On Friday, we lost a great man, Dr David Conz. Dave was a warm, personable and engaging figure that moved between intellectual and social circles as freely, easily and simply as a smile. When I met Dave, he was introduced to me as Dr Beer, an Arizona State University (ASU) professor with a
CV of varied disciplines that defied logic, that is, until you met and spoke to him. He made it all make sense. His intellectual pursuits led him to sit comfortably between areas of knowledge and learning--an area where he could be a teacher and a student at the same time.
Dave and I had an affinity in looking at beer as a
lens through which the world could be better understood, though he obviously stated it much more clearly than I ever hoped to. We were not close friends, but that was only a limitation of time. He is someone that I saw my own potential in. I wanted to treat people like he treated people. I wanted to understand things like he did. Over the years, we discussed a great many projects. This was the year that we were going to push forward. This was the year that our close work would further cement our bonds.
Dave began a class at ASU that he one day hoped to turn into a program: BIS 402, The Cultural and Chemical History of Beer
“This interdisciplinary course traces the development of beer from ancient cultures to the multinational mega-corporations and craft homebrewers of today. We will examine the social, cultural, legal, biochemical, physiological and business dimensions of beer throughout history while integrating students’ areas of concentration. The class will feature expert guest lecturers, field trips to local breweries, and an optional hands-on, at-home (off-campus) “lab” component where students will have the opportunity to make, bottle, analyze and sample their own batches of beer (off-campus).”
It was a wildly popular class and the students that I met were fascinated with the scope and depth of the materials that their professor presented. Notably, the beer industry took interest and anecdotally, I know of many direct hires from the graduates of this class. There were placements at Sierra Nevada, Santan Brewing and Crescent Crown to name a few. I had the pleasure of guest lecturing a class on the beer culture in Phoenix that included segments on urban planning and adaptive re-use.
You'll note in the course description above, that "off-campus" is used a few times and this speaks to the uneasy relationship that ASU has with beer. Dave's passing has, for the foreseeable future, placed the class and program at an end. Many are vowing to bring the program back, but that will be a discussion for another time.
It's here where I have to be careful because some of the early circumstances surrounding Dave's death are based on hearsay. There will always be a degree of uncertainty and speculation about Dave's passing and the testimony of a few will most likely be all that we have. There is no getting around talking about this. Dave lived in the friendly aura of so many and there will be difficult conversations. This is hard. If you are not ready for this, please skip to the video below. It's a celebration of his life and it is ultimately how I will remember him.
These are my own thoughts and I cannot attest that they are the truth. There are two conflicting currents--two ideas that are at odds that lead me to a conclusion. Dave had plans. I know that on the day of the tragic event he and I discussed rescheduling a meeting for a project that we were going to work on in the fall. I know that others got reminder calls from Dave about an event the very next day. He had plans with us.
Whether you choose to believe it was careless, accidental or intentional Dave died by his own hand. This is the opposing force that puts everything that we know into a terrible swirl. There were circumstances, I am told, that may have momentarily put Dave in a place that few of us have ever seen him in. It seems that this was all a horrible, ridiculous, selfish, impulsive, uncharacteristic and hurtful catastrophic act. We are all human and we are all susceptible to periods of flawed thinking, impetuousness, irrationality, madness, violence and destruction. We need not hide from the ugliness within us. We all must believe that Dave would not want any of us to follow him in this path. It is not the way of the gracious, learned and caring man that we love.
Again. I will remember Dave as a colleague and a friend and someone that will continue inspire me for as long as I live. So too will every one of his friends.
Last night, the beer community met at one of Dave's local favorites, Taste of Tops. As many as 100 packed into the small bar and there were easily 80 raised glasses for round of drinks bought by the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild. Among the brewers, homebrewers, distributors and beer fans were many of Dave's colleagues and students. There were also representatives of the many sides of Dave, the friends that knew him as:
The Drummer
The Biodiesel Scientist
The Dancer
The Poet
The Traveler
The Professor
The Motorcycle Mechanic
The Sociologist
The Pilot
The Philosopher
The Lover
The Skater
The Vegetarian
The Chicken Farmer
The Homebrewer
We will all miss him.
UPDATE: My friend James Spencer
recorded an interview with Dave on March 29.