Sitting, waiting, wishing is not an easy state of affairs.  Considerable time goes into make some styles and types of beer.  Specifically, Lambic is the style that is rolling around in my head.  My Lambic is now about two and a half months old in the fermenter.  I’m seeing the beginnings of pellicle formation, the scum of accumulating bacterial growth.  In this case, Bretts are the scum in question.  Now I have only 10 months of waiting left and then 6 more of bottle conditioning.  Plenty of patience is going into this one.

Meanwhile, industry and culture are moving at breakneck speeds.  The high demand for oil and consequent lack of BP accountability in the speedy production of the black stuff has combined for disastrous results.  We’re moving quickly.  We’re always looking for a faster, more efficient, easy way to produce.  Genetic engineering of plants to produce 4 to 5 times the yield, hormone filled meats and milks, and instant dinners all have one thing in common…lack of waiting time.  Perhaps we feel as though we simply can’t wait or don’t have the time.  In the case of plants specifically, maybe we really can’t wait.  After all, the growing population seems to be the dictating factor for increasing food supply.

But much industry is convenience based and is simply a matter of finding short-cuts and methods of expediency.  Who will deny that there is a wish that internet, cell phones, and many other modern amenities were much faster?  Me, too!  So, I’m not simply moralizing about it being good or bad; I’m simply stating that this is the state of affairs.

You will have noted by now that Nate and I are big fans of beer.  We both brew, write about, and drink our fair share.  Anyone that has ever mashed, boiled, transferred, fermented, aged, bottled and taken part in brewing can tell you that it’s a slow and methodical process. Bottling is especially tedious.  And while modern breweries might have bottling machines, transfer equipment, and tons of other modern developments, they still cannot speed up the time nature (yeast specifically) takes to make beer.  There are no instant beers or just-add-water-to-re-hydrate or 30-min-beer meals.  It simply takes time.

I’ve found myself appreciating a lot more the fact that beer takes time.  I don’t know what it is.  Maybe it’s the contrary nature of slowing down in a world gone berserk.  Perhaps it’s the fact that sitting and having that beer involves a moment where I’m doing nothing but taking an abundance of slow sips.  It could even be that the goodness of that beer is out of touch with our time and speaks of a more distant past, essentially unchanged.  Whatever the case may be, I’m thankful that some things are just slow and steady.  Here’s to slower times!