The "why" behind the beer name selection process
by David Elwell
Our mission at Aviator is to use craft food and beverages to connect people with their history, purpose, potential and others. My goal with the beer label art is just that.
Sometimes it’s a reference. Other times it's a story. And if you’ve ever met a pilot, you can attest that there’s certainly no shortage of stories to share. So why do we select the names that we do? Well, it all comes down to making a connection.
If you think back to your most vibrant memories, you probably have a scene in your mind summarizing each event. I remember a late summer afternoon in rural Western NY when I was probably 16 yrs old. The weather was perfect: warm but not hot, sunny, and breezy. The skies were a true blue, and the cumulus clouds were perfectly white and evenly distributed. I remember I was standing on our lawn between our massive fir tree and one of my dad’s oversized gardens. I had just finished mowing the grass (with a push mower of course). I was excited to go to youth group that evening -backyard soccer, cute girls, and meaningful friends. I remember marveling at the smell of the fresh mowed grass with the clean air, and I just felt like all was right in the world. I don’t remember any other meaningful details, but I can still feel that moment.
My mind’s eye more or less captured those thoughts and feelings in a single memory -in a single scene. Individually, our minds are full of these snippets. When our memories are similar to another’s memory or imagination, these snippets can overlap to cause a shared emotion. I hope as you read my honest recollection from my youth you can connect in some way with the wholesomeness of that moment. To me, military aviation is full of these same types of experiences.
The Aviator's mind's eye
Many an aviator can conjure up the smell of the flight line (“JP-5 & sunshine”) almost on demand, but images and feelings are more common. Images of sunshine on top of the overcast layer.
Watching an old airplane grease a landing. Seeing your “bird” on the ramp in the still, pre-dawn moments before a pre-flight and walkaround. The excitement of crawling up to the cockpit of a plane with a joystick instead of a flight yoke. I could go on and on, but then I might lose half of you! But these are some of the common moments.
The unique ones? Well, those moments are harder to convey but no less imaginable. For example, I remember in 2003, I was flying into Bosco Island, Philippines as a navigator on a C-130. We were on approach to land, when one of the pilots interjected over the intercom, “Look at that ride. 1 o'clock on the deck, along the fence line.” There on the ground was a man riding on the back of the neck of what looked like some kind of water buffalo. Now when I say riding, what I really mean is hanging on for dear life. The buffalo raced along a fence that ran perpendicular to our approach path. It appeared to be attempting to detach the unwanted guest from its shoulders as it ran and bucked violently across the pasture. No saddle; no ropes. Just man and beast thrashing and smashing while on a collision course with pain and disappointment. The other pilot on our flight spoke up and said flatly, “Huh. You don’t see that every day.” I think we all laughed on the inside as we watched, but obviously, the critical phase of flight we were in (landing) demanded our focus and attention to detail. We moved on not thinking too much of it, but that moment stayed with me.
Now if I could capture that moment into a scene that matched a beer style, you better believe I would! Who wouldn’t want to share that mental image and mild sense of delight? (Perhaps we keep that one in the bag until we come up with a good Filipino beer recipe.)
Keep it meaningful
Those of you who know me know my conversations tend toward the meaningful. I like telling stories of men and women who did difficult things the best way they knew how. I like retelling stories of late friends who lived while they were alive. I like sharing wholesome moments that inspire some appreciation of the life we’ve been afforded and the people we get to share it with. To me, that’s the bottom line. I like it when we motivate each other to aspire to more.
So, if you’re ever wondering about the beer names, ask. There’s a story or meaning to each one. Of course, if you have a story, we’d love to hear that too! We are happy to share memories of friends and family who lived well, memories that can help connect us to our history, purpose, potential, and each other. Let's connect.
~David, co-owner