Affligem Blonde: Brewed with faith since 1129

Thrusday, March 4, 2010. The state-wide "Day of Action to Defend Public Eduation" took many shapes, forms, and sounds today. One Woman took a bus to Sacramento to take part in a rally at the state capitol. Political action is a strange thing though. This current budget crisis, deep cuts in public education, and government, as well as UC Regents' responses have been somewhere between confusing, disappointing, and straight up stupid. And still, the most frustrating part is the ability for "we" (the students and teachers) to make real change. Can we do it? What about the gaps and the changes in meaning that grow wider, between "yes we can" and "si se puede"? One Woman encouraged her students to participate in this action, because the future of UC as a great place to learn and thrive is at stake. Participate. But what of the future? What can policy changes accomplish? A lot, no doubt, but how, and to what extent is also a question.

When One Woman was overcome by a sense of political inertia on this big day for California education, she was inspired to search for the oldest beer at her local grocery store. What she found was Affligem, a Belgian Abbey Ale. The Abbey was founded in 1074, and Affligem claims that they have been brewing beer since 1129. This is way before there were any nation states as we know them today existed (and by association, their governments, laws and national institutions). This was a comforting thought for One Woman. Some things endure, even if it goes through changes, but other things, like states, don't last as long. Compared to the Affligem, the history of California is so short. This says two things: 1) precisely because political structures are so short lived, we need to embrace them or fight them to the best of our intellectual and ethical abilities. 2) When that does nothing, well, as my mother says in her moments infinite wisdom: "good things and bad things happen. After a bad thing, a good thing happens." The worst moments pass.

To think that a recipe for beer can endure longer than the history of any nation state--this makes me question how enduring the actions one individual, or even collective political entity can be in the long run. And then there are stories, ideas, and works of art, which have similarly endured. What does that say about these things, which are too often viewed as excess, or ornaments of society?

Getting back to Affligem now. It's a nice Belgian Blonde; lightly floral, with a comforting mature yeast flavo and just a hint of bitterness. With a burnt strawberry blond color, that's very clear, it also has a big, fluffy head. Served with cream of broccoli soup, beet and carrot pancakes (a variation on Mark Bittmans's Beet Rösti), and a piece of toasted sourdough.

The musical pairing: "This Little Light of Mine," an old spiritual with associations to the Civil Rights Movement and the Student Movements of the 1960s. Because there is the past, and the future, and hope in between. And because inevitably, someone will sing it at a rally.