The Old Craft Boom

I remember when my older brother was working at a liquor store in like 1997 and Sam Adams Triple Bock came out. I remember him coming home with one of them, he was like 17 years old and saying "These things are like 5 bucks per bottle!" He kept it as a novelty because we both thought it was cool looking. Years later he opened it up and according to him it sucked. Of course, according to the reviews on BA it sounded like many agreed with him.

 

I'd also like to know the story behind this. I'm 21 right now so something like this was before my beer researching time. I've heard that back then, brewers were more concerned with selling the novelty of "craft" than really focusing on the beer and that's why many fell to the side.

 

I remember drinking a lot of Pyramid Hefeweizen and Snow Cap, Bridgeport Blue Heron, Redhook ESB, and Deschutes Mirror Pond and Jubelale (among others from the likes of Hale's, Maritime, and Yakima) in the early to mid '90s. I think all of those beers are still produced.

I guess I don't think of that era as a bubble, it was just the beginning of something that's continued, diversified, and spread.

 

Same here. Admittedly, I wasn't drinking craft beer until '99 or so but I don't recall a lot of brands disappearing. In fact, just the opposite.

 

What I would like to know is why didn't I get on the craft beer bandwagon back then. I was certainly old enough. And I never liked BMC beers. Hell, I went to undergrad in Colorado and didn't drink Coors [and this is before it was distributed east of the Mississippi when it was like a whale to Easterners like me]. Granted, I drank Olympia, but it was cool since it's what Dustin Hoffman was drinking in "The Graduate". I guess it was about 2000 or so when I started with Anchor Steam, then Sam Adams, then SNPA. In the last five years, I don't think I've had more than 10 -12 mixed liquor drinks. It's all craft beer. My point is that this phase of the craft beer phenomenon seems to be more out front than the mid-to-late 90s was. More articles, more media attention, etc. Or maybe it's just me 'cause I'm paying attention. But I too would like to know more about the trailblazers of craft beer.

 

You mentioned three of the key trailblazers right there. Anchor Steam, Sam Adams, and SNPA go pretty far back to the roots of the modern craft beer revolution. Read up on Anchor Brewing (Fritz Maytag), Boston Beer Co. (Jim Koch), and Sierra Nevada (Ken Grossman) as well as people like Bert Grant, Charlie Papazian and a few other patriarchs of the U.S. craft beer revival whose names escape me right now.

I've been surrounded by almost nothing but craft beer since the early '90s, but I haven't given it much thought. Only recently have I paid any attention to the crazy one-offs, rare beers etc. but I've been drinking almost exclusively "craft" or "microbrews" for 20 years straight. My eyes were also just recently opened (in the last couple years) to the wonderful mostly Belgian and German imports; before then I thought if it didn't come from Washington or Oregon it was crap.

 

Everyone these days is just ripping off Bert Grant's IPA, Imperial Stout, Perfect Porter, Harvest Ale. . . I think their spring ale was the first time Amarillo hops were used in a commercial brew.

Now get off my lawn ya whippersnappers!

 

"My point is that this phase of the craft beer phenomenon seems to be more out front than the mid-to-late 90s was. More articles, more media attention, etc. Or maybe it's just me 'cause I'm paying attention. "
I think it's a combination of all of these things. I also believe that social media has played a huge role in the past 5 years. Prior to this, you had to be one of the bigger craft beer producers to really garnish decent exposure, i.e. SN, BBC, New Belgium, etc. Nowadays, even small craft beer producers are churning up some great press. As newer and newer social mediums become available, information dissemination increases at a much more rapid pace.

 

For me it was SNPA and Sam Adams Boston Lager, with Pete's, and Gritty's, and Harpoon, and a lot of imports during that late 80's/early 90's period. Was a major Deadhead back then, lotta great locals enjoyed and forgotten in the lots at a lot of great shows in a lotta great parts of the country. Sierra Nevada, though, was the beer that made me realize American Brewers can do this pretty much as well as any brewers. Wasn't until about 2004/5 that I started trying lots of different beers, though, many as possible, and to learn more about styles I'd never tried nor heard about.

Guess Gritty's is still around up North, haven't had one is many years, though, and Harpoon of course. Pete's is gone.

 

Pete's Wicked
Tommyknocker
McFarlane's
Bert's

Smaller ones I can't recall names.


I drank a lot of Belgian , German , & British imports.

Irish bars weren't overplayed like they are now.

 

I definitely wasnt all wrapped up in craft at that point in my life - I was drinking a lot more Coronas and Amstels than anything else - but at the same time I was trying a lot of other stuff. As others mentioned SA, SN and Petes were some of my first craft experiences. Also, being in NY, Blue Point, Brooklyn and Saranac were around and all 3 still are now.

I dont remember anything being hyped up like Pliny, but I do remember seeing a SA Chocolate Bock with the big silver medallion on the front of the bomber (or 750 maybe?) at a local 7-11 that made me think "that is much more classy than a St Ides or OE 40oz"

 

Here's a list of old CA brewpubs and breweries from that time. It lists Blind Pig Brewery in Temecula, so it should be sometime in the 90's
I think the 90's had a pretty strong brewpub culture with questionable beer quality.

The 2 brewpubs in my county that are listed, Joe Joe's Brewpub in Simi Valley and Shields brewpub in Ventura, are no longer.
I've lived in Simi Valley my whole life and I don't remember that brewpub, it'd be nice to have a brewpub in town these days...
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/beers.html

 

Top Ten US "Craft Breweries" in 1995

from the Institute of Brewing Studies (now the Brewers Association)​

(estimated thousands of barrels)​

1. BBC - 948
2. Pete’s - 348
3. Sierra Nevada - 200
4. Redhook - 155
5. Hart* - 123
6. Anchor - 103
7. Full Sail - 72
8. Widmer - 69
9. Portland ** - 62
10. Spanish Peaks - 53

* Merged with Kemper to form Pyramid​

** became MacTarnahan's​

By comparison, the B.A.'s Top Ten "Craft Breweries" 2011

1. Boston Beer Co.
2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
3. New Belgium Brewing Co.
4. The Gambrinus Company
5. Deschutes Brewery
6. Matt Brewing Co.
7. Bell's Brewery, Inc.
8. Harpoon Brewery
9. Lagunitas Brewing Co.
10. Boulevard Brewing Co.

Note- 1995's #4 Redhook and #8 Widmer (along with Kona) make up Craft Brews Alliance today, but are no longer considered "craft" due to A-B partial ownership. Otherwise they'd be # 4 in 2011.​

​

 

Things were much more regional, except for some of the really big players. If you didn't travel, or go to the GABF, it was hard to really get a handle on what other areas were doing. In the extremes, the northeast had a lot of English-style 'Pugsley' breweries, whereas the PNW and Calif. were always hop country. Predominant styles were pale ales (quite a few of them from the SNPA mold) and amber lagers, but porters and brown ales were also big. The only really 'hyped' or talked-about beers were hard to get imports, certain lambics and the like; though people really did look forward to their Celebration every year.

A lot of the so-called 'bubble' aspect of the time was due to a few factors- startups making bad and/or non-distinguished beers (i.e. owners looking for investment value rather than with a real passion for beer), gimicky contract brews (Three Stooges Beer, anyone), and a couple of expansion related casualties like Catamont. But while we lost a number of breweries, the total number of barrels stayed the same or increased. From the late 80s to the late 90s the opportunity to get really top quality beer increased so dramatically that I'd hardly call it anything other than a necessary weeding-out.

 

Most breweries were making a shitty wheat beer with some kind of crappy fruit flavoring.

I think Spanish Peaks did this exclusively.

 

Does anyone have actual data in terms of number of breweries, volume produced, sales, etc? I've heard reference to this bubble many times, but never actually seen any data that says it really was one. And for the life of me can't find any information on this online.

 

Bert Grant's Imperial Stout was so revelatory and sustained me through three months in Miles City, Montana in 1996. God I miss that beer!

 

There was a definite boom in the 90's, the bust doesn't seem as pronounced as you hear about.

 

I have a question regarding a related topic...no need to start a new topic...maybe jesskidden can chime in with more info.

Long story short: I came across some "beers of the month club" boxes from the late 90's that were unopened. I hadn't heard of many of them and checking them out on BA found many that were from breweries that had closed between then and now. Anyway, came across Some Three Floyds Robert the Bruce and upon further review found it to be "Brewed in New Ulm, MN". I wouldn't think this was anyplace other than at Schell's. So my question is, was Three Floyds original contract brewed at Schell's or something similar?

TIA.