Meet “Mimesis.” This is the first solo homebrew where I’ve attempted to “clone” a popular beer’ Bell’s Two Hearted. It is also the first brew not named for a musician I admire. I had been thinking a lot about mimicry, and how it is very much a double-edged sword in our lives.
On one hand, mimicry is crucially important for even basic survival and how to act in the world. We do it all day without registering it slightly. For example, after you enter an elevator, you turn around, so you don’t creepily face toward the other riders (unless you’re just trying be “that guy,” and let’s face it, it’s likely a guy, because women are typically much smarter and more mature than that). When you’re a child, you get in a single-file line, because you see the other kids do it, and have below the surface thoughts, that you should be doing the same thing. A baby learns much through mimicry. When to smile; the facial movements that indicate eating, eliciting a positive response. “Peek-A-Boo” is mimicry. When we learn to walk and run, we are copying behavior we’ve seen before. Playing the guitar, and the 12 bar-blues, is replication. Anyone that’s ever picked up an instrument likely started with a song they wanted to learn, and did so through copying. In so many ways, we’re all standing on the shoulders of giants. Copying and mirroring isn’t just something we do out of social norms and survival instincts, we replicate things we believe worth replicating. When a beer sets the standard for comparison against all other IPAs, year after year, it seems worthy of replication.
However, mimicry, has a distinct dark side. Today, the world feels an intense pressure to conform. As the internet has advanced, and with the advent of social media, mimicry surely is at an all time high. We see it everyday, and for those who spend a significant time on social media applications, they see it nearly all day. Parents post the same pictures of their kids, engaging in the exact same activities, at the exact same places ( don’t believe me.. I’m writing this in late October…see how many pumpkin patch pictures you’ve seen on any social media platform). We participate in the “You name it (Challenge)”, forgetting it within 2 weeks. We see language mimicry proliferating. If you’re of a certain political persuasion ( Left or Right), you almost have your own language to identify yourselves. While distinct language is a hallmark of many cultures, politics creates the distinct words, terms, and catch-phrases that are used so heavily by
that they become platitudes at staggering speed. We also have examples and statistics that point out the ills of conformity in the internet age. Since 2011, the teenage rate for suicide amongst boys is up 25%, for teenage girls 70%. One largely related factor is the illusion of the constant pressure to measure-up to whatever highlight reels their peers may be posting. Rates of depression and anxiety are at unprecedented levels. While there may be less stigma associated with discussing or seeking treatment for these issues ( Good), it does not account for such a large increase ( Bad). Finally, if so many people in their later years and “death beds”, often relay how they wish they had the courage to have truly “been themselves.” Something so prevalent, maybe we should pay attention to that wisdom.
Back to beer making – This beer was the 1st I had brewed in quite some time, due to a back surgery. The brewing process is quite physical. I thought I might be a bit rusty. The process actually went much better than expected, and did seem like getting back on a “bicycle.” The beer itself needed a bit of a different water profile than what I had used. The final product did not have the slight “roundness” of it’s muse. Additionally, I made a big mistake when bottling. I had forgotten to boil water for priming sugar before moving the beer into the bottling bucket. When realizing the bone-headed move, I quickly mixed some non-boiled water and sugar to add, and was lucky that there was no off flavors or infection detectable in the final product. It also force carbonated very well, and the CO2 levels were spot on. The “beer Gods” were with me on this one.
Since moving to all-grain brewing, I had always formulated my own recipes. The goal was always to start with the end product of what I wanted, and reverse-engineer it. With a lot of luck, research, and attention to detail, I had been largely successful with this; save for a couple of recipes where certain notes of the beer were more prevalent than I wanted. I had mixed feelings about trying to clone a beer. However, if you’re going to try and recreate a beer, it’s hard to imagine one that’s been more largely enjoyed than Bell’s Two Hearted. Year after year, this IPA wins awards for America’s Favorite Beer. The last 3 years, it’s won “Best Beer in America” from Zymurgy Magazine; the publication of the Homebrewer’s Association. While I was able to get this one pretty close, and am overall pretty pleased, sometimes you can’t beat the “real-deal”, which is certainly what we had for this one. Overall, a fun experience, but I’ll likely go back to creating my own, the way I want it. It’s just more fun that way.
Andrew L Hamilton 