American beer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also: American breweries
American Beer has always been popular in its home country. The diary of William Bradford records that the Mayflower made landfall at Plymouth Rock under duress: "We could not now take much time for further search...our victuals being much spent, especially our beer." [1]
[edit] History
The brewing traditions of England and the Netherlands (as brought to New York) ensured that the colonies would be dominated by beer drinking rather than wine. Up until the middle of the 19th century, ales dominated American brewing. This changed as the lager styles, brought by German immigrants, turned out to be more profitable for large-scale manufacturing and shipping. Names such as Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz became known through the breweries they founded or acquired, and many others followed. Czech and Irish immigrants also made their contributions to US beer.
The lager brewed by these companies was not the extremely mild lager now associated with modern US megabreweries. This American pilsner was a significantly stronger beer, both in flavor and alcohol, that was designed to meet the appetites of both native-born Americans and central European immigrants.
All of this came to a halt when Prohibition was imposed. Only a few of the largest breweries were able to stay in business — by manufacturing near beer, malt syrup, or other non-alcohol grain products, in addition to soft drinks such as colas and root beers. Production and shipping of alcohol was largely confined to illegal operations, which could deliver potent liquors — smuggled rum and domestic moonshine — more efficiently and safely than bulkier products such as beer.
Before the American Beer industry could re-establish itself, World War II began. This further inhibited the re-emergence of smaller breweries, pushing lower cost ingredients that were not rationed. For more than fifty years after the end of Prohibition, the United States beer market was heavily dominated by large commercial breweries, producing beers more noted for their uniformity than for any particular flavor. Beers such as those made by Anheuser-Busch and Coors followed a restricted pilsner style, with large-scale industrial processes and the use of low-cost ingredients (such as rice and corn). The dominance of the so-called "macrobrew" led to an international stereotype of "American beer" as poor in quality and flavor. The term, "Budmilloors," became popular among many beer aficionados to describe these mass-produced beers. It should be noted that in recent years the major brewers have made serious attempts at developing premium beers in the European Tradition such as Killian's Irish Red and Budweiser Select.
However, since the resurgence of the commercial craft brewing industry in the 1980s, the United States now features many beers, offered by over 1500 brewpubs, microbreweries, and regional brewers such as Anchor Brewing Company (San Francisco) and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Chico, CA), and contract brewed brands such as Samuel Adams. In much of eastern Pennsylvania including Philadelphia, the word "lager" is synonymous with Yuengling Traditional Lager, a flavorful beer from a regional brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania founded in 1829, making it the oldest American family owned operating brewery, surviving prohibition. While in volume the macrobrews still dominate, smaller producers brew in a variety of styles influenced by local sources of hops and other ingredients as well as by various European traditions.
Portland, Oregon has earned the name "Beervana", with more breweries than any other city in the world, with 33 breweries just within the city limits. The McMenamin brothers alone have over thirty brewpubs, distilleries and wineries scattered throughout the metropolitan area, many in renovated theaters and other old buildings otherwise destined for demolition. Other notable Portland brewers include Widmer Brothers, BridgePort Brewing Company and the MacTarnahan's Brewing Company. In 1999, "beerhunter" and author Michael Jackson called Portland a candidate for the beer capital of the world because the city boasted more breweries than Cologne, Germany.
[edit] Hopheads
"Hophead" in American slang is a beer drinker who favors highly hopped brews, specifically hops of the Cascade variety. Hopheads often take great pleasure in India Pale Ales and other beers done in the hoppy West Coast style. The term can be used either by one who claims to be a hophead, or perhaps in a derogatory manner by one who is less affectionate towards overly hoppy beer. A good example, and perhaps the epitome, of a hophead's brew is Stone Ruination IPA. The Cascade hop is native to the American Pacific Northwest and is distinguished by a floral or citrus-like aroma and an intense bitter taste. It is very rarely used by non-American brewers.
[edit] Types of American Beer
The Association of Brewers has identified the following styles of North American origin:
- American-style pale ale
- American-style strong pale ale
- Imperial or double India pale ale
- American-style amber/red ale
- California Common beer (traditionally called "steam beer," though that term is a registered trademark of the Anchor Brewing Company in the present)
- Imperial or double red ale
- Golden or blonde ale
- American-style brown ale
- American lager
- American-style light lager
- American-style light amber lager
- American-style pilsener
- Dry lager
- American ice lager/Ice beer
- American malt liquor
- American-style Maerzen/Oktoberfest
- American dark lager
The success of the commercial craft brewing industry has led the large breweries to invest in smaller breweries such as Widmer Brothers, and to develop more complex beers of their own.
