Demand More From Your Beer

Craft beer is a mysterious and romantic beverage. It captures our attention and changes our emotions; it brings us closer with strangers and friends alike. Here in Seattle, we just opened Emerald City Beer Company (ECB) out of the historic Old Rainier Brewery building, just south of downtown.

Our brewing kettle is converted from a Sam Adams keg, our mash tun is from Widmer, and our hot liquor tank began life as a Sierra Nevada shell. We ferment our beers a barrel at a time, using basically the same gear I used in my garage to brew the first test batches of what became our flagship beer, “Dottie Seattle Lager.”

Now, it’s true that without our contract brewer, we probably wouldn’t exist. It’s also true that we only have one beer on the market. It’s even true that we deliver all of our beers with my Ford truck. But you’d be wrong to assume that we are deterred by any of that; after all, we are craft brewers … driven first by our passion, favoring quality over quantity, willing to put it all on the line to brew great beer.

Spending hundreds of millions every year to encourage excessive consumption will drive sales, but it will also convince customers that sacrificing the quality of what’s in their glass is the only way to cut down on expenses. That may be the best way to generate a return for investors, but shouldn’t we ask ourselves … is this really what we as American beer drinkers want from our beer?

If what you drink says something about who you are, then what do these beers say about you?

It’s unfortunate that, due largely to Prohibition, only 7 percent of the beer being consumed by Americans today is brewed here, by craft brewers, using raw, fresh ingredients. It’s even more unfortunate that we have allowed two foreign-owned corporations to control approximately 80 percent of the beer we consume.

Yet consider this: When I was born back in 1982, there were fewer than 100 breweries in America, and now we number over 1,600. It’s clear that Americans are demanding something more. It was in this spirit that we founded ECB, to ensure that an ever-increasing and exciting collection of quality American craft beers continue to pour, starting with American lagers.

We at ECB are just like the many of you who are demanding more from your beer each and every day. Like you, we are each on our own individual journeys. Some of our interns have just mastered the perfect pour; I myself have just begun exploring the differences between Bohemian and German Pilsners. Where you are on this journey is not important to us here at ECB—just that you are on it.

Get more out of life—demand more from your beer. Cheers. ■