Community on Tap
By Jonathan Cranfield
I’m not the history teacher on this blog. Ian is the one responsible for molding young minds despite all the time he spends malting his own at breweries. However, I’ll kick this article off with a little history lesson anyway. Beer has been around for centuries. Brewing seems to have begun nearly 5,000 years ago in Babylonia where wild grain plants were plentiful and it hasn’t stopped since. There were a great many varieties of beer in ancient Egypt designated for ceremony, celebration, and friendship. The malt beverage is noted in the histories of almost every European nation. There are so many things in life that are deeply rooted to the human experience and they aren’t all ingrained somewhere deep in genetic code. Some things that bind us as a species are the products, goods, and services we enjoy and I think beer is unrivaled in that realm.
Beer has some influence in the lives of almost everyone all over the world. Everyone has a story about beer. Most people can tell you when they had their first and exactly what it was. More than a few brave souls can tell you exactly when they had their last. I’m not the kind of guy to say “No good story ever started with a glass of milk.” Have you seen A Clockwork Orange? I will say I have plenty of great stories that start with a glass of beer and a lot of those start on a stool at breweries. That malty golden liquid is something we can all relate to in some way. Beer is community on tap.
Walk into any brewery in the United States and I guarantee there is someone sitting in a bar stool who will tell you all about the first time they stopped in and why this is their favorite one. If you walk into Gnarly Barley, that person might very well be me. Breweries have their own character but something they all have in common is a sense of community. Craftsmanship and relaxation are things that people admire and seek out and these wonderful places offer both. You can take a load off after a hard day's work (or maybe a full day's hike) and enjoy a cold refreshing drink. Beyond that there is built in conversation. You can’t sample a variety of beers in a place like this without talking about what went into making them and how they are just so different. My glass might be full of a gose that I love because it’s just so refreshing but gives a tart taste on the end to keep it interesting. While you slug down an amber because you were in the mood for something classic.
I made my first hiking trip to North Carolina in 2011 for Billy Healy’s Eagle Scout project. Billy had organized his troop and a few other scouts like me to restore a section of the Appalachian Trail. I was 17 years old and had done plenty of day hikes but backpacking and extended periods on the trail were a whole new concept to me. One that I would fall in love with and continue to pursue with a lot of guys you’ve probably already heard about on this blog. Mike, Danny, Louie, Mr. Vic, and Ian’s grandfather Mr. Groome were all there. That was the trip when I entered this family I’ve stuck with ever since.
North Carolina - Billy’s Eagle Scout project 2011
I have this amazing group of friends that was brought together by the outdoors and that has remained an adhesive force in our relationship for years and, when you spend so much time together you inevitably develop some of the same passions. Beer and specifically breweries have become a mutual passion for many of us. It started in the mountains of North Carolina and it goes with us everywhere. Every trip we plan, we look for the local breweries. We want to know what's popular there and how long these establishments have been around. We want to meet other people who share our hobbies. We want to be a part of their community.
Balsam Falls Brewing Company can be found right on Main St. in Sylva, NC. At this point we’ve stopped in enough summers that when June and July come rolling around they are expecting us. They don’t always remember our names but they greet us with a smile when we walk through the door, know we all want flights, and want to know what we’ve been up to the last year and what breweries we’ve visited since we made the trip out. BAM! Community on Tap!
We made a winter trip to the same area in 2020 to celebrate New Years, and the folks at Balsam Falls were just as happy to see us if not a little surprised to see us when there was still snow on the ground. They filled us in on how the brews on tap were a little different for the winter and a few of the employees proudly showed off the beers they had the honor of naming. I introduced my girlfriend to this pack of semi strangers and somehow we all got along like old friends. That's the power of common interest and a little bit of booze to keep the ball rolling.
North Carolina - December 2020
What I get from walking into a brewery is probably similar to what a lot of folks get walking into a church. I’m certainly not filled with the Holy Spirit and I’ve never been driven to genuflect or bow my head in reverence but I do feel warmth and a connection to the people around me. It could be the brewery back home where everyone knows my name or a microbrew 2,000 miles away and that same feeling will still kindle and then roar to flame as I sit down with my first pint. We don’t (usually) sing songs, and we offer no prayers but, we do shake hands with our neighbors, pay tithing (to the tip jar), there is usually some sign of peace, and maybe we find a little bit of God there. I don’t really believe in God in any traditional sense but I do feel power in the things that bind us. I believe in the human spirit to find connection and lift each other up. I believe in community and I think it's a great thing wherever you find it.
Whoever you are, no matter what you do, find your community. Find it on the trail. Find it in the office. Find it in your church, synagogue, or mosque. Find it in a skatepark. Find it at a book club meeting or a community sports league. I’ll keep mine on tap!
