What goes around, comes around
There are many ways to say it. It’s so simple but so meaningful.
What you give, you get. Goodness follows goodness. These platitudes are important to remember but in the midst of a busy life, we sometimes forget that what we sow, we reap.
I’m partial to telling people that what goes around, comes around and I firmly believe in that little bit of wisdom. We’ve all experienced it many times.
I’m going to tell you about a very nice lady I met awhile ago. She is the director of the leading nonprofit organization in this area that provides employment and training services to the people and businesses here by bringing the area’s residents in contact with various educational, business and social service agencies. It’s a massive job, and she’s been doing it masterfully for over 30 years.
She’s also very wise. She knows when it’s time to step aside and let the winds of change blow in a new director and therefore, this is her last month as the director of this important nonprofit organization.
She will be missed but I believe her passion for helping people will continue in some manner and more people will be touched by her knowledge, leadership ability and goodness Her touch has reached so many people over the years and these people will not forget her. They will support her when needed and will always be there for her in the future.
She’s a prime example of one who lives the phrase: “What goes around, comes around.” Because she’s given so much to so many, many will always be there for her.
In the near future and when things calm down a bit for her, the two of us will sit down with a beer and just talk — about our children, grandchildren, where we’ve traveled, what we’ve eaten and the new people we’ve met. Because I know she enjoys a sweet wine, I expect the beer she will choose will be a malt ladened brew. Fortunately, she’ll have many to choose from because malt is making a resurgence in the brewing of beer.
For the past few years, American brewers have attempted to pack as many hops into the brewing process as possible. Americans became addicted to the bitter taste of high hopped beer — those IPAs that dried your mouth like a Sahara wind and made you wince at the high citrus and bitter flavor.
But, the times are changing!
Suddenly the American beer drinker is thinking old school — meaning the beer most of us grew up hearing about and consuming. The light lager — think Hamms, Grain Belt, Miller and the old Budweiser — that provided a crisp and clean taste and finish.
Most of these beers were low in alcohol content so they were great session beers and they were easy to drink.
For a couple of reasons, flavor is once again becoming the guiding principle in the brewing process.
First, the craft beer industry is always seeking new tastes. Today’s crafty craft brewers are beginning to soften their beers with new malts that are producing a wide spectrum of interesting and sweeter flavors. This desire for new malts has given birth to a growing number of grain producers who aren’t only growing the barley but malting it in new ways to produce a myriad of new flavors for those crafty craft brewers.
The result will be beers that are lighter in color and flavorful — just like the crisp and clean tasting beers of the good ole days. What goes around, comes around…
Secondly, beer drinkers are notorious for wanting to try something new. The wine industry went through this type of change when merlot became too plain and zinfandel was the new spicy kid on the block. Then zinfandel became too heavy tasting and after flirting with chardonnay for awhile, the public once again began seeking the new merlots. For the present beer consumer, that something new is going back to the crisp and clean lager of the past.
What goes around, comes around…
In the final analysis, we go for what we like at the moment. I’ll always enjoy a biting Fulton’s Sweet Child Of Vine IPA but I’ll always leave room for Brau Brothers’ Old 56 lager — there are times when one must revisit the past. What goes around, comes around…
As for my soon to be retired friend, her past good deeds will follow into her new chapter of life. She’ll never be alone because of all the good things she’s done for the people of this area and they’ll never forget her and they’ll always be there to help or support her. What goes around, comes around…
Next week, barleywine?
As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!
Cheers!
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