Brewed Beverage of Choice: A Pint of Spotted Setter Dark Mild Ale (If I could put it on cask, I would…)
That song has been lodged in my brain since this afternoon. In actuality it is 48 hours since I had a day from hell, but that is in the past. Today, well, today is far different. Today I was notified that I was the recipient of the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation Scholarship to Siebel Institute in Chicago. It is a two week brewing course at one of the finest institutions in the world. Let me just say that if you wanted to see a 36 year old white man jump really high, you should have been in my Confucian abode this afternoon.
As you all know, I wear my Milwaukee/SE Wisconsin heritage like a badge of honour. You may also know that I am a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. To me it is where you come from, what made you, that is important because that determines where you are headed. I would not be who I am if not for the culture I was brought up in. Now I can also say that I am a proud and honoured recipient of one of the finest awards in the Pacific Northwest brewing community.
It is fair to say that I rarely do things for my own benefit. Sure I love what I do and would not give it up for the world. But I am a craftsman brewer not because it is cool and I like to do it, although that is a bonus. I am a brewer because the fine brews I make hopefully bring a community closer together. This scholarship and this foundation will help me in reaching my goals. And I in turn hope to do everything within my power to help the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation reach theirs…Because that is who I am. I will be a better community builder thanks to the trust the Foundation has put in me. And I thank them immensely. And I thank you too!
Prost!
the confucian, Glen Hay Falconer Scholarship recipient brewer