You could be missing out

By Brandon Schiwal
Contributing Writer

When you think of beer, what do you imagine? Do you think of golden liquid pouring into a frosty glass with thin white bubbles slowly dripping down the side? Do you think of summer days spent in your backyard grilling meats on an open fire? Or do you imagine groups of friends laughing and raising their bottles in the air while having a night to remember?

For me the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of beer is sourdough bread. I think of milled grain, mixed with water, raised with wild yeast from the open air and baked to golden brown perfection. After all, it is thought that beer was originally developed as a way of storing surplus grain stock. While it may not hold all the nutrients as bread itself, the original name for beer actually loosely translates to “liquid bread.” In fact, this year J. Wilson spent the entirety of lent in a beer fast. He had eaten no solid food and lived on only beer and water. He said in his blog “Maybe I didn’t get all the nutrients I needed these last few weeks, protein especially, but for a short burst of fast-induced focus, proved that one could not only survive, but thrive, on a simple diet of beer and water. Somebody call Myth Busters.”
(http://diaryofapartimemonk.wordpress.com)

When most people think of beer, however, what first comes to mind generally resembles a beer commercial. Most of our ideas of beer revolve around the international marketing campaigns of “The Big Two.” They used to be referred to as “The Big Three” but Budweiser merged with a European beer distributor, Inbev, and formed Budweiser-Inbev becoming the international rulers of all things beer. To combat with the added pressure Miller and Coors merged to form the cleverly named MillerCoors in hopes to be able to compete in the global marketplace. We believe what we have been told by the German immigrant brewers that took over our plain American palates. The fact is, most of the beer drunk in America isn’t even considered beer by German standards.

In 1487 the Reinheitsgebot was enacted in Germany. This law proclaimed that beer contains only malted barley, water, and hops and nothing else, ever, under no circumstances.  It also banned the sale of beer containing anything other than the three ingredients mentioned. The fourth beer ingredient, yeast, was not included, as it wasn’t discovered until 1859.  Most beer sold in the United States today is adjunct beer that uses corn, wheat and other grains basically to give it as little taste as possible to appeal to our aforementioned plain American palates. My point? The beer we consume today en masse is essentially alcoholic water. “American beer is like sex on a canoe” is the adage my Canadian friends have reminded me of on frequent occasions.

That statement bothers me on a level I cannot describe. The American craft beer movement has solidified itself as producing some awe-inspiring beverages; however, this accounts for less than 10 percent of beer sold in America. As The Big Two fight for market share and are currently experiencing a decline in overall sales annually, the American craft beer movement has been expanding at a very steady pace and breweries are running at maximum capacity even after expanding. This is a very comforting thought.

Now I understand that saying most American beer should not be considered beer is misleading. For one, the Reinheitsgebot is no longer recognized in Germany, it has since been replaced with a less strict law. Its original intention was actually to bring down the cost of food, not necessarily to protect beer styles. Brewers were buying all the wheat to use in Witbeer and Dunkle Weissen driving prices up so high bakeries could not make bread without charging astronomical prices. Monasteries were actually exempt from this law, so monks continued to brew beer with wheat after the law was enacted. There also are some pretty damn good beers out there that wouldn’t technically qualify under this law, my favorite being New Glarus’ Raspberry Tart, a raspberry lambic. I admit I am leading you down a path of forward thinking using the facts incorrectly. If it works, however, I have a feeling you wouldn’t place much blame on me. There is nothing wrong with a diversified palate.

The next time you walk into a liquor store, walk past the watery obelisk of mass market beer perfectly displayed and towering over you. Find the craft beer section (which is usually the furthest place from the entrance possible) and grab a six-pack of a beer you have never heard of. Take the no name six-pack home and delve into what could possibly be the best beer you have ever had. Taste a world you may have been missing.
Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)