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ASN VIP Package - Mondial de la biere Festival
June 3-7, 2009
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| Brewing Passion Sparks Craft Global Culture |
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| Written by Tony Forder | ||||||||
| November 30, 2008 | ||||||||
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Travel to the farthest corners of the world and you will find the accoutrements of the western civilization — in the towns, McDonalds. In the mountains, Coca-Cola.
Increasingly these days, you will find the footsteps of American craft brewers in far flung places. From the beer itself, which is finding an increasingly large export market, to t-shirts, and bumper stickers, you will find evidence of these modern day folk heroes of the western world. As their beers are discovered abroad American craft brewers are not just influencing the people who drink them, they are shaking the very brewing culture in many countries. And, as foreign brewers follow the lead of American craft pioneers in pushing the envelope, they are adding their own interpretations and twists; many countries are producing their own “rock star” brewers. In short, we are witnessing the emergence of a global craft brewing culture. Not even Charlie Papazian, the well-traveled homebrew guru and founder of what has evolved into the Brewers Association saw this coming in the early days of craft culture. “In 1978 when I began, there was not the idea that there would be similar movements in other countries,” Papazian said. “Even in the ’80s I didn’t see much happening. But as craft brewers in the US began to take hold, beer passionate people in other countries took inspiration from them and then remolded to fit their own culture.” Papazian, who launched the World Beer Cup in 1996 says the glue that binds all these brewers together is passion. “Everyone that has had any degree of success is passionate about beer; and surprisingly many, if not most, have had roots in homebrewing. The one’s in it just for the money usually disappear or go to the ‘light’ side thinking they can make more money in the international lager market. Some do have a degree of success. But the ones making truly world class beer understand the culture of beer and enjoy the camaraderie they recognize worldwide.” Jeannine Marois is not an importer per se, but she is one of the most active exposers of international beers as she and her cohorts from Mondial de la biere seek out beer from around the world to showcase at their Montreal-based events. Regarding the brewers she has encountered in Italy, France, Scandinavia and Japan she is in agreement with Papazian. “They (craft brewers) are all very passionate,” Marois said. “They dream about brewing the best beer they can.” At Marois’ recent Flaveurs event, Scandinavian beer was in the spotlight. The American influence was glaring — North Bridge Extreme form Copenhagen’s Norrebro Bryghus drew its inspiration from the Double IPAs of southern California. Their Old Odense Ale, a gruit ale based on a 15th century recipe, was a guest brew with Sam Calagione of Delaware’s Dogfish Head Brewery. Fellow Danish brewer Mikeller, the kings of collaboration — they don’t even have a brewery! — presented another (Belgian) take on Double IPA, brewed with de Struise in Belgium. Marois own event, the Mondial del la biere festival, is going truly global in 2009 with an October date in Strasbourg, France as well as the June Montreal venue. Collaboration between brewers in different countries is becoming more commonplace as the global craft brewing culture evolves. De Proef brewery in Belgium has established a series with American brewers — Signature with Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing, Les Deux Brasseurs with Jason Perkins of Allagash were the first two. Meanwhile Allagash the de Struise brewers of Belgium for a collaborative brew in August. Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver is probably the leading “brewing collaborator” in the US. His first was with Brakspear’s in England in 1997. The hoppy pale ale, Brooklyn Bridge, became so popular the brewery retained it as a spring seasonal. He’s collaborated with J.W. Lees, Kelham Island and Thornbridge Hall in England, Norrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen, Achouffe in Belgium and Schneider in Germany to name a few. Often the brewers return the favor and visit Oliver in Brooklyn to brew a batch. Oliver said most of his collaborations have come through his friendships with brewers. “It’s an opportunity to have some fun and be creative,” he said. It’s also an opportunity to “freak everyone out.” He said the Hopfenweisse (hoppy weisse beer) he made with Hans Peter Drexler at the Schneider Brewery was like “throwing a grenade into German brewing. It got a whole range of reactions,” he said. In Britain, Oliver was surprised that Dave Wickett of Kelham Island brewery jumped at the opportunity to brew a Smoked Porter. “It showed that British brewers are not as conservative as people think they are.” “(Collaborations) are really getting the global brewing culture going,” Oliver said. “There’s a brewing culture — what is being brewed — and there’s a brewers culture with so many brewers joining in.” As far as where it’s happening, “it’s all over the place, really,” says importer Matthias Neidhart, who has made a name for himself importing high-end beers from a variety of countries. “Not only the US — Italy, Scandinavia, Japan, just to mention a few. For example, we are working with some classic German breweries that started some time ago to develop new extraordinary ideas that are unheard of (in that country).” As far as American influence, Neidhart says, “the true innovators that create new and inspiring beers do not imitate US craft brewers. They are not followers. On the one hand they are truly inspired by the extraordinary art of the new wave of American artisanal brewers. On the other hand they want to leverage this inspiration to create their own identity, their own definition of beer styles. “At first there were tiny ‘islands’ of artisanal brewers dispersed all over the globe... extraordinary artistic brewmasters with incredible skills and fantasies...but they were fundamentally isolated from each other. Eventually those isolated islands started to connect...and all of a sudden a community started to develop that interacts quite ferociously with each other. Those isolated islands have started to bond...and there is no way back...”
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