History of Microbrews

Many historians believe that the ancient Sumerians and Mesopotamians were brewing as early back as 10,000 B.C. Even though this product would have been different from the bottle varieties of today, it would have still been recognizable.

The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese brewed their beer, as did civilizations in America, where they used corn instead of barley. Back then, thousands of years ago, microbrews were very popular and on their way to what we now know and love today.

In the middle ages, European monks were the guardians of literature and science, as well as the art of making beer. They refined the process to perfection, and even institutionalized the use of hops as both flavoring and a preservative.

It wasn't however, until Louis Pasteur came along that a final, important development was determined. Until this time, brewers had to depend on the wild yet airborne yeast for fermentation. By establishing that yeast is actually a living organism, he opened
the gates for controlling the conversion of sugar into alcohol.

Grapes grow well in warmer climates, while barley grows better in cool climates. This is how the northern areas of Germany and England first became famous for their beers.

Beer in America
Everything in America went dim on that dark day of 1920, when prohibition took effect. A lot of breweries went out of business or switched their production to soda pop. Not everyone stopped drinking, but gangster related products weren't known for high quality.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, he quickly appealed the very unpopular law. The new breeds of now famous beer that came after World War 2 were generally mass produced and very bland.

Microbrewery And America
The term microbrewery originally originated in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s. Though it was originally used to reflect on the size of the breweries, it gradually came to reflect a different attitude and approach to adaptability, flexibility,
experimentation, and customer service.

The term eventually spread to the United States, where it was eventually used to indicate a brewery that produces no less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year. The term microbrewery is now falling out of touch in the United States, as the term
craft brewer is preferred.

During the early twentieth century, prohibition drove a majority of the breweries into bankruptcy because they couldn't rely on selling bogus wine as wineries of that era previously did. After going through several decades of consolidation of breweries, most commercial American beer produced by a few large companies, resulting in a mild
tasting lager of which Budweiser is a great example.

Some beer drinkers will consequently crave a variety and turn to homebrewing and eventually start doing it on a much larger scale. When they need inspiration they'll turn to Britain, Germany, and Belgium where centuries old tradition of artisan beer and cask ale production has never died out.

The popularity behind these products was the fact that their trend was spread quickly, and hundreds of smaller breweries popped up, attached to a bar where the product could be enjoyed by all. As microbrews gained in popularity, some became more than just simple microbrews, as they catered to a broader range of beer.

Normally, American microbreweries will distribute through wholesalers in traditional three tier systems, then act as their own distributor and sell to retailers. Selling includes tap rooms, restaurants, or even off premise sales.

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