Dear beer enthusiasts and other interested parties,
The Cal Poly Brew Crew will take the throne in producing a brewing column this spring quarter. Our goal is to introduce all you curious souls to the wonders of true American craft beer.
Craft beer has been incompletely defined as pure happiness in a glass, 10 minutes of pleasure, intellectual beverage that lubricates society for people to coexist and much more. It is described as a living liquid of history, dating back 12,000 years. It is something to be enjoyed in moderation, shared and revered with friends and family over a nice conversation, ranging from important world issues to amusing, incoherent nonsense.
American craft beer began its history as soon as independence was declared. With the American dream in full force, we created beers that were original and different from our English counterparts by experimenting and improvising to create original ales and lagers with fresh water, locally grown barley, herbs and yeast. The number of breweries in America peaked at 4,000 in 1873, only to slowly decline because of the fierce capitalist practices of some regional breweries, who muscled local craft beer off the scene with refrigerated rail-cars and ruthless marketing schemes.
By the time prohibition began in 1919, there were only 1,500 left. After Prohibition was repealed on Dec. 5, 1933, less than half of the breweries reopened. Influenced by the craze of the newly-fashionable Pilsner beer style, the decrease in German influence because of World War I, and the mad American consumer attitude of out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new, there were only a handful of breweries left running into the 1970s. All of these breweries produced very similar versions of the pale lager we know today as Budweiser, Miller, Coors and the infamous Natty Light.
Just when American beer drinkers seemed to be happy as clams, captivated by the shadows on the cave wall with an ice cold light lager can in hand, a young Fritz Maytag turned around to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He became the leader for the American craft beer industry.
In 1965, he purchased Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco and turned it around by creating the first truly original American beer style (California Common or Steam Beer). With an incredible amount of work and passion for producing consistent and real American ale, he established Anchor Brewing Company as the cornerstone of the craft brewing movement. From the ‘80s to the present, the craft brewing scene has seen a booming growth in the number of craft breweries and brew pubs in America. For proof, take a look within 30 miles of San Luis Obispo: see the brand new Creekside Brewing Company, Central Coast Brewing, Downtown Brewing Company (the oldest brewery in town), the small Dunbar Brewing in Santa Margarita, Morro Bay Brewing Company, Santa Maria Brewing Company and the Mid-Size Brewery of the Year, Firestone Walker, in Paso Robles.
But the inspiration behind the craft beer revolution was and is the home brewers.
The craft beer industry has turned into a grand display of a new niche American culture. Home brewers perfect original, meaningful, radical beers in small home settings. This is the root from which commercial craft beer has flourished and blossomed. A great example of this is the Sam Adams Longshot competition where home brewers enter their favorite specialty beers (no classic styles allowed) in hopes of brewing it on the Sam Adams scale for the entire nation to appreciate.
With more home brewers turning their hobby into a profession like the brewers at Firestone, Creekside and Dunbar, the relentless pursuit of quality beer is on the march. Eric Beaton and John Moule at Creekside just took one step up from home brewing by making the same great craft beers they used to on the micro brew pub scale. And Chris Dunbar has created a small, three-barrel system at Dunbar Brewing, which keeps him brewing often and his beers flowing fresh.
The Cal Poly Brew Crew implores all you new and old beer enthusiasts to seek out the local and fresh craft beer that San Luis Obispo County and America has to offer. In following beer columns, look for direction from us here at the Brew Crew for tips on local and national news and events of the craft beer world.
Shameless plug:
If you are a home brewer, don’t forget to enter your beers in our annual Cal Poly Cup for a chance to win prizes and get your beers evaluated by nationally certified judges. Entries are due May 16 and the event will be held at Creekside Brewing Company May 23. For more information, check out our website at cpbrewcrew.calpoly.edu.
Cheers from Cal Poly Brew Crew President,
Christian Toran