The torch of enlightenment
“I appreciate your attitude of not cultivating your own garden but being open-minded. You’re trying to go beyond passionate beer geeks and reach those who haven’t discovered beer culture yet; I mean you’re carrying the torch of enlightenment” – sums up Bartosz Nowak, the author of the Male Piwko blog and creator of the most opinion-forming contest for annual craft events.
Our experience in Gdańsk is overwhelmingly positive. If WRCLW is the City of Meetings then Gdańsk is the City of Freedom. It is open, literally, to the sea whose smell fills the entire city. And it is very open-minded. There one understands that freedom does not mean conquering others; that the strength of some means the failure of others; or that freedom and success may be common, in the sense of not being reserved for the chosen or gained in some extraordinary circumstances. For us, independent brewing serves as a great example of such attitude. If we achieve success, it will not be at the cost of others. There are unlimited examples of achievements and satisfaction in this industry. We all want to enjoy our success. We also believe that everyone can be happy. That’s why we break away from pessimism, divisions and envy. We are focused on cooperation and creative freedom.
We don’t make any compromises when it comes to standards. We’re also determined to show how craft reflects our times. Aware of the role played by bloggers and the entire industry in educating the public about beer culture, we reach out to tradition, history, creative people and linguists. For this reason, in WRCLW we want to revive our identity and draw from the times when beer gathered people together.
We have recharged our batteries in the City of Freedom. We couldn’t be more certain that freedom is the most important value. When you’re not free, you’re dependent; when you’re not creative, you’re stuck in the rut. And the reason for it is misunderstanding what freedom is. My freedom definitely does not mean infringement of your freedom.
In Poland 10% of people trust each other. When sociologists ask a simple question “do you trust others?” – 10% answers “yes” or “yes, of course.” While in Denmark it is over 70%. This is a glass ceiling for craft in Poland. 3% will quickly turn to 4% but the borderline is close. So, let’s promote freedom as we know it: the spirit of cooperation, curiosity about others and mutual understanding. There will be no revolution without it.
We’ve described our geographical expansion: “our tournee started in Warsaw, then covered Katowice Gdańsk, Poznań and Łódź. We are carefully selecting places that have a similar sense of cooperation. We want to bring our beer in person to all these cities where we could share our philosophy and beer. As, since the very beginning we do not make any compromises in terms of standards, we have a team of professionals on board: graduates from the Fermentation Technology Department (Food Sciences Faculty) at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences. Mateusz is a passionate brewmaster who used to work in Canada while Grzegorz started his professional career in well-known breweries. They make a creative team which accounts for the great beer. We strongly support them but they are the ones in charge of creating recipes.”
We’ve been asked questions about our experiences and reception of our beer so far. Of course “we are very happy to say that the feedback has been positive. We are open to any suggestions.” And it will surly have an impact on our future projects.
Way to go Gdańsk. Your energy and openness are contagious. Let’s meet again in WRCLW!
