Brewed Beverage of Choice: A cup of Sencha Green Tea
A few weeks ago I was aksed by a prominent person within the industry, “What kind of brewer are you?” The question threw me for a loop and, unfortunately for me, I only speak volumes in the written word. The spoken word has never treated me kindly despite the four years of impromtu speech in forensics. Let me just say that there is a reason I am the king of stating the obvious. The person’s question stuck in my subconsious and finally I sat down to figure it out. What kind of brewer am I?
As many of you have read, I have referred to myself as a be-bop brewer, a poet brewer, a zen brewer and a farmhouse brewer. Trying to explain my brewing genus took weeks of intraspection, several pints of finely crafted brews by other brewers who may or may not have answered the question for themselves, a river of coffee and tea as long as the Yangtze, and many beard whiskers sacrificed. What was the question again? O, yes! What kind of brewer am I? Think, boy, think…
Am I a McMenamins brewer? Am I a Northwest brewer or a Midwest brewer? Am I classic or neo-classic? Experimental? True-to-style? Patient or practical? Hmmm…I could honestly say yest to many of these responses. If you consulted my business card, the answer is layed out: Artisinal Brewer. And, this morning on the daily ritual of walking the White Wonder to one of the many cafes within the Portland city limits, the answer finally hit me. I am…wait for it…a Confucian brewer.
I know. I know. Not a true revelation. But it is who I am. (I told you I was the king of stating the obvious.) A Confucian brewer in today’s industry is however somewhat a revolutionary brewer. Confucius looked to the classics of literature, music and culture to formulate his philosophies. He believed in outright study as the key to a peaceful and beneficial life. And that is how I have always handled my career, sometimes successful, sometimes not so. I have studied the classics of style and brewing culture: the English ales, the Ales of the North Rhine and Westphalia, the Belgian ales, and the Lagers of Southern Germany. In today’s brewing world this is revolutionary as the beers move farther and farther away from these classic styles.
The answer for most of the neo-renaissance brewers is bigger and hoppier beers: more malt and more hops is better. The common comment I get from consumers is more hops as if that is going to make any beer better. And now that there has been a dramatic increase in hop prices, more hops is not a cost effective answer. But this patch of bigger and hoppier beers is the trend and is how we as brewers, in my opinion, make our stamp on the history of brewing. A philosophy making the classics antiquated. Also one that is a detriment to we the brewers and the consumers. These newer beers have a place on the shelves but are not our “salvation.” They are not our place in history.
The other evening I was sitting in my favourite chair, sipping a pint and reading the liner notes for a Calvin Jackson LP I was listening to. A phrase caught my eye. “The Jackson style pioneers the movement to bridge the gap between classical patterns and jazz instinct.” Jackson studied classical piano and what made him a great jazz musician was this study combined with his gift of instinct. There are some of us, the neo-classical brewers, who follow the classics of style and let our instincts guide us further down the path. Each brewer has a thumbprint on the beers they create. Unfortunately many brewers either disregard that thumbprint, do not realize they have one, or go to school for many years to try and disguise it. Our thumbprint is created and guided by instinct.
My philosophy, my Confucian brewerist instincts are what makes my beer mine and distinguishable from Brewer A or Brewer B. We as brewers do not need to re-invent the wheel with 100+ IBU beers that topple the 10% ABV barrier. As a brewer I do not strive to make a British Mild, a Dusseldorf Alt or a Vienna Lager. My ultimate goal is to make a Confucian Mild, a Confucian Alt, or a Confucian Amber Lager: A simple brew with my Confucian brewer thumbprint. These are the beers we truly love…The ones we all come back to. I am not trying to create new styles. And that, I believe, is truly revolutionary.
Somehow I wish I could go back several weeks ago to use this as my response to the question posed of me. Or I could have responded by handing the person a pint of Evolution or Saison du Pass or Biere de Noel. After all my beers say everything that needs to be said. That are better suited for that task. With that I ask you to visit your local brewpub or brewery and ask the brewer for a pint of their instinctual bliss. I will continue on my Confucian brewer path and let my beers speak for me. They are better suited for the task than I. I will merely blurt out the obvious.
Prost!
your humble, simple confucian brewer