Brewed Beverage of Choice: A cup of fine Chinese Green Tea
The other day as I lay sprawled out on the couch, listening to a Calvin Jackson LP through the headphones as to not disturb the other members of the household, reading Sam Calagione’s How to Build a Brewery for, what, the fourth or fifth time, a thought popped into my head. Why this particular thought popped in at this very moment is peculiar. Well, to be honest, not so peculiar because it pops in my head every time I read this passage. The thought…I need a new hobby. I do have my writing, my jazz records, and many, many books. I need, in my Confucianistic life, something to study, and that something is Suiboku/Japanese Ink Painting.
So I started to read Ryukyu Saito’s treatise on the subject simply titled Japanese Ink-Painting: Lessons in Suiboku Technique. In his day, Saito was an excellent teacher of this style. It is not easy to learn something artistic like painting in a book, but his words make it seem as though anyone can paint in this style. I have found the first few chapters to have the feel of Ryokan’s poetry or of Okakura Kakuzo’s Book of Tea. There is one passage, however, that hit a nerve in my never-yielding mind. So much so, it was the full meal my mind needed during the next brew day. It was a small satori, opening my eyes a bit to my inner-workings. In the following passage, Saito describes the proper way to grind the ink.
“Much care must be taken to grind the ink properly on the inkstone. The ink is the vital force of suiboku and is quite important. Place some water in the depression on the suzuri. Don’t fill it full; a little more than half-full is adequate. Hold the sumi firmly and straight so that it will be ground evenly…Rub around and around a couple of times on the flat surface and then into the water. Do this slowly and smoothly, not fast or with a jerky motion. If the ink is rubbed only back and forth, the water and ink will not mix well and the arm will tire too quickly. To obtain the proper consistency, the ink should be ground with this circular motion for two or three minutes. The slow, thoughtful rubbing of ink on stone should produce a calm feeling and a release from tension. This is excellent preparation for the mind before the student begins to draw. This preparation of the mind of the student can be likened to the elaborate motions the Japanese sumo wrestlers go through before they start a match. As the artist rubs the ink, his mind is considering the painting– where to start, where to end. No outside noises distract him. Then he picks up the brush and begins. The picture should be created in one effort without loss of concentration.”
This passage enlightened me to a personality trait I own. It is, I must note, a personality trait that vexes my newlywed beloved. For years now I have been wanting to open my own brewery/brewpub, but for many reasons I did not. To say that fear is one of the reasons would be accurate. But, fear has rarely stopped me before. I usually use fear to my advantage…At least for the most part. No, as I spent my time mashing in, adding hops, filling kegs, and doing general brewery work, my thoughts went back to the passage. I realized that the main reason I have not opened my own place was because the time was not right.
Like the process of grinding the ink, I have been slow and meticulous in preparing my brewery/brewpub idea. Too early and my brewery would be inconsistent, watery, and not well mixed. This whole time, while fear and uncertainty tried to peck away at my spirit, I have been preparing my mind for the creation of what will be a life’s project. There is no rushing. I have had chances before but the calmness was not there. The tension remained. And so, around and around, I have continued to rub.
Now I sit with paper in front of me. Now I continue to rub, slowly and firmly whilst my mind formulates. Calmness sinking in…Tension slowly releases. A picture is coming to mind, still hazy. The time grows nearer to put the work of artistic expression down on the rice paper. Soon the ink will be ready.
Prost!
the confucian brewer