An American Beer Story

Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

Did you ever notice that all the beer styles seem to come from somewhere other than America? From the Pale Ales and Porters of the British Isles to the Lagers and Pilsners from Germany, and to the Belgian Abbey Ales and Farmhouse Ales, all the beer we know and love traces its roots to our European ancestors. While it is true that we Americans owe a great deal of our beer culture to our friends across the pond, there is no doubt that we have perfected brewing their styles here in the States. But how did we get here?

The story of American brewing actually started with the Native Americans, who made a corn beer long before Europeans ever brought their brewing traditions with them to the New World. Although most of the early American beer was brewed in the home at first, a fledgling industry began to develop around 1612, when the first known New World brewery opened in present-day Manhattan.

Things began to really grow in the nineteenth century. In 1810, there were only 132 breweries operating and American per capita consumption of commercially brewed beer amounted to less than a gallon. By 1873, the country had 4,131 breweries and in 1914, per capita consumption had grown to 20 gallons (compared to about 21.5 today). Our beer was also starting to change, as German immigrants began arriving and brought with them knowledge of all-malt Lagers and other German brewing traditions.

But by the end of the century, American beer drinkers showed a preference for lighter-tasting lagers that included corn or rice in the recipe, and brewery consolidation began to eliminate many small, independently operated breweries. In 1918 the country had only one quarter the number of brewers that operated 45 years before. Then, it went from bad to worse.

Very good news

National Prohibition began on January 16, 1920 when the 18th amendment, also known as the Volstead Act, went into effect. It was repealed in December of 1933 by the 21st amendment, and even though it only lasted 13 years, the damage was done. Within a year of the 21st amendment being repealed, 756 breweries were making beer, but the biggest companies remained intent on expansion, using production efficiencies and marketing to squeeze out smaller breweries, many of whom never fully recovered from the 13 year hiatus.

The number of breweries shrunk quickly, to 407 in 1950 and 230 in 1961. By 1983, there were only 80 breweries in America, run by only 51 independent companies, and they were all making the same product. British beer writer Michael Jackson wrote at the time: "They are pale lager beers vaguely of the pilsener style but lighter in body, notably lacking hop character, and generally bland in palate. They do not all taste exactly the same but the differences between them are often of minor consequence."

The craft beer movement started here

Good beer was all but dead in America, until Fritz Maytag purchased Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, California in 1965. Anchor had been around since the California Gold Rush days, but had fallen into the same downward spiral as all of their fellow brewers. But Maytag decided to apply the old European standards of brewing and tradition and revitalized Anchor. In 1976, Jack McAuliffe opened the short-lived New Albion Brewing Company, and the trend began to reverse.

By the end of the 20th century and early 21st century, more breweries operated in the United States than any country in the world, with the number climbing past 1,500 in 2009. American brewers were also taking inspiration from brewing cultures around the world and offering a wider variety of beer. Today, there are an estimated 1,989 breweries in America, 1,940 of which are considered craft breweries. American beer is also recognized by international brewers as being some of the best beer on Earth.

And now you know… the rest of the story.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!