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Not just mixed drinks: Prohibition killed decent American beer & wine as well, and led to decades of industrialized, homogenized mediocrity that we are still re

by Thrymr 12y ago

Not just mixed drinks: Prohibition killed decent American beer & wine as well, and led to decades of industrialized, homogenized mediocrity that we are still recovering from.

nsxwolf 12y ago
I can get all the great beer I want in the US. At this point, if people are still drinking Coors and Budweiser and wondering if there's more to life, that's their own problem.
- thrownaway2424 12y ago
  It depends on the state. In oakland California where I live the grocers have phenomenal selections of craft beers. But in Oklahoma City where I used to live the grocery stores can only sell beer with at most a negligible amount of alcohol so even the good grocers have at best Dos Equis and Bud. If you want real beer you have to go to a liquor store or if there's a session beer you really like you have to tell the beer buyer where to get it because they aren't on the state approved list of shitty industrial beers.
- rdtsc 12y ago
  > If people are still drinking Coors and Budweiser and wondering if there's more to life, that's their own problem. It is not all about taste. Marking is 50% of it. For example Pabst Blue Ribbon is an amazing story. It went from cheap crap beer people cooked with to hipster signature within 5 years or so. It is the same crap but marketing turned it into cool "awesome" drink that every tight-jean, flippy-hair, messenger-bag carrying self-respecting hipster would want. Or was 3 years ago and now they are drinking something else... Anyway, a lot of it was due to very clever marketing, product placement and sponsorship.
erikwiffin 12y ago
Not just alcohol. An interesting observation in An Economist Gets Lunch (one of my favorite books on food) is that Prohibition is responsible for putting many great restaurants of the era out of business (restaurants make money on alcohol). The remaining restaurants adjusted to a more "family-friendly" palate, (think grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, and cheeseburgers) and away from more subtle flavors.
- gaadd33 12y ago
  I've also heard that in some cities it increased the number of people who were unfed since many bars offered a free lunch (think bowl of today's stew) with the purchase of a drink. When you get rid of the alcohol subsidizing the food cost, suddenly finding dirt cheap food was harder.
korethr 12y ago
I'd argue the recovery is about complete. Go into any neighborhood liquor store, and in addtion to the Big Three and the other inexpensive pale lagers and pilsners, you'll also see something from one of the major craft breweries (Samuel Adams, New Belgum, et. al), -- a couple amber ales, and at least one pale ale or wheat ale. Go into a larger liquor store, and in addition to the above, you're likely to find beers from other craft breweries local to your region, all of them offering various ales and lagers ranging from very pale and light to very dark and heavy, and plenty of points in between. There's good stuff to be had. You just have to be willing to consider beer to be more than cheap pale lager, and to go looking for it.
- beloch 12y ago
  U.S. craft beers tend to over-represent heavily hopped styles such as the IPA. Just as sweet and sour mixers can cover up low quality spirits used in a cocktail, excessive use of hops can cover up flaws in a poorly crafted brew. There are exceptions, but they're still comparatively rare. For example, how many doppelbock's are made in the U.S.? Even less hoppy styles of beer, such as stouts, tend to be massively hopped by U.S. craft brewers. The craft brew scene has exploded only in the last couple of decades and most microbrewers are comparatively new to the craft. Hopefully a broader variety of styles will become better represented as brewers gain experience and try to differentiate themselves from the overly hopped masses. At present, the lion's share of my favorite North American microbrews are from Quebec. I don't know why, but the brewers of that province are hitting it out of the park right now.
  - kyllo 12y ago
    I've noticed a slight backlash against the IPA style and its overpowering bitterness lately. A lot of craft breweries are now selling lots of other styles, like Pilsners, subtler pale ales, wheat beers, and maltier red and brown ales, porters and stouts. Ninkasi is one of my favorite breweries, their oatmeal stout and double red ale are fantastic. They have a few good lager/pilsner styles too. IPAs are relatively easy to get right, but subtler styles like pilsner require more precision in the brewing process.
  - 12y ago

by Thrymr 12y ago

Not just mixed drinks: Prohibition killed decent American beer & wine as well, and led to decades of industrialized, homogenized mediocrity that we are still recovering from.

nsxwolf 12y ago

I can get all the great beer I want in the US. At this point, if people are still drinking Coors and Budweiser and wondering if there's more to life, that's their own problem.

thrownaway2424 12y ago
It depends on the state. In oakland California where I live the grocers have phenomenal selections of craft beers. But in Oklahoma City where I used to live the grocery stores can only sell beer with at most a negligible amount of alcohol so even the good grocers have at best Dos Equis and Bud. If you want real beer you have to go to a liquor store or if there's a session beer you really like you have to tell the beer buyer where to get it because they aren't on the state approved list of shitty industrial beers.
rdtsc 12y ago
> If people are still drinking Coors and Budweiser and wondering if there's more to life, that's their own problem. It is not all about taste. Marking is 50% of it. For example Pabst Blue Ribbon is an amazing story. It went from cheap crap beer people cooked with to hipster signature within 5 years or so. It is the same crap but marketing turned it into cool "awesome" drink that every tight-jean, flippy-hair, messenger-bag carrying self-respecting hipster would want. Or was 3 years ago and now they are drinking something else... Anyway, a lot of it was due to very clever marketing, product placement and sponsorship.

erikwiffin 12y ago

Not just alcohol. An interesting observation in An Economist Gets Lunch (one of my favorite books on food) is that Prohibition is responsible for putting many great restaurants of the era out of business (restaurants make money on alcohol). The remaining restaurants adjusted to a more "family-friendly" palate, (think grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, and cheeseburgers) and away from more subtle flavors.

gaadd33 12y ago
I've also heard that in some cities it increased the number of people who were unfed since many bars offered a free lunch (think bowl of today's stew) with the purchase of a drink. When you get rid of the alcohol subsidizing the food cost, suddenly finding dirt cheap food was harder.

korethr 12y ago

I'd argue the recovery is about complete. Go into any neighborhood liquor store, and in addtion to the Big Three and the other inexpensive pale lagers and pilsners, you'll also see something from one of the major craft breweries (Samuel Adams, New Belgum, et. al), -- a couple amber ales, and at least one pale ale or wheat ale. Go into a larger liquor store, and in addition to the above, you're likely to find beers from other craft breweries local to your region, all of them offering various ales and lagers ranging from very pale and light to very dark and heavy, and plenty of points in between. There's good stuff to be had. You just have to be willing to consider beer to be more than cheap pale lager, and to go looking for it.

beloch 12y ago
U.S. craft beers tend to over-represent heavily hopped styles such as the IPA. Just as sweet and sour mixers can cover up low quality spirits used in a cocktail, excessive use of hops can cover up flaws in a poorly crafted brew. There are exceptions, but they're still comparatively rare. For example, how many doppelbock's are made in the U.S.? Even less hoppy styles of beer, such as stouts, tend to be massively hopped by U.S. craft brewers. The craft brew scene has exploded only in the last couple of decades and most microbrewers are comparatively new to the craft. Hopefully a broader variety of styles will become better represented as brewers gain experience and try to differentiate themselves from the overly hopped masses. At present, the lion's share of my favorite North American microbrews are from Quebec. I don't know why, but the brewers of that province are hitting it out of the park right now.
- kyllo 12y ago
  I've noticed a slight backlash against the IPA style and its overpowering bitterness lately. A lot of craft breweries are now selling lots of other styles, like Pilsners, subtler pale ales, wheat beers, and maltier red and brown ales, porters and stouts. Ninkasi is one of my favorite breweries, their oatmeal stout and double red ale are fantastic. They have a few good lager/pilsner styles too. IPAs are relatively easy to get right, but subtler styles like pilsner require more precision in the brewing process.
- 12y ago