Brew Indy, brew!

America is deep in a beer renaissance.

That’s probably the wrong word. The belief that we are in a rebirth of some kind implies that there was an initial Golden Age to which we are now returning and perhaps surpassing. This probably isn’t the case. As Maureen Ogle explains in her book Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, the myth that pre-Prohibition American beer was any more laudable than its post-21st Amendment counterparts is hard to determine but likely wrong. Likewise is it difficult to pinpoint a moment where America was simply free of good beer, either domestic or imported.

And there’s always been homebrew.

Beer historians writing as late as the turn of the 21st century would probably point back to the early 90s as the beginning of the American Beer Renaissance. That was the moment were many homebrewers in different states lobbied nearly simultaneously to overturn restrictive beer laws put in place in the wake of Prohibition’s collapse and kept in place mostly by laziness, political cowardice, and the awesome power of the liquor distribution lobby. Sam Calagione in his book Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery talks briefly of his confusion and frustration in dealing with Delaware’s beer laws at this time.

But in reality, as we know now, the early 90s were really just the beginnings of the fall of the old order. For over 20 years before Calagione helped repeal Delaware’s anti-business legislation people like Charlie Papazian and Fritz Maytag were the barbarians at the gate while the CEOs of the fat and bloated beer empire: Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors sat complacent and haughty in their capital cities, not oblivious to the upstart invasion but irresolute and arrogantly dismissive of it.

The period that followed, despite magnificent advancement, especially in the homebrewing world, was really more analogous to the Dark Ages, which are not nearly as dark as many suppose. The new movement of craft brewers and its multiple rising stars created a world of confusion with mixed allegiances and overlapping sovereignties. Regional breweries rose up overnight and fell just as fast. Others made huge splashes, even earned national attention and were quickly absorbed. In an effort to confront the surprising popularity of previously unknown and untested beers, the triumvirate created what we could call, if we were to push the metaphor, “counter-reformation beers”  like Miller’s Red Dog, which, like Miller itself is a Standard American Lager (BJCP 1B) or in BeerAdvocate parlance, an American Adjunct Lager (using corn). The difference between a regular Miller product and Red Dog? Better labeling.

So, if there is an American beer renaissance, now is it. The newness has fallen away. The regional breweries that couldn’t quite cut it have moved on and a more mature, second-wave is establishing itself. From the hordes of craft brew upstarts of the early 90s several leaders have arose: Brooklyn Brewery (and it’s head brewer Garrett Oliver), Sierra Nevada, Stone, Dogfish Head, and several others. Extreme brewing while still out there pushing boundaries and widening the horizon of what we consider “beer” has calmed and given way to an appreciation of more balanced, but still innovative fare. Craft beers are claiming shelf and table space previously reserved for wine (while at the same time more and more wines are using synthetic corks and screw top caps).

And Indiana—and especially its capital city—is  enjoying it too. And BrewIndy is going to write about it.

We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes here. There are a lot of good beer writers cropping up to cover this exciting new place we have found ourselves in. By all means, if you like what you read here, then keep reading but don’t ignore the other beer resources out there, nationally and here locally, most notably for Naptown-based readers the fine folks at Hoosier Beer Geek.

Here on Brew Indy, I plan on writing about a few specific things. Firstly, I have a goal of getting my BJCP certification over the next 12 months. I will be largely home schooling myself and I’ll be writing about my methodology and what I’m learning. I will also write about the beers I brew. I don’t do it as much as I used to, but I hope that knowing that I plan on writing about it will encourage me to devote more of my time and money to the hobby I’ve been doing since 1998. And, of course, I will be doing some beer tasting/reviews.

I do have another blog just starting off, Central State Asylum. There I plan to expand the subject matter to include wine and whiskey (and other liquors). Blog topics will stick to more cultural and business observations and book reviews. I will x-post when I think the topic warrants inclusion on both blogs. I am also beginning a historical research project. If I have things to say on that process I will let you know where to find those musings as well.

My partner on this site will be handling primarily beer reviews and event notices/write ups. We have a lot of good things planned. Hope you stick around.