The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [2]
There’s a genuine revolution happening in America, and I have just spent a year traveling through America to document it. Sure, the big breweries still dominate the cooler aisle, but make no mistake: small-batch “craft” beer (a term related to a brewery’s modest size and independent ownership) is roaring back. After The Great Mistake ended in 1933, only the most aggressive, consolidated companies were able to survive; beer drinkers paid the price in flavor and selection. But from the nadir of just 44 breweries by the end of the 1970s, there are now more than 1,700 from Anchorage to the Big Apple, Kona to Kentucky, approaching half the 4,000 breweries of one hundred twenty-five years ago. Meanwhile beer bars from coast to coast are bursting with selections and seasonally driven food to go with them. Bottle shops and groceries are stocking 1,000-strong lists. Simply put, we’re in the midst of a new golden age of American beer.
There’s a simple reason for this comeback: good beer is part of a good life. The late British beer writer Michael Jackson once said, “You wouldn’t walk into a restaurant and order ‘a plate of food,’ so why would you do the same with your beer?” Craft beer is about originality, flavor, and complexity derived from the many malts, hop varieties, yeast strains, water sources, even oak barrels a brewer can use, no matter where they live.
A wonderful thing happens when you travel with beer in mind: the world opens up in a more friendly way. During my travels, I met hundreds of dedicated, inspiring American brewers, barkeeps, chefs, and beer lovers, every one in love with the art and science of brewing. There’s a bit of luck and joy in all this, but a lot of hard work: it’s impossible to keep up, because new kettles are boiling in almost every single state.
Think of this book as a mere starting point, a preview of what’s out there for you to discover. Wander, but bring a map, too: in this book, spots are organized in clusters, generally speaking, but not always. And talk to people: in every single one of the places in this book, you’re going to meet pilgrims hitting the road for the love of beer. You’re not likely to meet warmer and more friendly people. And along the way, I hope The Great American Ale Trail will help posit a new definition of craft beer: The growing love of artisan-made brews isn’t because beer is becoming more like wine. It’s becoming more beer-like. Brewing goes back to our Founding Fathers, and eons earlier, when Sumerians recorded beer batches as prayers in clay tablets. We’re tapping into something ancient, something necessary. To the lucky ones who know, it makes perfect sense. And I hope that with this book, you’ll begin your own search. The only question is: Where to go first?
—Christian DeBenedetti
Portland, OR, 2011
The
PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
and ALASKA
Oregon
THANKS TO A BAND OF BOLD BREWING PIONEERS STARTING IN THE late 1970s and early 80s, the entire state is blessed with hoppy wonders, with Portland as its shining beer capital. Today, there are no less than forty breweries and counting in the small city of 600,000 known to many as Beervana. Some say it’s the rain driving drinkers indoors; others point to the tough, timber-country ingenuity and independent spirit ingrained in the gene pool. Either way, craft beer is so popular throughout the state, you can pick up an artisan brew at the gas station.
The history of this good-beer revolution is well documented, but suffice it to say that Portland embraced craft beer early, becoming the brewing epicenter of the Northwest—and arguably the entire United States and even the world—by being both aggressively provincial and always innovative. With access to top-quality grain and regionally grown hops (and relatively inexpensive real estate), brewers thrived amid a population that loves to drink beer as much as it loves to climb, ski, surf, roast fair-trade coffee, build exotic bikes (and ride them around naked—why not?), and