Story Archives of 'Beer'

Picking up a six-pack at your local grocery store is more complicated than it used to be. Sure, there’s the old stand-bys: Budweiser, Miller Hi-Life, PBR and Heineken. But you’ll also find pumpkin ales, chocolate stouts, and the absurdly-named, like Skull Splitter, Old Leg Humper, Moose Drool, He’Brew, and Ale Mary Full of Taste.

The craft beer movement has caught up with America’s foodie and wine snob culture and invaded the local liquor store. In 1965, the United States had one single craft brew – Anchor Steam, from San Francisco. Today, there are over 1,500. Burkhard Bilger is staff writer for The New Yorker, and wrote about the rise of extreme beer in its recent food issue.

It's a quickly growing market in the U.S., where sales of craft beer grew by twelve percent last year. But the movement really has roots that stretch back thousands of years, drawing inspiration from the fermented beverages of ancient Egypt, and of the Aztecs and Mayans.

Bilger profiles Sam Calagione, a vibrant character, savvy marketer, and founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware. Dogfish's motto is "off-centered ales for off-centered people," and it makes everything from elegant Belgian-style ales to experimental beers brewed with fresh oysters or arctic cloudberries.

But not everyone is crazy about what Calagione is doing – making beer with blue-green algae, or cardamom, curry and lemongrass. There are people within the craft beer movement who see "extreme beers" as detrimental to the craft beer brand. Bilger traces this debate over what constitutes beer back nearly five centuries, to the battle between German and Belgian brewers. And he notes that this isn’t the first time America’s experimented with odd beers - in 1873, the country had some four thousand breweries.

While craft beer still makes up a tiny part of the market – only four percent, or equalling about as many bottles as the Michelob brand, the small brewers hope they'll grow to make a much larger dent in the industrial beer market.

(Photo by Hawkins)

The price of beer is going up, along with everything else. Aside from the usual economic factors, the ingredients in beer are getting more expensive, adding to the price of brew. Hops, which gives it its bitter kick, has gone from 2 dollars a pound to over 20 dollars a pound in just the past couple of years. To save a little bit of cash, beer lovers might want to consider brewing their own batches this summer. Producer Julie Sabatier put together this how-to for the show Destination DIY.

(Photo by jk5854)

Consumers can walk down the aisles of any supermarket and easily find nut-free, dairy-free, and of course, fat-free products.

Now another specialty food is appearing on grocers' shelves: wheat-free products.

They are a god-send to the growing number of consumers who find they can't eat wheat, rye or barley.

NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich Kern has this report on the growing market and the response by one very large company in Merrimack.

Anyone know where to get a good cold one??? This book might be able to help. Author Andy Crouch profiles nearly one hundred beer establishments throughout New England… its history, the brew master's philosophy and brewing style as well as his personal "best beer". The book also provides essays on the brewing process and understanding a good beer from the hops to the final foam. So, if you're a brewing enthusiast, looking for a new bar, or just want to find a good beer, this book will be the perfect guide for you. Laura's guest is Andy Crouch, Beer Scribe, Author and Criminal Lawyer in Boston.