July 11, 1302: Battle of the Gulden Spurs

Happy feast day to all Flemish, and to all those who carry Flanders in their hearts!

On this day a Flemish army, consisting mainly of peasants and militia from the free cities, completely defeated an army of French knights, the pride of the nation. This was one of the first times an army of knights was defeated by commoners, and it sent shock waves throughout Europe. 5 years earlier, in 1297 the Scottish, led by William Wallace, defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. This and the battle in 1302 were only the first to mark the end of an era where knightly armies would dominate.

Another important feature was that this battle was one of the very few popular uprisings of the common people against their lords (in this case, king Philip IV from France) that was actually successful. It underscores the strong sense of freedom and justice the Flemish had, which indirectly but in an important way contributed to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. For a great article about this, read this article by a good friend, David Baeckelandt.

Of course, namesakes of the great saint William were present, in roles of leadership and with feats of bravery. One William, named William van Saefthinge, was a lay brother at the abbey of Ter Doest. A really tall and strong man, he is said to have rushed to the battlefield when the armies gathered, donning an old rusty suit of armor he found in the barns of the abbey. Upon reaching the site of the battle, he traded his horse for a sword, and entered the fighting. It is told that it was he who threw Count Robert II of Artois, the french commander, from his horse, after which the count was killed by other soldiers.

William of Jülich was one of the main leaders of the uprising, being strongly opposed to the annexation policies of the French King. He was archdeacon at the prince-bishopric of Liège and the son of William of Jülich and Maria, a daughter of Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders. His connection to the count and his wish to avenge the imprisoning of his uncles Robert III of Bethune and William of Dendermonde by the French king presumably explains his support for the Flemish resistance. An extra incentive for this support could have been the murder of his uncle Walram of Jülich by the French after the Battle of Bulskamp in 1297. The Flemish resistance led to the unexpected victory over the French during the battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. (excerpt from wikipedia). Legend has it that William of Jülich, who died in at the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle as he had broken so deeply through the ranks of the French that he and his knights were able to wound the King and made him flee the field, and who's remains were never found after the battle, will return when Flanders is in direst need.

After the battle, hundreds of golden spurs -sign of knighthood- were collected from the battlefield and hung up in the Church of Our Lady, giving this battle its contemporary name: the Battle of the Golden Spurs. A modern day monument, erected near a highway leading to France, depicts a large spur in concrete, with the point of it aimed directly at Paris. The battle gave Flanders only a short lived independence, but it ensured that it was never fully integrated in France, keeping its language, culture and identity.

So ponder with Mr. Baeckelandt the many Flemish influences on the Americas, and toast to the heroes of long lost times who kept that Flemish identity alive! With the unfortunate near absence of beer in French culture, it is safe to say that on this day, our rich beer culture was saved as well! Cheers to that!

4th of July: important Williams and beer.

Happy birthday, America! As Americans all over the world celebrate their independence day. On July 2, 1776, the second continental congress approved a resolution of independence,  and 2 days later, on July 4, 1776, they signed the declaration of independence, thus officially rejecting British rule.

One of the reasons that fueled the unrest and dissatisfaction with -and ultimately the rejection of - the British rule over their American Colonies was beer. Beer was an important factor in life in the colonies, as were the taverns, which served a central role in their communities. It was not just a place were the locals could drink, but it was where they met, were travelers could find a hearty meal and drink on the way, it was the place were many court houses held their sessions. At times, things would go out of hand, and the British rulers tried to regulate 'drinking and tavern disorders'. But it wasn't until they dared raise taxes on beer that illustrious people such as Samuel Adams and James Otis started a movement of civil disobedience against such a treacherously levied tax. Very soon colonials started a 'buy American' trend, to prefer American brewed ales over imported British ales. To the point that the Boston Tea party (the leaders of which having organised this event in a tavern, or what did you think?), are rumored to almost having decided to dump ale in the harbor. Regardless of where it comes from, such action would have been the purest form of alcohol abuse, but luckily enough sound judgement ruled the day. Just imagine, though, having 'Beer Party Patriots', 'Beer Party Express', etc... Regardless of politics, we can all agree that heaving tea overboard was a much wiser move.

6 of the signers of the declaration were named William, who 'lived life to the full, but balanced', in spirit with our patron saint. Another hero of the war of independence was Col. William Stacy. Born in Gloucester, MA in 1734, he was active in the war from the very beginning, having fought at Lexington and Concord, and later at Bunker Hill and other battles. Col. William Moultrie was also important in the first moments of the war. Defending fort Sullivan in Charleston Harbor, he fended off a 12 hour attack of 10 British warships, sending them badly crippled back in defeat. This greatly encouraged the surrounding states, renewing hope in the cause of independence. General William Whipple, another, had signed the declaration, and commanded a New Hampshire militia brigade in battles at Stillwater and Saratoga against the British general Burgoyne, and later another militia brigade at the battle of Rhode Island.

Of course, we cannot fail to mention the commander of the continental army, George Washington. One of the first things he did upon taking command was ordering a fixed daily ration of beer for all troops. This greatly helped enlistment, keep good spirits, and was often healthier than plain water.

So, when you sit back today, in celebration, or if you're not an US citizen, just sitting back after a long day, sip your beer and toast to those valiant men who fought for freedom, giving us that extraordinary document (declaration of independence and the constitution, documents that sparked a wildfire of freedom in Europe as well, starting with the French revolution in 1789: the praised French 'Declaration of the rights of men and citizens' was inspired by it. So was constitution form 1791, as was the Belgian constitution from 1830, to name a few). Know that beer was important in making that all happen, and then toast to the brewer who gave you that fine drink you are enjoying.

Cheers!

Beer inspired thoughts

I was sitting here behind my desk, staring at my business plan, the blog, some research on beer and demographics and markets, and felt blank: not a single idea of what new article to write, what part of the plan to tackle next. It has been a long (and fruitful!) week so far. So what does an aspiring brewer do when that happens? He opens a beer and drinks it, of course! To remind me of what I am committed to.

Just came back from my fridge, and brought myself a can of beer. Yes, a can. I nice silvery 16 ounce can, with simple yet attractive orange/blue/chocolate colored print, stating in bold letters: THE CRISP. Brewed by SixPoint Brewery from Brooklyn, it touts to be a great experience

Crisp Lager has nothing to hide behind - no makeup to cover up any flaws. Raw ingredients and their essence, full and unabated... uninhibited... CRISP

Now that sounds ambitious, and at the same time so refreshing! After the long surge away from tasteless lagers, we are finally coming back to this true form of art: a real lager. Seems the marketing/presentation is doing it's job, I am sold already, just by looking at the can, holding its larger then usual volume and the promise of longer satisfaction that implies. Good job there!

So here goes, opening the can... A fresh hoppy aroma makes me think of IPA, rather then lager, but it is so delicate and finely herbal that it is not putting me off. A first long sip draws me in, making me lean back and sigh in delight... A great beer, hoppier than the lagers I was thinking of, but perfectly balanced in style! Clean and crisp with a malty backbone, a slight bitter aftertaste, definitely a beer to keep around this summer!

Looking at the can again, I notice that they played with the bar code: one side has some of the lines extended, forming a city skyline, with a silhouette of Lady Liberty peeking between the towering spires. A Brooklyn beer, proud of their city! I like that!

And it proved to be very therapeutic as well, washing away the dust in my thinking, showing a great new beer, in a great new form. Right now, I have so many idea's jumping around my head, about what Saint William could do. Not cans, we like our beers with second fermentation, which means bottles to withstand the pressure better, so probably no lagers either, but I might just try to concoct a great recipe for a refreshing lager. No frills, no big flavors, just a clean and crisp and fresh lager. Perhaps in a can. (There, I settled that question that I have been asked a lot lately, about what I think about cans and craft beer: I think it is great when filled with a beer that fits in it, but it is not the right package for every beer).

There, not that I recharged my batteries, back to work. So much to do, so many ideas! Do yourself a favor, and when you come home from work tonight, feeling lost that it is only Thursday evening, and not yet weekend, pour yourself a great brew and drink in some liquid inspiration. As you lean back, enjoying the beer, you will be ready to take on that Friday, ready to start the weekend, ready to start July!

Cheers!

Status Update

Time for a status update! The last weeks have been full and busy, and life with 3 sons is slowly getting into a state of normalcy.

Part of the reason why I haven't written earlier, is because I have been working on the business plan. So I had to self educate myself about a thousand and one topics: local, state and federal regulation, business management, customer profiles and marketing, financial records and projections,... Very interesting (well, most of it), but not so glamorous. It is like digging the foundation. A lot of backbreaking work, with few results to show for.

As soon as I finish the business plan, I will be set to reach out to investors. Then a lot of presentations, and hopefully a quick result. And then, at the moment we reach our investment goals, the real fun begins! Pushing everything into motion. I am preparing folders for licensing applications on different levels, building requirements etc. so everything is ready to go as soon as all prerequisites have been completed.

Some fun details that came up while doing market research, was that the average American drinks about 22 gallons a year of alcoholic beverages (roughly 7 bottles of liquor, 12 bottles of wine, and 230 cans of beer).
Another interesting find is that the first brewery in America was built in Hoboken, NJ in 1642! Some more demographic tidbits: heavy Craft drinkers show two distinct profiles – under 35 years old and affluent representing 35% of core drinker volume and 55-64 years old, mid income, driving 17% of core drinker volume.

So that's what I've been up to, apart from ample tasting and exploring this wonderful world of beer. To the point of developing cenosillicaphobia. Another fun term I came across while researching.


Cheers! 

Beer and Saint William and friends

We are still in our very early stages of building our brewery, but it is nice and encouraging to see we made it already to be mentioned in a few blogs in some great shout outs.

 The Pour Curator has a great blog, with a unique take on beer. His main angle is artwork connected with beer and breweries. the labels, the logos, marketing and posters,...
As he stated his mission:

As the craft beer boom has introduced us to myriad and delicious flavors, it has also spawned a great deal of art and design work. Craft breweries are more than just sources of intoxication; they are community hubs for all types of creativity. So this Pour Curator will try and look at craft beer's contributions to art, whether it's through label art, posters, tap handles, or something even stranger, preferably with a glass or goblet of deliciousness in hand.

You have no longer any excuse not to be able to be an art loving cultured person. The time to leave discussions of art to wine drinking snobs is over! Follow Greg in his writing and musings, and learn all about art, while never letting your glass by empty. Next time you're with your buddies, you'll know how to impress them.

Check out his article about our logo here: The Pour Curator.

Next is a great duo of brothers, Don and Jim Galligan, the Beer & Whiskey Brothers . Their motto says it all: "Keep in good spirits, and keep the good spirits in ya!"

We’re two brothers separated by 2,500 miles of America and united by a love of beer and whiskey.
Jim is the beer geek, with a true passion for big character beers and the brewers with the guts to make them.
Don is the whiskey guy, with a palate like fine food critic and a love for all things whiskey; the history, the distilling process, and the drinking. Especially the whiskey drinking!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers is our chance to celebrate the amazing variety of really special brews and batches that continue to emerge at a wonderfully rapid pace, and to talk about life as beer and whiskey lovers just trying to keep up with it all.

With a great sense of humor, they show a deep understanding of the high culture of drinking: they  know that at the core, drinking is social, a way to connect with people, both old friends and new friends alike. A wide range of topics is discussed, always with a fun and different take. A great place to stop by once in a while!

To see Don's article mentioning Saint William Brewery, click here: Beer & Whiskey Brothers.

One of the most amazing things I am learning on the way to our first batch of delicious brew, is the great camaraderie, the warm welcoming people everywhere in beerland. As a friend commented on the article on beer in the Ancient Middle East: "As I could see on the news today, they are urgently in need to learn to brew and drink it again..." If only we could share this great friendship and peace enhancing habit of sharing beer together all over the world... So, next time you pour yourself a cold brew, raise your glass in a toast and prayer, that all might convert, one pint at a time.

Cheers!

Beer in the Ancient Middle East

Beer is probably the oldest alcoholic drink known to man, dating back at least 6000 years. The first definite proof of beer is through written records, such as Chinese writings 5000 years old that talk about Kui. The Babylonian king Hammurabi regulated tavern keepers on his famous Codex, his law for the people. Similarly, the Sumerians had Nin-kasi, a main goddess in their pantheon, from their early dynastic period on (2900-2350 B.C. ). As the daughter of the goddess of birth Nin-Ti and the head God En-ki, she was a very important deity! As the brewer of the gods, she was named “She who sates the desires”. Not surprisingly, beer was an important gift for the gods, through libations and as offerings to various temples. It is also known that the Egyptians possessed beer, and highly valued it. Ancient Egypt had their priorities straight: beer was part of the daily diet of everyone, including Pharaoh, and was thought of as the most proper gift to present to him. It also was a valuable thing to sacrifice to the gods in various rituals.

Interesting to note, is that both in Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was women who were brewers. (shoutout to all you women in beer world: there are great antecedents for what you're doing!)  Perhaps that has to do with the fact that brewing beer and making bread was so intimately linked. There is ample evidence that they existed side by side. A great Ushabti Egyptian model of a bakery/brewery (a small funerary statue or model given with the deceased to serve them in the afterlife) has been found in the tomb of Meketrê, prime minister to MentuhotepII (11^th Dynasty, ruling somewhere between 2050 and 2000 B.C. It is currently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the text explaining this particular model states: “"The overseer with a baton sits inside the door. In the brewery two women grind flour, which another man works into dough. After a second man treads the dough into mash in a tall vat, it is put into tall crocks to ferment. After fermentation, it is poured off into round jugs with black clay stoppers." Every single person in Egyptian society was entitled a ration of beer, from Pharaoh down to the lowest slave working on the building projects. It was a great addition to their diet, and was used for various medicinal purposes as well.

Even in ancient Israel, beer was known and well liked, albeit quite unknown to us. There are several references in the bible to ‘Shekar’ (שכר), a word that some scholars translate as beer. A great verse in the book of Deuteronomy (chapter 14,verse 26) states: “Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. “ Not only was beer known, God wanted his people to drink it in His presence to celebrate! Michael M. Homan wrote an excellent article about this subject in ‘Biblical Archaeology Review’, about which Managing Editor Dorothy D. Resig wrote “because of some mistranslation, mistreatment and misidentification on the part of Bible scholars and archaeologists, the important role of beer in Israelite daily life has been largely overlooked.” That brings me to how the ancients made beer.

They did not use hops (even in Europe the use of hops in beer did not become widespread until the late Middle Ages), but rather baked loaves of barley bread, that were then placed in a jar with water, where it would then start fermenting. The beer would not stay fresh for long, so had to be consumed rather quickly after brewing. Drinking occurred from vases or drinking vessels that either had some sort of filter/mesh build in to keep out large particles of what was left of the bread, or they would use straws to drink from (metal straws have been found, and are commonly depicted in murals and drawings).

One of the problems with this is that it is hard to find conclusive archaeological evidence of brewing, partly because it was so linked with and almost indistinguishable from baking bread, and partly because beer was consumed so quickly that there rarely is enough residue left in the ceramic jars (contrary to wine, which can be kept for years in the same jars). The process of using the grains to make a rough dough, wetting them, then baking them resembles the malting process, which then enables those grains to release the starches and sugars to the water (forming the mash), which in turn would start fermenting with wild yeasts. The ancients already observed that making beer in already used vessels would give better and more reliable results, and traveling brewers would bring their mashing jars with them.

With that in mind, it seems very plausible that people discovered that wet or soaked bread that was left for a while would turn into a pleasing drink, and the historical records show they discovered this very early! So when you next grab a beer, and sit back relaxed as you enjoy that beer, raise a toast to our earliest ancestors, who knew from the very beginning of civilization how important beer is to society and to personal enjoyment of life. Prosit!

For the fun of it: here is part of probably the oldest drinking song ever recorded, a Sumerian song written on a clay tablet about 2 to 3 millennia B.C.

In the troughs made with bur grass, there is sweet beer.
I will have the cup-bearers, the boys and the brewers stand by.
As I spin around the lake of beer, while feeling wonderful, feeling wonderful, while drinking beer, in a blissful mood, while drinking alcohol and feeling exhilarated, with joy in the heart and a contented liver — my heart is a heart filled with joy!
I clothe my contented liver in a garment fit for a queen!
The heart of Inana is happy once again; the heart of Inana is happy once again!

A …… to Ninkasi!

Beer glasses, bringing heaven to your lips

A glass is not just a glass… Every wine drinker can tell you that the shape of the glass matters, and they have a whole series of different types to go with a range of wines. No, this is not just another example of wine snobbery, it has actual scientific facts as foundation! The shape helps define how much foam is produced or kept, how the aromas are released, and this has a tremendous impact on your beer drinking experience. Think about that time you had a cold. Your nose completely stuffed. No food could bring you comfort, it all tasted bland! This is because our perception of taste is linked to the smell of the food (some illustrious and rather notorious exceptions notwithstanding, we all know those cheeses…).

A great visual, from Craftbeer.com, with a quick and interesting overview!

The foam acts as a net, that keeps the volatile elements in the beer trapped: oils from the hops, alcohol, esters, spices, they all release their own aroma, and dependent on the style of beer, you want more or less of these aromas. The tulip glass, for example (think Duvel), helps to maintain a good head on heavier malty beers, while keeping a lot of the aromas in the glass, to highlight them. The typical ‘Guinness’-glass on the other hand, has a completely different set of features. The smaller area at the bottom, where you hold the glass, decreases the heat that is being transferred from your hand to the beer, so it stays cool longer. The wide mouth helps for the frothy head, and makes it easy to sip and drink from. A glass we all know very well, is the American pint glass. They are cheap to make, easy to store, and the wide opening enables easy drinking. On the other hand, they have none of the features that help create or maintain a foam head (such as a bulge or bowl area to restore the head), or to trap or direct the released aromas. In short, the perfect glass for the mass produced American lager.

There are now easily 10 to 15 different types of glassware for beer that can be distinguished. Each has their own characteristics, befitting distinctive styles. But it is not all about the science of aroma and foam bubbles. The eye also wants some candy! Just to give one example, the bevels in the traditional beer mug were introduced when amber beers became popular, accentuating and highlighting the deep color and hues in the beer. The logos also became part of the attraction, giving each brewery a chance to showcase their beers, even at the bar: as you walk in, you can see what everyone else is drinking, and perhaps see their own special glass, sparking this longing for a sip of their brews…

My collection so far, with a glass for each of the Trappist beers in front

Beer glasses have come a long way. From rough clay pots, from which people in the ancient Middle East drank through straws to avoid the leftover chunks from the brewing process, to rough earthen beakers, in the middle ages wooden cups, a great intermezzo when the Vikings ruled the seas with drinking horns and, so they whisper, skulls, to leather pouches that were stitched together and lined with tar to make them impermeable (unbreakable, they were perfect for bars: they could not become weapons in a fight… Also, because you cannot put it down, you have to drink it quickly!). Around the 1500’s the first real glass beer vessels became common, but still expensive. Stone mugs were much cheaper to make, and offered other advantages (keeping the beer cool, easy decoration possibilities, easier to make than glass,…). There are a lot of reasons you can find about the lids on the steins (from the German word for stone, hard fired clay), going from a simple way to keep falling leaves and insects out of the beer, or that they were introduced at a time the bubonic plague decimated Europe, to keep flies from dropping in and making the drinker sick.

Another great beer vessel that developed was the pewter tankard. With or without the glass bottom, it is part of English ale traditions, to the point that morris dancers to this day still each have their own tankard they carry around as they make their dancing rounds of the pubs. One of the reasons given for the glass bottom, were the hard-handed methods of the crimps in ‘recruiting’ seamen for the British navy. Without telling who they were, they would offer free drinks, but with a coin (the enlistment bonus) dropped in the tankard. Accepting the drink, the unfortunate fellows would also unknowingly accept the enlistment bonus, and subsequently be coerced into service. So the glass bottom allowed a quick way to check if they could accept the free drink or if they should pass the opportunity to travel the world for years on end.

With the industrialization came bigger breweries, new and better ways to distribute beer, and cheaper ways to make beer glasses. New styles of beer developed, and new glassware followed suit. Some fun items, such as boot shaped glasses, to the very unique ‘Kwak’ glass (made for coachmen, to help them have a beer and a holder that would not spill as they drove the coach), or chalice shaped glasses for the Trappist monks who preferred a drinking vessel they were used to, name it, they probably made it at some point. A great variety to showcase an immense range of beers, highlight their properties, aromas and tastes, and looking fabulous at the same time. But let all this not leave you thirsty: grab a glass, fill it with beer, look at it, get a whiff of the aroma, and take that first sip into heaven. All that, to give you that glorious experience you just lived again: Beer, well done.

Cheers!