A Message in a Bottle

You walk into your local watering hole and order a beer. The bartender smoothly fills a glass and sets it in front of you. “AH! My favorite!” You think to yourself as the first sip hits your palate. As you leave some cash on the bar, a TV in the corner of the room blares the latest football game. Even though you don’t like football, you gaze at it blankly while sipping your beer. While this may appear incredibly boring, on the inside you are in heaven. It’s been a long day and there’s nothing like a tall glass of your favorite brew to relieve some tension and relax. You aren’t thinking of anything but savoring the beer much in the same way one would enjoy an expensive glass of wine or a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant. You slowly nurse the beer along enjoying every aspect of it. Because it’s the quality you enjoy instead quantity, right? Too many times our society seems to encourage mass consumption of bland products without the quality. They say diversity is the spice of life and I’m inclined to believe it. An establishment that offers a wide variety of drinks would be more likely to get my business. Why? Because I enjoy being adventurous. Trying new things and tasting different flavors, especially when it comes to beers. If for nothing else, because there are so many different kinds.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating that you hide your problems in a bottle. Nay, quite the opposite. Having a beer helps you unwind, relax, and in some cases provides nutritional value. In some cultures, beer represents an important calorie supplement. In others, such as the ancient Egyptians, beer was the perfect gift for a king and was often used in religious ceremonies. Many more relied on this beverage due to a lack of sanitary drinking water. It would certainly appear as though alcohol abuse is more of a problem in industrialized nations. Take a 19th century United States for an example. The country shifted from an agrarian, agricultural based economy to a more urban, industrial based way of life. Large industrial companies like Standard Oil, Carnegie Steel, etc. employed millions of workers. This time period was pockmarked with violent worker struggles and extreme economic crashes/depressions. It’s not surprising that so many Americans abuse alcohol. It’s viewed as a way to help relieve the stress of being a slave to the economy. To make it worse, an industrial economy requires a consumer base and considering the advances in manufacturing at this time, alcohol became an inexpensive commodity. So would alcohol abuse be a social problem or the symptom of one?
Either way, though it is an important issue and needed to be mentioned, alcoholism isn’t what I want to focus on. Nor the possible causes of it. This article is about the industry itself.
Take your favorite beer for example and let us think back to that watering hole. Where did it come from? Is it Irish? English? Maybe it’s from Japan?! Beer is brewed all over the world in varying strengths and styles. I bet you have a pretty decent idea of what some of them are like and whether or not you would enjoy them. Maybe you prefer pale ales? Stouts? But if you are like me, you probably don’t know too much about beer from your local area. Is there even a brewery near you? What if there was, how would you find information about it? Who cares when you can just hop over to the convenience store down the street and buy beer that was brewed several thousand miles away? But herein lies a problem. You see, a large beer company buys up breweries around the world, distributes the beer, and by using its size it’s able to moderately influence markets around the world. To simplify, a smaller, local brewery is unable to compete with a company that brews and distributes one hundred or more beers. They physically and economically cannot rival the strength wielded by the larger companies. InBev, for example, is a huge European conglomerate of different breweries and distributors. We know them as the owner of Anheuser/Busch and Stella Artois. They have enough clout and capital to run advertising during the Super Bowl. Let’s see a local brewery do that. I’m betting that they can’t. The point I’m trying to make has more to do with an actual bar or restaurant than it does with the Super Bowl. But it does make a difference. A large company, like InBev, that distributes a huge variety of beer is able to control local markets because of their advertising. Advertisements run by InBev, Heineken International, SABMiller persuade more and more people to drink their products. Which is fine, but it requires local restaurants and bars to carry and favor “everyone’s favorites”. While local brews are aren’t offered as much if at all. “Who the heck ever heard of that beer? Get me a Bud please.” A bar might offer 50 or more different varieties of beer, but they’re supplied by at most 5 different companies. It’s a wonder local breweries survive at all.
In the beginning of this article I stated that I preferred a large variety to choose from, and I still do. But the question we have to ask ourselves is this: Is it worth it? A bar or restaurant that offers a fairly wide variety offers beers from around the globe will undoubtedly offer beer from Africa, China, German, the UK, etc, etc. Yet they won’t offer as many local ones. So what seems to be a wide variety actually isn’t because the same distributors are providing the same selection to everyone, even if the beer is from some obscure part of the world. But is it worth it? Is the large variety of international beers literally at your fingertips worth the loss of local breweries? A local brewery is literally drowning in a beer sea of imported competition. It becomes a question of international variety versus local flavor. I hear you, I hear you. You’re asking if there is really a problem with this. Am I just nit-picking? Why should I be worrying about something as sophomoric as beer economies when our national one is floundering, and unemployment is skyrocketing, and ,and, and. There are many other issues to deal with besides the problems of a few local yokels with a homemade distillery. And you’re right; beer may seem like a somewhat lesser problem than the others plaguing us right now. Some of you may have stopped reading this article because you don’t drink, and that’s fine. But this article isn’t necessarily about beer. With the exception of the bit about alcoholism, the rest of this article could be about one of any number of commodities that the United States imports at the expense of our local economies. Sure, beer is a pretty immature example, but this isn’t about beer. It’s about something else.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

Man, this was one's killer. I am a fan of oatmeal stouts and this is no exception, but wow. This beer is pretty tasty and very dark with a deep burgundy color. I couldn't see light through the glass I drank it out of! Yeah. It has a rich, burnt oatmeal and chocolate flavor and is very heavy. I felt very full and sleepy after drinking this beer. After doing a little reading (wiki), I've found that this beer has been made from the same yeast since 1900. Impressive. No wonder it's more expensive. I thought it was just the extra large bottle (almost 19 oz instead of 12). Another interesting thing about this beer is that it is brewed independently of the larger distributors. Samuel Smith's beer is not to be confused with John Smith's beer. According to wikipedia there were two brothers that ran two breweries next door to each other.
While definitely interesting and delicious, this isn't something I would just drink for any old occasion. Mainly because of the price and the effect it has on you. But I would keep this in mind for, say a dinner party or whatnot.

Abita Amber Ale

Oh boy! Here's a another favorite! This amber ale is the first beer brewed by the Abita springs brewery when it first opened in 1986. Based several miles north of new Orleans Louisiana, this brewery is one of the largest independent breweries in the US. They produce a variety of beers and even make root beer out of the local sassafras and sugar cane. Ill be reviewing one of their more popular beers, the TurboDog, later on. But right now, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm stuck on amber ales. Ambers are a great middle of the road beers because they aren't overwhelming like darker stronger stouts and porters. And the aren't weak and bland like some of the lighter pales. But that's just opinion probably. Despite being an amber, this Abita version is lighter and more thirst quenching then the Newcastle or BBC's. I mean, its brewed in Louisiana! If you drank anything heavier down there it would be a little oppressive considering the average climate. Instead this beer has a lighter flavor and body in general and reminds me of a beer flavored carbonated drink. The warm fuzzy feeling experienced with the previous beers is a little less powerful in this one. The abita amber could easily be mistaken for a "light amber ale". But don't be fooled, it stands up well in an ocean of 8 and 9 percent predators. Especially if the weather is hot and humid. Enjoy this beer on those blazing got days in your local bayou when you want a pleasant buzz without feeling you just ate a turkey dinner.

BBC Amber Ale

This tasty amber is brewed in Louisville Ky by the bluegrass brewing company and I have to say that I really like this one too.
Its kinda like a watered down version of the Newcastle. But with all the taste. Don't take that the wrong way, its probably making my top five due to its combo of flavor, price, and where its from.
But yeah, the beer itself is a very well rounded, amber/medium brown. BBC's website describes it as a well balanced, medium bodied German-style amber ale. Not too heavy not too light. And while the website does suggest foods to pair with, this beer is smooth enough to drink in just about any situation.
The BBC website also declares that one shouldn't buy beer from strangers. A sound piece of advice in my opinion. This is beer you should really check out next time you're looking for a tasty satisfying brew in the drink aisle.

The Newcastle (cont.)

Though I really enjoy Newcastle's ale, it does have a downside. This beer was originally brewed in northern part of the United Kingdom, and still is. However, they are partially owned and controlled by another company, Heineken International; a Dutch company that owns and distributes around 170 different kinds of beer. As we will see later on, many of the more common and recognizable beers currently available are owned and distributed by larger international companies. As this blog progresses further, I will be discussing and tallying the companies that are responsible for the majority of the beers in the world.
It will then be up to you, reader, to decide between having access to a wide variety of flavors controlled by a few international companies. Or having less choices and supporting a local brewery.