The American Beer Revolution

The American Beer Revolution Nick Gillespie: The American revolutionaries were beer drinkers who fought for a free society. While the American experiment hasn’t always lived to their expectations, they would be outstanded by the prosperity that we take for granted and they would love today’s American beer. The people came from Europe to settle in the America brought beer with them. English, Dutch, German, and Czech immigrants built breweries wherever they settle. And by 1870, there were more than 4,000 breweries in the US. Refrigeration led to consolidation and decreased that number to around 1500 by the beginning of the 20th century. And that of course prohibition decimate the industry completely. Only a small fraction of the breweries managed to reopen after prohibition was repealed. During World War II at the request of the government, many breweries produced lower alcohol beer for the troops and our boys came home with the taste for lighter beer. In the 1950s and 60s, the construction of the interstate highway system and the emergence of TV led to the first national brand. Male: It reduced choice and they can do it because they achieved these economies of scale, it allowed them to deliver product at such inexpensive prices. Tony Magee: And by 1980, they were less than 50 breweries left in the United States. Ron Lindenbusch: Well, I started drinking in a very early age. I grew in St. Louis. I was raised on Budweiser and Bush. Richard Norgrove: I don’t think there's any Bud in the house when I was growing up. It was all fast with hands. It's absolutely ribbon. Tony Magee: Old style was the important beer back then and I mean Old Milwaukee and all those beers. They knew it that was Staggy drinking. Jay Brooks: I grew up in the Eastern Pennsylvania, we drank Yuengling, Schmidt. Tony Magee: Regional breweries. Ron Lindenbusch: Went to college and end up working in a bar. We had Bud Light, Bosch on top. You know if Budweiser run out, I’d throw a Bosch tag on and nobody ever called Ron. Richard Norgrove: I think the first time I had a wow factor with beer was when I was in the Navy in the Philippines drinking San Miguel and that just blew me away. I had never had anything like that. Jay Brooks: I moved to New York City, played an army band and we started going to jazz clubs. And that time in New York, they just started— Tony Magee: The imports started creeping in and people started detecting the opportunity to buy differently. They were more expensive, but it was seem while worth it. Male 3: Craft beer, Michael Brewery has really grew out of home brewing as people started making bigger and more flavorful beer. Male 7: I have some guys in their early stages here in the valley. Bob Augustin and that we’ve talked a bunch with them and they were like, we just made the beers that we like to make us heart loose. Ron Lindenbusch: I ended up to Eureka to visit a friend and stopped in Joplin Brewery, things haven't been the same. The Black Hawk sitting back on the corner and listening to music drinking that mysterious dark beer going, “What is this?” Tony Magee: And then of course, you know, the Hop top girl grew up on north in the scrap room became more interesting. Hot girl starts fooling around. They came up with new blends. They grow like little flowers. They look a lot like they have a cousin. It's a marginal legal medicinal herb in the old school house. Ron Lindenbusch: We started making IPA in 95 and immediately became our flagship because the first people who drank said, “My god, nobody’s going to drink this roullette.” Tony Magee: May I show you the brew house. Malt is brined in by the computer, transferred to this tank here which is the Mash tank. This is transferred to this tank here which is called the louder tank so the water flows over here to the kettle and at the right moment in the process, the sum of enters here stand through that tank down there, it’s mixed with yeast and directed to the fermentation tank. Fourteen days later, you have beer. This is where we keep Bob. He has to stay there. He guards the tank. From here, it goes back on the brewery, gets filtered up to the bottom line, immediately out to the world. Richard Norgrove: I think one of the most fascinating things about craft beer is how innovative it's been. It's taken traditionally styles and kind of ran with them. And today more styles are brewed in the United States than any other country in the world. Tony Magee: The craft brewery is extraordinarily important sort of been the economic model of beer in the country in terms of providing choices for people. Richard Norgrove: Today’s beer industry includes about 1440 breweries, four of which or about 95% of the industry. Tony Magee: They make the very lightest beer imaginable in order to create the lowest common denominator of flavors so that their marketing and their image is what people buy into. And there's nothing about the flavor, the challenges that decision for them. Male 8: Bottom line, there's a difference and Bud Light has it. It's called drinkability. That’s the just right taste, not too heavy, not too light. Tony Magee: But those beers are extraordinarily difficult to make and we couldn’t make one if our life depended on it. Our beers are big and robust, and crazy, and live ingredients are starting like making chili. It's hard to make a bad chili, but you can make a more beautiful chili if you work hard and add some skills, and that’s the business that we are all in. Richard Norgrove: I think you'll continue to see the market being driven by the craft brewery industries. The fast growing segment, it probably will be for years to come. Jay Brooks: That’s true. Male 3: That’s the best time to love beer right now. Male 9: Couldn’t asked for a better thing on all evening than a big rich chocolaty, maybe on scallop. Male 3: These days in international competition not only does United States do better than really any other country. In the last two years in the world beer cup for example, California the state itself won more medals than every country except for Germany. Male 10: USA, best beer ever. Nick Gillespie: There's the freedom of choice in great American beer. For Reason. TV, I'm Nick Gillespie.