Part 1 of my Video Blog Series. 

I explore the ancient concept of Memento Mori and how looking death in the eye can make us better brewery operators. 

Throughout the ages our art, philosophy and, of course, religion all explored ways for us to share and remind each other of the concept of Memento Mori.

Literally, remember death. One day you will cease to exist. No matter how hard you cling to life, to legacy and even to love, your days are numbered. Ashes to ashes and all that.

“On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero” - Fight Club

Some people think reminding yourself that you’re walking a path with a guaranteed end is morbid. Maybe a little creepy. That it gently drapes a black and melancholy shroud over parties and award ceremonies. These people feel that the look Death in the face is to challenge him to a fight you can’t win.

If you zoom out a few thousand feet, you’ll see that what I’m really doing here with my first book, this podcast and what will become my next book is remembering death. At least what I see as the inescapable death of the current structure of the US craft brewing industry. With each interview, my guests and I slap Death straight in the face and challenge him to a duel.

Some day, probably sooner than I think, 99% of the US breweries in existence today will die. Most will be bloody and violent affairs with crowds of people getting doused by the overspray. Others will be sweet and inspiring - shaking babies and kissing hands on the way to a better, more balanced life. If we laid all the cards on the table we’d see that so many have already stopped sucking in air and exchanging it for CO2. There are literally thousands of zombie breweries roaming aimlessly and clumsily all over the world. Ones that are rotten and decayed from the inside but somehow never seem to stop twitching, crawling or bleeding. But even through their wax-dipped cans and diabetes stouts the truth of their death is as guaranteed as Stallone doing another Rambo movie. Yeah, and their shitty-ass smoothie sours too.

But Memento Mori is about facing death to EMBRACE life. To learn to live by accepting that you will die. Once you accept that the game of life is rigged in favor of the worms and fungi, you can relax a little. You can take a thoughtful breath and enjoy your life more deeply and with more presence. You know for a fact that you can’t steal eternity but you can sure as shit suck the marrow out of today.

And that’s the concept of Memento Mori I’m seeking to emulate. Your life and the life of your brewery has an unavoidable ending. Only you can choose to make the story of it happy or sad.........

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