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| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Christopher B O'Hara Publisher: Random House |
Many men, and women for that matter, love their beer. Some so much that they refer to it as the nectar of the gods.
There are a large variety of types of beer, enough to ensure that everyone is bound to find something that they can
enjoy on a hot summer day. “Great American Beers” is a handy hardcover is a dandy guide to the topic of post
WWII, pre-micro revolution pre-branding US beer. The author gladly admits in the introduction of the book that, “the
antithesis of the recent microbrewery revolution in America, this was a time when the major beer powerhouses took
control of the brewing industry and, in the grand spirit of American industry, relentlessly quashed the small,
independent producers that relied upon local support.”
This story told in this book is about the Americanization of beer, where homogenized brands that were grown through
a mixture of political clout, industrialization, and marketing strength became the best loved, and most heavily
consumed beer brands in the entire world.
As Ken Wells discussed in his earlier book, “Travels With Barley,” despite all the efforts and successes in the craft
brewing revival, this is a continent of lovers of beer flavored water making that still the primary cultural phenomena to
be grappled with when considering any type of beer.
This book tells the story not so much of how that occurred, but instead tells who was involved. And it does so with a
lot of style and wit. It is ultimately a series of fifty different 200 to 500 word essays on the individual brands that made
up the wave of oneness that is macro brewing, from Bud to Blatz to Utica Club. Since this is as much pre-brand as
pre-craft, there are no discussions of the "Bud Draft Dry Light Ice" sorts of beers that popped their heads up starting
in the late 1970s. The word Light, or rather Lite, does not appear in the table of contents in any way, shape or form.
This is a book that argues for a golden age and makes a pretty good argument for it. Even with the eighteen page
history that the book offers, this is not an academic tome or a deep dive into the beer culture, but as you can expect,
that could be an issue which, once raised, might be rightfully greeted with a shout of joy since not everything has to
have an academic background with it to be useful information.
The book heavily relies upon images of the collection of beer related items collector Erik Amundson, which readers
are able to see at the website www.taverntrove.com. This is good and very well handled as the advertising and
packaging of the brewers played such a huge role in differentiating a homogenized product. It is presented
attractively along with well-written and informative text providing a book for the beer fan not scared to be presented
with the phrases like "trendy imports" and "craft snobbery". “Great American Beer” is a great American book that all
great American beer drinkers will enjoy.
There are a large variety of types of beer, enough to ensure that everyone is bound to find something that they can
enjoy on a hot summer day. “Great American Beers” is a handy hardcover is a dandy guide to the topic of post
WWII, pre-micro revolution pre-branding US beer. The author gladly admits in the introduction of the book that, “the
antithesis of the recent microbrewery revolution in America, this was a time when the major beer powerhouses took
control of the brewing industry and, in the grand spirit of American industry, relentlessly quashed the small,
independent producers that relied upon local support.”
This story told in this book is about the Americanization of beer, where homogenized brands that were grown through
a mixture of political clout, industrialization, and marketing strength became the best loved, and most heavily
consumed beer brands in the entire world.
As Ken Wells discussed in his earlier book, “Travels With Barley,” despite all the efforts and successes in the craft
brewing revival, this is a continent of lovers of beer flavored water making that still the primary cultural phenomena to
be grappled with when considering any type of beer.
This book tells the story not so much of how that occurred, but instead tells who was involved. And it does so with a
lot of style and wit. It is ultimately a series of fifty different 200 to 500 word essays on the individual brands that made
up the wave of oneness that is macro brewing, from Bud to Blatz to Utica Club. Since this is as much pre-brand as
pre-craft, there are no discussions of the "Bud Draft Dry Light Ice" sorts of beers that popped their heads up starting
in the late 1970s. The word Light, or rather Lite, does not appear in the table of contents in any way, shape or form.
This is a book that argues for a golden age and makes a pretty good argument for it. Even with the eighteen page
history that the book offers, this is not an academic tome or a deep dive into the beer culture, but as you can expect,
that could be an issue which, once raised, might be rightfully greeted with a shout of joy since not everything has to
have an academic background with it to be useful information.
The book heavily relies upon images of the collection of beer related items collector Erik Amundson, which readers
are able to see at the website www.taverntrove.com. This is good and very well handled as the advertising and
packaging of the brewers played such a huge role in differentiating a homogenized product. It is presented
attractively along with well-written and informative text providing a book for the beer fan not scared to be presented
with the phrases like "trendy imports" and "craft snobbery". “Great American Beer” is a great American book that all
great American beer drinkers will enjoy.
