Back in September, I went with my wife and daughter to HEAVY Beer Company, one of the newer breweries here in Toledo, OH. I was going to drink beer, but that was not the primary reason why my wife and daughter were heading to the brewery. They were going to build a terrarium – yes, a terrarium. In case you are not familiar with a terrarium, definitions range from “a jar of dirt and some weeds” to “a sealed or unsealed container that contains elements of a terrestrial ecosystem“. More about the construction of my wife and daughter’s terrariums later, but first a little background on these living ecosystems.

Regardless of how it is defined, the word “terrarium” has its origins from the Latin word for earth, terra. The first terrarium was created by a British botanist by the name of Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in the 1820s. It was something of an accidental creation on the part of Ward. Investigating how different gases effected plants, Ward discovered that plants sealed in glass containers did pretty well. His first terrarium was a simple affair – a fern sealed in a jar. Ward’s discovery significantly increased the survival rate (from 5% to 95%) for plants being shipped long distances. As proof of concept, Ward had a carpenter build two large terrariums which he filled with ferns. In July 1833 the terrariums were loaded on a ship bound for Sydney, Australia where they arrived six months later “alive and thriving“. In 1842, Ward published a small book in which he documented the results of his work which focused on the benefits of putting plants in glass cases.

Terrariums (or Wardian Cases as they were originally known) were popular in Victorian Britain. Their popularity soon spread to the United States.  In the late 19th century “terrariums were all the rage“. Their popularity declined during the early 20th century, but “experienced a resurgence in the 1970s” and remain popular today. The appeal of terrariums is multi-faceted; they are low maintenance, do not take up a lot of space, and can be good for your mental health.

Whatever the motivation for owning one, a group of approximately twenty gathered at HEAVY Beer Company for a “Plants and Pints” workshop, where they would make their own terrarium. Helping these folks achieve their lifelong dream of terrarium ownership were Greer and Matt, owners of The Green Crow, which they describe as “Toledo’s First and Only Mobile House Plant Store“. During the course of an hour or so, Greer and Matt led the group through the process of making a terrarium. Of course, participants enjoyed a number of the brewery’s excellent beers while doing so.

All of those making a terrarium at HEAVY Brewing Co. were engaged in a practice called “experiential drinking” – that is drinking a beer while engaged in some other type of activity. Examples of experiential drinking abound. At Prison City Brewing in Auburn, NY a group of fifteen folks met one evening recently for a painting lesson from artist Christy Lemp. While Lemp’s usual medium is watercolors, on this occasion she used the brewery’s imperial stout. While being instructed in the art of painting with beer, many of the participants sipped on one of Prison City’s own brews. At Black Cloister Brewery in Toledo, OH, on the first Monday of every month, a group of women (and the occasional man) met for a knitting and crocheting session. While doing so, many of these fiber artists enjoyed one the brewery’s many beers. Sadly, the Black Cloister closed its doors in September 2019. Beer yoga (drinking beer while doing yoga) is another example of experiential drinking. Beer Yoga has grown in popularity in recent years, Apparently, there is a style of yoga called Vinyasa, which is conducive to holding a beer while transitioning from one posture/pose to another. For those not into painting or yoga, other common examples of experiential drinking include playing cornhole, a board game, or pinball. Trivia Night is another common activity at craft breweries.

As noted by Beth Newhart in BeverageDaily.com, “drinkers are now more drawn to experience-based locations for their alcohol consumption than typical bars with no extra incentives”. A 2011 study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology examined the relationship link between how consumers spend their money and their happiness. One of the study’s key findings was that buying an experience resulted in more happiness than buying a material good. There are several reasons for this. First, people anticipate and remember experiences with more frequency than material goods. Second, (and this is a defining characteristic of experiential drinking), experiences are more likely to be shared with other people. The social aspect of experiences is good for human well-being. According to an article posted on the website of The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, “heaps of research suggest that social connections make people happier. Satisfying relationships not only make people happy, but they also associated with better health and even longer life.” In a previous blog entry, I cited the work of British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, whose research has demonstrated the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, especially when done so in a social setting such as a British pub. So next time you go to a craft brewery with your friends, whether or not you build a terrarium, not only will you enjoy yourself, but you may add a few extra days to your life.