The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Belgian monks tested by success of their Trappist beer Posted: 19 Mar 2014 12:21 AM PDT But change does not come easily. This is a small, declining community of just 13 monks of the Cistercian Order, which was founded in France at the end of the 11th century on a commitment to "Pray and Work," to focus on the spiritual, not the material world. Traditionally self-sufficient, Trappist monks made enough beer for their own needs and then sold some to help fund charitable and other works. From small beginnings, sales have taken off, building on a home market in Belgium to venture into France and the Netherlands, and now to China and the United States. "The Trappists have a history, a story to tell, which attracts beer lovers," said Thierry Fourneau, in charge of the Rochefort brewery operations. "The religious origins of our beers is a plus because it is a guarantee of its quality and authenticity," said Francois de Harenne, spokesman for the International Trappist Association which certifies their origin and manufacture. "Today, demand outpaces supply and it is picking up all over the world even though we have never tried to boost sales," Harenne told AFP. The ITA closely watches over the trademark which can only be carried by beer brewed exclusively within a Trappist monastery on a non-profit basis, with any surplus used for charity or other social purposes. Crucially, "the brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery and it should be witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life," the ITA says on its official website. In Rochefort, the monks distribute about one million euros a year, out of sales of just over seven million euros, "to local families in distress, for missionary work and to help other monasteries in need," said Father Luc, one of the monks. "Making a profit is by no means an end in itself. We brew beer to ensure our monastery can survive and to help others," he said. The newest Trappist beer is made at Spencer, in the US state of Massachusetts, where the monks put it on sale to help cover the ever rising cost of medical care for their ageing community. Declining communities, growing demand Such problems pressing in from the outside are evident too at the Rochefort monastery, which sits in a quiet valley on the outskirts of the small town about an hour's drive south of Brussels. From 80 monks in the 1930s, the 13 there now are outnumbered by the 14 lay workers in the small brewery which was modernised in the 1960s. Worse still, they have had no recent new recruits and the youngest of the monks is in his 40s while others are in their 80s. That adds to the problems posed by the brewery's success. "I cannot see how large breweries can be reconciled with small religious communities," Harenne said. "We must respect our founding principles above all." One hope is perhaps to attract monks from abroad, especially from France where numbers have risen recently. "Maybe we can get some from there," said Fourneau. "They are not going to let a monastery die." For the moment, production at the 10 Trappist breweries comes to an annual 460,000 hectolitres, dominated by the best-known brand Chimay with 170,000 hectolitres. Rochefort counts for about 40,000 litres, all dark beer. Some monasteries such as Orval have decided not to go into new markets at all while the smallest and most sought after brand, Wesvleteren, will sell only to clients who pre-order and come to the brewery to pick up their beer in person. Wesvleteren, widely reputed to be the best beer in the world, was put on sale at a Belgian chain of supermarkets for only a few weeks in 2011 when the monks needed funds to repair their monastery. "We are unfortunately obliged to say 'No' for the most part to new customers," said Benoit Minet, commercial director of the Rochefort brewery. "There is new demand ... all the time. We have a Chinese client, a supermarket, but we have turned down others," Minet said. "If we decide to expand, we would have to think the whole thing through again, it would be an enormous investment," he said, adding that such a decision would be solely for the monks to make. – AFP, March 19, 2014. |
| Signings of times – US archives show history by pen Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:48 PM PDT The autographs of World War II's Big Three leaders – etched on a programme to a string orchestra concert during a break from their conference in Potsdam – are on display at the US National Archives in a new exhibition that aims to look at history through penmanship. The exhibition, which opens Friday and runs until January 2015, taps into the National Archives' collections to show more than 100 signatures of figures as diverse as pop legend Michael Jackson and the first US president George Washington. In perhaps the most chilling section, the National Archives has put out the marriage licence of Adolf Hitler signed on April 29, 1945 as the German dictator and Eva Braun eloped one day before they committed suicide. The licence, seized by US troops, testifies that Hitler and his longtime girlfriend were "of pure Aryan descent" and asks Braun, "Are you willing to take Our Fuehrer Adolf Hitler as your husband?" Hitler signs with a scrunched scribble and Braun begins to write "Eva B-" before crossing out the "B" of her maiden name and writing Eva Hitler. The dictator's confidants Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann signed as witnesses. "Signatures tell us a lot about their owners and the circumstances under which they were made," said David Ferriero, archivist of the United States. The exhibition's signatures show Civil War president Abraham Lincoln to be "decisive", anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman as "determined" and Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn as "fearless", he said. The exhibition highlights the unexpected turns and what-ifs of history. A 1989 card signed by Saddam Hussein thanks new US president George H.W. Bush for his "kind greetings"; two years later, the United States would attack Iraq after Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. Another display shows the young Richard Nixon's application to be an FBI agent. The fresh law school graduate never heard back – apparently, he was told years later, due to budget cuts in Washington – and he returned to California, soon embarking on a political career that would lead him to the White House. Jennifer Johnson, the exhibition's curator, said that the one historical figure she felt obliged to include was the US revolutionary John Hancock, whose signature is on display in a document as governor of Massachusetts. Hancock's conspicuously large signature on the 1776 Declaration of Independence from Britain – on permanent display elsewhere at the National Archives in central Washington – was so famous that his name has become synonymous with an autograph in American English. Shifting to the contemporary era, the exhibition demonstrates an autopen. Barack Obama has become the first president to use an autopen, authorising his signature remotely on urgent legislation when he is away from Washington, triggering protests by lawmakers from the rival Republican Party. Beyond politics, signatures are increasingly uncommon in the Internet era. US teachers generally emphasise penmanship less than educators in Asian and European nations. Johnson said she expected children at the exhibition to have trouble reading cursive writing. "We're certainly ticking that way in how we sign things. When I think about it, I don't put pen to paper that often when making a transaction," she said. "As a historian, I'm terribly sad about it... but I think it's inevitable." – AFP, March 19, 2014. |
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