When it comes to beer, don’t shoot the brewmaster! Okay, that’s my little allusion to the old quote, “Don’t shoot the piano player.”

It’s an inference that you don’t want to destroy something or someone who brings you pleasure. And I was being sarcastic, in that I DID shoot this particular brewmaster, Mr. Jim Koch, the CEO of Samuel Adams, but I shot him with my camera when he appeared at the Craft Beers Convention in San Diego back in 2008.

What Happened in Boston

Mr. Koch is now in the news. According to a Time article in August 2018, Joseph Curtatone, the mayor of Somerville, Mass., tweeted that he would never drink another sip of Sam Adams beer after the brewery’s founder thanked President Trump for his corporate tax-cut plans.

Somerville is five miles from Boston. That is where in 1773, American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor, just before Christmas.   Boston is also where Paul Revere rode to warn revolutionaries that the British were coming.  It’s understandable that modern Bostonians would be sensitive to any form of perceived injustice.

Mayor Curtatone tweeted: “Hey Jim Koch! While you were thanking Trump for your tax break, did you happen to express any concern for the families separated under his cruel and inhumane immigration enforcement policy? @SamuelAdamsBeer”

Beer and Politics

I was sorry to learn how beer has now become entwined in what history will see as an ugly and inhumane moment in America, the incarceration of families seeking asylum in the United States.  Seeking asylum is not a crime. My dad’s grandparents came to America seeking asylum from the Irish potato famine in the 1800s.  My mother’s grandparents came to the USA  seeking asylum from an embattled Poland.

Stone Brewery CEO, Greg Koch

Many San Diegans, including me, marched in the streets upon learning that infants and toddlers had been taken from their parents and stuffed into cages.  The idea that there are now 12,800 children incarcerated should have everybody’s blood boiling.  It’s not much of a leap from 1773 when Americans who were rankled over unfair policies were willing to put their lives on the line to right that wrong.

Arrogant Bastard

In the light of the #MeToo movement, many of us have had to re-evaluate memories, relationships and opinions of people we have met.  It’s disappointing. That someone I enjoyed meeting and with whom I shared a sip of beer a decade ago turned out to be someone condoning the policies of a man that are hurtful to so many people all around the world.

We stand with the mayor of Somerville, with the children in cages and with families seeking asylum. And additionally, with San Diego craft brewing companies that produce great beers while practicing philanthropy, such as Stone Brewing.  Stone has raised over $3 million for many various charities since 1996. Stone’s CEO is Greg Koch.

Greg and Jim share a last name but not a philosophy.  Greg Koch shows us all that a brewing company can be very successful without being greedy. I won’t be drinking Sam Adams Beer anytime soon. Not when I can savor a San Diego home-grown “Arrogant Bastard.”