Campfire Stories
Got a few minutes?
This is a story about craft beer. But not just any craft beer.
This craft beer is made by West Coast Brewing. I drank a can of this beer last night. I liked it so much that I drove for an hour to West Coast Brewing today to buy another can of the same beer.
Just one can.
What is so important about this beer, you ask?
I happen to like beer, but if you are not a beer person, this story could be about a tomato smoothie or a cup of tea. This Campfire Stories story isn’t just about beer; it is about people bringing other people happiness—a sort of Happiness-in-a-Can story.
Are you calmly reading this now?
Or are you skimming over these words, thinking about the next thing you have to do?
Could you be here with me—just for a few minutes—without preparing to be somewhere else?
I want to share something with you.
This story isn’t just about a beverage; it is about doing something pleasurable, just for a moment, while forgetting about everything else.
It is important and very difficult to do.
It’s therapeutic.
This story is also about the people who make pleasant experiences possible.
Derrek Buston1 is originally from Seattle, Washington. At the University of Washington, he majored in music before switching to Japanese linguistics. His interest in Japan brought him to the Shizuoka area, where I also live. He then became interested in architecture, became an architect, and was commissioned to design a whisky distillery. Designing the distillery inspired him to start West Coast Brewing. His company makes fine beers, including Campfire Stories. Derrek crafts things that make people happy. With all the unbelievable things going on in the world now, isn’t that marvelous?
That’s all I wanted to say.
What Derrek says in Japanese translates roughly to English as:
Hello everyone, it’s Derrek from West Coast Brewing.
Today I’d like to introduce another beer. The one I’m introducing today is Campfire Stories, a Northwest IPA, a favorite of mine.
I was born and raised in Seattle, and around the time I entered college, 20 years ago, I used to drink IPA a lot. I wanted to recreate this style of beer, so I created Campfire Stories, hoping to recreate the style that was popular back then.
This is my third or fourth time making it, and I’ve made some slight changes, so I hope you’ll give it a try.
Now, I’d like to tell you about it while I drink it.
First of all, the color. It’s amber. A beautiful color, isn’t it? The appearance is typical of a Northwest IPA.
The aroma is caramel with a bit of salt. It reminds me of the beer I drank twenty years ago.
It tastes a bit like CASCADE-CENTENNIAL-AMARILLO IPA. It’s very delicious.
Twenty years ago, I used to drink it while playing games or watching sports, so I’m really happy that it’s been revived like this and that everyone can drink it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
Thank you.
John, I loved this missive and like Rick, was in a comfy chair when the invitation came. I would love to try the beer as well. Someday when I visit Japan and visit you :)
I had already slowed down and settled in with you even before you made the invitation John, so felt good about that. And you succeeded with sending out a pleasurable and leisurely experience that I enjoyed imbibing. I love the backstory on the entrepreneur who was following his sense of joy and exploration and his little intro to the beer at the end. Thanks for this.