Oktoberfest Revolution

Hey friends, we just got back from Yakima, WA. For breweries, hop harvest is like a little trip to the promised land – not just because we get to walk the fields, smell the hops, and learn about the newest varietals. We also reconnect with truly great people – folks like the Carpenters, Perraults, and Roys – who have been growing hops for 5 or 6 generations. These guys are not just our growers...

Over the past decade, they've also become our friends.

Hops are what got me into this business. (Or maybe you could say, pastoring got me into the people business; then gardening got me into growing hops; then brewing got me into the fly-fishing-pastor-from-Missoula-moves-to-Texas-to-plant-a-church-and-start-a-brewery business... and somehow, God's involved in all of it).

At any rate, every fall where I can manage to sneak away to Yakima, I am renewed: This is why I do this!

I believe beer brings people together. Without farmers, there would be no beer. But without people, there would be no friends to drink it with. (And without God, who generously sends rain and sun for both the righteous and the wicked alike, we'd have none of these things.)

So Oktoberfest is really a celebration of all these things – food, farmers, friendship, and BEER! (And both for farmers and for Lazarus, faith plays a part in there too.)

This past trip to Yakima, I realized something else as well. I don't know about you, but often when I listen to the news, it feels like the world gets crazier every day (and just when you think it can't get any worse... it gets worse!).

But when we were out in Yakima two weeks ago, I was reminded that agriculture – while definitely subject to drought, famine, climate change, etc. – is largely immune to the emotional ups and downs of political news cycles that seem to influence us so significantly. The sun shines. The rains come. Hops and barley grow. Harvest happens every fall, like it has for centuries. People celebrate. And at the end of the day, we get beer and bread to help make things a little better as we share this life together. 

The moral of this story (if there is one) is just this: we may not be able to change the world, but we can still work to make our places in it a little bit better. And one of the best ways to start is by grabbing a beer with a friend and sitting down together to celebrate everything GOOD that has happened in this past year, to remind ourselves of how much providence there is in this world.

Perhaps it is possible to view Oktoberfest as a protest movement, an opportunity for a quiet moment of gratitude to the God who sustains this world, and of faith that he will someday redeem it completely.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself this harvest season as I hoist a pint of Katie's Pride. And I'm inviting you to join me in this little revolutionary optimism.

So three cheers for hops, and farmers, and friends, and beer!

Note: Oktoberfest at Lazarus (both locations) is in full swing the next two weekends.

If you live within driving distance of Austin, TX, I'd invite you to grab a friend and come celebrate all that is still GOOD in this world! (please check the schedule if you want to catch the live music and stein hoisting)

If you DON'T live within driving distance of Austin, you can still engage in the revolution by visiting our online store and ordering some Lazarus coffee, merch, swag, etc. We'll be happy to ship it to you.

And no matter where you live, please share us on social media and with your friends – there's so much happening in Austin on any given weekend, it always helps to have grassroots word of mouth buzz to help cut through the noise.

Lot more to say, but I've got work to do.

Cheers,
Christian & Marilyn