Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [108]
“Dare to be the fool…your heart will ground you, so follow it and follow the path of your emotions…”
THE NEXT DAY, still in Amsterdam, I was celebrating my enthronement into the BierConvent International. Dinner was served over a period of three hours. Dutch jenever and beer flowed abundantly.
BierConvent International is an international organization, based in Munich. Invited to join by Printz Luitpold von Bayern, I am only the second American to join (the first was August Busch III). BCI’s members are not only brewers, but people of many backgrounds embracing quality, beer appreciation and sensitivity to the humanity and international pride portraying what beer was always meant to be.
At my enthronement, I reverently sat and watched the enthronement of others from the front row. The presidents of Heineken and Grolsch were among us. Our ceremonies took place inside a massive building, once a cathedral in Amsterdam. I sat among the hundreds gathered as though attending a wedding. A pianist played classical music. A string quartet played Schubert and Mozart. I stared in disbelief at the colored patterns of the immense and extraordinary flower arrangements in the balconies high above; a bright spotlight intensified the colors. There was a ridiculous and imposing red throne in front of me at center stage. Pretentious? Yes, but I can’t help but break into a little smile.
At my enthronement they spoke of my background and commented that if the BCI had not been founded in the 1960s, there was no doubt that Charlie Papazian would have founded it in 1996. I walked up to the “altar” and turned to receive my medallion and accompanying ribbon. I was ceremonially invited to drink from a very large pewter mug. I took long swallows, slowly savoring, drafting this brew into my being. The grand pianist banged away in dramatic and fanatical fashion. The room was beginning to spin. I continued swallowing and swallowing, gulping, the beer dribbling down the right side of my beard onto my tuxedo—loving every minute, every swallow.
The beer tasted great, my head tilted skyward, the bottom of the deep pewter mug began to hint of trailing off into an empty darkness. As I neared my finish, the mug tilted skyward and my eyes became distracted. I looked beyond the beer. My eyes changed from near focus to far. There, high, very, very high above, was a huge gilded domed ceiling, every arch coinciding at the center, in all its majestic grandeur. There in the middle at the highest point, beyond the chandeliers, the gold-leaf buttresses, the stained glass windows, the enormous flower arrangements and an impending belch, were two recently released, distantly tiny helium-filled balloons. No one noticed but me. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were watching over us, from up on high with their almighty helium-inflated gaze. There was a twinkle in my eye. Nothing seemed to me to be more genuine. I finished this beer nectar that had helped bring me here and everywhere.
The twinkle continues as I realize with the pride every brewer knows that it is all the same—same but joyously different.
Charlie Papazian
Planet Beer
It is not through knowledge but experiences of the world that we are brought into relation with it.
—ALBERT SCHWEITZER
SECTION THREE
Recipes
About the Recipes
Thank you, brewers and suppliers!
Whether you consider yourself a microbrewer or a homebrewer, these recipes will provide you with a jumping-off point for brewing classic, traditional, unique, eccentric, creative and cutting-edge styles of beer. These are recipes gathered from brewers and adapted, or were formulated from my 34 years of brewing experience and a bit of consultation with the wonderful people who supply brewers with malt, yeast, hops and other ingredients and supplies. I extend a very grateful thank-you to all the brewers who have shared with me their insights and knowledge.
Homebrewing
If you are new to homebrewing, my Complete Joy of Homebrewing, 3rd