A Brewers Only Dialogue

It's right around the corner. This biggest beer festival in the Western Hemisphere (I think): The Great American Beer Festival.  During the week of October 6-13 Denver, CO will be brimming with craft brewers from around the country, and beer enthusiasts from around the world.  Over 600 breweries bring multiple beers for three days, four sessions of beer sampling all in one place. Quite the experience, to say the least.  But that ain't it.  Denver has a fantastic craft beer scene, not to mention geographic scenery. There are many "smaller" events that take place during that week, most of these are special tappings or tasting parties. Falling Rock Tap House, Freshcraft and the Rackhouse usually have awesome events.

And while these events focus on enjoying great, sometimes rare, beer, this year there is another event that separates itself from the others.  The Great American Brewers Dialogue (GABD) will kick off its first installment on October 9th.  With so many craft breweries and their staff in town, it makes sense to try to gather them in one (or several) places to engage in group discussion about their industry. Rarely do brewers et al find free time to exchange ideas and talk about problems or obstacles they face. The GABD is a chance for them to air these out.

Since there are so many brewers in town, several locations will host these discussions simultaneously: Prost Brewing, Strange Brewing and Vine Street Pub are lined up now as hosts, with more to be added if the number of attendees pours in beyond venue capacity.

What makes this different than just a collection of brewers in one places is the addition of professional facilitators from OvalOptions for Conflict Management to help guide the groups through dialogue. These facilitators utilize methods to improve discussions, brainstorm, keep everyone engaged, and discover possible solutions to problems.  So now we have brewers gathered in one (or 3) place, where they can (re)connect with each other, focus on certain topics for discussion (each group decides their own topics), and professionals to help unpack and address concerns. Sounds like a good deal, even better since it is FREE!

It is only open to brewers and brewery staff to keep discussions open and confidential. Like everybody, brewers are reluctant to advertise problems they face. The GABD provides a safe space.  This should be fun and interesting!

Would Our Founding Fathers Approve of US?

A recent article on CNN briefly outlined a Gallup poll asked people if they think the Founding Fathers would or would not view the current U.S. in a favorable light.  Basically, the poll, or rather its analyses, suggests that political affiliation has an effect on responses. Since a Democrat is in the White House, it seems Republicans think that the Founding Fathers would disapprove of our current situation.  It's not hard to imagine the responses of democrats if a republican were in the White House.

But would the Founding Fathers disapprove based on political party affiliation?  While there were some heated animosity between political parties in the late 1700s, I doubt the Founding Fathers would judge the country based on which party seated the president. One of the greatest aspects of the founding of this country was the ability for its founders to disagree in a "proper" way.

To illustrate what I mean, let's look at today's political scene. Who would argue that it is not a mess?  There is so much animosity, enmity and polarization that any effort of progress, learning, discovery and innovation is thwarted just as it begins. Today's politicians, and the American public at large, do not know how to disagree in a way that enables discussion, progress and problem solving that the Founding Fathers held as a foundation to Democracy and enlightenment.

Back then, people gathered to discuss topics large and small.  Perhaps that shared a pint of beer in the process.  If they could not gather in person, handwritten letters were sent, which sometimes took months to complete a correspondence.  As such, it was important to choose words deliberately to make a point, question or observation crystal clear to the reader. Thought was put into every sentence spoken and written, as well as heard or read.

And I think this is the main reason why our country's founders would vehemently disapprove of their country today. Mindless bickering, baseless accusations, and the sheer inability and refusal of some people to honestly listen to others. The zero-sum attitude of modern politicians and many voters is not healthy for any society, especially not for one as diverse as the modern United States of America.  We need to get back to face-to-face discussion, to listen intently to others--not to pick apart a statement, but to learn, entertain open dialogue, to add thought to instant communication, and to realize that diversity means that nobody will get all they want.