Hops and Hopper

I spent an interesting evening at the Carnegie Museum of Art, last Friday. The event was called ‘Hops and Hopper.’ At this event, seven Breweries were represented: East End Brewing, Four Seasons Brewing, Great Lakes Brewing, Grist House Brewing, Hitchhiker Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, and Voodoo Brewing.

Each Brewing House offered at least two different beers to sample. One could sample the beers a number of times. There were a few snacks to cleanse the palate, like braided pretzel sticks and tiny gold fish. Along with the admission, we were given our choice of a glass with an Edward Hopper etching on it. Edward Hoppe, (1882-1967), was an American realist painter and print maker.

By the time my friend and I got there, there were only two different glasses to choose from. We both chose the etching with a leafless tree. Then we were ready to sample the beers and talk to the people offering the samples.

After the tasting, and after writing our names on our coasters, we placed them on top of our glasses, and went upstairs to the Hopper exhibit.  From there we went into a room to view the special video of the life of Hopper and also another video of Hopper stories connected to one of his paintings. The stories were done by producers from different countries, as well as American producers with their interpretation of story line to go with a specific Hopper painting.

When the viewing was over, my friend and I, along with the others, went back to pick up our glasses before going home. The glasses were – gone, taken by others! That was a disappointment to both of us and the others who paid to get into the event.

Bottom line – the evening was really awesome from the beer hops to the Hopper paintings. But on the flip side, at an event where you would expect a bit more from those attending, it was a disappointment. Some people can be classless, no matter what they do and where they