Brewers as artists

I ageee OP, things to think about for sure! In the same way that cuisine can be art, so can beer. I think beer definitely leaves more power and opportunity for creativity in the hands of the brewer than other alcoholic drinks.

And damned if ya can tell me they aren't artists over there at The Bruery.....

 

Brewers are not artists. And we do them, and ourselves, a injustice if we start calling them so.

Glamourising brewers will only end in heartache. There are already too many of them that think they're effing rock stars.

 

So Dann Paquette is not an artist and his Pretty Things are not works of art?

 

Dann is an artist, but his works of art aren't his beers.

 

I've always thought of great beer as a result of the superb combination of both art and science. It takes creativity and vision to make a good beer, but one must have the scientific understanding to make that vision come to life.

 

Ooo I don't know if I'd call all artists "rock stars". Most artists died poor and alone long before any of their work was elevated to iconic status. Plus I think anyone who pours their heart and soul into something they are passionate about and can do so in a moving way is certainly an artist.

To get to the narrative aspect of the OP's post, I think beers can definitely tell a story. There is so much going on when drinking a beer start to finish, especially when you really focus on it (mindful eaters know what I mean). And taste and smell are massive aspects of our daily existence and strongly linked to memories; drinking a beer can trigger all kinds of emotions, just like reading a book, listening to music, seeing a painting, etc can. Artists create works that envoke a response and I'd say brewers are doing just that. And the cool thing is, brewers can make beers that perhaps resonate with some part of their life experiences but then a consumer can have a completely differnet reaction to them.

 

So my plumber is an artist, too?

 

Haha, does his ability to fix your toilet move you? And I don't mean in terms of your bowels...

 

You're damn right a beer can tell a narrative.

 

Fun question posed by the OP.

If you really mean telling a story that consists of connected events,it is impossible for beer by itself to "tell" a narrative. The test is simple: pour you the beer, tell you nothing about it or the brewery or brewer, and then ask you what the narrative might be. You would be able to manufacture a story perhaps, but it wouldn't have to match at all the next person's (including the brewer).

With an external program provided, a series of meals or beers can reinforce a pre-existing narrative.

I don't have a problem thinking of artisans as artists, though there is a technical difference. Beer bottles are an art medium for sure.

 

A beer can tell a narrative. It's like if you know a story and can put it to the beer , then art imitates life and therefore it's really art. When you drink the beer does the imagery of the label take hold? Like yesterday I noticed that I used all kinds of imagery that corresponded to the idea of space dust. A planet with a ring, a force of nature blowing a breath of hop candy out to me, even a glimpse of sidereal time as the head that wouldn't fade climbed up the side of the glass. (I had elysian space dust) A story and a beer go hand in hand like two people who sit together and share something. It's as natural as fallin' off a log.

 

Last time the plumber was around I was almost moved to tears when he stopped the water spurting out under the sink. I'd been starting to fear for my books.

 

The broad definitions of craftsman and artist seem to be interwoven. And in both cases, there are some who have more natural talent than others and some who have worked to improve the talent they have to create whatever something they create. Presumably, the ones with more natural talent or who have worked to improve their talent level create the better product/aestically pleasing something.

 

That reminds me of a podcast I listened to a while back where they were interviewing a Belgian brewer.

I ate eet when people ask me about styles. I do not make beer styles. Do no ask me about styles. I make ten meenutes of art.

I love the creativity that can come into play when brewers are engineering a great beer, but the guy really came across as kind of a jerk with the pained artist schtick.

 

If you choose to call it 'craft' beer then I think you have already limited it. Some call theirs 'artisanal' beer and may have claim to beer as art.
I jest. I actually fucking hate both of those terms. But I think 'craft beer' is more accurate in this sense based solely on it being a repeated creation instead of a one-time expression, and it is meant to be a literally consumable product as opposed to something to stare at and cogitate.

However, the craft-art community out there (glassblowers, potters, weavers, etc) confound this for me. That's a different rant however. But one thing that I would ask is that we always use the full term 'craft beer' as opposed to the shortened version that comes off quite elitist: craft. To listen to a craft-artist speak of what they do and how important their work is to revitalizing mountain economies and such just makes me want to vomit on their feet.

 

What then are his works of art?

 

Er, the artwork - labels, that sort of stuff.

Obviously his beers are dead good*. He brewed one of my all time favourites**. But calling them art is just pretentious. I don't believe Dann sees his beers as art, any more than he sees himself as a rock star***.



* Disclosure: we have made collaborative beers.
** 1832 XXXX Ale
*** That might change, if our musical plans come to fruition. But I've already said too much.

 

Brewers aren't artists but they can be art enablers.

Give me three La Fin du Mondes on an empty stomach and I quickly turn into Jackson Pollock.

 

I'm only like an "artist" in as far as I take my beer's criticism personally (which is pretty lame but there you go). It would be fab to be both an artist AND a rockstar but I'll keep my day job for now.

Cheers,

Dann

 

Sunday Morning Earthtones.