Brewed Beverage of Choice: A Pint of Port Brewing Anniversary IPA
“Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do’s and don’ts. First of all you’re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.” Rob from High Fidelity (The Movie).
I never much cared for the terms “re-invention” or “re-discovery.” Once something is discovered or invented it cannot be discovered or invented again. If, say, John Doe made a more efficient light bulb, it cannot be said that he re-invented the light bulb. That would be a disservice to Thomas Edison. John Doe’s is still a light bulb. If making something “better” was the criteria, then the IPA has been re-invented and re-discovered to death. That being said, what do I call the task I have in front of me?
In the past eighteen months I have moved from Portland, OR, to Bend, OR, to Cannon Beach, OR, with the final stop being Seattle, WA, as the Head Brewer of Maritime Pacific. The move put me in a new position of management in a production facility. I am now learning more of the business side of brewing rather than the creative side. It has placed me in a conundrum.
If you remember several years ago I set out on a campaign of shameless self-promotion thanks in part to my receiving the Glen Hay Falconer Scholarship. This process solidified my place in the Oregon Brewing Community. In other words I made a name for myself, I was respected and well-known in the Oregon (as well as other parts of the country where I had a small and loyal following) brewing community. But my move to Seattle has changed all that. So what do I do? Re-invent myself?
I am now in a position where no one really knows who I am or what I have accomplished. My eight years of experience in recipe formulation, yeast wranglin’, and general gad-about-town mean, well, very little. I am in a much larger brewing production facility where creative recipe development is minimal because of the demands for current products. Also, because it is a relatively new facility, there are a few kinks to work out of the system. The scholarship was three years ago, so I cannot rely solely on its merit. AND, to be honest, Oregon seems so much further along in their brewing industry than Washington does…at least in my six month old opinion. So what do I do?
I am still the same confucian brewer, so “re-invention” is impossible. Scratch…That is from where I am starting! I have to re-introduce myself to a whole new community that does not know me from the Adam that lives in West Seattle. I must re-introduce myself using someone else’s recipes with my own thumbprint on its process. It is almost like making a mix tape. So the 2010-2011 season is one of “Re-Introduction.” Get ready Seattle, WA, and all points beyond! So begins the next level of confucian brewing.
Prost!
the confucian mixed-tape brewer