Tag: Beer History

How a 1911 court case against a South London brewery producing Milk Stout without a license cemented the style’s definition as a beer brewed with lactose.

Since he began working at Sierra Nevada in 1983, Steve Dresler has helped lead the company from 2,000 barrels a year to over a million.

How Mackeson, a provincial brewery on the south coast of England, patented a lactose-based formula in 1909 and created the Milk Stout.

With a focus on experimentation and, especially, hops, a new generation of Belgian brewers takes its inspiration not from its Trappist or Lambic-producing forefathers, but from brewers in the US and the UK.

In remembrance of Best Mild, a beer popular in 1950s England that was usually a somewhat stronger and darker version of a brewery’s Ordinary Mild.

Brewing has returned to the massive Pabst complex with Pabst Milwaukee Brewery, a microbrewery and restaurant, in a 144-year-old building that once served as a pub for Pabst employees.

In her new role overseeing the American Brewing History Initiative, Theresa McCulla has been sifting through the National Museum of American History’s brewing collections.

Following the evolution of William Younger’s XXP over time, from a premium export IPA clocking in at 200 IBU to a standard pub Bitter.

Last year Whitbread Pale Ale was relaunched in the UK, brewed by the highly regarded Windsor & Eton. Let’s not worry too much about whether it’s an IPA, Pale Ale, or Light Ale. Just rejoice at the return of Whitbread’s iconic hind logo.

Catherine and Margaret Portner, sisters and great-great granddaughters of 19th century brewer Robert Portner, revived the family legacy by opening Portner Brewhouse in Alexandria, Va.

Hidden in Eastern Europe and forgotten for centuries, the fruity, slightly sweet, and full-bodied õlu, or beer, made by the Seto people is reminiscent of British Mild Ale, Kvass, a beverage made from fermented bread, and even root beer.

Known as “the Dog” in its home of England, Newcastle’s ubiquitous Brown Ale was atypical in its strength and production methods when it debuted in 1927.

In the 1950s, Tennant Brothers advertised Gold Label, its pale Barleywine, as a beer “as strong as a double whiskey and half the price.”

In a round-up of beer news, Belgian beer is recognized as cultural heritage; White Labs Asheville begins production, New Holland brews lager with heirloom barley; and 2016 is a record year for US hop growers.

Scottish and English brewing records from over a century ago reveal a surprising number of low-ABV hoppy beers that look a lot like today’s trendy Session IPAs.

We can’t predict the future, though we may try. Whatever happens to individual brands, however, one thing appears clear: flavorful beer is here to stay.

While anachronistic, the coolship is now used by more than two dozen breweries across the US to create spontaneously fermented ales in the Lambic tradition.

The history of the Great American Beer Festival is the history of craft brewing magnified. It started in 1982 as a one-night event, held during the fourth annual National Homebrew and Microbrewery Conference.

In his fourth book, Stan Hieronymus writes for brewers who want to use locally grown ingredients but aren’t sure where to start.

Beginning as a government effort to curb drinking by WWI munitions workers, state-controlled pubs persisted in some English towns until the 1970s.

Bad beer won’t take down the craft brewing industry, but it’s up to bar owners and consumers to speak up when something tastes off.

The remote Estonian islands, an hours-long journey from the capital of Tallinn, have preserved many of the country’s cultural traditions, including brewing the rustic farmhouse ale Koduõlu.

England’s attempt to create a free market in beer led to an explosion of small, beer-only pubs—and the beginning of the end for Porter.

Despite comparisons to the industry housecleaning of the mid-1990s, today’s brewery landscape looks nothing like that of 20 years ago.