Belgian Congo Pale Ale: Yes, the Horror

[Updated, 18 May 2012.]

Belgian Congo Pale Ale?  Or perhaps you'd like some Nazi Dachau Brandy?  Or some Soviet Gulag Vodka?

I've been alternating between anger and despair every since I found this ad on the back page of C-ville, my home town's "alternative" weekly.  As absurd -- as impossible -- as it sounds, the Devils Backbone Brewing Company, of Roseland and Lexington, Virginia, is marketing an ale that celebrates a colonial regime that was responsible for the deaths of 10 million people, a crime that some argue constituted genocide.

 

[Click on either image to see a larger versions.]

It's hard to know what the people at the Devils Backbone Brewing Company were up to.  Part of me hopes that the name of the ale represents nothing more than rank ignorance.  After all, not every college graduate has taken a class in African history or the history of genocide.  Not every reader has come across Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost, a best-selling popular history of the atrocities in the Congo.  Yes, it's possible that nobody at the company knew that Belgium's King Leopold and his minions were responsible for one of the most brutal and all-encompassing forced labor systems that the world has ever known.

It's possible.  But how, then, would we account for the ad's tag line:  The Horror?

That tag line tells us that whoever designed this ad knew about the crimes of the Congo.  Knew that Joseph Conrad had written about them in his great novella Heart of Darkness.  Knew that Conrad had put the words "The horror!  The horror!" into the mouth of his character Mr. Kurtz, the colonial agent who decorated his outpost with the severed heads of his African victims.

Heart of Darkness is fiction, but it's fiction based on Conrad's experiences in Leopold's Congo.  The book, Conrad once said, "is experience... pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts of the case."

If we've eliminated ignorance, how do we make sense of the people at Devils Backbone Brewing Company and their ale?

At the very least, they've decided to attract attention in one of the most cheap, cynical, and distasteful ways I can imagine.

At worse -- and, under the circumstances, this is plausible -- they are indeed celebrating genocide.

 

Anti-Slavery International:  Congo.  Photographs of Congolese persons mutilated by rubber sentries, by Alice Harris and W. D. Armstrong, c. 1905.  Reprinted from Mark Twain's pamphlet, "King Leopold's Soliloquy."

* * *

Russell Schimmer, of Yale University's Genocide Studies Program, has written about the atrocities in the Congo:

[During Leopold's personal rule and after he had relinquished control to Belgium, the forced labor regime was designed to produce extravagant profits from the exploitation of African labor.  The commodities in question were ivory and, especially, rubber.]

Male rubber tappers and porters were mercilessly exploited and driven to death.  Leopold's agents held the wives and children of these men hostage until they returned with their rubber quota.  Those who refused or failed to supply enough rubber often had their villages burned down, children murdered, and their hands cut off.

Although local chiefs organized tribal resistance, the FP [Force Publique, colonial Congo’s military police] brutally crushed these uprisings.  Rebellions often included Congolese fleeing their villages to hide in the wilderness, ambushing army units, and setting fire to rubber vine forests.  In retribution, the FP burned villages and FP officers sent their soldiers into the forest to find and kill hiding rebels.  To prove the success of their patrols, soldiers were ordered to cut off and bring back dead victims' right hands as proof that they had not wasted their bullets.  If their shots missed their targets or if they used cartridges on big game, soldiers would cut off the hands of the living and wounded to meet their quotas.

From 1885 to 1908, it is estimated that the Congolese native population decreased by about ten million people.

Belgian parliament refused to hold any formal commission of inquiry into the human rights abuses that had occurred in the CFS [colonial Congo].  Over the next few decades, inhumane practices in the Belgian Congo continued and a huge number of Congolese remained enslaved.

You can read Schimmer's full account, here.

* * *

Update:  18 May 2012:

Jason Oliver, the head brewer at Devils Backbone, has responded to my criticism.  In explaining why he chose the name, he writes:

1) I named it because I was interested in the hypothetical “what if” premise of a pale hoppy beer the Belgians would have brewed (right or wrong for their “infamous” colony) that could have survived a tropical journey.  It was born of historical (revisionist) curiosity that has since morphed into a more contemporary Belgian-style IPA.  Even though I was aware of the terrible legacy of the colony, I was first and foremost interested in the technical aspect and not the cultural weight of Belgians involvement in the Congo.

2) “Belgian” added to the name was meant to help identify what vein of beer it is, for example : “Belgian IPA” or “Belgian Witbier”.  Belgian beers are complex and varied but often share the thread of being somewhat fruity in nature (from the unique yeast strains used).  “Belgian” being added to “Congo Pale Ale” was not meant to make light of the brutal colonial horror but to help describe some of the beers flavor to the consumer.

You can read Oliver's entire response, here.

Comments

[Ziad]

I'm pretty sure Belgian Pale Ale is the kind of beer, and the name is just "congo" (not "Belgian Congo"--"Pale ale")--still horrifying, but in an ironic kind of way...

[Taylor]

I just visited the brewery website to register my disgust. Although there is not an option to leave a public comment, you can email them via their website: http://www.dbbrewingcompany.com/contact.aspx.

[Lisa]

As an ex-archivist/archaeologist/general history nerd and beer geek, this just makes me very sad.

[Daniel]

Documentary exposes humanitarian and medical crisis in Eastern Congo as well as our work in the DRC http://youtu.be/85VlU2HREDc

[Jenny]

Thanks for this post. I just stumbled upon your blog, and I really appreciate it. I'm sorry that Devil's Backbone is making light of genocide -- imagine what it would have looked like if they had created "Concentration Camp Ale"!

[Geezer]

My opinion is that it is entirely appropriate here to make reference to a historical period as well as Conrad's novel. I see nothing celebrating or advocating atrocities committed by the Belgians. Did I like seeing corporations and politicians immediately use 9/11 to further their causes...no. But I don't agree with excessive censorship, just because someone out there may be offended.

[Nell Lancaster]

Devil's Backbone is based in Charlottesville, and the offensively named beer is brewed in their new 'outpost' brewery near Lexington. Astoundingly, this is the variety they chose to launch six-pack sales, with an accompanying ad campaign, so it's going to have much wider visibility than their other varieties.

As a local who's been looking forward to consuming their output since the new branch was announced, I'm disconcerted and disappointed. And can also report that BCPA tastes like hell. That, at least, is appropriate...

[ekapa]

I find Mr Oliver's response quite disingenuous. I'm not quite sure how he can pretend that this was a harmless case of revisionist history inquiry after very clearly naming the beer "Belgian Congo Pale Ale: The Horror" What on god's earth does "The Horror" portion of the label refer to if not to the horror of the Belgian atrocities in the Congo? As Mr Oliver himself has pointed out, he is quite familiar with the history of the Congo, it stands to reason that his use of "The Horror" in naming the beer comes from a knowledge of the atrocities.

The strange invocation of his familiarity with South Africa though deployed as an attempted defense simply damns him further. Wouldn't someone that familiar with colonial history be quite aware of what his label invokes?

[MLindsay]

If the first poster is right, and the name is just "Congo", then "The Horror" could perhaps refer to the current horrors. I'm not sure how much that improves things.

[Denis]

As an archivist, general history nerd and beer geek, I would encourage Mr. Oliver to stick to brewing and leave history to the experts.

[Col. Kurtz]

It is clear that Mr. Oliver's half hearted response was reactionary and emits the ignorance shown in naming his beer. Maybe this "master brewer" is also undermining the intelligence of his target audience.

@Geezer: you must be on the same wavelength as Oliver

[Beer Geek]

To Nell Lancaster: Devils Backbone Brewpub is located in Roseland, Va or Wintergreen, not Charlottesville. Second, this was their third beer to be packaged in six packs.
To Ekapa: The name of the beer is "Belgian Congo Pale Ale" not "Belgian Congo Pale Ale:The Horror"
To Everybody: This name is clearly based off of the popular India Pale Ale style naming. Where the British clearly committed several of their own atrocities. This blog post is a product of overthinking a beer name and lets just call every beer "Ale or Lager" to stay PC and let ABInBev own the copyrights!

[Stan B.]

I "love" his response- I mean, you just gotta "love" that response!

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the terrible legacy of brutality, racism and genocide inflicted on those unfortunate people of that era which my product purposely associates itself with- but I'm very much choosing to ignore that knowledge and avidly and wholeheartedly promoting a happy, whimsical fantasy in complete denial of that reality."

[Nell Lancaster]

@Beer Geek: Thanks for the correction. I guess it's the first six-pack variety produced by the Outpost, because the signs there made a big deal of that. It remains true that the unfortunate name will be more visible than any of their other varieties, due to the ad campaign and the bottles themselves.

[Beer nerd]

@ Nell. Again you are wrong. It is not there first six pack variety produced by there outpost facility. They did not advertise for this any more than the others. The BCPA is one of my favorite beers out there, if you didn't like the taste of it then you are probably someone who doesn't prefer a heavier hoped beer. I would strongly advise knowing your beer "history" before bashing Devils Backbone or any brewery for that matter. Its the name of the beer! Why would any one name a beer with intentions of celebrating what you all have talked about. They wouldn't!! The name of the beer is Congo Pale Ale and it's a Belgian style ale. The Belgian part was put on to help all the beer enthusiasts out there better classify it. Do you all not have anything better to do with your time?? Again, brush up on your beer history.

[Christine]

Thank you for posting this, John. This branding, ad, and even more so the beermakers' defense of it, all show a certain kind of blithe obliviousness that one encounters every day in the U.S. It's a sensibility that reassures Americans that we don't have a racism problem here.

[billiecat]

@beer nerd - whatever the beer tastes like, the name is in poor taste, and you can't get around it by just saying they obviously didn't intend to celebrate the genocide in the Congo. Of course they didn't intend that! But someone thought it was cool to try to associate the beer with Conrad and Heart of Darkness, and "the Horror."

Similar things have been done in the past with products being associated with the slave regime in the United States, from Aunt Jemima to "Darkey" tooth powder. Today such things are rightly looked on as improper. This is no different, and while it may be just ignorance of the full seriousness of the subject to choose such a name, it's not excusable or a minor matter.

[jaimymoore]

Next up, Holocaust Hefeweizen! Gulag Archipelago Gueuze! Pristina Pilzen!

[mmiddle]

Beer nerd - I think Nell's larger point is that Devil's Backbone is callously exploiting, by using either or both "Congo" and [the Horror], one of the most horrific genocides in history, for chuckles and profits. Check out the highly readable but chilling "King Leopold's Ghost." All this in one of the less progressive corners of the state that brought us American slavery.

[Donald]

Just to vouch for Jason Oliver's (perhaps blinkered) motivation here: DB has also produced a Namibian Pale Ale, again the product of a counterfactual history in which German colonialists (who in fact colonized present day Namibia) had formulated a German-style beer that could "survive a tropical [sea] voyage." The implication is that Oliver's explanation of the Belgian Congo ale is offered in good faith, not as a post-hoc coverup of some much more malign scheme.

In a way, it's an obvious play on the "IPA" that's such a popular beer nowadays. Having said that, this sort of backlash is pretty foreseeable.

[Daniel]

No one seems to have noticed that the brewery's name is pretty offensive in itself... Also, why should anyone surprised that a brewery that aligns itself with the devil makes light of genocide?

[Jeff]

Devils Backbone...offensive? Someone is a little sensitive I do believe. Devils Backbone...
1. is the name of a state park in Maryland... here's the web address if you like...http://www.washco-md.net/parks_facilities/devils.shtm
2. and also a biking trail in south-central Texas.. you can google map the area.
3. Also, it is a state forest in...oh...Virginia, by the way, where I believe the brewery got its name from.

[Jake]

Are you aware that the designation 'India Pale Ale' refers specifically to another, perhaps even more brutal colonial regime? I'm sure there are dozens of other examples to be found.

[Beer Nerd]

@Daniel, that is by far the most amusing comment on here! I'm guessing you don't follow any sort of history. @Jeff is completely right. I know for a fact that a rocky ridge descending into the river in Clifton Forge, VA is called Devils Backbone. And yes there is a place in Texas. The name for the Brewery did in fact come from Thomas Jefferson's father Peter. It is the nickname of a treacherous ridge given by Thomas Jefferson’s father, Peter, who was part of the group that first surveyed the Blue Ridge Mountains. Again history, I don't think the brewery was using this for "chuckles". How in any way does the ad depict genocide, rape or murder? I see a jungle, with little jungle animal eyes looking out, when I think of jungle I think of Congo. To say the ad depicts that, is a crazy accusation. No one should be drinking any beer if we were going to relate the name to its past history. I think most of you should be disgusted with yourselves. There are far greater issues in the world other than the name of a beer. Why don't you all brush up on history that will help with war, crime, rape, starvation and murder.