Homebrewing and Microbreweries
Baby boomers saved beer in another way. They began to demand more flavorful beer. It is often said that the craft beer revolution began in the eighties but Ogle shows that its roots were already well established by then. In the late sixties homebrewing with craft breweries on its heels was becoming popular, especially on the west coast. Although it was still illegal, home brewer clubs were being formed and classes for the aspiring brewer were being held.Once homebrewing was legalized in the late seventies and the early, often failed, microbrewers – most significantly Jack McAuliffe and his much fabled New Albion Brewing Company – had shown the way, homebrewing and craft beer were poised to revolutionize American beer.
Is That Really the Whole Story?
Ambitious Brew has caused controversy and irritated some beer lovers since its release. The most common complaint is Ogle’s assertion that beer produced by big brewers became weaker in flavor and character as a response to the public’s demands. It is comfortable to believe that swill was foisted upon the public by cynical, money-grubbing corporations. But Ogle’s argument makes a lot of sense and her research is thorough. The facts appear to be on her side.The book has also caused some rancor thanks to its view of beer in America before 1844. Again, Ogle presents an argument that seems to explain this but it but in this case I have to agree with her critics. She spends but two pages on alcohol in America before the 1840’s and this information is given only to provide background for her discussion of a mid 1800’s prohibition movement. She dismisses the idea of beer in America with a brief statement that it was simply too hard to do when fruit trees provided cider which was easier to make and, later, when rum became plentiful. But I have to wonder about homebrew and various, apparently failed, attempts at making a go of professional breweries. On this the book is silent which, to me, is its greatest lacking.
Nevertheless, Ambitious Brew is very readable and, for the parts of beer’s story in America that it covers, it is very informative. Despite myself I developed a sense of respect for the big brew houses though their watery beer still holds no interest for me. If Ogle almost idolizes these companies and the families that started them, she is just as in awe of the new beer pioneers like Jack McAuliffe, Charlie Papazian, Fritz Maytag, Jim Koch, etc. In both cases, old and new, she does a lot to make these icons of beer real people in the mind of the reader. This story of the business of beer in America – the subtitle I would have chosen for this book – is a fascinating one and Ambitious Brew goes a long way to telling it with accuracy and affection.
