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Other successful breweries of the era begun by German immigrants in Milwaukee included the [[Valentin Blatz Brewing Company]], [[Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company]], and the [[Miller Brewing Company]], owned [[Frederick Miller]], who took on the brewery which had originally been owned by Phillip Best's brother, Carl.<ref>Ogle (2006), p.34-36</ref>
Other successful breweries of the era begun by German immigrants in Milwaukee included the [[Valentin Blatz Brewing Company]], [[Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company]], and the [[Miller Brewing Company]], owned [[Frederick Miller]], who took on the brewery which had originally been owned by Phillip Best's brother, Carl.<ref>Ogle (2006), p.34-36</ref>


In St. Louis, a prosperous German soap maker, [[Eberhard Anheuser]], purchased a struggling brewery in 1860. His daughter married a brewery supplier, [[Adolphus Busch]], who took over the company after his father-in-law's death, and renamed it [[Anheuser-Busch]]. Busch soon toured Europe, discovering the success of [[Pilsner|Bohemian lager]], and introduced [[Budweiser]] beer (named after a beer brewed in the town of [[Budweis]] in [[Bohemia]]) in 1876.<ref name=bud>Jackson (1977), p.210</ref> Anheuser-Busch, and its Budweiser beer, would go on to be the largest brewery and beer brand in the world.<ref name=bud/> The company innovated the use of refrigeration in rail cars to transport its beers, which helped make bottled Budweiser the first national beer brand in the United States.<ref>Jackson (1977), p.204</ref>
In St. Louis, a prosperous German soap maker, [[Eberhard Anheuser]], purchased a struggling brewery in 1860. His daughter married a brewery supplier, [[Adolphus Busch]], who took over the company after his father-in-law's death, and renamed it [[Anheuser-Busch]]. Busch soon toured Europe, discovering the success of [[Pilsner|Bohemian lager]], and introduced [[Budweiser]] beer (named after a beer brewed in the town of [[Budweis]] in [[Bohemia]]) in 1876.<ref name=bud>Jackson (1977), p.210</ref> Anheuser-Busch, and its Budweiser urine, would go on to be the largest brewery and beer brand in the world.<ref name=bud/> The company innovated the use of refrigeration in rail cars to transport its beers, which helped make bottled Budweiser the first national beer brand in the United States.<ref>Jackson (1977), p.204</ref>


===Prohibition===
===Prohibition===

Revision as of 05:25, 14 June 2011

This article is about beer in the USA. For the documentary film, see American Beer (documentary). For the Fear album, see American Beer (album).
Pint of American beer

Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 1,700 breweries[1], which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels of beer in 2009, and consumes roughly 20 gallons (75.8L) of beer per capita annually.[2] In 2008, the United States was ranked 16th in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.[3]

While beer was an early part of colonial life in the United States, Prohibition in the early 20th century caused nearly all American breweries to close. After it was repealed, the industry was dominated by a consolidated number of large-scale breweries. The big breweries that bounced back from prohibition produce the majority of the beer today. The majority of the new breweries in the US are craft or micro breweries, called brewpubs when they also serve food on the premises. The most common style of beer in the United States is an American-style pale lager modeled off of the Pilsner style, while craft breweries increasingly brew beer inspired by the traditional styles of Germany, Belgium and Great Britain. [4][5]

History

Beginnings

Native American tribes brewed beer in the lands of the United States prior to European arrival. One recipe was composed of maize, birch sap and water.[6] The earliest record of brewing by non-Native peoples dates from 1587, and the first commercial brewery opened in the United States was at the Dutch West India Company of Lower Manhattan in 1632.[6]

The brewing traditions of England and the Netherlands (as brought to New York) ensured that colonial drinking would be dominated by beer rather than wine. Until the middle of the 19th century, British-style ales dominated American brewing. This changed when the lager styles, brought by German immigrants, turned out to be more profitable for large-scale manufacturing and shipping.[7] Lager was also preferred due to its longevity, while local ales of the time quickly turned sour and were a perceived risk to drink.[8]

The lager brewed by these companies was originally based on several different styles of central Europe, but the Pilsener style, using mild Czech hops, pale, lightly roasted 6-row barley and often adjuncts such as rice and corn, gradually won out.[9]

Steam beer, the first style of beer to originate in the United States, evolved in the San Francisco area during the 19th century. After Prohibition ended, the Anchor Brewing Company was the sole producer of steam beer.[10] The company was near closure in 1965, whereupon Fritz Maytag, great-grandson of the Maytag Corporation founder, rescued the brewery and with it the steam beer style.[11] Anchor has since trademarked the term "Steam Beer" and all subsequent renditions of the style are now termed California Common.[10]

D.G. Yuengling & Son, commonly called Yuengling (pronounced "ying-ling"), is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, having been established in 1829, and is one of the largest breweries by volume in the country. It is currently the second-largest American-owned brewery after the Boston Beer Company. Its headquarters is in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.[12]

Best Brewing Co., Virginia Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, circa 1885

One of the earliest large-scale brewers was Best Brewing, a Milwaukee brewery built by German immigrant Phillip Best in the 1840s. It began shipping its beer to Chicago and St. Louis the following decade, first by ferry and eventually by rail, establishing an early trans-market beer brand in the United States.[13] Other successful breweries of the era begun by German immigrants in Milwaukee included the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company, Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, and the Miller Brewing Company, owned Frederick Miller, who took on the brewery which had originally been owned by Phillip Best's brother, Carl.[14]

In St. Louis, a prosperous German soap maker, Eberhard Anheuser, purchased a struggling brewery in 1860. His daughter married a brewery supplier, Adolphus Busch, who took over the company after his father-in-law's death, and renamed it Anheuser-Busch. Busch soon toured Europe, discovering the success of Bohemian lager, and introduced Budweiser beer (named after a beer brewed in the town of Budweis in Bohemia) in 1876.[15] Anheuser-Busch, and its Budweiser urine, would go on to be the largest brewery and beer brand in the world.[15] The company innovated the use of refrigeration in rail cars to transport its beers, which helped make bottled Budweiser the first national beer brand in the United States.[16]

Prohibition

Detroit Police discover an underground brewery during Prohibition

On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was enacted into law, creating the Prohibition era, wherein the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages was made illegal. All legal American brewing came to a halt when Prohibition was imposed, though the earlier temperance movement had already reduced the number of breweries significantly. Only a few breweries, mainly the largest, 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.[17][18] Production and shipping of alcohol was largely confined to illegal operations that could deliver compact distilled beverages — smuggled rum and domestic moonshine — more efficiently and reliably than bulkier products such as beer.

American Prohibition was repealed by degrees. First, the Volstead Act defining "intoxicating liquors", was amended in April 1933 by the Cullen-Harrison Act to provide that beer with a strength of up to 3.2% alcohol was not "intoxicating", and thus not prohibited.[19] Within 24 hours of legalization, as much as 1.5 million barrels of 3.2% beer was sold, causing some to predict a "beer famine".[20] Soon thereafter, in December of the same year, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed Prohibition in general, but left the production of alcoholic beverages heavily regulated by federal, state, and local authorities. Included in this regulation was the imposition of a three-tier distribution system.[21]

Post-Prohibition

Although the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution allowed brewers to legally resume practicing their craft, many “dry” counties remained and many states failed to ratify altogether, which slowed the resurgence of the brewing industry. In addition, the many prohibitionists of the temperance movement were still quite vocal and were able to retain a large following despite the repealing of the 18th amendment. Before the American beer industry could attempt to re-establish itself, World War II began. This further inhibited the re-emergence of smaller breweries because much of the grain supply was rationed due to the war, forcing the breweries to use adjuncts such as corn and rice alongside the barley traditionally used in brewing. The prohibitionists saw a tantalizing opportunity to quell the efforts of remaining breweries, insisting that the commercial brewing of beer squandered manpower, grain, fuel and cargo space that should have gone towards the war effort overseas.[22] Brewers responded to these accusations by extolling the benefits that brewers yeast have on human health, namely, their high vitamin B content. It was argued that the increase in thiamine in the diets of the soldiers and factory workers would improve performance on the battlefield as well as in the factory and that this increase sufficiently justified the need for beer. The American government decided that the benefits of the vitamin B in brewers yeast, alongside the taxes coming in from beer sales were enough to justify a request for fifteen percent of beer production for servicemen.[23]

Although America’s breweries had the backing of their government, they still needed to capture the hearts and the wallets of the American people. In order to accomplish this, the major breweries banded together and launched the “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” advertising campaign.[22] The campaign can be well summarized from the following 1942 magazine advertisement:

“If you’re a man, it’s a shine on your shoes ... the sweet feel of a fly rod in your hand ... If you’re a woman, it’s a tricky new hair-do maybe ... or a change of lipstick. Morale is a lot of little things like that. People can take the big bad things ... the bitter news, the bombings even ... if only a few of the little, familiar, comforting good things are left.” [24]

From the time America entered the war in 1941 until it ended in 1945, the overall production of beer increased by over 40% despite the small number of active breweries.[22] This wartime growth allowed the large breweries such as Anheuser-Busch to dominate the American market for over fifty years. During this period they produced beers more noted for their uniformity than for any particular flavor. Beers such as those made by Anheuser-Busch and Coors Brewing Company followed a restricted pilsner style, with large-scale industrial processes and the use of low-cost ingredients like corn or ingredients such as rice that provided starch for alcohol production while contributing minimal flavor to the finished product. The dominance of the so-called "macrobrew" led to an international stereotype of "American beer" as poor in quality and flavor. However, in recent years the major brewers have made attempts at developing premium beers in the European tradition such as Killian's Irish Red.

Economy

See also: Microbrewery

Changes to American law in 1978 led to a growth of manufacture and interest in beer in the 1980s. This interest continues today. Due to the resurgence of the commercial craft brewing industry in the 1980s, the United States now features many beers, offered by over 1400 brewpubs, microbreweries, and regional brewers. However, the majority of beer sales in the United States are still for pale lager produced by national and international brewing companies.

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. The success of the commercial craft brewing industry has led the large breweries to invest in smaller breweries such as Widmer Brothers and Goose Island[25], and to develop more complex beers of their own.[26]

Beer sales in the premium market are increasing, while sales in the standard and economy section are decreasing.[27] The major beer producers merged together to strengthen their position - Anheuser-Busch merged with InBev to form Anheuser–Busch InBev, and Molson Coors merged with Miller Brewing to form MillerCoors.[27] Despite legal challenges the country's three-tiered distribution system remains in place.[27]

Nearly 80 percent of convenience stores sell beer, accounting for nearly one-third of all beer purchased in the United States, about 93 percent of which is sold cold. The U.S. convenience store industry sells more than 2 billion gallons of beer a year – roughly one-third of all the beer purchased in the Unites States. (In 2007, U.S. consumption was 6.7 billion gallons.)[28]

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in America and accounts for about 85% of the volume of alcoholic beverages sold in the United States each year. As of 2009, the top three beer companies in the US were Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, and Pabst Brewing Company.[29] The top beer brands by marketshare were Bud Light (28.3%), Budweiser (11.9%) and Coors Light (9.9%).[30] Corona Extra is the #1 imported beer, followed by Heineken. 2009 figures show an overall decline in beer consumption from previous years, with only craft beer sales rising at a rate of 7-10%, earning 4.3% of sales by volume.[31][32] Overall U.S. beer consumption was calculated at 205.8 million barrels.[32] Light beer constitutes a 52.8% share of US beer sales.[33]

Beer and society

Beer styles

See also: American-style lager

The best selling style of beer made in the US is American-style pale lager, which is made by most large-scale brewers, including Anheuser–Busch InBev and MillerCoors.

Other beer styles indigenous to the United States include California common beer or "steam beer", amber ale, blonde ale and cream ale. Adapted styles with distinct American variations include pale ale, India Pale Ale, red ale, brown ale, stout, barleywine.[34]

Belgian beer styles have also been adapted by American craft breweries, including saison, dubbel, tripel, and Belgian strong ale.[35] The lighter of these (saison, golden strong ale and tripel) beers have soft malt flavors and mild to strong "spicy" characteristics that come from yeast or the addition of spices. The darker of these beers (dubbel and dark strong ale) may have flavors of dried fruit that derives from the malts, yeast and sugar used to make them. All of these beers are high in carbonation and low in hop character. Witbier, a style nearly extinct until reintroduced by Belgian brewer Pierre Celis in the 1960s, is brewed by MillerCoors as Blue Moon, and is one of the top-selling craft beer styles in the United States.[36]

Malt liquor is a high-ABV version of American pale lager. It has often incited controversy due to its alcohol content, larger-sized containers, low prices, and advertising frequently targeting inner-city neighborhoods.[37][38]

Other beer styles popular in America

  • Ice beer -- A beer that has been partially freeze-distilled to concentrate flavor and alcohol. The technique is based on that used to make Eisbock, but the two styles share no stylistic similarities (apart from both being lagers) otherwise.
  • Light beer -- A beer made with reduced alcohol and/or carbohydrate content. Though the term is not limited to American-style beers, many of the best known light beers are in fact American lagers.
  • Dry beer -- A Japanese style based on American lager; the yeast is encouraged to consume more fermentables, resulting in a crisper finish and an unusually subtle hop flavor.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Brewers Association Releases 2010 Top 50 Breweries Lists" (Press release). Brewers Association. April 13 2011. Retrieved 2011-4-23. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Brewers Almanac 2010". The Beer Institute. 2010. Retrieved 2011-4-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle Report Vol. 22: 2008 Beer Consumption in Major Countries" (Press release). Kirin Holdings. December 21 2009. Retrieved April 23 2011. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  4. ^ BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Index
  5. ^ Brewers Association | Beer Style Guidelines
  6. ^ a b Jackson (1977), p.208
  7. ^ "F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Co., Brooklyn, New York". Beerhistory.com. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  8. ^ Ogle (2006), p.15-16
  9. ^ Ogle (2006), p.74-75
  10. ^ a b Smith, Brad. Steam Beer and California Common Recipes: Beer Styles. BeerSmith.com. June 11, 2008. Retrieved 2011-3-9.
  11. ^ Jackson (1977), p.215
  12. ^ "Yuengling America's Oldest Brewery | beer | merchandise | club | TV". Yuengling.com. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  13. ^ Ogle (2006), p.17-19
  14. ^ Ogle (2006), p.34-36
  15. ^ a b Jackson (1977), p.210
  16. ^ Jackson (1977), p.204
  17. ^ Grace, Roger M. "Breweries Survive Prohibition by Selling Malt Extract". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Retrieved 2011-4-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "Dayton Breweries During Prohibition". Dayton History Books Online. Retrieved 2011-4-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ Cullen-Harrison Act.
  20. ^ From the archives: 'Beer famine' threatens U.S.. SFGate.com. April 8, 2009. Retrieved 2011-3-26.
  21. ^ "Value of the three-tier system". Beer, Wine & Spirits Distributors of Minnesota. Retrieved 2011-4-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ^ a b c Jacobson, Lisa. “Beer Goes to War: The Politics of Beer Promotion and Production in the Second World War,” Food, Culture & Society; September 2009, Vol. 12 Issue 3, p275-312
  23. ^ Rudin, Max. “Beer and America,” American Heritage; June/July 2002, Vol. 53, Issue 3
  24. ^ Morale is a Lot of Little Things,” advertising proof sheet, June 1942
  25. ^ Noel, Josh (March 28 2011). "Goose Island's John Hall promises commitment to creativity won't change". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-04-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Available to sip and savor: Budweiser American Ale" (Press release). Anheuser-Busch. September 15 2008. Retrieved April 22,2011. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  27. ^ a b c "Alcoholic Drinks in the US". www.euromonitor.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  28. ^ Fact Sheets: Beer Sales
  29. ^ Brewers Association Releases 2009 Top 50 Breweries Lists. April 14, 2010. Retrieved 2011-3-11.
  30. ^ Top US Beer Brand Stats (2009 Update). thebeerfathers.com. Retrieved 2011-3-11.
  31. ^ Sealover, Ed. Craft beer sales up 10.3%, despite overall beer decline. Denver Business Journal. March 9, 2010. Retrieved 2011-3-11.
  32. ^ a b Brewers Association Announces 2009 Craft Brewer Sales Numbers. Brewers Association. March 8, 2010. Retrieved 2011-3-11.
  33. ^ US beer consumption drops for third year. CommodityOnline. Sept 20 2010. Retrieved 2011-3-11.
  34. ^ "CraftBeer.com". www.craftbeer.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02. {{cite web}}: Text "American Ales" ignored (help)
  35. ^ Sawyer, Christopher (May 8 2003). "U.S. acquiring a taste for Belgian ales". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-04-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Manners, Tim. "Blue Moon Beer". reveries.com. Retrieved 2011-4-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  37. ^ Emert, Carol (February 20 1999). "S.F. Brewery Yanks Beer Ads in Harlem". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-04-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ Marriott, Michel (April 16 1993). "For Minority Youths, 40 Ounces of Trouble". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-04-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Sources

External links

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