Quick. What’s the first image that comes to mind when you hear “American beer”? Perhaps like me, you see a beer-bellied man clutching his Budweiser in one hand with a nacho in the other, as he yells profanities at the game on TV.

 

Throughout history, beer has played an important role in American traditions and continues to play an important role in the context of American culture. But the American culture is hardly stagnant. As our culture evolves, so do our traditions and symbols. Over the past five years, the beer industry has undergone internal changes that are reflected by an external shift in the role of beer in our society. In this article, I will discuss these changes and how they affect the way we will interpret beer in the future.

 

A Brief History

First we need to look at the past. How did beer in America originate? What did it symbolize in the 1700s? In The Botany of Desire, journalist Michael Pollan highlights the deep roots of alcohol in American culture. During colonial times, settlers believed that water in the New World was unsafe to drink so instead they drank hard cider (Pollan). With the help of Johnny Appleseed, apples were brought overseas to grow roots (literally) in America as he taught settlers how to cultivate apple orchards (Pollan). Orchard owners would use the bitter and sour apples to produce homemade hard ciders, which were shared with the community.

 

Because hard cider was a staple in the American colonists’ diet, it became a national beverage; according to Pollan, apple cider was “the beer of its time” (Pollan). Even the Founding Fathers — the most patriotic of them all — drank hard cider together, and even alone for breakfast (Pollan). The proliferation of apples (and subsequently of hard cider) occurred in parallel with the proliferation of colonists in the New World. Alcohol stood for more than just a substitute for water. It served as a reinforcement of nationalism and the American way of life: a symbol of freedom, a representation of hard work, and a means to celebratory community gatherings.

 

With the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in the late-1700s – early-1800s, business practices changed drastically, causing a dramatic change in American culture as well. No longer were the days of wholesome, small-community based, artisan production. Rather than focusing on quality and novelty, businesses valued efficiency and mass production. Factories sprang up in place of apple orchards and large national brewing corporations took the place of local community farmers. After this period, America had officially moved from its days of producing homemade hard cider to mass-produced beers. The largest corporations that dominated, and are still dominating, the beer industry may sound familiar to you: Miller, Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser (O’Hara). So how did these changes in manufacturing and distribution change America’s culture?

 

What is Popular Culture explains that a society’s culture is largely determined by the economic conditions under which it operates (Storey 8). Factories allowed for mass production and mass distribution of goods across the entire country. Having access to uniform goods translated to our culture valuing uniformity. Storey claims that the Industrial Revolution caused the emergence of a “mass culture” in America, a culture “mass produced for mass consumption” (Storey 8). The Industrial Revolution paved the way for the largest companies to claim themselves as the American brands. Beers such as Miller, Anheuser-Busch and Budweiser became “mass culture” beers.

 

Storey claimed this culture was also “consumed with brain-numbed and brain-numbing passivity” (Storey 8). We can also argue that passive consumption of these beers was seen as the new definition of nationalism. Alcohol now carried a new meaning in society. The new means of consuming beer showed that society placed heavy emphasis on conformity to create a large and uniform nation-wide community, rather than placing focus on artistry and the individual.

 

Beer Me Now

Think back to your first snapshot of “American beer.” The Superbowl, one of the largest nationwide events, is sponsored by just about every major beer manufacturer out there (Ogg). Some images that come to mind when thinking about beer consumption during the Superbowl are: beer-bellies, yelling, and junk food/soda. Paint’s a lovely picture, doesn’t it?

 

From looking at the Superbowl, it’s easy to see “American beer” as a symbol of nationalism represented by drunkenness, crassness and gluttony. These traits seem to occur when one is careless, falling into Storey’s assumption of “brain-numbed and brain-numbing passivity” (Storey 8).

But over the last five years, there has been a significant rise in a subcategory within the beer industry – craft brews (Kaczanowska). This new business trend has the capability of reshaping some aspects of American culture as it redefines, once again, the symbolic meaning of beer.

 

The Future is Red, White and (Craft) Brew

The craft beer industry has risen 10.9% to $3.9 billion over the past five years as consumers have “shifted away from big-name beers like Budweiser, Miller or Coors and substituted them with regional and high-quality industry products” (Kaczanowska). Could our culture finally be rebounding from the values forced on us by industrialism?

 

It seems like these days Americans have a desire to reflect their individuality through consumerism. Because we use our possessions as cultural indicators, we attach personal responsibility to our purchases. In today’s market a consumer will apply cognitive efforts to decide which products to buy rather than always making a snap decision based on national branding.

 

This act of personal ownership can explain why “consumers are willing to pay more for a smaller quantity of high-quality beer” and these quality beers fit the bill because their operations “are kept small to maintain a focus on quality” (Kaczanowska). To purchase a beer, to drink it, and to recommend it to others, one is putting his/her own reputation on the line. Drinkers of craft beers scrutinize the taste of a beer and associate themselves with labels they deem to be high quality according to their personal tastes.

 

Perhaps this recently formed community of craft beer consumers is beginning to disassociate beer with drunkenness, crassness and gluttony.

As the craft beer industry continues to grow, the community of individualistically responsible consumers encourages us to reawaken our palettes, which have been deadened by excessively salty and sweet American foods. And in fine-tuning our palettes, we may be motivated to fine-tune our other sensory functions while evaluating our purchases. Ultimately developing a habit, our society could develop a more refined way of thinking altogether.

As the craft beer industry continues to grow, craft beers may replace large national brands and emerge as the new ideal and meaning of “American beer.”

 

As the craft beer industry continues to grow, beer drinkers are faced with the question: Do I take pride in drinking “American beer” because it’s American, or because it’s a quality beer?

 

What does “American beer” mean?

The recent trending change in consumption of beer mirrors the consumption patterns first mentioned with apple cider. Brewing craft beer is a “cottage industry” and can be done in one’s home (Kaczanowska). This unique aspect of craft beer breweries allows each brew to be not only distinct to America, but special to a particular region in America, and even specific down to the microbrewery. Now that the focus is turning away from national brands and toward smaller local brands, perhaps we may see a downfall of overt nationalism in our society, subduing the stereotype of American egoism.

 

Now if I asked you “What’s the first image that comes to mind when you hear ‘American beer’?” a different image may come to mind. Replacing that beer-bellied sports fanatic now stands a more refined, discerning, responsible American. In merging the humble nature of a grassroots business with a community centered around sophistication of opinion, the craft brew industry may be the first to achieve a balance in our culture between nationalism and humility.

 

Works Cited

Kaczanowska, A. (2013). IBISWorld Industry Report OD4302. Craft Beer Production. Retrieved September 7, 2013 from IBISWorld database.

 

Ogg, J. C. (2013, February 2). Super bowl xlvii by the numbers. USA Today.

 

O’Hara, C. B. (2006, August 15). http://www.beerbooks.com/.

 

*Pollan, M. (Performer) (2009). The botany of desire [Television series episode]. PBS.

 

*Storey, J. (2004). What is popular culture. In Popular Culture (3 ed., pp. 1-17). University of Georgia Press.

 

 

 

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