Some Beer Culture

First off, a few words on beer. After going through the 'dark ages' with the only choice being mass produced and indifferently constructed bland lagers here in America, we are now blessed with the success of the Craft Beer Revolution. Just like the current freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States, we must pay tribute and thanks to our forefather who were on the front lines paving the way for the generations to come. In this way, I must acknowledge the pioneers at Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Dogfish Head, and even Samuel Adams who are the reason for all of the thoughtfully prepared and flavorful brews we have today.

"When our forefathers put down roots in desolate places, the thing that allowed them to survive was that they had a faith to see them through the tough times." -Lee Greenwood

But perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to warmly paint this image of a few heroes who nearly single handedly revolutionized American beer culture. There is no doubt that the new found dedication and attention on quality of product that has flourished over the past few decades could not have been achieved without a few nuts willing to go against the grain, there is still an underlying dysfunction that needs to be addressed. The process of brewing has been seen in records dating back thousands of years, thus the question should be where did beer go?

In America, decent beer has been absent for quite some time. Perhaps there was little demand for it as there was more focus on liquor following a small group of angry old women, prohibition, moon shinning, and all that silliness. Perhaps establishing solid brewing locations was not conducive to the lifestyle of westward expansion and life on the move. Or maybe the populous of America were lead astray by large brewers' advertising claims of 'the great american lager' that in reality did our country a great disgrace (and is no longer even American). It is unclear, but worth further investigation into the history books to sort out where everything went so wrong. So to answer where/when beer left America, who knows. However if we turn around and ask where proper beer went in the rest of the world the answer is much simpler: no where.

Europe in contrast (particularly Belgium, Germany, and the UK) is littered with more breweries than could be mentioned, many of which have been around longer than the United States with specialized styles and recipes just as old. Still around, still producing perfected ales after hundreds of years. In a way this could explain the problem in the US; there simply wasn't the time, place, or opportunity to establish solid brewing roots. The nation's focus was elsewhere. Americans were spreading out and picking fights with just about anyone we could find and didn't have monks tucked away in the mountains copying bible text and brewing delicious ales. Fast forward to the present day where pride in the quality of a beer has taken a more central role just like in Europe rather than mass production/consumption. Even serious food organizations are beginning to acknowledge beer's place as a proper drink just like wine. Hallelujah, let's sit back and enjoy.

In short, I am filled mostly with regret that it took the US so long to get our act together in general. In this way, thanks need to be given to the snooty group of crazies that set up shop in Napa and showed everyone that a few yanks with OCD can put out flavorful foods and wines that rival those found in Europe and Australia. After they showed everyone how good US foods can actually be, the spotlight was turned on the waisted potential everywhere else. It would appear though that the rest of us have caught up. Regional and artisan wine, cheese, and beer can now be found in most of the country and as it turns out, is usually very good. Maybe the road we used to arrive at the food scene we see today was not as romantic or direct as I have imagined, but who cares. Wherever direction we were, are, and want to continue towards, it seems like we are here.