My Relationship With Beer
Hank, nicely written. It seems to me that you missed three important virtues of drinking beer, what I call the three c’s, community, conversation and creativity. Clearly too much beer can impede these benefits, but many of us do some of our best work when we engage the three c’s responsibly.
Next time I’m in NYC I stop by with a case of Kennebec River IPA.
Best,
Russell at The Kennebec River Brewery.
Beer works in my body as coolent in hot season. I love it.
– Rajendra Lakpale on September 7th, 2011Sustainability and beer do seem to go together. Here in Philadelphia we have lots of great craft breweries. One of the best is Yards. And while Yards is implementing some interesting sustainability tactics, it does not seem to be communicating them in an effective manner. Maybe Green Team can help them out? To see more about my tour and discussion with the owner of Yards check out my post here: http://www.greenaroundtheglobe.com/2010/11/22/sustainability-and-beer
– keith on July 19th, 2011One of the more inspiring US breweries on a socially and environmentally conscious level that I’ve seen is Full Sail Brewery out of Hood River. A great case study in innovation, determination and pure passion.
– paul on July 18th, 2011A bottle of beer is a Rorschach test.
Some people look at it and see a fat, sweaty guy lounging in front of a doublewide, watching a NASCAR race, while sun tanning his hairy back.
Others see history, tradition, craftsmanship, innovation, chemistry, alchemy, a sense of place, the beauty of nature and evidence of a Higher Power.
I’ve been learning about beer; reading, writing and talking about beer; brewing and--of course--drinking beer for almost two decades now. So, obviously, I fall into the second camp.
Beer and I have a beautiful relationship. Beer introduces me to smart, passionate, exciting people who brew it for a living. When traveling, it connects me with local people and culture. It teaches me history. And, last but not least, it provides me with a glorious array of sensory delights. I, in return, give beer respect and serve as its evangelist, especially among people who tend to see the sweaty guy version of the Rorschach test.
Awakening Consumers have a relationship with beer, too. A recent g-Think survey shows that 87% of Awakening Consumers have had at least one beer during the past 12 months. After Googling around a bit, it seems that percentage is somewhat larger than that of the general population. But Awakening Consumers differ from the general population in another, very important way.
Awakening Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the concept that their every action has an impact. Could be an environmental impact. Could be a social impact, or an economic one. Most likely, all three. Naturally, this applies to beer.
The aforementioned survey also reveals that the top two factors for Awakening Consumers when selecting which beer to drink are taste and price. No surprise there. But the third most important factor is if the beer is locally brewed. More than 60% of Awakening Consumers say buying local beer is either “extremely or somewhat” important.
I’ve written several articles railing on the absurdity of anyone in the U.S. buying a mediocre imported beer. I’m not trying to be xenophobic or nationalistic, but seriously, if you’re going to drink a bland, uninteresting lager, why waste the carbon shipping it all the way from Holland or Mexico? We have plenty of boring beers right here! Seems Awakening Consumers—at least some of them—get this point, too.
Believe it or not, in the same survey, Awakening Consumers report that a brewer’s environmental policies have a greater effect on their beer purchase decision than brand image/advertising does. The difference between the two factors isn’t much; 47% vs. 45%, but the fact that Awakening Consumers are beginning to pay attention to a brewer’s environmental policy at all is pretty interesting.
There are a handful of American breweries that take their environmental impact seriously. Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Great Lakes, Wolaver’s and Brooklyn have all adopted innovative (and often expensive) practices to have their operations be more Earth friendly. Most of these breweries have done this because of the personal passions of their owners, but now they could very well see sales increases, as well. At least with Awakening Consumers. And with me.
I definitely consider the values of the brewery when making my beer selection. Local is important. Environmental policies and community engagement are important (organic ingredients too, but less so). Yes, I can be very demanding, but I don’t worry. Beer and I have a solid relationship.