Monday, September 28, 2015

What is Present Tense?

Present Tense Fine Ales is an aspiring brewery with the goal of establishing Chicago as a premier destination for real English ales. We have a passion for English beer and culture; admiring the brewing tradition and innovations of the English as well as their pub culture and sense of community.

The name Present Tense originated from Tyler's love of Pearl Jam and their song by that name but has come to represent so much more than that and the phrase "the present tense" can actually be found throughout literature and history. "Present Tense" is the idea of the here and now, and is a call to not live in regret of the past or in anxiety of the future. It is a charge to be who you are, where you are and with the people you find yourself with. And if you happen to have a pint of beer in your hand, even better.

The Pulitzer Prize winning author, Annie Dillard, in her 1974 non-fiction narrative "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," she describes the present in terms of existence and explains that the moment we begin to verbalize the experience in our brain, it is gone. Just a few pages later she goes on by expressing her desire for more time, more now experiences by stating she is "in the market for some present tense." And so are we. Loving and cherishing the present moments we have whether they be alone or with others, staring at a beautiful landscape or listening to a magnificent opera; we are about the present tense and we invite you to join us.

Our love of beer, and passion for the present is what has driven us to pursue traditional English ales and the pub culture that is so synonymous with that region. These "real ales" were created to be enjoyed over a long period of time accompanying good conversation. Our desire is to create a space, a second home, for people to come and enjoy the present while chatting with old friends or meeting entirely new ones, all with a delicious pint in hand. And here lies the power of the pint. The power to unite complete strangers with the common ground of a pint, and the present.

So, "present tense" is an ideal, a passion, a journey, a charge, a call to rest. It is a call to remind ourselves  and others, that most of the time, all we need to do is slow down and take life in. Stop running from past failure and toward future dreams but live firmly rooted in today and confident that there is no better place to be.