Ceaselessly the river flows and yet the water is never the same. So begins Kamo no Chômei’s essay Hôjôki (“An Account of my Hermitage”, 1212), the opening lines of which most if not all students of Japanese literature have to read and memorize. Later in the work, he writes, “Because I was born into a degenerate age, I am compelled to witness such shameful acts.” Over 800 years later, as we scour news articles around the world for this column, sometimes it feels as if this line is just as relevant today. Has anything changed? Well, at least we have beer now.

Hopefully you can afford to buy it. In August, Bloomberg reported that Spanish breweries are seeing slower sales. The article points to Brexit and the declining value of the British Pound as part of the problem. Spain’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, and the country is the most popular destination of British tourists (18.5 million of them in 2018). Meanwhile, tourists drink a whopping 25% of the country’s beer. When your beer-loving neighbors start booking cheaper destinations elsewhere (or stop traveling altogether), it’s time to worry. As Japan’s economy becomes increasingly reliant on tourism, perhaps this is a lesson for some industries to watch closely.

What are the signs of a degenerate age? Some would say political extremism, whether on the right or the left. Recently, two economists decided to investigate the embrace of extreme socialism, but through the lens of beer. Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell’s book, “Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World”, recounts their journeys to Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela. In each country, they look at the state of beer and argue that its failures reflect flaws in the prevailing political systems. One of their takeaways was that socialism, at least as it’s practiced in these countries, removed the incentives (and the means) to produce quality and variety. They also looked at other countries we typically think of as socialist and explain why the status quo of beer is much better there (Sweden, for example, which loves IPAs, is still market-oriented).

Their takeaway from North Korea? The beer is just awful. Which makes you wonder why anybody would try to smuggle it, but that’s just what somebody did. Late last year, a teenager from China living in Japan brought a bottle back hoping to sell it via online auction. He originally bought it in China, where it’s apparently available for about ¥200, but unfortunately for this entrepreneur, Japan has banned imports from North Korea since 2009 as a part of sanctions. According to Fukuoka Prefectural Police, he had previously sold a bottle online for ¥16,000, which caught their attention. Perhaps the bigger crime is that somebody would pay that much money for shitty beer when there’s so much great beer being produced in Japan already. Come on folks, don’t contribute to this degenerate age!

In other law enforcement news, Tom Hanks (yes, THE Tom Hanks) could not get served beer at the Stagecoach country music festival, where his wife was performing. The 62-year-old Hanks had yet to show his ID and get verified at a separate booth, and the servers refused to budge. Hanks confessed that he even offered them tickets to the premier of Toy Story 4. Eventually, an administrator brought him a bracelet (as proof of age) and he was able to “chug” (his words) a beer. When Tom Hanks can’t get served a beer, we are in a degenerate age indeed.

Now, it’s not clear to us if this is a sign of enlightenment or degeneration, but Australia’s iconic brewery Victoria Bitter (VB) released beer-flavored tea. Apparently, the product uses black tea leaves and Super Pride hops, an Australian variety with high alpha acids used primarily for bittering. The occasion for this? The Ashes (cricket tournament) held in England. The company realized many would be awake very early to catch the matches on TV, and figured people might want some tea instead of beer before sunrise. In a swipe at their UK rivals, they also wanted people to have an alternative to English Breakfast (UK tea).

Pushing the envelope of such hybrid beverages further, a company in Malaysia called The Beer Factory released a Boba Beer Series. Of the four ‘beers’ in this limited series, one was called “Butter Beer”, and was made with Kirin Ichiban. Usually, buttery flavor in beer is the result of diacetyl, and is generally considered an off flavor (especially in lagers), but this experimental beer is one we’d try out for fun. Personally, we think a decent ale with some hop-flavored tapioca would be a good boba beverage.

Finally, we leave you with news that not all is lost, that civilization has hope yet, that we are witness to glorious acts among the shameful ones: two powerful individuals met… over beer. Over the summer, former U.S. president Barack Obama caught up with his friend Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, at a brewpub in Ottawa called Big Rig Brewery. Seriously, it appears they were just catching up on the times (and picked the perfect venue for doing so). Trudeau is reported to have consumed an Alpha Bomb IPA, while Obama went for the Canadian Amber–named so because 100% of the ingredients are Canadian. Gosh, two relatable world leaders… Cheers to them!

Ceaselessly the beer flows… may it continue to do so!

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.