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I like to take pride in my knowledge of beer. I've made several batches of home brew with fellow blogger Jonathan M. Forester and I know tons about different styles of beer. But, perhaps, I shouldn't be so proud of my beer lore. I just learned of the passing of Alan D. Eames who had earned the monikers the "Beer King" and "the Indiana Jones of beer." I am slightly embarrassed to admit that reading his obit was the first time I heard of the gentleman.Eames lived up to the Indiana Jones title with such exploits as traversing the Amazon in search of a legendary black brew and entering Egyptian tombs to read hieroglyphics about beer. He liked to refer to himself as a beer anthropologist. Once in South Africa, he sampled a rare dark beer said to be made by a village grandfather. When he asked to speak to the brewer his request drew guffaws. Seems the beer was made from grandfather; his cremated bones were added to the other ingredients.
Sometime in the very near future, I'll be picking up a copy of Eame's The Secret Life of Beer! and hoisting a few cold ones in honor of this great man.
As a joyful homebrewer who went on to working in a microbrewery, a brewpub, as a hard cider maker, and dabbler in making liqueurs and vinegars; I love to hear that others are also enjoying making their own beer and wine themselves. I don't brew as much as I used to but I just read that the American Homebrew Association has grown 16% in the last year to around 12,000 members nationwide. Home brewing faded away over the past century or so until the 1970's, but is now part of a growing resurgence across the country. While officially the numbers are not that great, it's the quiet brewers who are making beer in their kitchens all across the nation who carry on the tradition of our forefathers. It's the slogan of the American Homebrew Association and homebrewers everywhere that makes me think of brewing so fondly. "Relax, Don't Worry. Have a Homebrew." To read about a group of happy homebrewers follow the link.
