The Guardian of Purity
The old guardian takes a long deep breath and steadies his once strong and now-weakened frame. The bright flickering of dancing candles lights up his old battle-worn face with eyes that have seen all five hundred of his candles. He is exhausted but seems content, a content that comes from a life of purpose and resolution.
The old man has been watching over and protecting something that generation after generation has held dear. He has held steadfast through famines, floods, pestilence, plagues, revolutions and wars. In all his purity, the old guardian has only been at rest for the last 29 years of the last five hundred. He now contemplates whether his guardianship can come to an end. He remembers the last 500 years of devoted service.
He was charged with this great duty of protecting ‘The Purity’ in 1516 when the evil was closing in on lands that were under siege from insurgents hell-bent of destroying ‘The Purity’. The guardian was a strong and mighty man who was well respected in his land. He drove out the insurgents who defiled purity and wielded authority that would hold at arms-length this black mist of adulterated and contaminated philosophy. He remained wholesome and untainted by the immorality.
However, the philosophy he protected was no longer ‘The Purity’ that all in the land looked up to. Philosophy had changed; the world had changed and the purity he protected was now seen as draconian and deemed to be stifling. The once evil impurities were no longer at the gates, fended off by new powers of the new world. His once-loyal army was now turning away from ‘The Purity’ and his knights looked past the magical elements of hops, malt, yeast and water.
In his five hundredth year is it time to open the gates? Are the evil insurgents of spoiled amber nectar no longer a threat? Has his mandate run its course? The “Purity” is and will be forevermore in the protection of the people.
Will Sir Reinheitsgebot finally take leave of his post and relinquish his guardianship or will this great champion of “The Purity” remain as a legacy of craft? Either way the world he has been protecting is grateful for his tenure and he will be forever remembered as the ‘Guardian of Purity’. His knight Sir Wolfgang and Shield Maiden Imke remain champions of the Great Guardian’s legacy.
Happy Birthday and thank you, old guardian.
Cheers for the beers.
Reinheitsgebot Purity Law
This year marks 500 years since the Reinheitsgebot was decreed in the southern state of Bavaria. The “Puirty Law” was passed into legislation to protect the production of beer. Only three ingredients were allowed in production, malt, hops and water. Yeast was added later when its existence was discovered. While no longer actual law, it is still regarded as an important tradition and for many brewers a guideline on how German beer ought to be made. Before its official repeal in 1987, it was the oldest food-quality regulation in the world. Its detractors say the law has passed its usefulness and hinders innovation and Germany’s ability to adopt modern beer trends that utilize ingredients contrary to the purity tradition. Germany’s slow uptake of the new “craft revolution” compared to USA and UK is said to be directly related to this tradition.
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Pint For a Purpose Update.
So the Pint For a Purpose initiative, that you beer lovers have been contributing too, was active again last week when the funds were used to screen children’s eyesight at Marconi Beam Primary school in Joe Slovo.
The funds generated by our ‘Pints for a Purpose’ tap were used by the Jonga Trust (Non-Profit, NGO) to eye screen 398 pupils in Grades 3 & 4. Many of these pupils have been at school with undiagnosed eye sight impairment. A staggering 58 out of all the pupils screened were determined to need visual aids in the form of prescription glasses. Some of the kids, even if sitting at the front of the class would not have been able to see the black board. Many have been suffering in silence with serious consequences to their education and future prospects.
The process does not end at identifying the problems. With the fantastic support and drive from the Leo District 410A of the Lions Club International, the kids that have been identified will be bused into town to be seen by Chris Eksteen, an optician who donates his time for free, and a refraction perspiration will be afforded. To complete the full solution One Sight donates the glasses’ frames for free so that the children of Marconi Beam are able to now have clear vision that will ultimately afford them a vital tool in fulfilling their potential.
We are very proud to be part of these initiatives as they really do make a difference to peoples lives. Keep pinting for a purpose. There is a lot of work to do.
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Meet The Brewers: Darling Brew
We welcomed Darling Brew’s Head Brewer Felix Magdziarz, to Beerhouse on Long for our flagship food and beer pairing event, Meet The Brewers. Thrilled guest and media enjoyed a boozy journey through six of Darling Brew’s beers accompanied by the guiding gastronomic hand of Chef Roy MacAskill.
Darling Brew have recently moved into their state of the art brewery and have unleashed a plethora of new exciting beers. Felix has been tasked with experimenting and tweaking the brews. They now have 14 different beers of which six were tasted at the even including the lovable breweries’ classics such as the founding Slow Beer, Bone Crusher and new and improved Black Mist (many guest’s favourite of the night). They also got to taste three new brews, two of them collaborations. The Long Claw Saison and Desert Dragon Oat Ale brewed with Brazil’s Sunset Brew and UK’s Sambrooks Brewery respectively. Last but not least an exclusive tasting of Darling’s brand new soon to be released War Lord Imperial IPA.
If you love beer, food, education and a good laugh then you don’t want to miss our next Meet The Brewer event. Our next event is in Fourways on Monday 25th April with the same line up of Felix and the Darling Brews. Get your tickets from Quicket. Or follow us on Facebook and Twitter to win tickets.
Oh yes and thanks to Roly for the great pictures of the food and beer taken on the night. Pictures so good it won him a bottle of each of the brews tasted.
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Beerunch
Now here is a Brunch menu that will get your weekend started off on the right foot no matter what side of the bed you got out of. Weekend morning just got a lot easier with Beerhouse’s BEERunch. Join us on Saturday and Sunday from 11am till 5pm for an all day breakfast and pint of hair of the dog.
Classics like eggs benedict, with various creative variations, is complemented with other exciting breakfast options like cinnamon waffles, Hangover flammkuchen and Monte Cristo sandwich. Perhaps the highlight is the traditional Bavarian breakfast which consists of weiss wurst, soft pretzel and sweet mustard all washed down with Cape Brewing Amber Weiss. The Bavarians now how to have breakfast.
Join us for your best possible start to the day.
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