Franconian Beer Message Board
Brauerei Hertlein, Staffelbach |
| Posted by Barry on 2017-04-11 01:34:25 |
| No, Mark, my friend, to Marshall McLuhan, I think that you are mistaking the medium for the message. So, in the UK, CAMRA and the real ale movement flourished long before the spread of the net (in 1971!), disseminated by all those old-fashioned concpets like books, magazines and, simply, word of mouth. I think that is no exaggeration to say that the real ale movement was a true uprising against the might of the monopolies - i.e. the big brewers. Ok, it was a kind of 'soft' revolution and the targets were limited and fairly easy but it was not something imposed from above. Like you, I was first alerted, and then attracted, to beer in Franken and the Oberpfalz by reading about it on the net; whether I would have heard about it without the net is hard so say. Proably 'yes' because, in the same way as the real ale pioneers in Britain spread the word by writing books, etc., enthusiastic travellers would have done the same - but it would have been a slower process. As far as I can see, there is, as yet, no comprehensive history of the US-craft beer movement, so it is a bit difficult to accurately chart its origins and development. Undoubtedly, as it is fairly contemporaneous to the development of the internet, digital communications have played a big part in its spread. Reading the fragmentary accounts of its start, like CAMRA, it was in some part a reaction to the big beer conglomerates. But why, in its early days, did it concentrate on producing British beer types? The obvious reason is the influence of the UK ale revolution, fuelled by such as Peter Austin. Why, for example, with such a large beer-drinking population of German extraction did it not focus on producing Franken style beers or Pilsners, or anything else, until much later in the cycle? Simply the model was there for all the young enthusiasts: an abundance of microbreweries largely founded by young English-speaking enthusiasts, equipment to copy or even buy and a brewing technique (top fermented ale) that was much similar and cheaper to replicate the more complicated and, ultimately, more expensive, lager technology. We all owe Fred, John White and the rest of beer prosletysers an enormous debt for their efforts in promoting the great beers of the world via the net but I look forward to continuing this discussion in more convivial surroundings - after all, that is where it all began! Your good friend, Barry! |
| Followups: |
 US Microbrewery Revolution by Nick B. on 2017-04-11 03:02:24 |
| US Microbrewery Revolution by Barry on 2017-04-11 03:43:49 |
| Brauerei Hertlein, Staffelbach by Mark Andersen on 2017-04-11 04:23:48 |
| US Microbrewery Revolution by Nick B. on 2017-04-11 05:27:38 |
| US Pugsley Breweries by Nick B. on 2017-04-11 05:37:52 |
| Brauerei Hertlein, Staffelbach by Barry on 2017-04-11 06:17:33 |
| Microbrewery explosion by Mark Andersen on 2017-04-11 07:02:36 |
| US Pugsley Breweries by Nick B. on 2017-04-12 03:22:03 |