss was on tour for his Born in the USA album and my brother got us tickets to go see him at Alpine Valley, a natural ampitheater about 7 miles from where I grew up.  It is also the sight of where Stevie Ray Vaughn died.  Fortunately for me, my brother did not mind hanging out with his geeky brother.  I am sure it hindered any chance of meeting a girl.  But what did I care.  I got to go see concerts I would never been able to see.

What amazes me about Springsteen is that he does not have an opening act.  AND…I cannot stress this enough…he plays for 2+ hours where most bands now will only play for 1 to 1.5 hours.  At this show, the Boss kept us all entertained for 4 hours! Of course there was an intermission.  Even the Boss has to go to the bathroom…

I was an eager but ignorant student.  Born in the USA was the extent of my knowledge of Springsteen.  There were few other songs I knew.  But when I heard Born to Run live, I was forever tattooed as a fan.  I was doe-eyed!  I was speechless.  By the intermission, I was drunk on the music.  And thanks to the overly expensive soda, I had to pee.

4 hours!  I could not believe it.  You would think an eighth grader would have gotten bored…and a minimal contact high.  But not me.  I enjoyed every note, every song.  I did not want to hear what I could get on the radio.  I wanted more songs I have never heard so they can be etched in my brain.  I wanted to go back to St. Thomas and brag that I got to see the Boss!  So I purchased a T-Shirt…Duh!  That is what you did!…And as we walked back to the car so we could sit in a line to get out, all I could think about was how feckin’ great this was.

I do not have the shirt anymore.  The ticket stub is long gone.  But I have the memory of seeing one of the best performers in the world.  Some people remember seeing Simon and Garfunkel in the Park, or the Stones, or the Beatles before they broke up.  I have Springsteen at Alpine Valley.  And to think, this one is number 5!

Prost!

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  Dharma Bum IPA in an Imperial Pint Glass

Over the past few years I have become used to living a simple life without a car, a digital camera, a laptop (good one…), and any of life’s “luxuries.”  I do not mind because most of the time I really do not desire any of these objects.  I have a great job, good friends, an awesome dog, and an awesome family.  What more do I really need?  But now I sit here on a sunny Wednesday afternoon with a dilemma:  get a new and desperately needed bike or get a new and desperately needed education in brewing.

With the dentist bills mounting, as well as the usual other bills we all have, I have to decide on a newer bike - mine has not been the same since I had an accident - or spend the same money on a deposit for a Concise Brewing Course at Siebel Institute in Chicago.  For the past several weeks I have been working on the application for the Glen Hay Falconer Memorial Scholarship which would pay for the course at Siebel.  By the beginning of the week I had come to realize that along with the application they require a deposit to accompany all the other materials.  The newer bike was looking more like the option to go with.  That is, until this afternoon.

While at work, I discovered a letter in my mailbox.   It was from the HQ, leading to me to respond, “What did I do now.”  But before I opened it, it dawned on me that this was the Letter of Recommendation from the General Manager of the Breweries.  Crap!  So I opened and read what my boss had written.  Shite!  With one fell swoop, his words clouded the decision between bike and education.

As a Confucian, one cannot be too educated.  As a bike commuter, one cannot be too comfortable.  See my dilemma?  If I get the scholarship, I get to go to Chicago for two weeks…PAID!!!  If I do not get it, then they hold the deposit for 4 years until I take the course.  If I get the bike…well…I get to ride to work in comfort.  Either way I cannot lose in my mind.  Unfortunately for me, the deadline for the application is Friday.  And so my next few hours are going to be decisive.

So as I leave you to go decide, I leave you with some words inspired by Ryokan.  The last post was just too deep, so I thought I could turn to the lighter side of life.  So enjoy!  Because for the next few hours I will not be able to.

Prost!

the confucian brewer with a dilemma

Enticed by her beauty.
My friend remarks
on the technical reasons
for the sway of a woman’s hips,
while I stare at the metronome
of her gentle stride.
Even in simplistic admiration,
we are still little pigs!

Brewed Beverage of Choice: There is not one for this instance…

O.K. I must get on my soapbox because I have not in a while and I have been touched by a column written by Shaun Powell of New York Newsday. (Thanks to Dan Patrick, who was maligned on his show today, for bringing this column to my attention.)

When I was in grade school growing up in Waterford, Wisconsin, I was called “N- Lips” by many of my class mates, only to find out years later that my brother was also called this. I was too young to really understand what the N-word meant, but I knew it was bad. Several years later my brother and I were riding our bikes home from getting some baseball cards when he told me he had gotten one of my favourite players on a card. I, in turn, called him a son-of-a-bitch. He immediately reprimanded me and told me that by using it I was calling our mother a bitch, which obviously was not my intention. I have never used that phrase again towards another human being…swearing while alone in the brewery…yes…not at another living person.

By the time I had gotten into my senior year in high school I became very intolerant of any kind of discrimination. My dad used the N word in front of me and I immediately got up from my chair, pointed at him, and told him to never use that word in front of me again. Days later he thanked me. I have yet to hear that word from him since. One of my ex-girlfriend’s brothers used that word one too many times and got punched in the stomach…by me. Of course I felt bad…still do because I do not find violence as the key to solving life’s problems. And if you think it is just the N word or bitch that chaps my skin, you are wrong.

My best friend, Charity, was a lesbian and she taught me to never use the word “dyke.” I was not using it at all but had heard people at work using it. If it was not for her, I would not have been able to tell one of my co-workers and friends to not use the word. Of course their response is, “Why not? I hear lesbians use it all the time. Why is it o.k. for them and not us?” I then tell them that it is not o.k. for them to use it, but we are talking about you and I.

Shaun Powell had the courage to write down what I had been thinking for decades. Gay men should not use the word “faggot.” When Eminem said he was not a homophobe for using the same word because he was using it as a put down of other rappers, we as a society should have said, “So what! It is still wrong!” All these words come from ignorance…Faggot, Dyke, Nigger, Chinqs, etc. Gay men using Fag, black men using the N word may take the word’s power away from the dominant society of white males, but it is still a powerful word of dominance and ignorance. It definitely does not make it right.

I agree with Shaun Powell that it is through education that we overcome this malaise. Should Imus have been fired? Sure, but he should also have been made to use his last program to educate his listeners through the use of guests like Mr. Powell. Last night, I was asked if I thought a woman who had used the word faggot to describe John Edwards should be fired. I was not familiar with the woman at the time and kind of danced around the subject. But today I would say she should have been given the same treatment as Imus. The definition, the power of certain words will never change no matter what the context.

Of course I live in a Confucian dream world where everything can be solved through education. Imus’ listeners would still feel the same way if they got to hear people like Shaun Powell. We are always going to have an Imus. There will always be people who try to put someone down to build themselves up. My hope is that through education and simple thought we in society will only hear those others as a babbling brook in the background.

I must get off this box now because it cannot support my weight. Next time I will get an apple crate instead of a soapbox.

Prost!

the confucian brewer

PS: Thanks to all who have educated me, corrected me, and inspired me to stand up and speak.

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A cup of Green Tea

A sky of clouds remains,
though the rain has ceased
I wish the sun would appear.
The pear blossoms seem more brilliant
on a sunny spring afternoon.
But my thoughts create more clouds.

Prost!

the confucian brewer

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  Thiriez Blonde Dry Hopped French Farmhouse Ale

As I was riding the train into work this morning - Our pub is actually open 364 days a year - I was delving into two different brewing books.  Our entry to this year’s North American Organic Brewers Festival is a Saison or Belgian Farmhouse Ale.  But I was also thinking ahead to a couple of weeks from now because we got our hands on a Belgian Abbey strain of yeast and I will get to brew my first Belgian Dubbel Abbey Ale.  So I was thumbing threw Farmhouse Ales by Phil Markowski and Brew Like A Monk by Stan Hieronymus, trying to come up with some ideas for what I wanted to do.

The whole thing made me think of the first time I got to try a Saison.  It was a few years ago at the Oregon Brewers Festival and it was quite possibly the worst beer I have ever tasted.  I believe it was from the Portland Rock Bottom Brewery.  I swore I would never have another Saison as long as I lived.  Fortunately I do not keep my word on such silly promises like that.  The ironic thing is that I now like the Farmhouse style of beers.  The other irony is that I actually recommend the Portland Rock Bottom.  Their brewer does some tremendous things in the chain brewery atmosphere.

Even though the first tasting experience may not have been up to snuff, I got back on the horse several years later and found I did enjoy Farmhouse style beers.  So much so I decided to brew one for the company’s annual Battle for the Belt.  My first farmhouse was not Belgian but French in style which means it is a bit more malty and cleaner in the finish.  The Ogre Killer (Anduril) was a French Biere de Garde of 7% alcohol and was aged with oak.  My first attempt surprisingly enough turned out quite tasty, although the patrons of the fest only put it in 6th place.

I have made several French Biere de Gardes since that time including a Biere de Printemps (Beer of Spring…On tap Wednesday at the Pub) and one homebrew that turned out to have the flavour of sour cherries.  How it got that taste is still something that baffles me, but, hey! Whatever works…Don’t question it.  Now is the time to actually broaden my horizons and brew a Saison Belgian Farmhouse Ale.  If I can successfully drink one, I am sure I can get over the hump and brew one.  Hell, the worst thing that could happen is that it could be bad, and no one will drink it, and I will be crushed…never to brew again.

Prost!

the confucian farmhouse brewer