Take away the golden moonbeam
Take away the tinsel sky
What at night seemed oh so scenic
May be cynic by and by
The first time I met a friend’s wife, a few minutes into a conversation that was bouncing about randomly and at a quickening pace, he said, “Don’t worry, his brain is hyperlinked.”
I mention that because the first story linked to here posted last month, not last week, and I’m going to totally spoil the ending by quoting it verbatim. And note the second time I read it I put on the soundtrack to The Fantasticks and fast forwarded to “This Plum is Too Ripe.” The four lines at the top come from the song.
So here is “You Can Go Homebrew Again,” and the final paragraph:
“While just about everyone that has brewed more than one batch of homebrew dreams of opening their own brewery, just about every brewery owner dreams of just being able to brew with the freedoms and joy of homebrewing.”
The holiday spirit fills our house at the moment. We drove 160 miles round trip yesterday to cut a tree in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. Doesn’t look like a farm tree, but it is a great tree. That’s an explanation why brevity rules here this week, and likely the week after, and surely the week after and the week after.
Ingredients
– Early history of hops. As is expected from Lars Garshol, a thorough and well documented examination of the use of hops in beer. I’ll comment more in Hop Queries later this month, but for now. . . He mentions the 1970 discovery of a boat in the Kent region of England that was carrying a cargo of hops almost 1,100 years ago. In a 23-page paper that resulted, botanist D. Gay Wilson offers quite a bit about what was known about hops in beer at the time as well as a proper bit of skepticism about some attempts at history. I quoted this bit of wisdom from Wilson in “For the Love of Hops” and in several presentations since: “Beer is a popular subject, and the literature abounds in unsupported statements, misleading or inaccurate quotations, and inadequate references.”
– S. eubayanus found alive and well and living in Ireland.
Hard times
– In Chicago. “I think, unfortunately, in the short term, this is going to get worse. I think this challenge is here for the foreseeable future.”
– In the US. Shoppers are beginning to spend cautiously just as rising input costs push up beer prices.
‘Tis the season
– What could be more true to the spirit of Christmas than standing in a crowded pub and singing Christmas carols?
– A list.
Obituaries
– Ray McNeill, via All About Beer and via The Commons.
Wine
– Terroir.
– Wrapping up this That Was The Beer Week That Was with a little fun, because “Nothing says, ‘Merry Christmas!’ like wine-sodden guests hurling a bladed wood-cutting implement across the yard or garland-festooned living room.”