CRAFT BEER IN BOSTON: HERALDS OF A NEW BREW By JORDAN SISEL
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ost craft beer enthusiasts fondly remember the turning point when they posited that craft beer way was the way for them. They can regale you with enough descriptive adjectives to make you beg for mercy. The point where I said to myself that craft beer and I are in it for the long haul, however, was not like that. For me, that time was indebted in no small part to Jackie Chan. One day while at the liquor store with some friends, prior to my tasting anything really “craft,” we saw the section of bottles that are bigger than your average 12 ounce containers and are, upon further inspection, higher alcohol content. We all picked some random ones and proclaimed the night “Pint Night.” Never mind our inaccuracy with volume nomenclature; they were actually 750 milliliters, not the 16 ounces that a pint is. We then decided to watch Jackie Chan’s Police Story 3: Supercop. It was awesome—both the movie and the beer. A longstanding tradition was born—Pint Night and Jackie Chan. Now, it may seem heretical to have the hook set in me by a predominately social setting rather than some revelatory tasting. Don’t get me wrong; the beer was amazing (Stone Ruination was my first) and since then I’ve had many amazing tasting moments, but there was something special about Pint Night. Amazing beer, amazing friends, and amazing times—this is what the decidedly unpretentious craft beer scene is all about (oh, and Jackie, of course). You may be thinking to yourself, sure, good times can be had with beer, but I can do that with the fizzy, watery cheap stuff (I won’t name names). If you are thinking this, there are so many things I want to scream at you right now, but I’ll show my gentlemanly restraint. Let me explain. Beer is a journey, not a means to an end. Each sip starts with visual inspection—color, head formation, etc. Always pour to a glass. Pouring releases CO2,
keeping beer from being overcarbonated and scouring as well as unlocking aromatics you would miss drinking out of the bottle. Is the beer a clear, amber ESB, or is it a hazy, golden, effervescent Hefeweizen practically chunky with yeast? Swirl it in the glass and smell the rich tapestry of flavors contained within—hops, malt, yeast, spices . . . Then sip it, whirling it around your mouth, feeling the thickness and body of the beer and teasing the intricacies of flavor out of the beer. The price is so small to pay for the difference between a piece of work that a man slaved over ungodly hours to create for your enjoyment and a piece of drivel that is made to be as cheap as possible and just barely passes the minimum specifications to be legally qualified as beer. Maybe a two-dollar difference at a bar. The microbrewery is one of the least viable business plans there is. No one is starting a brewery because they want a practical way to make a living. Despite this, there has never been a better time to enjoy craft beer in America. In fact, even though there are richer histories of beer in other countries, it can be argued that America is now the best place to drink beer. In the 80s, the American beer scene was bleak. A handful of macrobreweries produced the same beer (that fizzy, watery cheap stuff). Since then, there has been a cataclysmic explosion of growth. There are now well over 2,000 craft breweries in America and growing. These brewers are artisans dedicated to a craft. Don’t even try and tell any brewer that beer is not an art. There are bourbon barrel-aged, coffee imperial stouts to sour beers fermented using only yeast floating in the air around the brewery, stored for at least two years, and then masterfully blended back with various batches to create the perfect tart elixir. Even a simple pale ale has the blood and sweat of experimentation as the brewer hones in on the perfect hopping schedule. I’ve visited a few craft breweries and I will say that it’s difficult to imagine anyone working harder. Don’t think these guys are taking weekends off or asking for overtime, and definitely don’t believe for a second that they do it for the money . . . because there is none. So, what is it that defines the American beer scene? To understand American beer culture, you must understand other beer cultures. The Germans are the rigorous scientists. They predominantly brew lagers. Lagers are
