Beer Existentialism

Jasperilla 2010

I had this served in a small tasting glass straight from the fermenter.  Naturally the carbonation is a little light.  The oak is very present in the beer but not invasive.  There are very subtle caramel, toffee and vanilla aromas on the nose.  The caramel and toffee follow on the palate though I don't get too much vanilla. I am really excited about this beer, though not looking forward to hand bottling this week.  This beer has gotten better every year and is very limited. If you see it, grab it!

Human Condition

Sartre says that we were thrust into this world and bear the weight of our choices and that is the ultimate dilemma of man, or the human condition.  I have to admit that I agree with Sartre on this one.  We walk through life and have to make decisions every day and though we may not know exactly how things will play out we are responsible for the fallout.  It’s not all gloom and doom though, we are also responsible for the glory.  But what’s not glorious is the beer landscape we have created for ourselves. 

Sadly we mostly drink shit(Big Beer).  Maybe that is a bit harsh but if you look at it through the lens of history and tradition it is tough to disagree.  ‘American Lager’ utilizes a basterdized process, low quality ingredients and a focus on volume whilst quality is sacrificial. 

Friedrich Nietzsche asks us, would you want it again?

“What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, 'This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned and you with it, dust of the dust!' Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse that demon? Or would you answer, 'Never have I heard anything more divine'?”

It’s easy to see the gloom in Existential literature, but I really see it as a call to action.  If you had to live this life again, what would you pour in your glass?  Would you continue to short yourself on sensory experience?  Or would pour something that you are going to enjoy, something different and unique?  Would you continue to send your dollars to oversea conglomerates?  Or would you instead send them to your neighbor? 

It’s easy to associate the human condition with anguish or anxiety, so much choice and so much responsibility.  It is equally as easy to drink good beer responsibly.