From BlueGiantBeer – The Diary of a Beer Tourist
One thing I have learnt about writing a blog over the past couple of months is that less is more. I have therefore dispensed with the reams of nonsense of the previous “About” section. It was written with the best of intentions but embodied the over elaborate, egotistical, drivel of blogging that I’ve come to thoroughly dislike.
Last week I was in Cask Pub and Kitchen in Brighton banging on to an unassuming couple about the “science” behind milk stout. They seemed to appreciate the impromptu beer lesson. When I explained that I was from Bristol they concluded that I must be some kind of beer tourist. It’s a good description of all the good beery people I’ve come to meet recently. Striving to try as much good beer in as many different locations as possible.
BlueGiantBeer is part diary, part resource and part self massaging ego stick. I hope you enjoy it.
“Beer. Now there’s a temporary solution.”
— Homer J Simpson
Rang a chord with me, although as fellow beer tourist, I clearly went to BlueGiantBeer for the BrewDog story initially. My own blog has had a “Manifesto” since its inception (there weren’t ready-made about pages back when I started) and have several times edited down the over pompous verbosity – and still each time I look at it, I know I could do better, even now. It’s not that the aims were wrong, though clearly they do evolve, and their expression is refined to the essentials.
Less is more is a common thread here, but it’s also about simplification, which can only be done after understanding; after the journey through the process from naive to wise. Simplistication can be done anytime to fit a snappy 140 character sound-bite, but that doesn’t make them any good.
[Manifesto is a pompous word to claim in itself – but it does own up to there actually being an agenda – I have retained the link to the cringe-worthy original, along with the (slightly) improved latest text so that I (and you) can compare progress. Of course my footnote on every page also owns up to the contrast between undoubtedly lofty agenda vs admittedly puny individual contribution. ]