Neil Reid is Professor of Geography and Planning and Director of the Jack Ford Urban Affairs Center at the University of Toledo. He studies and writes about the beer industry.
A few weeks ago I was on the Internet and decided to Google my surname – Reid. According to Ancestry.com the name Reid means:
“nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Older Scots reid ‘red’. topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing, from Old English r¯d ‘woodland clearing’.”
Ancestry.com also informed me that between 1841 and 1921, there were more Reids in Scotland than in any other country. I remember reading, many years ago, that it was one of the most common surnames in Scotland. Again, a little Googling confirmed this. In 2014, it was the 11th most common surname in Scotland.
Even more interesting was the fact that in 1840, according to Ancestry.com, there were 51 Reid families living in Ohio (for those of you that do not know me, I was born in and grew up in Scotland, but now live in Ohio). This represented approximately 10% of all the recorded Reid’s living in the United States. Indeed, in 1840, Ohio had the highest population of families named Reid in the US.
Number of Reids by State in 1840 (Source: Ancestry.com)
What does any of the above have to do with beer? Nothing actually, except it was while I was down this Google rabbit hole searching the Reid name that I discovered that in 19th century London, UK there was a brewery called Reid Brewery Co. Ltd. My attention peaked and I did a little internet sleuthing to see what I could discover about the brewery that bore my name.
I begin the story of the Reid Brewery in 1775, when Richard Meux and Mungo Murray formed a partnership and purchased Jackson’s Brewery in London’s Mercer Street. The purchase price was £15,000. Coincidentally, Mercer happens to be my late-Mother’s maiden name. The brewery suffered a major fire in 1763 Rather than rebuild in the same location, Meux and Murray decided to build a new new brewery on the somewhat appropriately named Liquorpond Street (now Clerkenwell Street). A new name, Griffin Brewery, was also agreed upon by the two business partners. In 1790, Murray made the decision to leave the partnership.
Griffin Brewery in 1790
In 1787, Griffin Brewery produced an impressive 49,651 barrels of beer. In 1793, Andrew Reid, a distiller and wine and spirit merchant, became a partner with Meux, and formed what then became Meux, Reid & Co. The brewery’s annual output continued to grow and reached an excess of 100,000 barrels for the first time in 1795.
In 1797, Richard Meux Jr. and Andrew Reid’s brother, John, became partners in the brewery. In 1816 Thomas Meux resigned from the partnership, which then became Reid & Co. At the time of Meux’s resignation the brewery’s annual production was 190,000 barrels. In the years following Meux’s resignation Reid & Co. purchased several smaller breweries in both London and its environs. John Reid died in 1821 and his brother, Andrew, died in 1840. William Reid, son of Andrew Reid, maintained the Reid family’s interest in the brewery.
By 1853, Reid’s was London fourth largest brewery – there were somewhere in the region of 160 breweries n London at this time. The primary style of beer brewed by Reid’s was Porter. In all likelihood, some of that beer made its way to India to supply the British army there. In 1898 Reid & Co merged with the large London brewer Watney and another brewer, Combe and Co. This is considered the first big merger to take place in the British brewing industry. After the merger, Griffin Brewery on Liquidpond Street (owned by Reid) was closed. Production was concentrated in Watney’s Stag Brewery in the Pimlico district of London. The merged entity, Watney, Combe, Reid, became a major force in London brewing.
A Watney’s truck delivering Reid Stout
The Reid brand name continued to be used until the 1950s. In the early 1950s Watney’s was brewing and bottling three variants of their Reid’s Stout – Reid’s Stout, Reid’s Family Stout, and Reid’s Special Stout. Two versions of the Reid’s Stout was available – one with an ABV of 4.39% and the other with an ABV of 6.75%. The Family and Special Stout had ABVs of 3.21 and 4.72% respectively.
While the original brewing company bearing the Reid name is long gone, there is at least one craft brewery in the United Kingdom bearing the name – Reids Gold Brewing Company in Stonehaven, Scotland, which was established by Barry Reid in 2018.
Back in February, I received a telephone call from Kevin Lynch, a reporter from the Daily Record, a newspaper in Wooster, OH. Kevin was writing a story about the beer can shortage that was the result of the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ll get back to that story in a minute, but let’s say a few words about the history of the beer can.
The world’s first beer can made its debut on January 24, 1935. On that day, the Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, NJ test marketed the beer can in Richmond, VA. Two different beers were available to thirsty Richmonders – Krueger’s Cream Ale and Krueger’s Finest Beer. The initial run was only 2,000 cans, but production increased after beer drinkers provided positive feedback on the new vessel. These first cans were made by the New Jersey-based American Can Company.
The world’s first beer cans contained Krueger’s Cream Ale and Krueger’s Finest Beer.
Compared with today’s cans, the first beer cans were heavy and had to be opened with a churchkey opener. With the passage of time, however, the humble beer can has evolved. In 1935, cone top cans appeared. These were followed by pull-tab cans in 1962, and stay-tab cans in 1975.
In recent years, canned beer has become increasingly popular among craft beer drinkers. This popularity has been driven by a number of factors. Cans can be taken where bottles are prohibited – for example the pool or the beach. They are also lighter than bottles, making them more portable and hence a preferred choice for outdoor activities such as hiking. Aluminum cans are also highly recyclable, more so than glass. According to data from The Aluminum Association, “nearly 75 percent of all aluminum produced in the U.S. is still in use today”. But what about taste? Does a beer in a can taste as good as the same beer in a bottle? A blind taste test conducted in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2016 demonstrated that beer drinkers could not tell the difference between canned and bottled beer.
The recent Covid-19 pandemic has created a demand for canned beer that was both unprecedented and unanticipated. The crux of the problem lies in the fact that Covid-19 forced many craft brewery taprooms to temporarily close. When they reopened, they had to do so at reduced capacities. Bars and restaurants, that sold craft beer, had similar restrictions placed upon them. Unable to sell their beer to taproom customers or to bars and restaurants, craft breweries had to either sell their beer on a to-go basis or via supermarkets and liquor stores. In either case, this meant that beer which was formerly put in kegs now had to be put in cans. The result – a significant surge in demand for aluminum cans.
Earlier this year, I listened to a webinar presentation that Bart Watson, Chief Economist of the Brewers Association, made to the Economic Roundtable of the Ohio Valley. Bart presented a number of interesting statistics during his presentation, one of which was the growing popularity of cans as the preferred packaging for craft beer. In 2016, only 16% of craft beer (measured in dollar value) was sold in cans. By 2019, this percentage had increased to 38%, and by 2020 to 50%. So while Covid-19 created an increase in demand for beer cans among craft breweries, that demand was already rising steadily on a year-by-year basis. Indeed, as far back as 2015, a shortage of cans was already creating challenges for some craft brewers.
Covid-19 demonstrated how quickly demand for aluminum cans can increase. In March 2020, retail sales of canned drinks was up 24%, compared with March 2019. For individual breweries the shift to cans has been dramatic. For example, in 2109, draft beer accounted for two-thirds of sales for Wolf‘s Ridge Brewing in Columbus, OH. As a result of Covid-19, cans now account for two-thirds of Wolf Ridge’s sales. Prior to Covid-19, Booze Brothers Brewery in Vista, CA canned about 35 percent of its beer; that increased to 80% as a result of the pandemic.
Due to insufficient production capacity, it was not easy for suppliers to meet such an uptick in demand. This mismatch between supply and demand meant that the United States market was, according to one estimate, short 10 billion cans in 2020. As a result, some American companies looked to other countries, such as Brazil and Mexico, to import cans. In Brazil, in sharp contrast to the United States, Covid-19 resulted in a drop in demand for cans. This is because canned drinks in Brazil are upscale and are sold almost exclusively in bars and restaurants which, of course, shut down.
Increase in Retail Sales of Cans in First Six Months of 2020 (Compared with Same Month in 2019). Source: IRI-Wall Street Journal
The can shortage created significant challenges for craft breweries across the United States. During a shortage, it is the larger customers (Pepsi, Coke, Anheuser Busch, etc.) whose orders get prioritized. And when demand exceeds supply, prices can go up, which is exactly what many craft breweries, such as Barrel House Z in Weymouth, MA, experienced. And, it was not uncommon for breweries to run out of cans before the next shipment arrived.
Breweries who anticipated the can shortage, and had the necessary cash, stocked up on cans – many did not have the capital (or space) to do so, however. Those that did, were better able to weather the Covid-19 can shortage. Most small brewers purchase their cans through brokers, some of whom changed the terms of business in response to Covid-19. Minimum shipment sizes increased, which was problematic for smaller breweries. Some brokers, who previously provided free storage space for cans, no longer did so. As a result, some breweries had to sublet space to store cans. Sun King Brewing in Indianapolis, IN rented warehouse space four miles from its brewery, while East Brother Beer Co. in Richmond, CA sublet space from a co-tenant in its building. Unanticipated storage were not the only additional costs incurred by breweries who shifted from selling beer on-site to canning beer for to-go sales. Other costs included increased packaging costs and higher wages for former tipped bar staff who now assisted with the canning process. Additionally, canning beer requires a canning machine. Most breweries, including many who can beer, do not own a dedicated canning machine. Instead, they utilize a mobile canning machine which is provided by an independent firm. Mobile canning is used by breweries who do not have the money or space for a dedicated on-site canning machine, or who do not wish to can large volumes of their beer.
When will the can-demic end? One forecast suggests that craft brewers may have to wait until August 2021 for a steady supply of cans to be available. Ball Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum cans, will open new production facilities in Glendale, AZ and Pittson, PA in the spring and summer of 2021 respectively. In the meantime, newly opened breweries, hoping to can their beer, may have to exercise patience as many brokers are not taking on new accounts. The pressure to supply existing accounts is simply too strong. In extreme cases, there was a fear that the can shortage may result in some breweries going out of business. In a can shortage advisory issued to its members in July 2020, the Brewers Association warned that the “can shortage may threaten the ability to survive the pandemic for some craft brewers.” Recent data released by the Brewers Association suggests that the number of breweries that closed due to Covid-19 may not be as high as first anticipated during the early days of the pandemic. This is good news. And as increasing numbers of people get vaccinated and States ease up on capacity restrictions for bars and restaurants, some of the pressure on cans is likely to start to dissipate.
Hear the word “speakeasy” and you probably think of Prohibition; that 13 year period (1920-1933) when the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were prohibited. The term speakeasy, however, predates Prohibition. Defined as “a place where alcoholic beverages are illegally sold”, the origin of the term has been traced to early 19th century England, where the term “speak softly shop” denoted a place where smugglers could offload goods and avoid taxes. The term “speak easy shop” was used in Selsea, England in 1844 in reference to an unlicensed tavern. It was first used in the United States in 1889, when Kate Hester, a saloonkeeper in McKeesport, PA told some boisterous patrons to “speak easy, boys!” McKee was selling alcohol without a license.
Thankfully, America’s failed experiment with Prohibition ended with the ratification of the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933. Saloon owners could now open their doors without the fear of a visit from law enforcement officers in pursuit of those selling illegal alcohol. Alas, as the Book of Ecclesiastes tells us “ What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” And so, here we are, in 2021. The world is in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic and local and state authorities are circumscribing the gathering of people in bars and craft breweries. The objective is straightforward – to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Strategies employed by authorities vary from place to place and evolve with the passage of time in response to changing circumstances. When cases of Covid-19 spiked in the spring and summer of 2020, authorities ordered bars and craft breweries to close. When this occurred, curbside pick-up or home delivery were the only ways that impacted establishments could get their product into the hands of consumers. As restrictions eased bars and breweries were able to invite patrons back into their establishments. However, as Covid-19 infections spiked again, some jurisdictions introduced curfews. In my state of Ohio, for example, Governor DeWine introduced a 10pm-5am curfew on November 19, 2020. As Covid-19 numbers improved, Ohio’s curfew was extended to 11pm on January 28, 2021 and then revoked on February 11, 2021. The underlying logic was that by closing bars and breweries during their busiest hours the spread of Covid-19 could be mitigated. Breaking curfew in Ohio was a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. During times that bars and breweries were legally open, social distancing rules had to be observed.
The illegal consumption of alcohol has seen an uptick in the use of the term speakeasy among the nation’s media. “Cops Raid 2 Illegal Clubs, Say Speakeasies Cropping up after State Enacted 10 p.m. Curfew” stated one headline on NJ.com. And my favorite – “Lap Dances, Karaoke, Late Hours: The Speakeasies of the Covid Era” read a headline in the New York Times.
So, what should we make of the emergence of 21st century speakeasies? We certainly should not be surprised that curfew and social distancing laws and guidelines are being flouted. I say “not surprisingly” because if Prohibition taught us one thing it was that any legislation designed to dictate to Americans when and where they can consume alcohol is bound to be met with opposition and disregarded (at least by some members of the population). And so, it has been. Newspapers across the country are filled with stories about bars being visited by law enforcement officers and cited for curfew violations. I should note that breaking curfew to enjoy a beer at the neighborhood bar is not unique to the United States, as this story from South Africa illustrates. South Africa had one of the strictest (if not the strictest) Covid-19-related alcohol legislation – banning its sale and distribution completely. While some of us were content (or at least tolerated) virtual Happy Hours, others clearly wanted the real thing.
Another factor to consider in trying to understand the breaking of alcohol curfews is that visiting a bar or brewery is a key activity in the social life of many individuals. Back in the 1980s, urban sociologist, Ray Oldenburg, introduced us to the concept of the Third Place. Third Places exist in contrast to First Places (home) and Second Places (work) and are those places (bars, coffee shops, bowling alleys, etc.) where we go to gather with friends to unwind. As a result of Covid-19, many Americans have been confined to their First Place (home), with access to Second Places (Work) and Third Places (Social Gathering Places) restricted and denied. Social isolation, forced upon us by Covid-19, has exacerbated loneliness. In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Janet Adamy and Paul Overberg cite research which finds that “loneliness takes a physical toll, and is as closely linked to early mortality as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day or consuming more than six alcoholic drinks a day. Loneliness is even worse for longevity than being obese or physically inactive.” In 2018, The Economist called loneliness a serious public health problem. Today, single person households comprise 28% of all American households.
In his book, The Great Good Place the Urban Sociologist, Ray Oldenburg, wrote about the importance of Third Places in the social life of communities
The highly respected British Anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, has studied the social and mental health benefits of going to a pub. Numerous studies conducted by Dunbar has led him to conclude that “there are social and well being benefits to be derived directly from drinking alcohol, especially in relaxed social environments”. According to Dunbar, hanging out with friends in a bar, drinking beer, telling jokes, exchanging gossip, etc. releases endorphins in the brain. These endorphins “generate a positive feeling in a person, similar to that of morphine. So we feel good. And crucially, alcohol also activates the endorphin system, which in itself will enhance social bonds among those who indulge together.” Dunbar also cites research that shows that the probability of still being alive twelve months after a heart attacks was higher for people with vibrant social networks. To quote Dunbar, “our social networks play a central role in our ability to survive the worst traumas that life can throw at us. And those networks are very clearly enhanced by the use of alcohol”.
Robin Dunbar, the respected British Anthropologist, writes eloquently and convincingly about the social and health benefits of drinking alcohol
For many of us, Covid-19 is the worst trauma that life has thrown at us. Social isolation has taken a huge toll on human society. Within that context it is perhaps understandable why curfews (and even social distancing) laws have been flouted, and why the speakeasy has reappeared, albeit temporarily, as part of the American vernacular.
Further Reading:
Dunbar, Robin I. M., Jacques Launay, Rafael Wlodarski, Cole Robertson, Eiluned Pearce, James Carney, and Pádraig MacCarron. 2017. Functional benefits of (modest) alcohol consumption. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, Volume 3, pp. 118–133.
A few weeks ago I received an email from Lindsay Campbell, a journalist for the magazine Modern Farmer. Lindsay was writing a story about rice-based beers, specifically Japanese style lagers, that had been trending in craft breweries in recent years. From reading my blog, Lindsay knew that I have visited a lot of breweries across the United States and so she was wondering if I had sampled any rice lagers and what my opinion was of them as a style. I told Lindsay that I had never sampled any rice lagers made by an American craft brewery. I did have plenty of experience with rice lagers, thanks to four trips to Japan, plus visits to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. Some of the better known Japanese Rice Lagers include Asahi Super Dry, Kirin Classic Lager, and Sapporo Original Draft Beer. The best selling beer in the world is a Rice Lager – Snow Beer, brewed by China Resources Breweries Limited. And, of course, there is Bud Light which prominently displays its ingredients – hops, barley, water, and rice – on its packaging. Indeed, rice has been a part of the Budweiser recipe since 1876. Impressively, Anheuser Busch is the largest end user of rice in the United States. In 2018, Anheuser Busch purchased more than $120 million of rice; all of it from farms in the United States. Incidentally, worldwide twice as much Snow Beer as Budweiser is consumed annually. Within the United States, four regions are responsible for producing almost all the rice grown. These are:
Arkansas Grand Prairie
Mississippi Delta, (parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Louisiana);
Gulf Coast (Texas and Southwest Louisiana); and
Sacramento Valley of California.
Snow Beer, a Rice Lager from China Resources Breweries Limited is the best selling beer in the world
Rice is a key ingredient in Bud Light
Geographic Distribution of Rice Production in the United States
A Field of Rice in Texas
On a global scale, rice is an important crop. It plays a critical role in feeding the world’s population, and is a primary staple for more than half the people living on Earth. China and India are the world’s leading rice producers, with the United States not making the top ten.
Rice Lagers are generally on the lower end of the ABV spectrum, with most coming in at around 5%. They are a highly highly drinkable, light bodied, beer with a crisp, dry, finish. The rice can also provide the beer with a slight sweetness. They are a perfect warm weather beer, that not only pairs well with Asian cuisine, but also with summer favorites such as burgers. In many respects, Rice Lagers can serve as gateway beers and are a nice introduction to craft beers for someone whose palate is used to macro-Lagers. Rice Lager also has the advantage that it is gluten free.
In the craft brewing world, rice is what is considered an adjunct. An adjunct is anything outside of the beer’s four traditional ingredients of malt, hops, water, and yeast. Rice, as an ingredient in beer, has a bad reputation among some craft beer drinkers due to its association with macro brews such as Budweiser and Bud Light. In her 2006 book Ambitious Brew, Maureen Ogle made the statement that “craft brewers treat rice almost as if it’s rat poison.” A little tongue-in-cheek perhaps, but you get the idea that rice might have a reputation problem. In a 2009 video titled “I am a Craft Brewer” several dozen craft brewers from across the county extol the virtues of craft beer and the people that make it. At one point in the video a craft brewer disparagingly notes that corporate breweries put rice in their beer. This is followed a few seconds later by anothet craft brewer proudly stating that “I don’t put rice in my beer”.
For some years now, however, some craft breweries have been putting rice in their beer – it has not been every brewery and those that do are doing so very selectively. So we see headlines like Craft Brewers Rethink Rice in Beer and The Rice Renaissance. Breweries that are utilizing rice as an ingredient in their beer appear to be in places that were at the forefront of the craft beer revolution back in the 1980s – places in states such as California, Colorado, and Washington. Could it be that the initial innovators are still leading innovation today? Fieldwork Brewing in Berkeley, CA brew a Citra Rice Lager that they have named Sushi Beer. Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA brew a Japanese Rice Lager called Hanamachi. And it’s not all Rice Lagers that craft breweries are producing. As far back as 2007, Great Divide Brewing Co. in Denver, CO released Samurai, an unfiltered rice and barley ale. Great Divide is still brewing Samurai today, and includes it in its year-round portfolio of beers. Some breweries are using locally grown rice to produce their rice beer. Crying Eagle Brewing Company in Lake Charles, LA used Louisiana-grown rice in its Louisiana Lager.
Samurai Rice Ale from Great Divide Brewing Co., in Denver, CO
Hanamachi is a Japanese Rice Lager Brewed by Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA
Crying Eagle Brewing Company use Louisiana-grown rice in its Louisiana Lager
The piece that I was interviewed for in The Modern Farmer was titled The Rice Renaissance. It is a title that suggests that rice is making something of a comeback in American brewing. On the one hand, you could argue that it has never really fell out of favor with American brewers. Rice has been a key ingredient in the Budweiser recipe since 1876. However, the article is really about the use of rice in craft brewing. Despite the negative reputation surrounding rice as an ingredient in beer, there are some craft brewers who are experimenting with it. This should come as no surprise. Craft brewers are highly creative and, one might argue, sufficiently secure in their own skin to utilize an ingredient that others might shun. The website Beeradvocate.com lists only 245 distinct entries in the category “Lager – Japanese Rice” – not a large number. Many, not surprisingly, are brewed by Japanese breweries. So, “renaissance” is perhaps too strong a word, but if you see a rice beer on the menu at a brewery be sure to check it out.
The United States is a very urban society. Approximately 83% of Americans live in urban areas, up from 64% in 1950. More than 300 urban areas in the U.S. have populations greater than 100,000. I live in one of them – the city of Toledo, OH has a population of ~271,000, while the Toledo Metropolitan Area has a population of ~641,000. The largest city in the country is New York City, with a population of ~8.4 million.
Not surprisingly, most of America’s craft breweries are to be found in urban areas. Some calculations that I did for a 2018 paper that I wrote estimated that 72% of America’s craft breweries are located in metropolitan areas with populations of at least 250,000, while 16.2% of America’s craft breweries are located in just ten metropolitan areas. Brewing beer, it appears, is a big city business.
But what about brewing in small-town and rural America? I recently started thinking about that question after a Zoom conversation I had with Nicki Werner, Co-Founder and Brewer at Jefferson Beer Supply, in Jefferson, SD. Jefferson Beer Supply is a brewery in planning; it is not open and operational yet; but should be by the summer of 2021. Nicki was preparing a presentation to be made to the city council and loan approval board. She had been following my blog for some months and was reaching out to see if I could help her craft some arguments about the beneficial impact of craft breweries on small towns. Jefferson does not have a craft brewery – hardly surprising given that it has a population of 622. However, the addition of a craft brewery to the Jefferson landscape will mirror what is happening in other small towns and rural communities across America. Between 2013 and 2018 the number of breweries located in places with a population under 2,500 grew by 129%.
Nicki Werner, co-founder of Jefferson Beer Supply in Jefferson, SD
Rural communities face a number of socio-economic challenges. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, rural communities, compared to their urban counterparts, “have less internet access, fewer educational institutions, see more hospitals close and experience less economic growth.” In the past, many rural communities could depend on agriculture for their economic well-being. That is no longer the case, however. And it has been that way for some time. A 1999 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis noted that, “agriculture is no longer the anchor of the rural economy”. In many rural economies manufacturing is the dominant income generator . . . if policymakers want to help shape the economic future of all of rural America, they must engage a much broader range of issues and economic engines.”
Now I am not naive enough to think that craft breweries are the answer to the socio-economic challenges facing rural and small-town America. But having a successful craft brewery in town can surely do no harm. In the aforementioned Valentine, NE the Bolo Brewing Company has become a place for the community to gather – or what the urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg called a Third Place. Third Places play a critical role in human societies. There is research that suggests that Third Places can combat loneliness while also strengthening community cohesion. In research conducted with colleagues, the highly regarded British Anthropologist Robin Dunbar provides evidence which suggests that enjoying a beer with friends provides us with “the single most important buffer against mental and physical illness”.
While many craft breweries function as Third Places in America’s large urban areas, Jeff Alworth believes that their importance as community gathering places “may even be stronger in smaller communities. Little towns are often underserved with regard to cool places to hang out. When they open up shop, they provide much-needed social hubs . . . They’re not only a nice place to spend an evening, but serve as venues for events like meetings, weddings, and even children’s birthday parties.” Nicki Werner of Jefferson Beer Supply shared her brewery’s business plan with me. One of Nicki’s goals for her brewery is to create “a tasting room and experience that offers a family oriented gathering space for our community.” As the business plan notes, “there are no family oriented spaces in Jefferson and very little in the surrounding areas, which offer primarily dive bars with casino machines, no children’s menus, and focus primarily on one demographic.” A family-oriented craft brewery would be a tremendous asset to Jefferson, SD. In Valentine, NE local resident Whitney Mayhew describes the taproom of the Bolo Beer Company as a “community gathering place”.
Craft breweries can also attract tourists to a small town. Beer Tourism is “a thing” and is becoming more popular every year. According to the Brewers Association, in the United States, 1.6 percent of craft-beer drinkers take 10-plus trips annually to visit breweries more than two hours from their home. Attracting tourists is critical to the success of small-town breweries as it lessens their dependence upon local residents. I recently co-edited a book with two Italian colleagues that explored how craft beer tourism, wine tourism, and agritourism can make a positive contribution to the economies of geographically peripheral areas. Last year (about 6 weeks before Covid-19 resulted in lockdowns) I gave the keynote presentation at the Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference in St. Petersburg, FL. One of the things I highlighted in my presentation is that craft beer tourists have above average incomes and, as a result, have a fair amount of disposable income to spend. A challenge facing craft breweries in small towns is that they often exist in geographic isolation – in other words, they are the only brewery in town. This contrasts with larger cities where we see the emergence of brewery districts, providing beer tourists with the opportunity to visit three of four breweries, often on foot, within the space of an afternoon or evening. Craft breweries in small towns can utilize a number of strategies to overcome their geographic isolation. For example, they can collaborate with other breweries as part of an Ale Trail. This literally puts them on the map and they become one of the suggested stops for Ale Trail participants. An excellent example of an Ale Trail in is the Finger Lakes Beer Trail in New York State. The trail, which includes both larger cities and smaller towns, comprises over 75 craft breweries, tap houses and brewing-affiliated businesses across an area spanning over 200 miles.
Craft beer tourism can benefit geographically peripheral areas
Larger cities, such as Bakersfield, CA, often have brewery districts
The Finger Lakes Beer Trail in New York spans over 200 miles
Another strategy is to collaborate with other attractions in their region. Marketing a larger geographic region and its multiple attractions is a smart approach for smaller communities. Greenbriar Valley in West Virginia is an excellent example of a rural area that does an excellent job of promoting the area’s 80+ attractions, including Greenbriar Valley Brewing Company in the town of Lewisburg (population 3,897). If a small town is located in an agricultural region, it may be possible to develop a tourism industry around agritourism. The National Law Agricultural Center sees agritourism as the “crossroads of tourism and agriculture” and defines it as “a form of commercial enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism in order to attract visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for the purposes of entertaining and/or educating the visitors and generating income for the farm, ranch, or business owner.“ Example of agritourism include pumpkin picking patches, U-Pick operations, demonstration farms, cut-your-own Christmas tree farms, and petting and feeding zoos. As craft breweries are utilizing agricultural crops (hops and barley primarily) it is hardly a stretch to include them within a region’s agritourism attractions. A brewery in a small town where opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, and camping exist may want to utilize these assets in attracting beer tourists.
The arrival of a craft brewery in a small town can also be the catalyst for additional development. The opening of Hand of Fate Brewing in Petersburg, IL (population, 2,226) in May 2017 had a beneficial impact on the small community. According to one observer:
“After just a year, the small brewery has brought good fortune to the town. After taking over an old Dollar General discount store in the sparsely occupied town square, the brewery-and-taproom has become a community hub and a catalyst keeping businesses open later. It’s encouraged others—including two new boutiques—to open shop, and drawn visitors from across the region. “
Neil Gurnsey, Assistant Vice President of the National Bank of Petersburg, noted that after the brewery opened, “life was just injected into the square”.
Finally, because a brewery is in a small town does not mean that it has an inexperienced brewer and does not produce great beer. Nicki Werner, the Brewers at Jefferson Beer Supply, has a wealth of brewing experience. Prior to relocating to a Jefferson Nicki worked in the brewing industry for six years at three different breweries in three different states. She learned to brew at Brenner Brewing, a midsized production brewery in Milwaukee, WI. After Brenner, she took a job brewing for Left Hand Brewing company in Longmont, CO. In 2019 she moved to South Dakota to be near family and worked as a brewer at Fernson Brewing Company (the state’s largest brewery) in Sioux Falls, SD. Nicki also received a scholarship from the Pink Boots Society and spent time in Bavaria, Germany visiting breweries and learning about brewing methods. Chris Hernstrom, brewer at the aforementioned Bolo Beer Co. in Valentine, NE, cut his teeth as a brewer in the craft beer mecca of Bend, OR, before moving to Nebraska. Yes, many small town brewers come with an impressive pedigree.
Further Reading:
Dunbar, Robin I. M., Jacques Launay, Rafael Wlodarski, Cole Robertson, Eiluned Pearce, James Carney, and Pádraig MacCarron. 2017. Functional Benefits of (Modest) Alcohol Consumption. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 3:118–133.
Pezzi, Maria Giulia, Alessandra Faggian, and Neil Reid(eds.). 2021. Agritourism, Wine Tourism, and Craft Beer Tourism: Local Responses to Peripherality Through Tourism Niches. New York: Routledge, 264pp.
So another year is about to draw to a close. And with that, it is time to look back on my brewery and taproom visits for the year. At the start of the year, I set myself a goal of 52 breweries/taprooms, an average of one per week. By the middle of March, I had visited 17 breweries and 5 taprooms, so I was well on course to meet my target. And then, as we all know, large parts of the United States started to go into lockdown mode in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was one of those individuals who took the threat of Covid-19 seriously, its appearance severely curtailed my brewery and taproom visits. Indeed, in the period since mid-March I have only visited 3 breweries and 1 taproom (all in my home state of Ohio). So, in total, I visited 20 breweries and 6 taprooms during 2020 – exactly half of my original target. This compares with 46 in 2017, 66 in 2018, and 63 in 2019.
Before providing more statistics on my 2020 visits, let me explain the difference between a brewery and a taproom. The difference is quite simple. A brewery is an establishment where beer is produced, whereas a taproom is an establishment owned by a brewery that sells but does not produce beer on-site.
Of the 20 breweries that I visited 5 were in Ohio and 15 were in the United States but outside of Ohio. All of my non-Ohio brewery visits were in California, Florida, Michigan, and Nebraska – states that I had the opportunity to visit before Covid-19 lockdowns were implemented. Of the 20 breweries, I had visited 4 before (all in the Toledo metropolitan area and indicated by italics in the list below). Of the 6 taprooms that I visited 4 were in San Diego, CA, 1 was in Omaha, NE, and 1 was in Hudson, OH.
Unfortunately, there are no international breweries or taprooms on this year’s list. For the first time since 2003 I did not venture outside of the United States. With several vaccines now available hope that I will be able to resume my travels and brewery/taproom visits during 2021. Due to the uncertainty that still exists with regard to the impact that Covid-19 will have on our activities during 2021 I will not set myself a target.
As is my tradition, I have provided one photograph from each of the breweries/taprooms that I visited during 2020. To me they capture the beauty and diversity of the world of craft beer. I hope that you enjoy them.
When I was a child growing up in Scotland my mom always bought an Advent Calendar. They were very simple. Made of card stock, behind each door was a picture – Santa Claus, a snowman, Rudolph, a candle, a holly wreath etc. Despite, or perhaps because of, their simplicity I loved them and would look forward to opening a door each day.
The concept of Advent Calendars has it origins with early 19th century German Protestants. Initially there was no physical calendar. Rather, the days of Advent were recognized by the daily act of either burning a candle or marking either doors or walls with a line of chalk. The first physical Advent Calendars made their appearance in 1851 and were made of wood. It was not until the first decade of the 20th century that printed Advent Calendars appeared. These early printed calendars did not have doors. Doors, which opened to reveal a picture, were not added until the 1920s – a German by the name of Gerhard Lang being credited with this innovation.
While Advent Calendars are designed with children in mind, there are a growing number of such calendars that target adults. For example, alcohol-focused Advent Calendars seem to be increasingly popular. The concept is simple. You purchase what is effectively a 24-pack of alcohol disguised as an Advent Calendar. There are doors to be opened, and behind each door is a can of beer, bottle of wine, whiskey, hard seltzer etc.
This year I purchased my first beer advent calendar. I picked it up at Costco. The calendar I purchased was one produced by the Kalea, a company who were established, according to their website, in 2010 in Salzburg, Austria, but are now, according to their Advent Calendar packaging, based in a Germany. In producing their advent calendars Kalea work with privately-owned independent breweries. The calendar cost $59.99, which means each can of beer costs $2.50, which is quite reasonable given that each can contained 16.9 oz of beer. The beers in the calendar were archetypal German. There were lots of Pilsners, Helles, and other beers from the Lager side of the beer family tree. The calendar contained very few Ales – there was one Stout, one Pale Ale, and one IPA among the 24 beers. So, while the calendar was sold during the lead-up to Christmas, none of the beers were winter seasonal Ales that are typically associated with the colder weather. This is a time of year when I do not consume many Pilsners or Hefeweizens so there was something of a disconnect between the beer I was drinking and the lower temperatures outside.
The Kalea Advent Calendar
There is a Facebook group devoted to the calendar, which I joined. Activity in the group primarily comprised of folks posting photographs of the beer of the day. A few people provided descriptions of the beer they were drinking, along with their assessment of how good they thought it was. Kalea also has an app to accompany the calendar. I downloaded the app and found it both interesting and useful, as it provided some additional information about the brewery and the beer. Also included in the app was a short video about each day’s beer.
The Kalea app included some additional information about each day’s beer and brewery.
The Kalea calendars do seem to sell out fast. There is a Costco the about a mile from my house. It was sold out when I went there to purchase a calendar. This meant a trip to the Costco on the other side of town. A few members of the calendar Facebook group also mentioned the fact that the calendars appear to be in high demand – in other words, if you want one, get it as soon as you see it available for sale.
Based on postings in the Facebook group there did appear to be some issues regarding the beers. For example, people reported identical cans containing two different beers. There were occasional reports of individuals getting a beer that was different from what others got on the same day. Another issue were some calendars containing more than one of the same beer. Calendars that were sold in Texas had a completely different complement of beers than calendars sold elsewhere in the United States. The reason for this anomaly was never definitively explained, although some people suggested that it was due to some restrictions associated with the Lone Star state’s regulatory environment for alcohol. Whether this is the case, I have no idea.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of the Kalea Advent calendar. I tried 24 beers that I had never tried before. Will I purchase this calendar again next year? I am not sure. I imagine I will do some advance research and determine which other beer advent calendars there are on the market.
The Book of Ecclesiastes wisely states that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”. Adapted to the world of craft beer the appropriate sentiment might read that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every beer under the heavens”. While the seemingly ubiquitous IPAs are enjoyed year round there are several styles of beer that are associated with particular periods on the calendar. While I am not a fan off pumpkin beers I know plenty of people who look forward to their appearance each fall. Oktoberfest Marzens, in contrast, is a style whose arrival I eagerly await. And as I write this we are a few weeks away from Christmas, and Christmas Ales are in abundance. I do enjoy Christmas Ales and currently have a six-pack of one from Bell’s Brewery of Comstock, MI sitting in my basement refrigerator.
Christmas Ale from a Bell’s Brewery in Comstock, MI
Earlier this week, I gave a talk on a Christmas Ales to alumni of the University of Toledo. With the Covid-19 pandemic in full swing it was a virtual talk. When I agreed to give the talk I knew a little bit about Christmas Ales, but learned more about them as I did some research. Christmas Ales have their origins in pre-Christian pagan rituals. Take Norway as an example. Long before Christianity, Norwegians celebrated the winter solstice by brewing and drinking beer to honor Odin, Frey, and other Norse gods. The period was known as Jul, and stretched from mid-November to mid-January. Indeed the brewing of Ale was one of the most important tasks of the early winter season, with the first brew often laid out or poured on a stone for the local gnomes and spirits. Peasants would travel to the local pagan temple, bringing along food and ale for a feast Everyone was expected to take part in the drinking of Ale The first toast was to be made to Odin, then the other gods. Additional toasts were then drunk to the memory of the departed. No Norwegian farm was complete without a brewhouse — the bryggehus – this was the case up until about 200 years ago.
King Hakon the Good, who ruled Norway from 934 to 961 made it illegal to celebrate Christmas without Ale. Those who didn’t have Ale at their Christmas feast were issued a fine. In the 13th century the Gulating, an annual parliamentary assembly that met in Gulen on Norway’s west coast, passed a law similar to the decree issued by Haakon the Good. According to the Gulating:
“Yet another beer brew we are required to make, man and wife from equal amounts of malts, and to bless it Christmas night in thanks to Christ and St. Mary, for a good year and peace.
If this is not done, three marks must be paid to the bishop. But if someone sits three winters without doing so, or cannot pay the fees that we have added for our religion, and this can be proven, then he has forfeited every penny of his worth. The king shall have half, and the bishop the other half. But he may confess his sins and make church penance and stay in Norway. If he will not he shall leave the realm of our king.”
Fines and possible banishment from the kingdom indicate how seriously Christmas Ale was taken in 13th century Norway.
King Hakan the Good issued a decree making it illegal to celebrate Christmas without Ale
12 Dogs of Christmas Ale contains honey, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
After talking about Christmas Ales in Medieval Norway, I turned my attention to Christmas Ales in modern-day America. Interestingly enough, Christmas Ale is not a recognized beer style – at least not by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) or the Brewers Association. The BJCP does include a Winter Seasonal Beer among its list of over 150 recognized styles. So what is a Winter Seasonal Beer and what are its defining characteristics? According to the BJCP Winter Seasonal Beers “suggest cold weather and the Christmas holiday season, and may include holiday spices, specialty sugars, and other products that are reminiscent of mulling spices or Christmas holiday desserts”, while “a wide range of aromatics is possible” including those “reminiscent of Christmas cookies, gingerbread, English-type Christmas pudding, evergreen trees, or mulling spices.” For example, 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale, brewed by Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. of Akron, OH includes honey, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. The flavor of a Christmas Ale will reflect the spices used in the brewing process. In terms of appearance, Christmas Ales tend to be generally medium amber to very dark brown, with darker versions being are more common.
While they have existed in Europe for over a thousand years, Christmas Ales first made their appearance in the United States in the early 1900s. Prohibition arrived in 1920 and lasted until 1933, making American Christmas Ale fairly short lived. They did not reappear in the aftermath Prohibition. Indeed, it was not until 1978 that Christmas Ales reappeared on the American brewing landscape. And we have Fritz Maytag and Anchor Brewing in San Francisco to thank for that. Founded in 1896, the brewery was on the verge of going out of business when Maytag purchased a 51% share in 1965. Maytag rejuvenated the brewery’s fortunes, partly by expanding its portfolio of beers to include IPAs, Barleywine, and Porters. In 1975 Maytag introduced the first Christmas Ale to be brewed in the United States since the end of Prohibition – Anchor’s Christmas Ale.
Anchor Brewing in San Francisco
Anchor Brewing was struggling until Fritz Maytag purchased a 51% share of the brewery in 1965
Each year Anchor’s Christmas Ale is brewed using a different recipe and over the years it has evolved from a Pale Ale to spiced Brown Ale. Not only does the recipe change from year to year, but so does the beer’s distinctive label. The label always features a tree, but a different tree each year. Between 1975 and 2019 (with the exception of 1976), the labels were all designed by the same artist – 93 year-old Jim Stitt. His decision to retire, however, meant that the 2019 label was the last one designed by Stitt. The 2020 label was designed by Nathan Yoder. Given the unique challenges that 2020 has presented Yoder opted for a label that featured The Three Graces, a trio of sequoia trees, which represent radiance, joy, and hope. After the year that we have all just experienced I think that it’s safe to say that we would welcome all three of these in abundance.
Each year Anchor’s Christmas Ale is adorned with a different label featuring a different tree. Labels from 1975-1982 are shown here
93 year old Jim Stitt, now retired, designed all the labels for Anchor Christmas Ale between 1975 and 2019. The only year Stitt did not design the label was 1976 (Photo credit: SFGate.com)
The three sequoia trees on the label of Anchor’s 2020 Christmas Ale represent radiance, joy, and hope
One of the attractions of craft beer is its diversity – particularly the diversity of styles (the Brewers Association recognizes over 150 styles of beer), flavors (Black Cherry Porter anyone?), and strengths. Walk into any craft brewery and the chances are that your choice will include Brown Ale, Stout, Pilsner, Pale Ale, several different IPAs, and a host of other different styles, while the strength of the beer on offer may range from a sessionable 4.2% ABV to a more intimidating 12% ABV. No one can deny, that when it comes to offering the beer drinker diversity, craft beer is king.
A diverse selection of beers at Basecamp Brewing in Portland, OR
There is, however, another type of diversity that is sorely lacking in the craft brewing industry, and that is, what I term demographic diversity. When we look at any population, we can break it down along a number of different parameters – age, gender, race/ethnicity being three of the more important ones. If we look at the U.S. population, for example, 50.8% are female, 16.5% are 65 years of age or older, 18.5% are Latino or Hispanic, 13.4% are Black or African-American, and 13.5% are foreign born (I am part of that 13.5%). No matter how you look at it, America is a diverse place. According to the Population Reference Bureau, “the U.S. population is significantly more diverse racially and ethnically now than it was in 1900“. And as the 21st century progresses, America will become more diverse.
A 2019 survey by the Brewers Association showed, not surprisingly perhaps, that ownership and employment in the craft brewing industry is disproportionately White and Male. Starting with race/ethnicity, 88.4% of brewery owners are White. In contrast, Whites only comprise 76.3% of the U.S. population. Of the various racial/ethnic groups in the United States, the one that is most underrepresented in the craft brewing industry are Blacks or African Americans. Despite compromising 13.4% of the U.S. population, only 1% of craft brewery owners and 0.6% of production brewers are Black or African American. When you walk into a craft brewery taproom, it is unlikely that the bartender pouring your pint will be Black or African American – only 4.2% of non-managerial service staff are Black or African American. When an African-American bartender serves the newly released IPA, the chances are that the person he or she is serving is White – in 2018, 85.5% of craft beer drinkers were non-Hispanic Whites.
Only 4.2% of non-managerial service staff in American craft breweries are Black or African AmericanBlack Frog Brewery – A Black-owned brewery in Holland, OH
With the recent widespread protests over racial injustice, the issue of demographic diversity within the craft beer industry has come to the fore. To their credit, the Brewers Association had already established a number of initiatives (prior to the events of 2020) to encourage, support, and facilitate diversity within the craft brewing industry. These include the establishment of a Diversity Committee, the appointment of a Diversity Ambassador, the creation of Diversity and Inclusion Event Grants Program, and a number of Diversity Best Practices resources. All of these initiatives and resources are extremely important and have the potential to make a difference. They are not enough, however.
As I ponder the issue of diversity within the craft brewing industry, I think that the ideas of Hayagreeva Rao are instructive. Rao (his friends call him Huggy) is a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford University. Rao is an expert in collective action within organizations and in markets. In 2009, Rao published a book titled Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations. Rao is primarily interested in how innovations (e.g., personal computers, hybrid cars, craft beer – yes he does devote a chapter to craft beer) become a market success. Many innovations, such as craft beer, challenge the status quo. Successfully challenging the status quo requires challenging and overcoming cultural values that are often deeply entrenched within society, or a sub-group thereof. The two keys to successfully challenging the status quo are what Rao calls hot causes and cool mobilizations. According to Rao, “hot causes mobilize passions and engender new beliefs, and cool mobilization triggers new behavior while allowing new beliefs to develop.” Hot causes “inspire feelings of pride or anger“. Take the craft beer revolution as an example (which Rao does in his aforementioned book) – the hot cause was dissatisfaction with mass produced beer, while the cool mobilization were the homebrew clubs and then brewpubs and microbreweries that were established as a response. Now let’s take these two ideas and apply them to the issue of diversity (or lack thereof) in the craft brewing industry.
The hot cause is quite apparent – there is a lack of diversity within the world of craft brewing. So how do we change that? To begin with, any successful challenge to the status quo requires activists; folks who feel passionate about the cause. In the beginning, these activists are often few in number. Therefore, they have to be able to grow the movement by inspiring others to join them. Identifying a hot cause, while necessary, is an insufficient condition for change, however. Change occurs when the hot cause leads to cool mobilization. Put simply, cool mobilization is when you actually take action to bring about the change that you desire to see. Cool mobilization, as Rao notes, “requires conscious participation—indeed, participants have to ‘fill out’ the experience through their actions and experimentation.”
So with respect to increasing diversity with craft brewing, what does cool mobilization look like, and who is going to undertake it? These are important questions. When it comes to increasing diversity with craft beer, no single person or entity is (nor should they be) charged with making it happen. As I said above, the initiatives and programs started by the Brewers Association are excellent, but are insufficient. Real change is going to be grass roots and bottom-up. “Be the Change You Wish to See in the World” is a phrase we sometimes hear invoked. Erroneously attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, this maxim does, I believe, provide clues as to the way forward. What is the change we want to see? It seems astonishingly simple – we want to see more Black-owned breweries, more Black brewers, more Black brewery staff, and more Black craft beer drinkers (have I missed anything)? Now this is a blog entry (not a doctoral dissertation), so I really do not have the space to address all of these in the detail that they deserve. But take something simple, like having more Black bar staff at a craft brewery taproom. It is incumbent upon brewery owners to make this happen – they, after all, are the ones making hiring decisions. This is where the Diversity Best Practices resources available from the Brewers Association can be tremendously helpful. They provide breweries with strategies, tactics, and benchmarks for creating a more diverse and inclusive brewery staff. For example, to enhance the diversity of an applicant pool, one tactic offered by the Brewers Association is to “strategically list advertisements in locations that will increase the size and variety of your labor pool”. When it comes to creating benchmarks, the BA suggests that brewery staff should “reflect the demographic diversity of the surrounding community”. It is clear, from reviewing the Best Practices resources on the Brewers Association website, that increasing diversity within the industry will not be easy; nor will it happen overnight. It will require effort on the part of breweries. It will require them to be strategic. It will require them to be intentional. Will enough breweries be willing to step-up and do what is necessary to change the status quo? The hot cause exists. Whether it is hot enough and/or whether the necessary cool mobilization will occur, only time will tell.
This is the fourth blog entry I have written that has been inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic. For me and many Ohioans, we really started to feel the impact of Covid-19 on Sunday March 15. That was the first day that bars and restaurants in the state were closed (starting at 9.00pm) for regular business. They would be closed for a full two months, reopening for outdoor seating only on May 15 and capacity-restricted indoor dining on May 22. During that time most bars and restaurants (including craft breweries) survived by selling food and beer for delivery and/or curbside pick-up. Denied taproom sales, many breweries experienced a significant drop in their revenues; surviving Covid-19 quickly became the primary objective.
Once craft brewery taprooms in Ohio were closed for business, and I realized that they were going to face a significant drop in revenues, I made the decision to drink beer from local breweries only. Before going any further, I should note that I am not a “Buy Local” zealot. I understand Ricardo’s Theory of Comparative Advantage, and the reasons why we purchase and consume products that are made in other places (be they other cities in the United States or other countries). However, for a couple of months at least, I thought it would be fun and interesting to drink only beers made by local breweries. That, of course, begs the question as to what constitutes a local brewery? Does the brewery have to be located in the city of Toledo to be considered local? Or could that be broadened to include the entire county (Lucas County)? What about defining local as any beer produced in the state of Ohio? An alternative to using political jurisdictions (City, County, or State boundaries) to define local, is delimiting breweries within a certain radius of where I live. But what radius should I use – 10 miles, 20 miles, 50 miles?
The question of what constitutes “local” is one that has been debated by both academics and policy makers. According to the 2008 Farm Bill any food produced within a 400 mile radius is considered locally or regionally produced. In Canada, food is considered local if it is produced in the province or territory in which it is sold or (if sold across provincial borders) is purchased within is 50 km (31 miles) of its originating province or territory.
After giving it some thought I decided to restrict my beer drinking from breweries located in the states of Ohio and Michigan. I live in Ohio, of course, but am very close to Michigan. From my house I can be in Michigan in approximately twelve minutes. I have visited a good number of breweries in Ohio and Michigan and feel a strong affinity to the craft beer movement in both states. Of course, some of the breweries in both states are pretty far from my home. For example, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery in Athens, OH is 219 miles from my home, while Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is 490 miles away – not exactly local.
Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette, MI is 490 miles from my home
Not surprisingly, I am not the first person to commit to consuming local food and drink. In 2005, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon pledged to eat only dishes made from ingredients harvested within a 100 mile radius of their Vancouver, BC home. In 2007, Barbara Kingsolver moved her family from Tucson, AZ to rural Virginia, where they spent the year eating food grown/reared by themselves or by someone in their neighborhood.
Restricting myself to Ohio and Michigan beers has not exactly been a penance. According to the Brewers Association, there are 400 craft breweries in Michigan and 311 in Ohio. Of course, not all 711 sell their beer in the Toledo market, but enough do that I never lacked choice or got bored with the beers I was drinking. In fact, if I had to, I could probably drink Ohio and Michigan beers for an entire year and not feel hard done by. I did sneak in a few non Ohio and Michigan beers in over the last couple of months – but these were beers that were already sitting in my basement refrigerator and whose “consume by” date already here or rapidly approaching. Most of these beers were consumed on my back deck, while enjoying the warm rays of the spring sunshine. I have created a two galleries highlighting some of the Ohio and Michigan beers that I consumed.
