Create Dangerously by Albert Camus

Create Dangerously

Live dangerously, think dangerously, create dangerously. This can be a wonderful way to sum up the life – and writings – of Albert Camus. One of my favorite writers, his works have profoundly touched me in my own writing, in my own way of thinking, and my life in general. One of my biggest inspirations for writing, alongside Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, Spinoza, Antonie de Saint Exupery, Aldous Huxley, Philip K. Dick, Nietzsche, and a host of others. Creating dangerously is something that gets to the core of writing, and gets to the core of what writers SHOULD do. It doesn’t mean “no fear or no worries” but it does mean to take risks, to write what needs to be written, to create what needs to be created. Art for art’s sake. To hell with the dictator, to hell with the public, to hell with who might cause you trouble for the creation. Create dangerously. Think dangerously. Live dangerously.

Albert Camus

Portrait of Albert Camus from New York World-Telegram and Sun Photograph Collection, 1957 (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Albert Camus was a famous writer, an existentialist writer that helped herald in the existentialist movement alongside Sartre and others. His “brand” of Existentialism was “Absurdism”, insofar as that life has no inherent meaning and it is up to us to find meaning, or to find purpose, or to just live, in an absurd world.

The following comes from his biography on Wikipedia:

Albert Camus (/kæmˈuː/^[2] kam-OO; French: [albɛʁ kamy] ^ⓘ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist,^[3] and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall, and The Rebel.

Camus was born in Algeria during the French colonization, to pied-noir parents. He spent his childhood in a poor neighbourhood and later studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He was in Paris when the Germans invaded France during World War II in 1940. Camus tried to flee but finally joined the French Resistance where he served as editor-in-chief at Combat, an outlawed newspaper. After the war, he was a celebrity figure and gave many lectures around the world. He married twice but had many extramarital affairs. Camus was politically active; he was part of the left that opposed Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union because of their totalitarianism. Camus was a moralist and leaned towards anarcho-syndicalism. He was part of many organisations seeking European integration. During the Algerian War (1954–1962), he kept a neutral stance, advocating for a multicultural and pluralistic Algeria, a position that was rejected by most parties.

Philosophically, Camus’ views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. Some consider Camus’ work to show him to be an existentialist, even though he himself firmly rejected the term throughout his lifetime.

Albert Camus – Wikipedia

Absurdism

Absurdism is the philosophical thesis that life, or the world in general, is absurd. There is wide agreement that the term “absurd” implies a lack of meaning or purpose but there is also significant dispute concerning its exact definition and various versions have been suggested.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The choice of one’s definition has important implications for whether the thesis of absurdism is correct and for the arguments cited for and against it: it may be true on one definition and false on another.^[6]

In a general sense, the absurd is that which lacks a sense, often because it involves some form of contradiction. The absurd is paradoxical in the sense that it cannot be grasped by reason.^[7][8][9] But in the context of absurdism, the term is usually used in a more specific sense. According to most definitions, it involves a conflict, discrepancy, or collision between two things. Opinions differ on what these two things are.^[1][2][3][4] For example, it is traditionally identified as the confrontation of rational man with an irrational world or as the attempt to grasp something based on reasons even though it is beyond the limits of rationality.^[10][11] Similar definitions see the discrepancy between intention and outcome, between aspiration and reality, or between subjective assessment and objective worth as the source of absurdity.^[1][3] Other definitions locate both conflicting sides within man: the ability to apprehend the arbitrariness of final ends and the inability to let go of commitments to them.^[4] In regard to the conflict, absurdism differs from nihilism since it is not just the thesis that nothing matters. Instead, it includes the component that things seem to matter to us nonetheless and that this impression cannot be shaken off. This difference is expressed in the relational aspect of the absurd in that it constitutes a conflict between two sides.^[4][1][2]

Various components of the absurd have been suggested and different researchers often focus their definition and inquiry on one of these components. Some accounts emphasize the practical components concerned with the individual seeking meaning while others stress the theoretical components about being unable to know the world or to rationally grasp it. A different disagreement concerns whether the conflict exists only internal to the individual or is between the individual’s expectations and the external world. Some theorists also include the metacognitive component that the absurd entails that the individual is aware of this conflict.^{[2][3][12][4]}

An important aspect of absurdism is that the absurd is not limited to particular situations but encompasses life as a whole.^[2][1][13] There is a general agreement that people are often confronted with absurd situations in everyday life.^[7] They often arise when there is a serious mismatch between one’s intentions and reality.^[2] For example, a person struggling to break down a heavy front door is absurd if the house they are trying to break into lacks a back wall and could easily be entered on this route.^[1] But the philosophical thesis of absurdism is much more wide-reaching since it is not restricted to individual situations, persons, or phases in life. Instead, it asserts that life, or the world as a whole, is absurd. The claim that the absurd has such a global extension is controversial, in contrast to the weaker claim that some situations are absurd.^[2][1][13]

The perspective of absurdism usually comes into view when the agent takes a step back from their individual everyday engagements with the world to assess their importance from a bigger context.^[4][2][14] Such an assessment can result in the insight that the day-to-day engagements matter a lot to us despite the fact that they lack real meaning when evaluated from a wider perspective. This assessment reveals the conflict between the significance seen from the internal perspective and the arbitrariness revealed through the external perspective.^[4] The absurd becomes a problem since there is a strong desire for meaning and purpose even though they seem to be absent.^[7] In this sense, the conflict responsible for the absurd often either constitutes or is accompanied by an existential crisis.^[15][14]

Absurdism – Wikipedia

Book Review: Create Dangerously by Albert Camus

‘To create today is to create dangerously’

Camus argues passionately that the artist has a responsibility to challenge, provoke and speak up for those who cannot in this powerful speech, accompanied here by two others.

Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York’s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

Create Dangerously (Back of Book Blurb) – GoodReads

As I said above in the introduction to this review – “live dangerously, think dangerously, create dangerously” could be a motto for Albert Camus. And its at the heart of what this small little book is all about. This tract is only 53 pages, of a small sized book. Its fast paced but not a quick easy read, you can easily find yourself reading over a page to regain, or to reorient, or to reread what you just read. Fully embracing, falling into what Camus is saying. Its two essays and one speech, but it packs so much into these 53 pages. I believe the two essays were also at one time used as speeches as well. So, in that sense this is just three speeches laid out in essay form each.

According to a quick Google search, the three speeches were:

• CREATE DANGEROUSLY – University of Uppsala, 1957
• DEFENSE OF INTELLIGENCE – L’Amitié Française, 1945
• BREAD AND FREEDOM – Labour Exchange of Saint-Étienne, 1953

The artist, the writer, the author, the creator is propelled to create, to do so, to not be silenced. It is imperative for a writer, for an artist; to do what is right to him or herself. To write or create regardless of what penalties one might face, no matter the force and the opposition. One is forced by all that is strong and right in the world, to create, no matter the outcome.

Lets break down the individual speeches / essays a bit more:

1) Create Dangerously

Camus is deeply concerned about the tormented relationship between the artist and the public, that is, the society in which he lives. Because the art of nowadays must deal with the masses. It must accept to be either engaged in some kind of historical commitment or corrupt by popularization, a choice the old masters had always been spared until the middle class prevailed and culture became accessible to the masses.

Today everything is changed and even silence has dangerous implications. To create today is to create dangerously. Any publication is an act, and that act exposes one to the passions of an age that forgives nothing. The question is how, among the police forces of so many ideologies, the strange liberty of creation is possible.

…

We know now that they exist, because the masses have become stronger and keep people from forgetting them.

Albert Camus – Create Dangerously

Camus is not blinded, nor is he ignorant of ideological faith and bias and prejudices. He’s perfectly aware of the implications of the so-called Socialistic Realism of his time, a delusional attempt to depict a ‘leftist’ reality that inevitably became mere propaganda: the masses were to be portrayed only as the ideal masses of the red utopia, and the writer’s grasp on reality could only be focused on the future – that is, on the non-existent. What we need today is, according to Camus, a creativity that is aware of its own potential. Today’s art is threatened by a dangerous lack of contact with the physical and emotional reality of life.

One of the many reasons I find Camus endearing, and more interesting than most other existentialist writers (like Sartre, or Kierkegard, or Weil) is that he is optimistic. He is looking forward, he is proud of where he is, proud of the future for mankind, and doesn’t have such a bleak and irreverent view of what mankind is or the future of mankind. Camus’ vision is hardly the bleak, depressing cliché of so many existentialists. He forwards an ideal concept of art as an achievement of all mankind throughout history, a common endeavor and a common task of both writers and readers. “Every man, on the foundation of his own suffering and joys, builds for all.” This may not be the core of Existentialism, but it certainly is the core of Existence.

2) Defense of Intelligence

It is interesting that as a system, as a society, that we have to “defend intelligence”. That intelligence, that reasoning and rationale, is in need of defense. That rational thinking, that reasoning, that intelligence isn’t the end goal in and of itself. But sadly, this is where we are at – and here he is talking of this in the 50s. And now, in the 2020’s, so little progress has been made, if anything, we have regressed on intelligence, regressed on our anti-academic and anti-scholarly work, regressed on our positions, our desire for intelligence, our desire for reasoning.

His speech here, done in 1945, was quick, and short, ten minutes, and aimed at France. Aimed at a nation just starting to heal and cure itself of all the wounds from all the recent tragedies that it has endured. n order to overcome the hatred and tension left behind by the war, Camus says, any desire for revenge must be put aside once and for all. Only a new political mentality can lead to a new start and a real change, in which there are neither partisans nor collaborators anymore.

What determined the fall of European civilisation and the ascent of barbaric dictatorships was the lack of respect for intelligence and intellectuals, who had been conveniently used as a scapegoat – or an enemy – by most governments.

The last and most long-lived victory of Hitlerism is to be found in the shameful scars made on the hearts of those who fought it most vigorously.

Albert Camus – Defense of Intelligence

3) Bread and Freedom

The last of the speeches / essays in “Create Dangerously” – this speech was delivered in 1953 for a labor exchange. A critique of the exploitation of freedom, shamelessly betrayed by the Soviet Revolution and often seen by the western government as an annoying ‘inconvenience’ of democracy. Once again indeed, Camus’ thought is not influenced by any political faction.

In this, he discusses how freedom – human freedom – are the same as justice. No justice can be devoid of intellectual freedom, and no intelligence can exist without social justice. Prejudices, biases, hatred, cannot exist within intelligence. An intelligent man cannot hate willfully and ignorantly. For reasons without merit. (ie. the color of someone’s skin, or who they love, or gender, etc.) This speech also shows the most unexpectedly, delightfully optimistic Camus, eventually suggesting a universal brotherhood between the intellectual and the worker as their only chance to fight back whenever their freedom is in danger.

Its amazing how timeless these three essays / speeches feel. How relevant they are in 2024 (with the upcoming election especially playing heavily in all of our minds, as well as the past several years with COVID, and American politics, and the wars that have started), and how timeless and prescient they feel. The issues at hand in these speeches are still issues at hand. Propaganda, freedom of speech, not giving into hatred, intellectual freedom, social justice, justice as a whole, human freedom, the role of an artist, etc – it all is as relevant today as it was in 1945, 1953, and 1957. We lost Albert Camus too early, too young. His words and wisdom are still needed to this day, and he should be essential reading for everyone. Not just artists.

Freedom is not a gift received from a State or a leader but a possession to be won every day by the effort of each and the union of all.

Albert Camus

My GoodReads Rating: ****
My LibraryThing Rating: ****.5
Global GoodReads Rating: 3.82 (as of 2.13.24)

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The name elicits a lot of mental imagery, the mustachioed man, the melting clocks, surrealism defined, etc. For most people you have this immediate mental image of him or his works. He is an iconic name in this age, or at least for those who know or have enjoyed artwork from the past century or so.

As I’ve stated on the blog here before, I’m not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to art; my knowledge of art is more confined to the world of comic books than it is to the world of ‘high art’. So thats partly why quick books like this one and the Essential Pablo Picasso are great little entry books for an art neophyte like myself.

But first, let’s talk about Savador Dalí; who he was, when he was born, when he died, what made him tick, etc.

As per the opening paragraphs of Wikipedia on Salvador Dali (quick biography):

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol gcYC (/ˈdɑːli, dɑːˈliː/;^[1] Catalan: [səlβəˈðo dəˈli]; Spanish: [salβaˈðoɾ daˈli];^[2] 11 May 1904 – 23 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.

Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements.^[3] He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his “nuclear mysticism” style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments.^[4]

Dalí’s artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork.^[5][6] His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial.^[7] His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.^[8][9]

There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí’s work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Wikipedia: Salvador Dali

He was born on May 11 1904 and died on January 23 1989. He is best known for his piece ‘The Persistence of Memory’. Dali was heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud and his ideas of dreams, father hood, castration, masturbation, and how the themes all interlink and interlock. He also became influenced by Frederick Nietzsche, and later became interested in and influenced by Catholicism and even nuclear physics and how that applies to art and life and time.

“The famous soft watches are nothing else but the tender, extravagant, solitary, paranoic-critical Camembert of time and space.”

Robert Goff – The Essential Salvador Dali

As mentioned, some of the central themes to Dali’s life was stuff touched upon by Sigmund Freud. Ideas, themes, illusions, dream meanings, etc are the ‘stuff’ of Freud that he lifted and used for his artwork. Using his own symbols and terminology that he and his friends crafted in surrealism (and from before), he incorporated them into his artwork. The putrefaction of items and ideas is one of the many symbols that he incorporated in his earlier works especially. Grasshoppers (which he had a phobia of), portraits of his own face / head, portraits of his father, excrement (feces on shorts, on buttocks, etc.), symbolism of masturbation, castration, clocks in states of disrepair showing the effects of time, ants and other such that lead to the putrefaction of items and symbols,

In a piece of work which might both scare and make my mother (a huge Elephant fan) happy, this is Salvador Dali’s “The Elephants”, created in 1948. The elephants are shown as a symbol of strength and are meant to represent the future.

The Face of War was drawn by Salvador Dali in the years of 1940 and 1941. A symbol of the Spanish Civil War and the looming threat of World War II. It shows the horrors, the trauma, the death, decay, and wickedness that is war personified.

The Enigma of Desire was drawn by Salvador Dali in 1929 and was his first piece of work sold by the Goeman’s Gallery. As in many of his works, you can find his own face in the artwork. The Enigma of Desire is meant to be a symbol of the mortality of humankind, of ourselves, of our loved ones (as in his mother, who had recently passed away, which this piece of artwork has the subtitle of ‘My Mother! My Mother! My Mother!).

Archaeological Reminiscence of “The Angelus” by Millet was painted by Salvador Dali from 1933 – 1935. It is currently housed (or lives at) The Dali Museum in America.

The Disintegration of The Persistence of Memory was Salvador Dali’s reworking of his original The Persistence of Memory. He created it in the years of 1952 – 1954.

Book Review

The Essential Salvador Dali by Robert Goff was published in 1998 to detail the history and life of both Salvador Dali and his work. The GoodReads back blurb on the book is:

For readers who have little time to spare and are averse to art-world jargon, this series aims to provide an entertaining guide to individual artists and pop culture. Each volume presents an account of the artist’s life, personal and professional anecdotes, concise definitions of cultural and social movements that shaped the artist’s work, and colour reproductions.

The Essential Salvador Dali (Robert Goff) – GoodReads

As I said earlier, and as I said in my review for The Essential Pablo Picasso (which you can read here: Book Review: The Essential Pablo Picasso by Ingrid Schaffner), I am not a huge ‘artsy fartsy smartsy’ kinda guy. I know some art, and I have seen my share of artwork (I know it when I see it), but I’m not the most intelligent about it. I took an Art Class in college (at HACC), and Amy and I did go to the Van Gogh Interactive Experience in Philadelphia this year – but still, my knowledge and understanding of art is pretty limited. I can understand (or guess) some symbols and meaning, but a lot will go over my head. I will freely admit all of this.

So books like this and The Essential Pablo Picasso and other art themed books I’ve been reading this year and the past two or three years, have been my attempts to educate myself a bit more on the subject. This is a great little, quick, easy read that helped me better understand Salvador Dali himself, and his artwork. It gives a run down of his life, as well as little off topic – but related – subject interests like his friendship with Lorca, his wife Gala, his homelife growing up, his place of birth, the Surrealism movement itself, etc. There is also artwork on nearly every other page with descriptions of the piece of work as well, which also helps get a better understanding of Dali and his works.

This was written (by Robert Goff) by someone who loves / loved and enjoys / enjoyed Salvador Dali and his works. Its not biased though, and doesn’t come off as a fanboy gushing; but as a descriptive look back over his life and works, but the ending shows why the author thinks that Dali is still worth considering, looking at, and appreciating; versus how some like Breton say he’s not worth looking into (and thats most likely due to personal reasons from Dali’s falling out with the Surrealism group).

Hardcore Dali fans and art enthusiasts might not get a ton of out this work, but I did, and I appreciated its thoroughness in a brief and quick and concise fashion. If you are interested in learning more about Salvador Dali than it is definitely worth picking up and reading (won’t take you more than an hour or two to read it).

My GoodReads Rating: ****
My LibraryThing Rating: ****
Global GoodReads Rating (as of 12.11.22): 4.00 ( **** )

For Other Book Reviews

For other recent book reviews, you can check out:

By myself – B. Kline:

• Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schultz)
• Book Review: Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
• Book Review: An Atlas of Tolkien (David Day)
• Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin)
• Book Review: The Art of Stillness – Adventures in Going Nowhere (Pico Iyer)
• Book Review: Life’s Journey According to Mister Rogers: Things To Remember Along the Way (Fred Rogers)
• Book Review: Plotted – A Literary Atlas (Andrew DeGraff)
• Book Review: On Bullshit (Harry G. Frankfurt)
• Book Review: On Freewill (Sam Harris)
• Book Review: Freewill Explained (Dan Barker)
• Book Review: The Essential Pablo Picasso (Ingrid Schaffner)

By Paul R. Kan:

• Book Review: Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us (Eli Revelle Yano Wilson and Asa B. Stone)

Thanks For Reading

Thank you everyone for reading the book review. Felt like it was time to do another book review, since its been a little spell since I’ve written some. Paul R. Kan messaged me the other day, and he too will be getting another book review for the blog, so be on the lookout for that – just as a heads up.

We had a big trip yesterday. Amy, Scarlet, and I traveled down to Virginia – to Fairfax Virginia for Chubby Squirrel Brewing, then to Sterling Virginia for Rocket Frog Brewing Company’s close out bash, then to Ashburn Virginia for both Lost Rhino Brewing and Old Ox Brewery. Look for a write – up on that either tonight or tomorrow (most likely tomorrow). You can check out our Instagram to see some of the pictures of that. It was a fun day with us getting to hit up four breweries (three of which were new to us). Its sad to see Rocket Frog Brewing Company closing, but was good to see them have a huge turn out for their Close Out Bash. All four of the breweries we hit up were animal named (Chubby Squirrel, Rocket Frog, Lost Rhino, Old Ox). Thinking of maybe doing an article on the crazy animal themed / named breweries we’ve come across. Who knows, be on the lookout for it if I do.

Once again, thank you everyone for checking us out. We love doing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, hike reviews, and book reviews here on the blog. So if any of these interest you – be sure to like, follow, and subscribe. Comment as well to let us know your thoughts and opinions – we always love hearing from all of you!

Until next time,

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

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The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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Shoveling is just one of those activities that requires a beer. And usually I try to go heavy or darker rather than light or IPA. Sometimes I try to be thematic like when I had Snow Tracks by New Trail. And I won’t lie, I once had Julius by Tree House for a shovel day beer too…. but still, typically, I try for darker beers. Stouts, porters, barleywines, wee heavies, dunkels, schwarzbiers, etc, etc. etc. There is just something about being out in the cold and shoveling that requires a darker, usually heavier, beer. Just like mowing requires a lighter, crispier, lower ABV beer, like pilsners, or wheat beers, or hefeweizens, etc, etc.

Shrug.

This came from the mix a six I had picked up at Breski’s Beverage back for the December snow storm that hit right after we went into our second shut down of 2021. I picked it largely because of two factors: 1) I love peanut butter in beers, and 2) Shaun of the Dead reference.

Snowstorms, beers, Shaun of the Dead, and Criticism

Firstly, I find this somewhat relevant and wanted to dive a bit into this before going into the actual review. So I hope you’ll allow me this slight divergent tangent before we head into the proper beer review. And by now, I’m sure anyone familiar with this blog knows I usually go off the rails a bit, on tangents, or rants, or side-notes and side-bars, and just completely random thoughts before getting to the beer review at hand. (But I do promise I always get to the review, have no fear.) I am currently finishing up a book called “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read” by Pierre Bayard, and the final chapter is about an essay Oscar Wilde wrote about criticism, critics, and NOT reading the books you are to criticize and review and all that.

The main thrust of Oscar Wilde’s essay is actually that criticism, and critics themselves, are writing about more than whatever it is they are reviewing, and being critical of and providing criticism on. That they are actually providing more writing, more insight, and more thought on themselves than the actual product (in his case of discussion – books). I found this quite interesting as I sat down to write today’s beer review after some strenuous picture taking of a beer outside in the snow and preparing myself for some actual arduous work of shoveling.

By the way, this is probably an accurate depiction of me taking a picture of my beer in the snow, if my neighbors happened to be looking out their windows:

I think it would be great fun if there was a collection of pictures of the people trying to take the perfect pictures for Untappd and other beer related apps and sites. I know I’d be guilty of looking ‘quite the fool’ at times trying to take this perfect beer picture.

Now, lets discuss Shaun of the Dead real quick before getting into the beer review. Firstly, if you have not seen it, go about your business…. no….. I mean, drop whatever you are doing (its freaking snowing in Central PA right now anyway!) and watch this movie. You don’t need to be a horror fan or horror buff (though it will help) to appreciate it. Simon Pegg is fantastic and a great comedic genius. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and World’s End are all fantastic. And any brewery hopper or pub crawler can appreciate World’s End immensely. Simon Pegg follows that fantastic British style of comedy and he has perfected it in a way that appeals to Americans greatly.

I won’t do a full breakdown on the movie, as I don’t think there’s a full need to do that here, but let me just say, its well worth your watching it. Worst case is, you start watching it, hate it, and you’re upset at some second rate beer reviewer on the internet (aka – me) and you vengefully take it out on me in the comments section. Shrug.

Moving on….

Great Barn Brewery

Before we dive into the beer, lets quick discuss the brewery. I think I’m going to make this a more regular section of the beers I review from now on. Devote a quick little heading and few paragraphs to the brewery of the beer itself. Instead of just a passing mention or something, I think this will be more helpful to people reading and not knowing the brewery in question (as often times I don’t even know the brewery before drinking the beer). And with the added features of subheadings on my new blog, this provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the breweries behind the beers we review here on The Beer Thrillers.

I have not yet been to Great Barn’s brewery location, but as a Pennsylvania brewery, and one within a two – to – three hour drive, its certainly on my list of places to visit. (Ah, who am I kidding, any brewery I haven’t been to before, no matter the distance, is on my list of breweries to visit…..). It is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania (Bucks County). According to the Great Barn Brewery’s Untappd page – they are a micro brewery from New Hope, with 61 unique beers. As of 2.1.21 they have 14,345 ratings with a global average rating of 3.51. Their Untappd description reads: “The Great Barn Brewery is located in historic upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania in Durham Township which is best known for forging cannon balls for the American Revolution and building the boat George Washington used to cross the Delaware in 1776. The brewery sits on a family owned farm that has been growing crops for hundreds of years. Our brewery’s founder, Stephen Ferguson, has owned the land for over 40 years and built its namesake barn by hand back in 1976, exactly 200 years after America’s Declaration of Independence. Now the 40 year old barn has been converted into a brewery to preserve this historic land as a working farm and bring the real flavor of Bucks County to life. Using grain grown right on the farm, Great Barn Brewery strives to brew beer that is uncomplicated, unadulterated, close to its source, and coming from the heart. The idea of simplicity is one of our basic principles. It’s about going back to the land and honoring the ingredients that naturally grow in abundance. It encompasses a fiercely independent spirit, like our forefathers before us, that is the complete opposite of mass produced products. Our philosophy requires that everything is handcrafted with extreme care and attention from basic raw ingredients. When it comes to making beer you need two things: great ingredients and great execution. By growing our own grain and sourcing local ingredients we ensure that our product represents the best of Bucks County.” For more information on them you can also check out their Facebook page here: Great Barn Brewery Facebook.

Beer Review: Dunkel Shaun

Beer: Dunkel Shaun
Brewery: Great Barn Brewery
Style: Dunkelweizen
ABV: 6.2%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)
Can Description: “A peanut butter and chocolate ale that tastes like a scrumptious creamy chocolate ice cream and peanut butter swirl. Bam! PA Preferred. Farm crafted. Brewed and packaged by Great Barn Brewery Kintnersville, Pennsylvania.”

Isn’t this just a beautiful looking beer and picture? Lovely brown – light brown – dunkel, bock, coloring. Brown to amber hue. Gorgeous off white to brown creamy foamy head with various and dispersed bubbles. Wonderful carbonation from the can. Transparent and translucent with no haze or sediment floating around.

This is a peanut butter beer straight from the smell. Much like Molly Pitcher’s Peanut Butter Porter, as soon as you crack the can you are hit with a “whooomphhh” of peanut butter aroma. Strong, heady, with some bready notes too. No smell of chocolate however.

This is a really ‘scrumptious’ beer – to steal a line from the can’s label. Its a beautiful looking beer, its clean looking, its an enjoyable beer. Before even sipping this you are hit with that wonderful aroma of peanut butter and then as you take that sip, your tongue is pummeled with the peanut butter just as your nose was. This is a very heavy peanut butter intense beer, which is fantastic and wonderful (if you like peanut butter beers – which I do – times a thousand); although here I’d like to point out that, unlike the can’s description, I didn’t taste a single bit of chocolate. Nothing. Not even a little smidgen of chocolate. Which is really ultimately fine with me, because the can label (minus that description) and title of the beer never implies that there would be chocolate in it, and I never expected it until I read that description. The flavor profile doesn’t exactly match of “peanut butter and chocolate ice swirl” but thats fine with me, I wasn’t expecting it, nor wanting the chocolate, and am happy with just the peanut butter. But marketing wise, I would likely drop the ‘chocolate’ mention on the can label, or do something different if you want to incorporate it, because I didn’t taste a single bit of chocolate in this. The beer is very nice, its not thick, its not cloying, it might be a slight bit on the watery and thin side, but nothing detractable and nothing that ultimately takes away from the taste. By the end of the beer, the peanut butter taste does taste as if its ‘flavor added’ rather than being natural ingredient throughout, but this isn’t really a super issue, its just something to note. I certainly enjoyed the beer, and it was well crafted and made, it has no off flavors, nothing astringent, no bad aftertaste, looked pretty, smelled great; all in all everything I look for in a well crafted beer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.81 (as of 2.1.21)

Well, its now become 4:30PM and its looking like its time for some more shoveling as the snow keeps falling (which means the beers will now keep adding up). I might even re-watch the Royal Rumble (2021) from last night, which was an enjoyable pay-per-view if you are all interested in that. (No worries, I won’t spoil anything here.) And to be honest, this is really the only time I truly pay attention to wrestling anymore (from Rumble to Mania). But first, I’m off to do some more shoveling, and probably enjoy another beer – I’,m thinking Hummelstown Lager by Rubber Soul Brewing from here in Hummelstown.

Let me know what you’re drinking to get through this snowstorm in the comments. And as always, make sure to check out our other articles and posts here on the site, from beer reviews, to brewery reviews, to news, there’s tons of things to read. Be sure to stick around a while, and hit the subscribe and follow buttons to be notified of new posts, and follow us on our social media pages!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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Day four of November means its time for the fourth blog post. Did you think I’d quit and stop now or slow down and not keep up my 30 for 30? Not damn well likely! We’re also doing another beer drank during a streaming session. This time, came from a night of Drew, Rory, and myself, hanging out on the couch drinking (well, Drew and I drank; Rory was participating in Sober October), while Rory played ‘The Last of Us’. A zombie game for the PS4 (PlayStation 4).

I chose to lead off with this for this particular streaming session primarily because it is pure ‘nerd culture’ can label. And I always love good can art, and always really hope it correlates with a good beer. Luckily and thankfully this one does.

Nerd culture definitely speaks to me. Look at my numerous beer reviews on here that are Star Wars themed, or video game themed, or some TV show themed. Jon Voight’s Car, Out of Order – Blue Milk, Moon of Vega, This is the Way, This is Nut The Fluff You’re Looking For, etc. You can see Josh also is very fond of nerd culture / pop culture and beers clashing with his latest review – Terpenes in Time.

Don’t worry this won’t be the last in that vein – if you’re interested in that. Especially this month where I’m doing 30 blog posts, so you will be definitely getting a lot of beer reviews, and so there will be a fair amount of nerdy, pop culture, or mainstream movies / shows / references in the beers I review.

Beer: Super Villain
Brewery: Urban Village Brewing Company
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Loads of oats and milk sugar give this IPA great mouth feel. Hop blend of Vic Secret, Mosaic and Motueka pair up with this for a super juicy IPA

My camera angle isn’t the best because I was taking it looking down from the couch, but, this is similar to that of nearly all other New England IPAs. Its golden yellow / orange and very cloudy, murky, dank. The head wasn’t much and was gone pretty quickly, but it did leave nice lacing on the glass. Everything seems to be on style and on point.

Aroma is that lovely hop juicy-ness of New England IPAs. You get some nice hop aroma from this, a blend of fruity mango, passionfruit, peach, with a hint of melon. No earthy, and no pine to this. You get some note of vanilla or sweetness to.

This is extremely juicy and very super smooth despite how it looks like you could kind of chew it. Its certainly opaque and not one bit transparent and murky and dank looking, cloudy, like most typical New England IPAs are, but it drinks incredibly smooth and silky like. Most likely from the milk sugar and lactose. This is probably borderline a Milkshake IPA or possibly could even be described as that all but in the style used to name it on Untappd. This is a very fruity juicy New England IPA from the hops selected. Vic Secret, Mosaic, and Mouteka. Notes of mango, peach, and melon are most abundant, with some more subtle notes of passionfruit and a wee bit of grapefruit. (Thankfully not much more than subtle grapefruit, as I’m not a huge fan.) You get the smoothness and softness of the drink from the combined milk sugar and oats used. There is a creaminess to it in that smoothness and softness. The milk sugar gives off a lactose vanilla like flavor that also is subtle, but due to the smoothness you take notice of it. The oats make it have that softness to the drink that helps round it out too. Its also not a crazy high ABV at 6.5% so it’s a nice pint that won’t leave you fully buzzed after just one can. This is a fun drink; from the can label down to the last sip, which did leave a bit of sediment in the glass (I don’t recommend drinking that). All in all a great beer and one to look forward to again.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.92 (as of 11.4.20)

As always, you can check out the video game streaming we do on Drew’s page: Knights of Nostalgia.

You can check out the tabs at the top of each page to visit our BEER REVIEWS, BEER EDUCATION, TRAVELOGUES, etc. Be sure to check out all the latest beer reviews, as we’re pumping a lot out in recent time.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Cheers!

-B. Kline