Overview of Findings & Craft Beer History Session

        Overview of Findings
           The nineties was time of growth, filled with economic “bubbles” rising and popping that gave way to an exponential growth among a plethora of markets. One rapidly rising movement during this time revitalized an appetite for an overlooked tradition within communities worldwide, craft beer. These communities coined their expanding presence in the market the “Craft Beer Renaissance”, a revival of full bodied and flavorful beer. Over the past century across the globe the commercial beer market revolved predominantly around bland light lagers. Often described as watery, these beers have little in the way of hops, malt or aroma.  The companies that produce them dominate a vast majority of the American beer market.

            This paper briefly describes the historical events that lead to this craft beer boom; report on the renaissance itself based on interviews with some of the local brewing artists. Taking this information into account a clearer picture of the future of craft beer reveals itself. The word fad comes to mind when speaking of new trends. This essay defines this market growth as a trend that embeds itself within a society of people, those attracted to the market evangelize the potential held within malt, hops, yeast and water.

When gathering data, local Homebrewers were chosen as the experts on craft beer as no better brewers represent the cultural trends and attitudes toward the revival of craft brewing. Homebrewers dedicate time, effort and passion in pursuit of beer knowledge, with little expectations for capital return. Many are intrigued by the historical aspects that surround the brewing process and relish the experience widespread growth of craft beer creates for them. While many require a small source of income to continue brewing, most do not have a direct financial link to the craft beer market. This perspective provides an informed and honest opinion of the future expectations within the market, and demonstrates the craft beer renaissances’ impact on communities and business, not just on the ups and downs of the brewing economy.

Homebrewers were found by attending a series of events at Proforma, an art space located in Manhattan, and organized by Eric Steen. Eric Steen organizes events internationally in art spaces to highlight the artistic qualities of brewing beer. The first event focused on the brewing process with roughly a dozen beers simultaneously being brewed by a wide array of New York City Brewers. The second focused on the final products, Homebrewers within New York City gathered and contributed to the “impromptu brew pub” showcasing over thirty beers created by New York City Homebrewers. While attending these events, of a set series of questions were asked of the brewers willing to go on record. These interviews were transcribed for in depth dissection and a general consensus of what inspires their brewing and the potential future opportunities of the craft beer market.

        Craft Beer History Session

The emergence of light lagers within cultures across the world stems from various forms of restrictions on alcohol consumption. Within America a complete ban of alcohol during Prohibition destroyed a vibrant beer market formed largely around neighborhood brewpubs. The Prohibition Era was notorious for its unintended repercussions, most notably from crime syndicates; this unsuccessful attempt to ban alcohol consumption created an alcohol black market without health regulations. The lowest quality products (“coffin varnish”) came to market some of which posed a danger to one’s health to drink. Staten Island based Homebrewer and Staten Island Advance columnist, Mark Zappasodi, showcases a Ginger Saison paying homage to one of these dangerous spirits. The term “ginger foot” applying to a common type of ginger flavored liquor whose habitual use led to physical damage to the users motor function of their leg. Those who were seen with the limp associated with drinking the spirit were said to have a “ginger foot”. America’s ban of alcohol had many unintended effects but Americans were not alone in this alcohol regulation overhaul.

The American prohibition was only part of a global “Temperance Movement” which effected alcohol consumption and sale worldwide. Prohibitionist movements rose in the late 1800’s early 1900’s throughout western culture. Legislation passed on prohibition in America It was not until the 1970’s that a residual legislation restricting alcohol consumption and distribution become more lenient. The colloquially termed the “Big Three”, Coors, Budweiser (InBev) and Miller emerged over the decades following 1933 when prohibition ended each of the commercial beer giants commanding almost one third of the entire beer industries sales. The seed of the Craft Beer Revolution was planted in the early seventies with breweries like Anchor Steam of California.

Anchor Steam is one of the few American breweries with a founding date prior to Prohibition. They were shut down during the years when alcohol was banned in the US they revived themselves in the 1930’s. They then survived in an intensely difficult market through an investment from Maytag in the 1960’s. This brewery paved the way for future craft brewers through the innovative products they created in the 1970’s, for instance their Summer Ale was the first wheat beer seen on the market after prohibition. (Anchor Brewing)  Their focus on artisan style brewing created a revitalization of craft beer within San Francisco, California that spread across the nation. Craft breweries exponentially grew within the mid-nineties, and this growth continues today. 

Craft Beer Market Today

The astounding growth has only tapered slightly in the face of one of the greatest economic downturns since the Great Depression. As a resurgence of demand for craft beer rises, a new volatile market takes shape. The sea of breweries and beers available on the shelf can boggle the mind compared to the variety in previous years. Many breweries listed are considered “Microbreweries” generally owning a small barrel system each commanding a small portion of the overall market.  One barrel correlates to roughly two kegs worth of beer. Microbreweries distribute less than 15,000 barrels over the course of a year. Brewers Association research shows the overall American beer market of 2010 to sell over 200 million barrels of beer generating over $100 Billion in revenue. (Brewers Association ) The Brewers Association also states there is roughly 1,700 craft brewing institutions currently within the US. Given this information is becomes apparent that craft brewers still control an extremely small slice of the pie when describing the national beer industry. While this is true the growth of microbreweries and craft beers has been tremendous over the past few decades. Everyone is throwing their hat into the ring even those with little resources and means can create and distribute beers. Brewers with less than a seven barrel system called “Nano Breweries” have become popular.

Oftentimes located far from urban life, these Nano breweries contain a small operation of people generating attention for craft beers through the creation of new and exciting beers for public consumption. The vast variety of brewers looking to make a name for themselves among brewers creates a state of high turnover of businesses, as competition between them forces them out. Creating even a small brewery can be a financially draining enterprise and many choose to opt out of the race every year, but for each that drop out several more join in.  Since many aspiring brewing companies lack the funds to purchase the equipment necessary to create and distribute beer on a commercial scale some will opt to lease tank space from another established brewery. This is exactly what Massachusetts based Clown Shoes Beer has done through Ipswich Brewing’s facilities based in of Massachusetts. (Carbone) While Clown Shoes plans to one day have a physical brewery for those who enjoy their beers and would like a tour of their brewing process, they currently lease tank space from Mercury Brewing Company also known as Ipswich Brewing based in Ipswich, located roughly forty miles north of Boston, MA.

The table below displays a list of the Breweries mentioned within this essay, where they are located and what they consider their flagship beer. In the cases of Clown Shoes, Cigar City, and Dogfish Head a self-proclaimed “Flagship” beer was not listed. One of their popular beers was placed as a substitute. Anchor Brewing Company was established in 1896, shut down during prohibition, and reinstated in the 1930’s. It is important to note while Boston Brewing, Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam are each a part of the Craft Brewing Renaissance, they are no longer considered Microbreweries. Each are well established brewing companies that have well surpassed 15,000 barrels a year.

Brewery	Est.	City	Flagship Beer
Anchor Brewing	1896	San Francisco, CA	Anchor Steam Beer
Boston Beer Co.	1985	Boston, MA	Boston Lager
Harpoon	1986	Boston, MA	India Pale Ale
Ipswich Brewing	1991	Ipswich, MA	Ipswich Ale
Dogfish Head	1995	Milton, DE	60 Minute IPA
Ommegang	1997	Cooperstown, NY	Three Philosophers
Cigar City	2009	Tampa, FL	Maduro
Clown Shoes	2010	Ipswich, MA	Tramp Stamp

The Craft Beer Revolution has largely been a reeducation of the basics of brewing, and continuing expansion of potential for what constitutes a beer. This creates the two major types of brewer seen in today’s craft brewing market, purely traditional or completely unorthodox. Among Homebrewers there seems to be a distinctive divide between these two methods. The traditional brewers have a deep knowledge of the history surrounding brewing, and each beer they brew is either straight from a particular recipe not seen used in some time, or inspired by one. While unorthodox brewers are constantly experimenting with ingredients to create new styles and flavors no one would even dream of.

The Great Divide: Traditional VS. Unorthodox Practices

Mr. Zappasodi was inspired to create his Ginger Saison based on New York City history. A Saison is a French style of beer that is usually denoted as “farmhouse ale” oftentimes using whatever ingredients available. A beer of the common people of France, it is an ideal style to act as a canvas for his artistic expression of a common drinker during prohibition. Mr. Zappasodi brings a “Do It Yourself” attitude to his brewing, and candies his own ginger for this brew. Paying tribute to a phenomenon seen during Prohibition within Brooklyn. “Ginger foot”, a term used to describe someone with a severe limp, is a side effect of drinking one of the dangerous black market liquors of the 1920’s. Chemically closer to rubbing alcohol than yeast byproducts the addition of ginger masks the unfortunate flavor of this bootleg spirit. Zappasodi steeps candied ginger into the wort of his beers; while this may sound unusual, this is a common craft brewing process. Mr. Zappasodi created something unique based on traditional styles and historic influences. Driven by a desire to create a high quality beer and educate those who drink it on the history surrounding alcohol. This roughly fourteen year period of American history quashed all growth within the beer industry preceding 1920. (Brewers Association ) Examination of the Brewers Association historical data shows the devastating effect Prohibition had on the amount of breweries within America.

Matt Chan, a home brewer of two years recreated an 1868 Scottish Ale recipe. When asked why he chose to recreate this beer he replied, “…because it is interesting to see how they brewed back then.” (Chan) Mr. Chan’s claims that many historically based brewed have create stereotypes for a geographic area or time that do not present the entire picture. For instance, Scottish beers have a stigma of being malty beers. While Matt Chan’s 1868 recipe has a dark malty quality it also makes excellent use of aroma hops something that Mr. Chan feels most no longer recognize. Recreating this 1868 recipe gave insight to those that drank it on a style of beer that may have been otherwise forgotten. Further inspection of beer available within the microbrewery market shows using craft beer as an educational tool is not an uncommon pursuit. Many Microbreweries take a historical approach to their brewing style.

Sam Adams advertises on any brewery tour about how they use only four ingredients in all beers they sell; water, yeast, malt and hops. The flavors created are all variations of yeast strains, hops varieties, and malts. Ommegang brewery located in Cooperstown, NY also boasts using only the four main ingredients in their beer portfolio. With a focus on Belgian style beers, they have chosen Cooperstown, New York for its water supply being chemically similar to areas within Belgium. (Ommegang Brewery) This keeps the flavor of their products as close to traditional Belgium beers as possible.

Other breweries use the distribution of their malty beverages to educate the populace on local historical aspects of the area surrounding the brewery. Cigar City in Tampa, FL named their brewery after the nickname for Tampa. To keep with the theme of Florida history Cigar City provides their consumer with Florida historical facts while they enjoy the beer. Wayne Wambles, one of the founders of Cigar City brewing describes his reasoning for the historical focus: “You have this bottle of beer that someone is going to be holding in their hand so it’s a perfect opportunity to say ‘Hey here’s our beer but also did you know this about…’”. (Carbone)  The emphasis on historical education is a sentiment displayed among many brewers creations.

 Another style of beer that is inventive but based on traditional styles of beer is the Black IPA. Traditionally India Pale Ales (IPA) have higher hop content than most beers, and have medium to light malt characteristics, by definition they are pale ales. The abundance of hops took advantage of their preservative properties for the long trip from England to India during the beginnings of English occupation of India.  The style has been remade over the years and now has geographic differences. For example, American-IPA’s have distinctly more bitter than English–IPAs. The Black IPA has also been called the American style India Black Ale. Unlike all others within IPA style it is not pale but darkened by roasted malts creating a bittersweet flavor with hoppy aromatics.

 Brewers like these find inventive ways to create new and creative flavors using time tested ingredients. While the desire to create new and interesting versions of beers is apparent, there remains a standard method of process. Those that introduce unorthodox methods seek to enhance the flavors of traditional styles from ingredients found outside the standard method.

Those that are drawn towards the possibilities of flavorful beers have been creating beers in the most unorthodox ways. These brewers are not afraid to take big risks in flavor combinations and show no fear in making mistakes. One such unorthodox brewer is NYC Homebrewer Sam Burlingame who creates beers aptly named “Sage-Watermelon-Wheat Ale” and “Catnip IPA”. Mr. Burlingame has this to say about his style of brewing, “Every beer I make is completely different, and almost always a little more extreme.” A firm believer that experimentation with different hops and malts can pay off, but also putting new ingredients no one has thought to try into the recipe and seeing what flavor combinations work together. This is an experiment without restriction or him as his “Dry Nipping” technique in Catnip IPA clearly states. After all, experimentation with ingredients is how hops were first introduced in the early 11^th century. Hop filled beers were found to last longer in storage than their predecessors and this soon became common practice. He is certainly not alone when it comes to trying new things, although he is one of the most bold in his experiments.

 Harpoon Brewery is known to steep oranges into their Hefeweizen before cooling the wort. Oranges are often used when serving this style of beer and the flavors of fruit pair well with the wheat style beer. Harpoon simply cut out the middleman, making bartenders jobs that much easier wherever it is sold on tap. Dogfish Head Brewery makes their Punkin’ Ale through roasting whole pumpkins and placing them into the wort during the dry hopping process. Changing out the addition of barley with rice based products has allowed for those with celiac disease (allergy to gluten) to continue to enjoy beers. This has been a style that is well received by those with and without celiac disease. A Houston doctor and pioneer of gluten free beer, Russ Klisch, has this to say about the style. “Everyone who wants to should be able to enjoy a beer”. (Bernstien) Many Gluten Free beers take home awards from brewing contests around the nation for their inventive ways around malts. So, sometimes experimentation does pay off.  While many may turn their nose up at the idea of a Catnip IPA, the craft beer brewers say “don’t knock it until you try it”.         

The Local Experts

The home brewers interviewed on this topic each had their own distinct personality and motivation for creating beers. After speaking with them and sampling their beers it became plain that each creation spoke volumes of their personal pursuit of craft beer. Many mentioned aspirations towards making this passion a source of income in some way. For instance Mr. Zappasodi writes a column for the Staten Island advance and Mr. Burlingame created a business that revolves around making beer for special events. Generally speaking, these are people that were drawn towards home brewing to learn more about the craft beers they enjoy so much. Mark Zappasoti writes about his feelings towards brewing in his Staten Island Advance column that sums up the passion many Homebrewers have.  “I immediately felt a kinship with every person who ever brewed beer before — a part of that historical brewing fabric that stretches back a thousand years…” (Zappasoti)  Many are still new to the hobby with barely a years’ worth of brewing under their belt. Others, such as Mr. Zappasodi, boast half a decade worth of experience. All those interviewed stated they were very active in their self-education through the creation of tasty brews. While Steven Direly and his girlfriend have only been brewing together for a year, together they have created roughly a beer every week of that year, only recreating brews about a fifth of the time.  These are people who have completely immersed themselves into the Craft Beer Renaissance, and are the lifeblood of the movement. The brewers and aspiring brewers are the artists of this renaissance. Their passion is infectious, and educating those around them of the tasty brews on the market plays a large role in the growing movement.

Information gathered from these home brewers based on a set series of questions has shed light on the incredible growth of the craft beer market, the enthusiasm of those that support its growth, and the expectations of the future of the industry. The information presented suggests a continued growth of the market, slowing down only due to a catastrophic financial collapse. This is definitively not a fad to those passionate about it and more are becoming passionate about beer every year. Passion is the key to the success of this market. While the turnover of businesses looks relatively high; currently the consumers are passionate and proud of the beers they drink excited to share their most recent beer experience. With this passion for great tasting beers in mind the craft brewing community is looking for the highest quality tasting brews available. This emphasis on quality means fresh ingredients being used particularly hops. Hops add aromatic, bitter, and preservative qualities to a beer, but do not retain these qualities for very long. They are usually compared to flowers when describing shelf life. Considering this fragility of hops these ingredients would provide the highest quality when coming from a local source.

The Future of Craft Beer

 Prior to prohibition, some immigrants came over not only with hopes for a brighter future but also their best local style beer from their homeland. Local brewpubs and breweries were a societal norm, and a community put a lot of pride into the quality of their local brews. Based on the information presented by the local experts that have contributed to this essay, the craft beer industry will refine into a majority of fresh local products with much smaller distribution areas than the beer industry has supported in the past. Jason Salor, a Homebrewer with eight years of experience and a job with Bierkraft in Brooklyn, elaborates on this subject: “Hyper-local breweries that cater to a neighborhood. Like it was pre-prohibition, there were a large number of breweries in every city and everyone had a watering hole.  There is no reason it can’t go back to that. You don’t need to have a national distribution you can just do just Brooklyn or just Manhattan.” (Salor) A brewpub is defined as a restaurant-brewery that generates a majority of their beer sales on site. The general consensus of those interviewed is that a majority of craft beer breweries will consist of these brewpubs.

Brewpubs keep close ties with the local community, and this builds customer loyalty. When brewpubs are run by those with a passion for making great beer, the community will take pride within their locally made beers. Mr. Zappasodi is a strong supporter of going local, “I think the regional or local brewpub and brew establishment that services communities will always do well.” “…What is not going to do well, is production brewers that are getting in the game and throwing their shit in bottles and sending it all over the country with no quality control. “ (Zappasodi) A similar comparison can be made to local sports teams. There is a certain amount of community pride that can be felt when a city feels they have a team they can stand behind. Now most of these beer enthusiasts were talking on a very small scale, neighborhoods generally the way it was prior to prohibition. Much has changed aside from alcohol regulations since then, for instance distribution of refrigerated items. It is very realistic to see the local area on a grander scale than it used to be. The competitive local area of a brewpub could be much larger than neighborhoods, cities and states are conceivable.

The emergence of the market boiling down to “Craft Beer Giants” is far less popular to those interviewed. While large companies like Sierra Nevada can be found coast to coast, the speculation remains that it takes too much effort to move product across far distances. There will be an inevitable amount of quality differences dependent on how far the product must travel. A vast majority believe that the locally made products will have a stronger loyalty from the community and will be able to compete with prices of beers that have travelled farther. In the end, the next few years are expected to define those who have a true passion for beer. As the average consumer of beer expands their palate so will the expected quality of beers. Those who do not have quality controls of their beers and are perceived as “buying in” to the market are not expected to last very long. Mr. Zappasodi explains this in his own words; I think it will start to weed out the “fly by night” or the people that are just jumping in to make money because they see an opportunity to make money.” (Zappasodi) Although when it comes to a topic so full of rich history and rewarding fruits of labor, it is difficult to imagine those people. Especially while amidst the most animated followers of the growing movement.  

Research Opportunities

While Homebrewers are extremely knowledgeable on the subject of craft brewing, this may not give them the unbiased opinion originally sought after. Gathering research from Homebrewers on craft beer may have an inherent bias, their passion creating an overoptimistic view of the future of craft brewing. To get a more authentic picture of the market, a much wider sample of experts’ opinions must be taken. Home brewers have proved to be an excellent source of knowledge on the subject. It is important for the legitimacy of this study that the expansion of interviewees be established as a legitimate source of information on Craft Beer, perhaps the microbrewers themselves or possibly avid consumers of Craft Beer. To expand on the future of craft beer it would be of interest to define what portions of the market will be most affected by this Craft Beer expansion. With a wider pool of breweries alcohol distribution channels may become more complex. The wider variety in hops and barley being used will affect hops and barley farmer’s crop growth and seed investments. If these industries have a low potential supply perhaps there is a business opportunity available.

Comparisons of the temperance movements’ effect on the American beer industry can be made to other western cultures such as New Zealand or Great Britain. If the movements mirrored one another, the emergence of light lagers would coincide with legal reformation related to the temperance movement of the nation. The reaction may not be as clear and cut within other nations because America had the most severe restrictions to alcohol as a result of the movement. Further exploration in the affect federal regulations have on Craft Beer markets could provide insight into the reasons why the previous Beer market dwindled and what to expect of the current rising trend of flavorful beer. 

So the possibilities seem endless for the Craft beer Market while the next few years will remain extremely competitive especially within the brewpub segment. This rapid market growth is slowly pulling people away from the “big three” beer companies within the American market today. After a flavor recession came a revolution in beer flavor, complexity and style. Brewers began to revisit traditional styles not seen in years and embark into unknown territories in beer. These are old traditions and new innovations that many cultures over the course of history have as a part of their culture. In bars across the world they are trying new hoppy combinations and enjoy them in good company. After all drinking is ultimately about the company kept while enjoying the beverage, and less about the beverage itself.