I will leave it to you to consider the beer connections.
Last week, The NY Times’ outgoing restaurant critic, Sam Sifton, asked this Question for Curious Readers: What role, if any, does “authenticity” play in our understanding of good restaurants?
Interesting comments, one of which led to a post in David Byrne’s Journal (yes, that David Byrne) which poses many questions: “When does a little bit of illusion connote authenticity to us by enhancing our enjoyment and our experience (illusory as it might be)? When does it either not ring true at all or go so far and become so perfectly accurate, as to enter the creepiness of the uncanny valley?”
(Couldn’t resist injecting one comment. We’ve all been in that faux Irish pub, right?)
Today, Jonah Lehrer writes in The Frontal Cortex about the “drive for distinctiveness” that appears to be an essential component of Westerners. You know, standing in line with everybody else, so you can be the only one you know to have tasted [fill in the beer name]. He examines the findings of two social scientists presented in “Food, sex and the hunger for distinction,” a paper I’ll try to work into “For the Love of Hops” because, well, wouldn’t you buy a book with that in the bibiography?
Anyway, he concludes, “. . . this won’t be news to retailers. They’ve long catered to our desire for uniqueness, selling us mass-produced commodities that promise to express our real, authentic selves.”
I think authenticity is important, especially if you are planning to trade on the basis of a particular culture. For example, when I went into a local “British” gastropub and ordered a pint of Belhaven, the last thing I needed to be told was the beer coming out the tap like a guy with gall stones having a pee was “how Scottish beer is poured”. Perhaps my Scottish accent didn’t give the game away, but if you are going to do something, do it properly. Only when you can do something properly have you earned the right to fanny about with things.
I think it depends a lot on the attitude on the other side of the counter, but that aside, I don’t care much whether something is “authentic” or not, specially when it comes to “ethnic” food, the most important thing is how much I like, or not, what I’m eating or drinking. Same goes to pubs, only that, I feel comfortable, I’ll be happy.
Oh, yeah! One exception. Tapas. They seem to have become trendy here, but they are doing it all very wrong. Real Tapas are small snacks you get for free with every drink you order, and not something that you pay besides the drinks. Quality, “authenticity” of the ingredients, etc. aside, that is a very, very big mistake.
It doesn’t matter to me. What matters are taste and atmosphere and feeling cared for and good/bad memory buttons being pushed. One of my favorite bars ever was a faux Irish pub. In many cases, I like US versions of European beers better than actual European versions. I’ve dined in Florence at tourist traps, favorite places of Florentines, and high end restaurants, and the experience didn’t swing good or bad based on where they fell on that continuum. If the same good food/experiences were available down the street from me, I’d be thrilled; when I come close to recreating them in my kitchen, I am thrilled. If someday I have the money to explore single malts and my favorite happens to come from Japan, so be it.
Doesn’t the whole idea of authenticity only become a problem if someone is claiming that their [insert thing] is the real deal, but it isn’t? So for example, Pretty Thing’s Jack d’Or is one of the best saison’s I’ve ever tried, and I’d drink it over almost any other example of the style, but it neither claims to be authentic, nor do I believe it to be the definitive example of the style – that HAS to be Saison Dupont (only the 75cl bottling will be accepted, incidentally)
Pivini Filosof – I’ve never encountered free tapas that are worth getting excited about.
Agreed, Zak.
But there’s also the matter of breweries using advertising, packaging, POS (so might be those with big budgets, but also brewpubs telling their stories on the menu) along with bits of nostalgia or contrived history to tap into our desire for “authentic.”
Is this limited only to food and drink? Personally, I’d much prefer authentic cash over counterfeit.
And, by the same token, I’d probably prefer the authentic beer or food dish over the recreation.
The authenticity claim of any beer, food, etc. that is not made in their countries of origin should be taken with a pinch of salt to begin with.
Zak, I’ve tasted the Jack d’Or and it clearly (to me) contained American hops. If you prefer that, that’s fine, but I wouldn’t call it a saison, I would call it an American interpretation of a saison.
Mike – In fact, Pretty Things calls it “Saison Americain.”
Stan, I think that’s quite proper and commendable of them to do that. However, I was responding to what Zak wrote: “So for example, Pretty Thing’s Jack d’Or is one of the best saison’s I’ve ever tried…”
Stan – I’d say that’s a whole different discussion, focused more around semiotics than authenticity.
Mike – So do you feel that Jack d’Or is inauthentic due to its use of American hops? Oh, and thanks for ignoring that misplaced apostrophe.
It reminds me of the Authenticity Matrix…what’s real real, fake real, fake fake, and real fake.
Good description of the matrix if you care to read: http://www.rickliebling.com/2011/04/01/the-fallacy-of-authenticity/
Though I think at the heart of it is that we’re looking for beer/products/companies with philosophy about what their doing that is more than just trying to dupe you for your money, which I’d say the fake fakes are doing, and thus the only area of the matrix you don’t want to be in.
Zak, could you explain to me how you think it could possibly be authentic if: 1. it is not made in the country of origin and 2. does not use the same ingredients?
Would you consider a Chanel perfume made in China, say, with different ingredients and a different aroma to be authentic?
Would an Irish pub located in (name any country other than Ireland) and equipped with local (rather than Irish) furnishings be authentic?
Mike – do you feel that calling it a saison is inappropriate?
As Stan pointed out, the brewer calls it an “American saison”. As a shorthand name, I think that’s fair enough.
And yes, calling it simply saison is, I believe, incorrect.
Wait a beer not brewed in it’s country of origin is not authentic? I’m sorry but that reeks provincialism. It suggests that beers like porters, stouts, pilsners brewed in the US are inauthentic…heck by that logic barley based beer in the US is inauthentic because it didn’t originate here, we should be brewing with corn and potatoes! With the technical skills available to modern brewers these claims, except for a few esoteric beers, which I’d say saisson is not one of, are marketing speak as most styles can be pretty much be brewed anywhere. What the above leads to is a slew of gimmicks like a “Denver dark alpine ale that can only be brewed on this corner” syndrome.
I’d argue that authenticity lies in the philosophy of the brewer, whether it’s viewpoint is that hops are the center of the beer or if its an exploration of belgian brewing history…as long they are brewing with a vision and not pandering to wherever the “consumer” wind blows.
I think there’s a mis-implication that authenticity denotes quality. That’s not alway’s true.
There’s a lot to digest here… I write about authenticity a lot, but it’s usually in regards to music. I may have to address the beer angle specifically. Thought-provoking as ever, Stan!
Hey Mike, I know some Belgian-made saisons that use American hops. Are they still allowed to call them saisons? And if so, is it only because they’re made in Belgium?
I also know some Belgian ales fermented with American ale yeast. I’m certain that they’re still Belgian ales though.