Aspiring to the divine (craft beer, that is)

The world of craft beer has been set afire.

The Brouwerij Westvleteren (Westvleteren Brewery), makers of "one of best beers in the world", announced that it would be selling its beer, for the first and only time, outside of the monastery's walls. The monastery's one-time effort is designed to raise funds to fix up their roof. But for beer connoisseurs, it's an opportunity of a lifetime. And after NPR aired a segmented yesterday extolling the virtues of God's nectar (A Sign From Above? Needing New Roof, Monks Sell Rare Beer in U.S.), and the Huffington Post ran a piece in today's food section (Westvleteren XII, 'World's Best Beer," Makes One-Time U.S. Appearance),  people have been scrambling to find and try it - me included.

In an effort to procure some the divine nectar, I phoned my friend and local homebrew shop owner, the Old Lickspigot himself - Joel Rea of Corvallis Brewing Supply - realizing the shop was not yet open but hoping to leave a message. Much to my surprise and based on the overwhelming number of calls he'd received from people requesting this beer, the owner had changed his message to indicate that he did indeed have a case but that he'd be holding a raffle for the bottles and people needed to send him an email expressing their interest in participating in the raffle. So I obliged, in as eloquent a fashion as I could muster in 30 minutes of morning procrastination.

Westvleteren XII's arrival at the local homebrew shop (G-T article).

Now, without further ado, I give you my email - in its entirety - to the local homebrew shop to get in on some of the world's least available beer!

STOP! I KNOW YOU'RE BUSY, JOEL, BUT YOU MUST - ABSOLUTELY MUST - READ THIS ENTIRE EMAIL! (or not, but I think you'll get a kick out of it)

Good gravy! Sounds like you've been inundated with calls about procuring some of this beer! That's awesome (or not, depending on your perspective). I guess the inundation is to be expected when a national radio program extols the virtues of this limited quantity nectar of the one true God!

But to the point of this email: I am interested in procuring one of these Westvleteren bottles.

And I'm interested for two reasons, the first of which is Divine in nature (helping the monks of Saint Xystus/Sixtus replace their roof), the second of which is purely to serve the interests and taste buds of others (yes, I'm that much of a giver). And by others, I really mean me...and a few others that will get to quaff the sweet nectar of this bottle one evening next week whilst tying flies at my home. Flies that will hopefully land the One, True, Might and Strong winter steelhead in the coming days before Christmas (the equivalent of the golden egg-laying goose for our avian, folklore-loving friends). It is my firm belief that in savoring this drink direct from the hand of God (through his holy monks), the flies we tie up next week will have supernatural, spiritual powers bestowed upon them, thereby compelling the wary and willy winter steelhead to feel spiritually compelled to deliver themselves unto us fly-tying brethren.  And they will feel compelled to deliver themselves unto us because we will have sufficiently demonstrated - via our consumption and appreciation of this Holy nectar - our direct link to God, indeed to the Divine Kingdom. And in so demonstrating, these most magnificent of winter wilderness, waterworld wayfarers will attain true enlightenment and access to Heaven through our (including your) consumption of them (after they leave the smoker, of course!).

So please do let me know if/how I can get my hands on one of these bottles! In doing so, you will be playing an incalculable role as divine facilitator and savior of the pisces. And you'll strengthen your case for sainthood so that one day your name may be talked about in concert with that of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Many thanks, Joel!

Prost!Jeremiah (Sixtus III?)

Apple, Mike Daisey's artistic liberties, and the moral ethic

In case you hadn't yet seen it, one of the big news stories today is about NPR's This American Life retracting a story they ran this last January about award-winning monologist Mike Daisey's piece on the manufacturing conditions at China's Foxconn plant. Mike Daisey's piece focused on Apple's iPhone but that same plant manufactures an incredible array of products for a number of the world's largest electronics manufacturers. The real dilemma this piece raised, in my mind, was that we (as consumers) need to be (more) concerned about how the products we purchase are being manufactured, specifically from the ethical and moral perspectives of working/manufacturing conditions at these plants.

I continually think about these sorts of things for nearly everything I purchase. But I was particularly moved by this episode of This American Life and wrote a blog piece about it (Origins and the Moral Ethic). An Apple investigator had doubts about some of Mike Daisey's facts in his monologue and a followup piece that ran on ABC's Nightline. Today, Mashable ran a great article about the brouhaha complete with This American Life's retraction letter. In Mashable's post, they asked the question, 

"Does this change the way you think about whether or not Apple products are ethically made?"

My response? 

Not at all.

While it saddens me that Mike Daisey took certain theatrical liberties in the making of his story then passed them off as truths to journalists, and This American Life aired the episode without fully vetting the truths, the fact of the matter remains that Apple and many other electronics manufacturers have obligations (beyond the Almighty Dollar) to ensuring ethical working conditions that are not harmful to people. That Foxconn has serious operational and ethical hurdles to overcome has been well-established (some of the better stories, here, here, and ABC's video piece here).

But in the end, people still need to care about where their products come from. Not just in terms of a fair workplace for people, but also about where the raw materials are sourced and the implications for the people (and other organisms) living in the area.

Sadly, I fear too many people will skim a snippet of this melee without digging deeper (or worse, take a skewed Fox [Faux?] News report of it), and dismiss any obligation they feel to better understanding (and taking responsibility for) where their electronics come from.

UPDATE: 3/18/12

As I was listening to today's (3/18) This American Life episode (you can listen to the podcast, here) in which Ira addresses the inconsistencies (lies, half-truths and complexities?) of Mike Daisey's original story, I couldn't help but feel bad for Mike. Not because he lied to Ira and those vetting the story (that part was, in my view, inexcusable) and got caught, but because the very thing Mike sincerely hoped his original theatrical piece would do - make people care about their buying choices and the impacts those choices have on others - took such a large negative turn. Yes, it was Mike's own doing. And it didn't help that today's interview piece with Ira seemed to lambast him (arguably justified) and undermine most, if not all of, Mike's credibility.

But I was finally (finally!) heartened in the closing minutes of the TAL piece. Why? In Ira's discussions with Charles Duhigg - one of the original authors of the NY Times investigative piece about Apple's labor practices and author of the book "The Power of Habit" - Charles gets right at the point that Mike tries so hard (in vane?) to get at: people should care that their buying practices have far-reaching impacts. He asks:

"Do you feel comfortable knowing that that iPhones and iPads and, and other products could be manufactured in less harsh conditions, but that these harsh conditions (in factories and societies worldwide) exist and perpetuate because of an economy that you are supporting with your dollars?"

and, in response to his own question says:

"You are actually one of the reasons why it exists. If you made different choices, if you demanded different conditions, if you demanded that other people...enjoy the same work protections that you yourself enjoy, then those conditions would be different overseas."

I can only hope that listeners of TAL and those summarizing the episode in the wider media catch this last, critical piece in today's show.