September 1 2006
Firstthings first: Free beer doesn’t REALLYmean Free Beer. Free beer means thatthe intellectual property is free—as in unlocking the boundaries of sharing andfreedom. But, the beer actually costsmoney. Bottles, hops and such costmoney. But, the beer is dispensed in 24oz. bottles so the size is actually quite generous. And, if you’re inclined, you can actually improve upon therecipe, brew up a batch yourself and use the Free Beer label and distribute it.
Makescomplete sense, right?
LawrenceLessig, a noted technology intellectual and Professor at Stanford University,wrote an interesting article in the September issue of Wired magazine thatdiscusses a project based in Denmark that borrows from the open source/Linuxtechnology world into the world of the quaffable arts.
Excerptfrom the Freebeer.org web site.
FREE BEER
is a beer which is free in the sense of freedom, not in the sense of freebeer.
Theproject, originally conceived by Copenhagen-based artist collective Superflexand students at the Copenhagen IT University, applies modern free software /open source methods to a traditional real-world product - namely the alcoholicbeverage loved and enjoyed globally, and commonly known as beer.
FREEBEER is based on classic ale brewing traditions, but with added Guaraná for anatural energy boost. The recipe and branding elements of FREE BEER ispublished under a Creative Commons (Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5) license, whichmeans that anyone can use the recipe to brew their own FREE BEER or create aderivative of the recipe. Anyone is free to earn money from FREE BEER, but theymust publish the recipe under the same license and credit our work. All designand branding elements are available to beer brewers, and can be modified tosuit, provided changes are published under the same license (”Attribution &Share Alike”)
Thisis an interesting idea.
Ironicallyenough, and counter to a free beer recipe, over at RadCru.com today, the wineof the day is the McDowell Valley Vineyards 2003 Coro Mendocino—a first ever ofits kind collaborative blend from Mendocino fruit. From the RadCru site:
CoroMendocino is a unique collaborative effort by Mendocino winemakers to create aclass of ultra-premium wines that showcase the rich heritage and uniquecharacteristics of Mendocino County. Coro means chorus in Italian and Spanishand is reflective of the spirit of this project… many voices singing the samesong. This is the first time in U.S. history that winemakers from a region haveset blending/aging parameters for a wine distinctive to the area.
Wow. This is the first time in U.S. history thatwinemakers have come together to set blending/aging parameters for a wine froma region.
Tome, what would really be interesting is for winemakers to come together in aspecific region, create a cuvee, and then open source the blending percentagesala Free Beer—break down the proprietary blending walls that currentlyexist.
Wineriesas a part of a to-be-created cooperative could then license their bulk lot wineto the cooperative and then allow consumers to create their own customblend. You could do this for a case ora thousand cases. With the success of pro-am crush services like Crushpad youcould use this model to create consumer micro wineries in addition to theenthusiast that wants to compete with Michele Rolland for blending expertise.
Customercould then share their blends with others in a ‘pay it forward’ mode.
LikeI said, it is an interesting concept. If art students in Denmark can create this concept and get pr surely thewine industry can do something similarly cutting edge—consumer centric and witha benevolent bent.
What do YOU think? Is creating a bulk wine collaborative effort that is consumer-centric and allows them to do their own blending a viable concept? The best blend "recipes" would then be shared for the less intrepid wine enthusiast.
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