Destiny? And a few words on Beer-Snobbery

So, over the weekend I learned that my Great-Great Grandfather was the Head Brewer at a brewery in Peoria, Illinois. Perhaps there is beer in my blood? And I mean of the genetic kind not the blood/alcohol level kind. I’ve spent a few hours online searching for more info, but since most of that data was pre-computers (Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet yet) and in some cases wasn’t even written down in the first place, I’ve yet to locate which of the 2 smaller breweries in town he worked for. At the time there were 2 “local” breweries and 1 “larger” brewery in town (imagine a town of 50,000 people with 3 breweries??!!). My Grandfather remembers that he worked for a “local” brewery so that narrowed my search. So for now it appears that he either worked for Leisy Brewing or Gipps Brewing. A search for both companies turned up very little useful information other than the fact that both companies did exist and that Prohibition took a severe toll on them and neither company lasted more than a handful of years after repeal. It’s strange to think that in America, a testament to free enterprise if there ever was one, we actually passed laws that crushed an entire industry for no good reason, other than people didn’t approve of alcohol. Of course, that industry did eventually recover from Prohibition but the number of small town breweries was adversely affected.  Flash forward more than 50 years and craft brewing and home brewing have evened the field a bit. It makes my beer-tainted blood smile and fizz just a bit.

Now to address an issue that popped up in the beer world, recently; Big Industry Beer advertising in craft beer magazines. This actually happened in both magazines I subscribe to. Anheuser-Busch placed an ad for their flagship beer, Budweiser, in the pages of Brew Your Own and Zymurgy. Well, let me tell you, people were up in arms. Crying foul and claiming that “Budweiser represents the enemy of good beer”. WHAT???? I was so shocked by this statement I couldn’t see straight. While I wouldn’t call Budweiser a flavorful beer, there is no way I can call them an “enemy”. I’ve enjoyed a few Buds in my day and so have a lot of people. Again, isn’t this America where entrepreneurs are applauded for their hard work? Anheuser-Busch has never done anything but supply the market with the product that the market demanded. And if people read up on their beer-history, they would see that Anheuser-Busch started out as a small brewery making ales before they moved on to mass-produced lagers, just like the public demanded. If people don’t like the taste of Budweiser, don’t drink it but don’t claim it is “the enemy”. They brew the beer they do because our Great-Great Grandfathers (mine included, probably) asked for that kind of beer. And the last time I checked, Budweiser was the top selling beer in the world. There must be someone out there that likes it. Beer-Snobs can be quite severe in their attitudes about what makes a great beer, but let’s never forget that what might not be your favorite style (Budweiser, Coors and Miller Lite are in an accepted style: Light American Lager) may be the greatest beer to someone else. I’d be willing to bet that most “Beer-Snobs” started out drinking Light American Lagers and eventually moved on to other, more flavorful beers. Let’s hope that the positive letters about the ads that were received by both magazines and printed in the next issue were enough to make the “snobs” rethink their furor. So now my beer-tainted blood is boiling, perhaps I should add some malt and hops and see if I get beer.