Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [98]
For me, it soon became obvious that ours was a unique opportunity to observe an emerging economy and examine the principles upon which beer culture evolves: the brewing community, consumer patterns and the politics of alcohol. Sometimes we become so mired in the complexity of our own developed nations that we lose sight of the real reason why the brewing community and beer culture exist. The opportunities to observe the remnants of the past, the struggles of the present and the hopes of the future are rare in this rapidly changing world. Those that exist are fleeting. We were travelers in fortunate times.
Everywhere we visited, we observed an active revival of beer cultures. There was a time when beer was a proud part of these lives. Now the struggle to catch up with the rest of the beer world was in full swing. Today’s standards of international beer quality are at various stages of being realized. They are what one strives for as a brewer. First you discover what the standards are and then you attempt to achieve them with whatever resources are available. All brewers know these dynamics between the abundance and scarcity of resources.
Though the ideals were admirable, it was sometimes discomforting for me to see where the road to “progress” could lead. Modern equipment, efficiency of labor force, technically “cleaner” beer, longer shelf life, wider distribution and markets and profitability—yes, certainly these are some of the elements of growth, progress and quality.
But I grew very fond of many of the beers naturally brewed from what today’s “experts” could refer to as “low-quality” ingredients. A tankard of microbrewed country beer served from brewer-crafted wooden barrels, naturally carbonated and gravity dispensed, became an adventure we looked forward to each day. This fresh beer was an important and essential tradition that millions had enjoyed. Yes, of course, the beer lasted only one week before spoiling, but that is the character and nature of heritage any beer culture has as its foundation. The best-tasting fruit is picked ripe and directly from the tree. This is a truth that is rarely experienced in the days of modernization and marketplace dynamics. Will these perfectly made country-fresh beers be forgotten at the expense of clean, pasteurized and stable beer brewed with high-yield hop harvests, disease-resistant malted barley, purified yeast and treated water?
Our trip was about cultural and professional exchange. There was one message I hoped they heard from me: Don’t forget your traditions and the products that make your beer culture unique from the rest of the world of beer. With these traditions there is little competition. Yes, I understand in order to be profitable in the current international beer market there is a minimum investment required to develop and maintain quality in the brewery. But with profitability and success, please don’t forget your beer culture. Without it, you have nothing that can’t be done anywhere else in the world.
Aspiring to be big was the common theme among the developing breweries that had resources. We visited several other breweries that were left behind in the backwaters. They produced the most interesting and complex beers. It was fresh and reminisced of tradition and a passion that they struggled to maintain in the face of market economics and distribution dynamics. Theirs was the dream and the soul to which beer drinkers will someday return.
The brewery chief at the Bauska Brewery in Latvia, Karlis Zaltitis, told us of his 43-year career as a brewer. Deported to Siberia and the stalag prison camps during the Stalin era, he managed to persevere and return to his beloved brewing, becoming a very talented brewer. Each of us was seated in the brewery’s comforting wood-walled tasting room, our hands wrapped around mugs of frothy, fresh microbrewed beer. During a small hesitation between stories we finally asked, “What kind of changes occurred after Stalin