Amy Martin: American Craft Beer Week a time to reflect

Stephanie Shomin, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·4 min read

May 17—This week is American Craft Beer Week, an annual holiday declared by the Brewers Association to celebrate and salute small and independent craft breweries. It only feels appropriate to reflect on the history of craft beer in America as this week gets into the full swing of things.

Beer has been an integral part of our country since its founding. The documented history of brewing in the U.S. began when European colonists arrived. In the "Old World" much of the water was unsanitary and unfit for drinking, so they depended on beer as a safe alternative, a habit that continued when they arrived on our shores.

Our forefathers all had brewing operations in their homes — though while they were once taught as the brewers themselves, as historians have dug further into this fact it has come to light that the wives were often in charge of overseeing brewing, and that most of the brew masters (responsible for every aspect of brewing including recipe writing) were slaves.

Another important yet often overlooked factor in the history of brewing in our country is the major impact German immigrants had in the mid-1800s. Unlike the local residents, they had a strong affinity for lager beers. They couldn't find any upon arriving to the states, so they brewed their own. Striving to be as close to the lagers they had in Germany, they encountered some obstacles, including a difference in climate and type of barley growing here. This is where the distinct American lager developed, a style incredibly popular to this day.

As one can imagine, brewing came to a halt upon the passing of the 18th Amendment in 1920. While other forms of alcohol, mainly spirits, still illegally thrived, the access to proper ingredients and its inherent low Alcohol by Volume (ABV) made beer a less than popular beverage of choice during this time.

The repeal of Prohibition certainly breathed new life into the brewing world, but it wasn't until the 1950s and the evolution of trucking and railroad for distribution and the introduction of radio and television for advertisement that propelled mass-produced consumer goods, including beer, into the future. It was during this time that many still familiar household names took hold of the country, like Crest toothpaste, Coca-Cola, Dial soap and in the beverage world domestic lagers such as Bud Light and Miller Lite.

These bigger breweries dominated the beer scene, and drove many smaller, regional breweries out of business. There were fewer than 100 breweries open in the U.S. by the 1970s because of this.

Then the 1970s saw a cultural shift occur: people started caring more about their food quality and ingredients and started making goods at home, including beer. Though it was technically illegal to homebrew until 1978, this didn't stop people from brewing before then. These modern homebrew pioneers weren't just brewing light lagers like they could find at the store; they were experimenting with a whole array of ingredients and recipe styles from all over the world, inherently making far more flavorful beverages.

While many homebrewers were (and are) quite happy brewing as a hobby, some took it to the next level, opening breweries serving these interesting, unique beers. This was the birth of craft beer, and it has become a booming industry since then. The first Great American Beer Festival in 1982 saw participation from 24 breweries and a total of 47 beers. The most recent Great American Beer Festival in 2021 saw participation from 2,192 breweries with a total of 9,680 beers. The American craft beer industry is an ever evolving landscape, still experimenting with new ingredients and styles like when it first began.

I am a huge advocate in supporting small, independent craft breweries. Not only do they create delicious beer, but they care about their employees, get to know their customers, and invest in their communities. The Brewers Association makes it incredibly easy to find and support these breweries, both in person and at the store with their "Seek the Seal" campaign. Only breweries that meet a certain set of standards may use the independent seal. According to the Brewers Association website, "the certified independent craft seal is designed as an upside-down beer bottle, which symbolizes how the U.S. craft beer movement has turned beer on its head worldwide."

We are very fortunate to have an abundance of craft breweries in our area, which I encourage your to support not only this week for American Craft Beer Week, but every week. Additionally, next time you're in the store, I implore you to look for beer with the independent seal on it.

Amy Martin is the marketing manager at Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort. She is a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers and is on the Governing Committee of the American Homebrewers Association. Contact her at polkadotsandpints@gmail.com.