Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [5]
THE 1980s were a turning point for American beer. Microbreweries and brewpubs began opening and new American beer styles were born—American pale ale, American wheat beer and American imperial stout.
Raspberry wheat beers, American India pale ale, stouts and porter, rye ale, whiskey-barrel aged stout and several other creations continue to emerge as brewers continue to embark on their own microbrewed adventures. The flavors and diversity of American beer are unparalleled anywhere in the world, bringing a high degree of respect and creating a proud American beer culture for beer drinkers to enjoy.
American Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
MICROBREWERIES STARTED popping up in the United States around 1981. This was the year I first tried Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I knew at once that the guys behind this brew were possessed with a passion for beer and excellence. It was the dawn of what was to become the most popular style of microbrewed craft beer, American pale ale, and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company of Chico, California, pioneered the way. Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi, the founders of the brewery and originally homebrewers, sought to make a commercial beer that emphasized hops.
Indeed not only were there more hops in their now famous pale ale, but they were the unique citruslike Cascade hops. These hops had never been used in large amounts—in any beer, anywhere in the world—except by homebrewers like themselves.
In 1880, there were more than 2,200 registered breweries operating in the United States. In 1980–81, there were only forty-four.
However, this was all soon to change. Homebrewers were indulging in their newfound passion for flavor and diversity in beer. With the fermentations of their efforts as inspiration, they were founding small brewing companies based exclusively on their love of beer. This passionate approach to professional brewing would become known as “microbrewing.”
THE MICROBREW ADVENTURE was begun by homebrewers with the opening of breweries such as the New Albion Brewer in Sonoma, California (1976, closed in the early 1980s), the Boulder Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado (1980, still operating as the Boulder Beer Company), the Cartwright Brewing Company, Portland, Oregon (opened and closed in the early 1980s) and the Debakker Brewing Company, Novato, California (opened and closed in the early 1980s). Others that opened in 1981 included River City Brewing Company (Sacramento, California), William S. Newman Brewing Company (Albany, New York) and Thousand Oaks Brewing Company (Berkeley, California), all closing within a decade.
I FIRST VISITED the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in 1986, five years after they had opened. At the time there only were a few dozen microbreweries in the United States. Beer choice for most beer drinkers was limited to dozens of brands of same-tasting American light lagers. I came away from my visit knowing that this brewery, with their original Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Porter and Stout, was getting it right for America.
Cofounding brewer, Ken Grossman
Founding brewer Ken Grossman. Courtesy Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Sierra Nevada was brewing four to six brews a week in their 17-barrel brewery, cranking out 35 barrels on any given day. Co-founder Ken Grossman, a student of chemistry and a bike mechanic, had run a home beer and winemaking shop before becoming a professional brewer. Steve Harrison, the company’s lead salesperson, had worked as a head clerk in a liquor store as well as at a retail service center of Sears. His first job at the brewery was part time on the bottling line and part time selling beer. Ken and Steve wanted to open a small business that made high-quality beer and do something they enjoyed.
In 1986 they were planning and projecting for the future. High profit was not an original goal—survival was. They didn’t realize the size of brewery they would need in order to