Words by Breandán Kearney
Photos by Ashley Joanna
Published by Luster Publishing
Launch date: September 2024
This is a behind-the-scenes snippet from the making of Hidden Beers of Belgium, a book which will take readers on a journey of discovery through some of Belgium’s most interesting but under-appreciated beers. Read more here.
There’s a scene in Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back in which Paul McCartney is seen strumming his bass guitar and humming an idea of a melody. The other band members yawn and listen passively, until it starts to turn into a kernel of a song. Ringo improvises a beat, George adds a rhythm line, and John Lennon, showing up late, with fur-coat and cigarette in hand, picks up his guitar and begins jamming as if he’d always known the song. It’s a gripping real-life scene about the unglamorous and workmanlike nature of creativity, the special moment they wrote Beatles single Get Back. We’re not sure why certain Belgian brewers can churn out wonderful beer after wonderful beer, but from what we’ve seen in the writing of this book, it’s more a case of perseverance and work ethic than of momentary inspiration or creative brilliance; more about executing on your own weird and often difficult-to-realise ideas than following the path laid out for you in someone else’s recipe.
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