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Uncle Doug's Pour Decisions, 3676 Wells Street, Fort Wayne, IN (2026)

03/31/2026

Citra City-High Rise DDH DIPA, Hoosier Brewing Company

The last few years have not been kind to the craft beer industry. Beginning in the early 1980’s, the industry grew from a few dozen small, independent brewers to around 1800 in 2010 and then around 7500 by 2018. That level of nearly exponential growth was never sustainable.

Today, according to the Brewers Association, there are 9,778 craft breweries in operation in the U.S. A substantial number to be sure, but since 2024 annual closures of breweries have outpaced openings and sales have fallen 4-5% each of the last two years. While craft brewing still accounts for almost 25% of total beer sales, the sector is undergoing an often painful period of consolidation. Hoosier Brewing Co. was one of the casualties of that transition. This is most unfortunate as their Citra City IPA is delightful.

A seasonal IPA in the best sense of the word, Citra City-High Rise pours a hazy wheaten gold with a snow-white, persistent head like an ice cream float before fading into a pleasant lacing. You are greeted with a big fresh hops aroma as you raise the glass. The first impression is fresh and modestly sweet, with a hint of corn from the robust malt base. This provides a creamy mouthfeel with a silky finish. Well-chosen hops present with citrus and notes of pepper and just enough bitterness to balance the sweet malts. The most lasting impression is a spring-like freshness. At 55 IBU, this is on the mild side for a DIPA but 8% ABV means it is not a session beer. Savor it slowly.

This is an approachable DIPA that manifests energy and renewal more than weight or intensity. To take advantage of that at the table, pair it with light to moderate flavors that will let Citra City’s balance and clarity shine through. A spring brunch outdoors would be an ideal venue. Simple sauteed whitefish with a squeeze of lemon juice, grilled chicken with herbs and some goat cheese and crackers on the side. Or dress things up a bit and try some tarragon crusted pork chops, a pea and mint risotto, or angel hair pasta with olive oil, garlic, and lemon with sauteed shrimp. Avoid fatty meats, rich sauces, spicy heat, or overly sweet desserts.

After a long winter, Citra City arrives as a welcome sign of renewal. There will still be chill days ahead and grey rains, but each day brings more daylight and a bit more warmth. The daffodils are in bloom, the morning is filled with birdsong, and the dining room table is covered in seed catalogues. The chores - house cleaning, picking up the yard - are somehow lighter than the equivalent fall preparations.

Try as we might, we cannot separate ourselves from the cycles of nature that enfold us. We rise to the light after a stubborn winter of sloth. Perhaps this can apply to Hoosier Brewing as well. While the Greenwood, Indiana facility has closed, there is discussion of opening a new facility nearby.

Spring is a time of promise and with a bit of luck there will be more brews like Citra City-High Rise coming our way in the near future.

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03/04/2026

Manana de Mallorca - brewerskitchenbeer

Brewers Kitchen is not a typical brewer; it is an internal experimental brand for Pilot Project Brewing which bills itself as a beverage incubator-helping to launch and scale independent brewers from locations in Chicago and Milwaukee. While maintaining a high level of craftsmanship, they are dedicated to brewing beers that are a “nod to the meals, moments, and people that shaped us along the way.” It’s a wonderful philosophy, and Manana de Mallorca is a delightful beer that has emerged from it.

Classified as an American IPA, it is a far cry from the stereotypical aggressively hopped brews that emphasize the bitter and pine notes. Instead, this is a masterfully balanced beer that is built for nuance and conversation rather than punch. The name refers to herbal tea from Mallorca. Brewer’s Kitchen took a basic IPA and infused it with this Spanish tea to produce something that transcends easy categorization but never loses your attention.

A solid 7% ABV, it shows off copper in the glass with a light tan head. The aroma carries mild but piquant hops - enough to entice but not overwhelm. The first impression is full- bodied but soft and rounded with a slightly chewy mouthfeel. Mild tropical notes, perhaps a bit of melon, mingle with an herbaceous character that is also restrained but enjoyable. The finish is long and gentle with a modest hops presence that refreshes the palate for the next taste. The elements remain centered- always interesting but never ostentatious. This is a beer that is conversational rather than assertive.

This makes for a very food friendly pint that invites pairing rather than challenges it. Start with a fresh summer salad-lightly dressed- broiled or pan seared white fish with a light citrus drizzle, and some mild Brie or goat cheese for a pleasant spring table. Perhaps go a bit further afield and try a Thai green curry with Vietnamese spring rolls or a grain bowl of farro with roasted zucchini and peppers with some lemon and tahini. In each case, the balance of this beer complements the light flavors of the dish without overwhelming.

Being this centered seems a good goal for a life as well as beer. When you reach a stage of life where there are more yesterdays than tomorrows in store, you begin to find more value in balance. The kids grow and launch, you’ve ceased chasing the next big promotion, and you look around and realize there are so many things that, for one reason or another, you put off until manana - a day that never arrives. You could despair at that and mourn all the lost opportunities, or you could take this third act to add back some balance to a life spent focused outwardly. It can be a challenging transition but rewarding.

In the last couple of years I have begun practicing Tai Chi, learning a musical instrument, and writing this eclectic tasting journal. It took a significant nudge from my wife to get me to see the benefit in doing something new simply for the pleasure of it without any utilitarian purpose, but I did it. I may never get really good at any of it, but so what? We place far too much emphasis on mastery over study and practice. You cannot control your tomorrows, but you can step up and try something new. Add balance. Turn them into yesterdays that you will always cherish.

03/01/2026

Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale - Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.

Cream ales are a unique American hybrid- and something of an etymological confusion- originating in the 19th century to compete with European lagers and pilsners. A cream ale is traditionally fermented like an ale but then cold conditioned like a lager. The end result is a classic summer brew that is more approachable than many ales but with a little more character than light lagers it was meant to rival. The confusing aspect is that they contain no lactose nor do they have an especially creamy mouthfeel.

Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale goes one step further and takes advantage of the clean profile and light sweetness of a cream ale to add some fruit and complexity while maintaining the easy drinking qualities that make this style so popular. It’s a crushable pint that aims for conviviality more than technical showmanship.

At 5.5% ABV, this would work just fine as a session ale. The pour is a rich amber in color. A warm malty nose with undertones of citrus greets you as you raise your glass. Soft and rounded on the palate with a gentle, satiny texture. Vanilla and tangerine are predominant but only modestly sweet. A light hops presence on the pleasantly lingering finish balances very well with the gentle sweetness. Approachable without being bland.

At the table, this is a beer that is all about ensemble; an unpretentious brew that works well with a wide variety of dishes. Grilled chicken with a light citrus marinade or herb-roasted pork-not sweet barbeque. If you want to elevate the meal a bit, this would be delightful with shrimp scampi where the tangerine notes would pair well with the lemon and the vanilla would smooth out the garlic. A light summer salad-arugula, orange segments and goat cheese-would be ideal.

Given its soft structure, avoid heavy desserts where the sweet-on-sweet would become cloying. Fiery spices, smoky or charred notes, and strong cheeses would be overpowering here.

This is a beer made for the bright days of late spring and summer. It would be a perfect brunch choice for Mother’s Day. While light and fun, it also evokes a happy nostalgia.

The first sip took me back to childhood when we waited on the porch expectantly listening for the sound of the ice cream truck. The first faint notes of the canned music letting us know that one of the high points of a long summer day was getting closer. The anticipation of seeing it turn the corner onto our street and racing down the block to be first in line when it stopped. Reading every line on the menu even though you already knew you would get a Dreamsicle-you always get a Dreamsicle. Then taking that first lick of ice cream-savoring the sugary chill and trying to find that sweet spot between making the treat last as long as possible but not let it melt down your arm.

Adulthood carries its own complications, it is comforting to remember a time when the biggest challenge you had was catching the ice cream truck. Open a Tangerine Cream Ale, grab a friend or two, and revisit the best part of a long ago summer.

02/19/2026

40th Anniversary Expedition Stout
Big, boozy and badass

Bell's Brewery is one of the oldest craft brewers in the United States. Opening in 1985 as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company, they have been on the leading edge of the craft beer wave since the beginning. The first Expedition Stout was brewed in 1989 and was one of the first Russian Imperial Stouts produced in the U. S. It has been in production ever since and Bell’s claims it as the longest continuously brewed Imperial Stout in North America. It makes sense that this is the brew Bell’s chose to highlight their 40th anniversary.

Imperial stouts, even at their most modest, push boundaries. 40th Anniversary Expedition leans unapologetically into excess of both brewing and barrel aging. At 13.9% ABV it is a pint that is meant to be enjoyed with a bit of swagger rather than reflection. Pitch black in the glass with almost no head, the first impression is a mildly boozy bourbon nose. The palate is all bourbon with no attempt at balance, just power. There is perhaps a hint of chocolate sweetness on the finish, but it is difficult to pull that out from the alcohol heat. This is effectively bourbon with a few bubbles.

As such, it really is not a table beer. It is a pint that simply overpowers anything else it might be served with. Some particularly forgiving dishes, say pizza or tacos, may survive the encounter, but a harmonious pairing is not in the cards. 40th Anniversary is simply too alcohol-forward for the table and too hot for dessert. This is a beer that is about ritual more than food. It is meant to be drunk with a bit of theatricality. Rather than the table, this would be at home around a campfire. A small pour sipped slowly in the evening chill with friends and conversation.

For my part, I am simply not partial to any beer that requires a chaser. If you want a massive stout that impresses with its intensity, this is exactly what 40th Anniversary Expedition delivers. It is all about dramatic impact from the first sip. Nothing wrong with that. Ritual- and a certain amount of one-upmanship- have always been part of drinking culture.

I now prefer balance and disciplined restraint to testing boundaries. The experience matters more than the display. The beer takes pride of place, but it works in concert with the food, the place, the people, all contributing to the memory that will remain long after the beer is gone. For me at least, this is where the real pleasure derives. The stories, jokes, and unexpected moments of insight that come along with the glass. The beer facilitating and encouraging interaction rather than being the subject of the conversation.

Am I just getting old? Yep, without a doubt. But along with that is an equilibrium that allows for a greater discernment of what truly matters. There is nothing left to prove and no one I need to impress. And no need to judge. Taste is always subjective. If you are looking for a badass brew that commands your attention, 40th Anniversary Expedition delivers.

02/12/2026

No Training Wheels

Russian imperial stouts are an interesting style. There is no real consensus on what qualifies as Russian Imperial Stout and there are multiple stories surrounding the origin. Regardless of the details, The Brooklyn Brewery identifies this one as an RIS and it delivers.

At 12.4% ABV and 70 IBU, this is a stout that has unapologetically taken the training wheels off. Barrel aging in Four Roses Small Batch bourbon barrels for at least three months does nothing to tame this pint but add body and layers of complexity. A picture perfect pour of Stygian black with a thick, creamy head is followed by a sweet, boozy nose that is heavy with rich bourbon notes.

Soft and smooth on the palate, the first impression is dry and well balanced. Pleasantly warming, this is an ideal winter pour. The roast malts and bourbon notes harmonize with neither overpowering the other. The more typical chocolate, caramel and fruit are muted almost to nonexistence, lost among the robust hops, bourbon and char. The result is a complexity of taste that is greater than the sum of its parts. The finish is very dry, almost astringent, with a touch of vanilla and heavy oak. The barrel aging provides a depth and structure to this beer that is unusually rich.

At first glance, this beer may seem too much to comfortably reside at the table. It could certainly work as an after-dinner tipple. But the complexity of this one allows it to fill the same role as a dry, oak driven red wine-an Old World Cabernet or an intense Barolo. The dry oaky finish here would delight in pairing with protein, smoke, fat and char.

Smoked brisket, burnt ends or smoked beef ribs would be ideal pairings but skip the sauce. Game would be right at home as would simply cooked hearty beef dishes - a pot roast, short ribs or good ribeye. It would clash with sweetness or heavy spice or acidity. Savor it slowly with the main course and don’t try to extend it to dessert.

Stouts are my go-to pint to get me through the winter. A seasonal comfort beer if you will. Despite living in the Great Lakes region my entire life, I have never quite become comfortable with winter. It’s not the cold or the snow; simply dress for the weather. What I have always struggled with is the gloom, between the short days and seemingly perpetual clouds it is possible to go a week or more and never see the sun. As we pass Imbolc and the days begin to appreciably lengthen it makes even the coldest days easier to get through. With the return of the light those stouts become less about solace and more bracing invigoration as I start to look ahead to spring and summer on the distant horizon. Black Ops can carry that weight, in this blackest of pints there is a warmth that will carry you through the rest of the winter with not just endurance but optimism, something we can all use.

02/05/2026

More than it sounds like.

Craft breweries tend to be a little idiosyncratic and a step or two outside the mainstream. This is certainly the case with Lost Coast Brewery, where Barbara Groom left a career in pharmaceutical sales to start brewing-both heavily male-dominated fields. From modest beginnings they have grown into an award winning regional brewer with a wide range of styles. Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout shows those awards are well-earned.

Milk (also called cream or sweet) stouts are so called because they are brewed with added lactose (milk sugar). Since yeast cannot metabolize lactose this results in a finished ale that is often lower in ABV but with a very rich sweet flavor and a creamy mouthfeel. Traditionally, milk stouts were favored in England-where they were considered so nourishing they were recommended for pregnant women.

When craft brewing took off in America, milk stouts were one of the older traditional styles that innovative brewers took as a canvas for new ideas about what a beer could be.

Lost Coast Chocolate Peanut Butter Milk Stout is a surprisingly approachable stout. At 5.6% ABV it is right in line with most mass market beers, but it stands out as a disciplined stout; full bodied and expressive but refrains from sprawling into dessert beer excess.
It pours midnight black in the glass and greets you with a roasty peanut nose. The expectation is for a confectionery sweetness but this is very much a grown-up stout and surprisingly dry and drinkable. The chocolate and peanut notes are well balanced and restrained. Underneath there is a bit of mild coffee and just the merest hint of salt that ties it all together. Rich and rounded on the palate you can savor the satiny mouthfeel leading to a mildly sharp, short finish that leaves you ready for the next taste.

While not as sweet as a pastry stout, this works best alongside the dessert course. It would be at its best with some simple vanilla ice cream, salted chocolate mousse, or a dark chocolate tart. As with other stouts, avoid overly sweet desserts, highly spiced or acidic dishes, or delicate flavors that would be overwhelmed.

While today beer and brewing is associated with masculinity and female founders are still very much in the minority, for most of history all aspects of brewing were very much the domain of women. Around the world, from Egypt to Mexico to China, the traditional deities that invented brewing and gave the knowledge to mankind were all female. The Romans reported that the mead so favored by the Germanic tribes was brewed by women and St. Hildegard of Bingen is credited with adding hops to beer as a preservative.

As industrialization became the norm and brewing moved out of the home, women were forced out of the business. With that change came the cultural changes that made beer into a “man’s drink”-predominantly in western culture. This is not unusual. In much the same way that pink was considered a masculine color and blue a feminine one until about the 1930’s. How we view ourselves is always an outgrowth of an ever-changing culture and though it may seem immutable to us in the moment, a little wider view shows a much more nuanced reality. Don’t let anyone gatekeep you away from something you love. There is almost always historical precedent for your choice and life is too short to sacrifice your authenticity.

Drink your reality and share it with a friend.

02/03/2026

For the end of the quest

The phrase dragon’s milk has been used since at least the sixteenth century to describe various high-ABV ales. It originated in medieval folk tales, where dragon’s milk was considered a fitting reward for a knight who successfully completed a quest.

Over time, the term came to refer more generally to the best ale in the house - something to savor at celebrations and milestones. New Holland Brewing Co. drew on that tradition when it introduced this barrel-aged stout. It aims high and largely does justice to the name.

A barrel-aged imperial stout weighing in at a solid 11% ABV, this is a pint that insists you take your time with it. Dark mahogany in the glass, it greets you with a boozy nose and hints of raisin.

The first sip is rich and modestly sweet, with a pleasant alcohol warmth. Smooth and slightly viscous on the palate, it carries notes of chocolate and coffee, with undertones of bourbon and vanilla from its ninety days in bourbon barrels. Everything rests on a sturdy malt backbone that ties the flavors together.

As the glass warms in your hand, Dragon’s Milk grows slightly sweeter, finishing with a satisfying linger that never quite tips into cloying.

A pint this rich and layered is better suited as a digestif than a table beer, filling the same space as a good brandy, a splendid capstone to an evening.

It pairs best with simple but rich desserts like vanilla or chocolate cheesecake. If you’d rather skip sweets, it also works beautifully with salty cheeses such as Stilton or Roquefort.

Avoid citrus or spicy dishes, which will fight it for dominance and lighter fare that simply can’t stand up to an ale this robust.
With a name like Dragon’s Milk and its historical connection to chivalry, it’s no surprise the beer has been embraced by tabletop role-playing communities, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. New Holland has leaned into this, producing several brews that nod to the D&D ethos, which is rooted in collaborative storytelling.

Storytelling has been central to human experience since before recorded history and remains so today. More often than not, those early stories involved mysterious and possibly dangerous creatures, shared around a fire with enough beer to keep the storyteller elaborating and the listeners reassured. It wasn’t just entertainment; it was planning, bonding, and building trust - keeping the unknown at bay until morning.

We honor that tradition today with more elaborate forms - films with multimillion-dollar budgets, sprawling franchises, shelves of novels - but the collective act of building a story together with friends still matters. Creating something larger than any one person could imagine, hoarding dice and delving into rulebooks and sharing the best in the house makes for a perfectly modern quest.

Gather your fellowship, dream your story and reward yourself with a Dragon’s Milk.

01/22/2026

The best beers are the ones that make room for other things.

There are several ways to approach the brewing of craft beer. Almost all craft brewers began as homebrewers, encouraged by friends to share their beer. From that point, the paths diverge, though they are not mutually exclusive. Some brewers focus on perfecting traditional styles, meticulously tweaking their work to approach a Platonic ideal of an IPA. Others take a more experimental approach, guided by a “why not?” attitude and a desire to create something new. Burn 'Em Brewing leans toward the experimental end of that spectrum.

Burn ’Em cites its mission as “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” I wasn’t really looking for a personality inventory when I chose this pint, but I found Red Zeppelin to be a very comfortable beer. Make of that what you will. An approachable red ale, it pours a rich amber and greets you with a subtly sweet aroma. Malt-forward but dry, it carries a bit of tang before a mildly bitter, palate-cleansing finish. At 6.2% ABV it is not exactly a session beer, but it is an easy-drinking one - a beer for conversation and catching up with friends over a pint, or three.

Like most red ales, it is versatile at the table. It’s a flexible companion that keeps everything moving without demanding the center of attention. As such, it pairs well with American pub fare—burgers, pizza, mac and cheese, or meatloaf—as well as more traditional dishes like shepherd’s pie or Welsh rarebit. Any hearty plate that avoids sweet or highly spiced sauces would be at home here. Most seafood would be too delicate, and heavy desserts tend to push the balance off-center.

This is a beer that is not extreme, not trendy, not precious - it’s brewed to be shared with old friends and to help make new ones. That has always been one of beer’s purposes. The oldest written recipe for anything is a detailed description of how to brew a primitive beer. The Sumerian Hymn to Ninkasi, dating to around 1800 BCE, celebrates beer not only as nourishment but as integral to society - a divine gift on par with fire.

Today, we would likely find Ninkasi’s beer something of an acquired taste (several brewers have recreated versions of it), and we’ve dialed back the notion of divinity in a can of suds. But the community-building role of beer remains. This is nowhere more evident than in local breweries and pubs, where the person handing you a pint across the bar may well be the one who brewed it. Look around most taprooms and you’ll see a cross-section of the community - generally welcoming and inclusive, if a bit idiosyncratic.

It’s easy to lose sight of that community when we focus on ABV, IBU, or the minutiae of hop cultivars. As a fan of beer, all of those things matter, but when I think of the most satisfying pints, it isn’t the beer that stands out so much as the conversation, the smiles, and the shared experience - watching the big game (go IU!), the neighborhood BBQ, or pizza after helping a friend move into new digs. Beer thrives on community, and some of the best communities thrive at the local microbrewery.

Drink fresh. Drink local. Drink with friends.

01/08/2026

Centlivre Dark Lager - 2Toms Brewing, Fort Wayne, IN

Some beers are interesting because they are new, some because they were almost lost.

It is common knowledge that the brewing tradition in America - like almost all American traditions - was brought to these shores by immigrants. The long historical brewing tradition of Germany is most prominent among them, with names like Busch, Coors, Anheuser, and Miller founding breweries in the nineteenth century and still producing millions of gallons each year. But not all brewers were German. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, a brewer from France, Charles Louis Centlivre, founded the French Brewery in 1862. It operated for over a century in the Summit City and, at its peak, produced 250,000 barrels per year. In 1973, by then known as the Old Crown Brewing Company, it finally succumbed - as so many regional breweries did to - the scale and marketing muscle of national mass-market producers and closed its doors.

The rise of the craft beer movement beginning in the 1990s led to a rebirth of local beers and historic styles. One of these resurrections took place in Fort Wayne when 2Toms Brewing Company (which interestingly has only one Tom) partnered with the Centlivre family to relaunch historic local beers and link contemporary brewing to the city’s roots. Centlivre Dark Lager is one of these rediscovered gems.

At 4.6% ABV, this works as a splendid session beer. Dark bronze in the glass with a pleasantly refreshing hop nose, it gives the appearance of a Scotch ale but drinks like an easygoing lager. Bright and crisp on first taste, roasted and toasty notes follow, with a hint of coffee on the finish. Light-bodied and dry, it carries the visual promise of a stout without the weight.

That makes it a very friendly table beer. This style of dark lager works well with typical pub fare - burgers, pizza, fish and chips, or tacos. A slightly more elevated table could feature grilled pork chops or blackened chicken. Avoid excessive sugary glazes, acidic sauces, heavy spice, or delicate seafood, and this brew is perfectly comfortable. It is what one reaches for when you want something interesting, but also want more than one.

French brewing culture is easy to overlook, but it has deep historical roots. Pliny the Elder wrote of the many types of beer consumed by the Gauls, though he used local terms (cervesia), as classical Latin had no word for beer. To the Romans - and the Greeks - beer was a drink fit only for barbarians; civilized people drank wine. Even so, Rome incorporated Gaul into the empire, bringing the wine culture of southern Europe with it. Brewing never entirely disappeared, however, with robust traditions persisting in what is now Flanders in the north and Alsace in the east. French beer historically reflected seasonality, with most brewed on local farms and consumed very fresh. Often flavored with local botanicals lieu of hops to make gruit. Today, France remains an agricultural powerhouse and is the world’s largest exporter of brewing malt.

France’s single greatest contribution to brewing was the work of Louis Pasteur. He elucidated the process of fermentation and how to control it, and introduced pasteurization, allowing beer to remain stable over long distances. He quite literally wrote the book on modern scientific brewing, Études sur la bière, in 1876. The next time you pick up an Irish stout or a German bock brewed an ocean away, it is worth remembering the Frenchman who made it possible.

À votre santé.

01/04/2026

Viking Runes - Dansk Mjod, Billund, Denmark

For absent friends and long roads.

On January 3 in 1892, in Bloemfontein South Africa, the father of modern high fantasy JRR Tolkien was born. One of the most profoundly influential authors in English literature, it has become a tradition among academics and lay fans alike to take a moment on this day to toast The Professor. In his memory, today I raise a glass of Viking Runes and drink to the creator of Middle Earth. I think he would find it a fitting choice.

Viking Runes is a Danish mead, in this case a melomel, that is really a wine rather than a beer but delicious nevertheless. At 19% ABV it also does the trick as a winter warmer. It pours a deep burgundy, like heart’s blood. Smooth and slightly viscous with no carbonation. One is greeted by a tart cherry aroma with a hint of spice. Soft and silky on the palate, it presents with a sweet cherry note that is followed by a piquant dose of Tasmanian pepper that pulls it back from becoming cloying. It finishes long and sweet-tart, like the memory of a lost love.

While it could pair well with roast duck or game, its role is not so much a table wine as it is the final act that brings an evening to a close. An after dinner pour to savor over cheese or chocolate with remembrance more than conversation. Rich and layered with depth, it is a fitting companion for Tolkien’s most famous works; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Yet, the world of Middle Earth - perhaps the most extravagant exercise of world building in the history of literature- began as simple bedtime stories for Tolkien’s children, never intended for publication. Tolkien always considered himself an academic and was in fact a linguistics professor at Oxford. That he did not consider his Middle Earth stories his main occupation is, I believe, what became the great strength of these works. He was writing unselfconsciously for what he considered an uncritical audience which allowed deeper themes to emerge from beneath his quintessential English reserve.

He was a man of faith, a committed Catholic (and influential in the conversion of no less a champion than C. S. Lewis) but also deeply suspicious of human hierarchies and political authorities. While he, in his own words, considered himself a man “of too much imagination and little physical courage” he nonetheless served as an officer in World War One fighting in the Battle of the Somme before being invalided back to England. Most of all he was keenly aware of the corrupting nature of power, whether that be political, financial, or physical. He was complicated and at times contradictory, in short - human. All of this can be seen in the stories and characters of Middle Earth, in large part because he was not writing with the expectation that it would ever be taken seriously. Not trying to expound on or defend a particular point of view.

All of both the flaws as well as the glories of human nature are front and center in his characters. As with any great work of literature, this allows the reader to find almost anything one wishes. Arguments about environmentalism, race, politics, and religion have all found citation in the works. I believe this would have astounded Tolkien. His themes as an author were much simpler and more profound; friendship, duty, courage, hope when despair would be easier. Frodo doesn’t want to carry the ring, Aragorn does not want to assume the throne of Gondor, Sam doesn’t have any wish to leave the Shire. But, their friends need them. Duty calls them. They go. And they return bearing scars, changed from the experience. Duty has a cost. Most importantly, they return knowing that everything accomplished was because of the Fellowship-alone, all would have failed.

May we all find our own Fellowship to walk with us on the difficult portions of our journey. And when someday we look back and reflect on what it all meant, raise a glass of Viking Runes to absent friends and unexpected paths.

Uncle Doug's Pour Decisions

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