P A G E 6 B O R D E R B A T C H B R E W I N G S
Life Through Beer Goggles Written by Bryan Madsen
As I sit down to write this edition ’ s installation - a real article for a change instead of the creative “ fluff ” I ’ ve passed on in the last few rounds of Life Through Beer Goggles - summer solstice is fast approaching and I find myself in the middle of the requisite summer tasks : mowing lawn , a myriad of little projects around the building site , grilling and of course trying to keep up with the kids endless schedule of activities . But summer has to have its pleasures too , like escaping to a shady spot with the lawn chair , a lemon laced Schell ’ s Hefeweizen & my new laptop to write this article . Someone please tell the flies dive-bombing my liquid refreshment that they are not a welcome part of my idyllic escape . The more time I spend outdoors and away from my collection , however , the more I ’ m challenged to stop & ponder why invest so much time & treasure in such an odd pursuit . I ’ m sure I ’ ve said it before in this column , but I ’ ll say it again , I initially got into this hobby to decorate the bar that was part of the recent addition to my house . I ’ d say I ’ m about neon , a lighted sign or two , & a few choice signs away from being adequately decorated in any reasonable person ’ s estimation . None-the-less , I don ’ t envision upon reaching that goal finding an end to my collecting days . So what it is it about the accumulation of old stuff , in our case breweriana that is so attractive ? On a personal note I ’ d bet you a six pack that if it wasn ’ t breweriana it would have been some other antique type collection that graced my bar ’ s décor . No matter how I kick around this subject I ’ m brought back to the same core hypothesis . Like all grand hypotheses my little idea needs a fancy name . I ’ m going to call it Nostalgia Factor . Now before I address Nostalgia Factor I better tip my hat to the people end of the hobby . Yes , the people do make the hobby great & we do have a really fun group of people in our club . But face it there are people in pretty much every hobby . If you golf , you ’ ve got golfin ’ buddies . If you like football you ’ ve got plenty of fellow fans to associate with , etc ., etc . So this hypothesis goes beyond the comradery & addresses the obsession with the “ old stuff ”. Enter Nostalgia Factor . For my purposes Nostalgia Factor stems from one central core principal and thus ultimately explains the desires behind the collector personality . It all centers around the fact that old stuff makes us feel good . Why does old stuff make us feel good ? It puts us in touch with a simpler time . It harkens to a simpler way of life . Face it ,
nowadays who doesn ’ t have more “ things to do ” on their list than they ’ ll get done in two life times , not to mention all our recreational goals . However , plainly stated , the “ life was soooo much simpler X number of years ago ” line of thinking is an easy crutch for our minds to use . Sure to a degree it may be true that life was simpler back then , but in all reality this line of thinking is just a well constructed misconception . I ’ ll take a wild guess that my grandfather working these 80 acres that I ’ m lounging on now with a team of horses , milking cows & raising hogs for a living probably didn ’ t think his life was so simple . So if life really wasn ’ t so much simpler back in the day , what we ’ re looking at is a kind of the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence phenomenon . I ’ d argue the green grass on the other side of the fence is something that stands the test of time , on our side of the fence – change . Yes , I fear the collector of old stuff fears change . Old stuff is a rock against which the tide of change is constantly raging . Old stuff is like a boat anchor the keeps us from going adrift in a sea of change . No matter how much our families grow , evolve , & change & no matter how much change is thrown at us in the work place & no matter how much change attacks us from every other angle in life we can always grab a cold one & go enjoy our collections as centering point in our lives . This fear of change is the core principle behind Nostalgia Factor . This is the big reason why . From there some simple self examination will probably go along way in determining why you as a collector horde the things you do . So how does one end up collecting breweriana ? For me , I ’ d say it ’ s the simple fact that I ’ ve always enjoyed beer ( even before I knew what good beer was ) coupled with a blending of Nostalgia Factor & aesthetics . Take the false , but very real “ simpler life equation ” from above and extend it to beer advertising . I like simplicity & clean ( in an aesthetic sense not necessarily a moral sense ) advertising & labels that build on a sense of easy going living . Simple elegance , timelessness , a nod at the past or a good founding in long lasting tradition , even the occasional catchy hook , these are the benchmarks of great beer advertising worthy of collecting . Enjoying cans , bottles and advertising pieces that fit this bill whisks me away to a simpler time while I sip a few brews and try to shake off all the craziness that seems to attach itself to my everyday life . Look at some of the crap that Madison Avenue churns out these days . It ’ s got more colors than an explosion at the Crayola Factory , it ’ s full of silly mindless jingles , it ’ s totally devoid of class or sense of timelessness and it ’ s all geared towards a society that ’ s got the attention span of gnat . No wonder I collect old breweriana & no wonder that you do too .