Is this really the golden age of microbreweries?
Back when I toured Clipper City Brewery, our guide said this is the golden age of microbreweries.
It made sense, because for decades, all beer drinkers had to choose from were bland domestics like Budweiser and a handful of imports.
But I want to think back more than a few decades -- back to the time before Prohibition.
I've read that in the 1800s and early 1900s, there were a whole bunch of breweries around town churning out suds ...
Back then, beer drinkers had plenty of options to pick from, and most were brewed right here in Baltimore. Keep in mind -- this was before eating and drinking locally were the trendy thing to do.
The Depression forced most of these smaller breweries out of business. And in the 1950s and 1960s, the big chains swooped in and took over.
I have always wondered how good beer was pre-Depression. You've got to figure -- with so much competition here in Baltimore alone, a brewery must have had to make good beer if it wanted to survive.
(AP photo)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
Not quite. Maureen Ogle's book Ambitious Brew gives a good account of brewing in America. I think it is true that there were more breweries, and it is true that there was more than one style, but at the same time, the style that predominated bears close resemblance to what predominates today, and in fact Budweiser was wildly popular at that time as well.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 23, 2009 10:32 AM
Interesting.... I've seen some breweries putting out beer that they claim has "the original Pre-Prohibition recipe".
I always figured the beer was stronger and more flavorful back then, too.
Posted by: Ryan Graham | April 23, 2009 12:58 PM
Not sure about golden age of microbreweries, but with the global economy, general economic wellbeing of most Americans even in these hard times and steady rise of microbrewing across all 50 states, I think it might be the golden age of brewing variety and creativity.
Something of a renaissance if you will.
Posted by: Baltimore Beer Guy | April 24, 2009 1:24 PM