The number of breweries in the U.S. is growing at a very fast rate. With the return of traditional ales and lagers and the rise of more unusual beers, brewing beer is becoming a big business. Beer has a long and interesting history, and it continues to be controversial as it tries to get back to being an everyday drink while adding new flavours to please everyone.
When the Mayflower arrived in America in 1620, the boat was a bit sho...
The number of breweries in the U.S. is growing at a very fast rate. With the return of traditional ales and lagers and the rise of more unusual beers, brewing beer is becoming a big business. Beer has a long and interesting history, and it continues to be controversial as it tries to get back to being an everyday drink while adding new flavours to please everyone.
A passenger's journal says that when the Mayflower came to America in 1620, the boat didn't make it all the way to its destination because they ran out of beer. Even though Puritans weren't supposed to drink beer - they were Puritans, after all - this was the most common drink. People drank beer like we drink soda, juice, milk, and water today. Every inn and tavern made its own beer.
Only in modern times do we think of beer as something dangerous. There were no rules about making and drinking beer. Police did not set up checkpoints to catch drunk drivers. What kind of damage could a horse-drawn cart do? There were definitely no scantily-clad women drinking beer and dancing around at parties to make men think they were hot. Everyone in the house, from adults to small children, drank beer every day. When the Mayflower got there, people found out that the Native Americans made beer from maize. Do you know what kind of beer people drank at the first Thanksgiving? This could have been the first "Bring Your Own Beer" (BYOB) party ever.
The United States has become a major player on the international beer scene, and it can hold its own against other countries that are known for making great beer. The U.S. prohibition slowed things down a bit, but in the 21st century, things seem to be picking up for American breweries. According to the Brewer's Association, Americans will make and drink nearly 7 million barrels of beer in 2006. There are a lot of kegs, bottles, pint glasses, and glasses there.
There are many websites about beer online. You can read magazines like "Yankee Brew News" and "Brewery News," visit breweries, and join groups like the Brewer's Association. You can also go to festivals like the Barleywine Festival in Buffalo, New York, and competitions like the World Beer Cup in Seattle, Washington. About 85% of these sites are based in the U.S., so it looks like the Americans are in the lead!
During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, most beer in the United States was made and sold by large companies. At the beginning of the 1980s, many states passed laws that made it possible for smaller breweries to join in. Even though the big companies still make a lot of money, many customers are picky and only want high-quality, unique beers. These customers are the "yuppies" of beer drinkers. There are anywhere from two to twenty breweries within 15 miles of any city in the United States, and the number is growing. Different states have a different number of breweries. Each microbrewery has a family tradition that they want to keep going, and each beer tastes different. This is a throwback to the days when two taverns a mile apart served two different kinds of beer.
Breweries are once again making beers with all-natural ingredients like malt, hops, and yeast. They make traditional lagers and ales as well as more unusual beers with flavours like spices, vanilla, caramel, coriander, and anise. One brewery that can be found online makes their beer with rose hips. Rose hips, which are usually used to make tea, must give beer a unique taste. On a hot day, lemon coriander beer might be a nice way to cool off.
Soon, we'll be talking about which beer tastes best with chicken or beef. People will say things like, "The caramel-flavored beer would go great with that cheesecake; it's a sweet beer that was made for dessert." Does this beer go well with pasta? Would a roast beef dinner make it better? There are already a lot of beer tasting events. Does beer replace wine? Is there a "twist the glass, sniff the liquid, swish it in your mouth" way to drink beer? There are too many kinds of beer, like there are too many kinds of martinis. Maybe we should speed up the process. Beertinis for everyone!
American beer brewing companies that can be found online stress how important quality is. They talk about how important traditions are. They talk about how important it is to get beer back to the role it played every day for thousands of years. This time around, breweries also seem to think that beer can taste different and still be popular.
