I grew up in San Diego, and one of my favorite places is the harbor near the airport where a ton of sailboats are moored. As a kid, I would stare at those boats and envision a life of adventure, of culture, of synergy with nature, and of joy.
Some years ago, when my daughter was little and before my son was born, I sat on a bench overlooking this spot. My daughter sat next to me and I shared with her how special this place was and what it meant to me. Then my father sat next to us and shared with me that this was also one of his favorite places for much the same reason. Turns out my father passed his love of that place to me, and now I was passing it on to my daughter.
Throughout the world, we all have had that first moment when we’ve tried beer for the first time. And, it probably tasted awful and we vowed to never drink that stuff again. As a kid, I would sneak a taste of my Uncle’s Coors Banquet or my father’s Lowenbrau. It was awful. It reminded me of glue. But, things change. In college, I had a beer with some buddies. It wasn’t bad. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. One day, after getting tired of drinking the same cheap lifeless lagers, I started wondering if there was something better out there. I tasted a Sierra Nevada Pale and a Pete’s Wicked Ale. The bitterness was overwhelming in a classic case of too much too soon.
Then one day I grabbed some food and a new beer from a local pizza shop after surfing. I was tired and hungry, which may have contributed to the euphoric experience, but that beer opened up an entirely new world. That beer in the clear glass was a Newcastle Brown. I can still taste it as I write this, the papery oxidation, the flavor of caramel, light chocolate on toasted bread crust with a touch of phenolic smokiness. I didn’t know this at the moment, but that beer set the hook that would reel me in years later.
Beer has been a part of our human experience ever since our ancient ancestors came across a pool of bubbling barley. We’ve been brewing some iteration of it since at least the ancient Sumerians. Our pursuit of beer has also fueled many of our historical events as well as our technological advances, such as refrigeration and pasteurization.
We share in our celebrations of success and sports with a beer in our hands. We also commiserate when our friends pry us from our lament to grab a couple of pints and just talk.
I love beer, but let me assure you, it’s not really just about the beer. For me, beer has become a sort of rite of passage we share with generations that come after us. The first sip is no more about the beer than a rite of passage is about the ceremony. It’s about the meaning behind it, as well as the people who came before and those that will come after us. For me, every beer is also a key that unlocks the door to science, art, history, culture, wisdom past, and knowledge present. We have a responsibility to the brewers and beer drinkers that came before us, to honor them by honoring their traditions, and by continuing to innovate.
Beer is an art… and it’s a craft. If the only education one ever received was through studying beer, they would still be a pretty well-educated and well-rounded individual, don’t you think?
Our responsibility to the next generation lies in teaching them the origin story, how beer came to be, what it is now, and how it has influenced us throughout time. Human Beings are the tool makers. We need to teach the next generation how to drink it responsibly and how to use it as a tool to build better relationships, have better experiences, and to bring different cultures together.
We need to teach them how to brew within the lines and then teach them to blow those lines out of the water. Like a father sharing with his son and granddaughter his love for a sacred place, we need to share our love for a sacred drink. We need to teach our younger generations that Good Beer Matters, and when we enjoy it properly we will find a world of adventure, of culture, of nature, and joy in every glass.
This has been my goal since the beginning of the Good Beer Matters podcast, I want to share the world of craft and culture found in every glass. I want beer consumers to be better educated so they put benevolent pressure on the industry so that we push the quality and variety of beers we produce. I especially want to educate beer industry professionals so we can all do a better job serving our well-educated guests.
Thank you for joining me for the past 100 interviews that discussed the knowledge and the wisdom my guests have shared about beer.
For those of you who work in the food and beer industry, for those beer leaders and pushers of boundaries, and those who just appreciate good beer, I hope you’ll join me for the next 100.
I’m Jeremy Storton and this is Good Beer Matters. These are the stories of us, of great food and the beer that brings it all together.
Thank you for listening.
Cheers